He passed away in Kūfah at the age of one hundred and thirty.

Ṣilah ibn Ashyam al-ʿAdawī (1) was one of the leading Successors from Basrah, renowned for his merit, scrupulousness, worship, and asceticism. His kunya was Abū al-Ṣahbāʾ. He would pray until he could reach his bedding only by crawling, and his virtues were exceedingly numerous.

Among them: whenever he saw groups of youths amusing themselves he would say, “Tell me about travelers who, in the daytime, keep veering off the road and, at night, go to sleep—when will such people ever finish their journey?” One day he voiced this remark, whereupon a young man said, “By Allah, my friends, he means none but us: by day we play and by night we sleep.” The youth then followed Ṣilah and remained engaged in worship with him until he died.

On another occasion a lad passed by, his garment trailing on the ground. Ṣilah’s companions wanted to rebuke him, but Ṣilah said, “Leave him to me; I shall spare you the trouble.” He called the boy and said, “Nephew, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“That you raise your waist-wrap.”

“Certainly—and gladly,” the boy replied, and he lifted it. Ṣilah then said, “This is far better than what you intended; had you insulted him, he would have answered you in kind.”

Jaʿfar ibn Zayd relates: “We set out on a military expedition in which Ṣilah ibn Ashyam was present. When night fell the army encamped, and I resolved to observe what he would do. He entered a thicket and I followed. He stood in prayer, and a lion came up until it was close to him, while I climbed a tree. He neither turned toward it nor treated it as anything more than a pup until he (2) went into prostration. I thought, ‘Now it will tear him apart.’ When he sat and gave the salām he said, ‘O beast, if you have been commanded concerning me, then carry out your command; otherwise, seek your provision elsewhere.’ The lion turned away with a roar that made the mountains quake.

“At dawn he sat and praised Allah with praises the like of which I had never heard, then said, ‘O Allah, I ask You to shelter me from the Fire—how could someone like me dare to ask You for Paradise?’ He returned to the camp looking as though he had slept on the softest bed, whereas I awoke exhausted in a way that only Allah knows.

“Later his mule wandered off with its load. He prayed, ‘O Allah, I ask You to return my mule to me with its load,’ and it came back and stood before him.

“When we met the enemy, he and Hishām ibn ʿĀmir charged and dealt them many thrusts and blows. The enemy cried out, ‘Two Arabs have done this to us—what if all of them fought? Yield to the Muslims’ terms,’ meaning: submit to their judgment.

“Ṣilah also said: ‘Once on campaign I suffered intense hunger. While walking I supplicated my Lord to feed me. Suddenly I heard a thud behind me. I turned and found a white cloth containing a small basket filled with fresh dates; I ate until I was satisfied. That evening I stopped at a monk’s monastery, told him what had happened, and he asked for some of the dates, so I gave them to him.

“‘Some time later I passed by the monk again and saw beautiful date-palms. He said, “These sprang from the dates you gave me.” He had taken the cloth home to his wife, and she would show it to people.’

“When Muʿādhah was given in marriage to Ṣilah, his nephew first took him to the bathhouse and then ushered him into the bridal chamber, a room