while Abān ibn ʿUthmān was governor of Madinah, and over the entire eastern provinces was al-Ḥajjāj; Abū Burdah ibn Abī Mūsā served as chief judge of Kūfah, and Mūsā ibn Anas ibn Mālik as chief judge of Baṣrah. (1)
Among the distinguished figures who died in this year were:
Aslam, the freedman of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (2) — also known by his kunya, Abū Zayd. He was originally from the captives of ʿAyn al-Tamr; ʿUmar purchased him in Mecca during the pilgrimage of 11 AH. He died at the age of one hundred and fourteen. He transmitted a number of hadiths from ʿUmar and other Companions and possessed many merits. May Allah have mercy on him.
Jubayr ibn Nufayr ibn Mālik al-Ḥaḍramī (3), who enjoyed the rank of Companionship and was a transmitter of hadith. He was counted among the scholars of Syria and was renowned for worship and learning. He died there at the age of one hundred and twenty—some said more, others less.
ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib (4), a noble Companion. He was born in Abyssinia to Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays and was the last member of Banū Hāshim to pass away who had seen the Prophet ﷺ. He resided in Madinah. When his father Jaʿfar was martyred at Muʾtah, “the Prophet ﷺ came to their mother and said, ‘Bring me my brother’s children.’ They were brought to him looking like fledglings; he called for a barber, had their heads shaved, and then said, ‘O Allah, be the guardian of Jaʿfar’s family, and bless ʿAbd Allah in his transactions.’ Their mother then approached the Prophet ﷺ and told him that they had nothing, whereupon he said, ‘I will be for them in place of their father.’” (5)
The Prophet ﷺ accepted the pledge of allegiance from ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar and ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr when they were seven years old—a distinction shared by no one else. ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar was among the most generous of people: he would give vast sums and still deem them insignificant. On one occasion he gave away two million; another time he gave a man sixty thousand; on yet another he presented a man with four thousand dinars. It is also said that a man once brought