is arriving.’ He replied, ‘By Allah, I will not leave it.’
Al-Walid then entered the mosque, walking round inside it, praying in one spot and supplicating in another. ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Aziz says, “I kept steering him away from Saʿid’s place, fearing he might notice him. Suddenly he glanced over and said, ‘Who is that? Is it Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib?’ I answered, ‘Yes, O Commander of the Faithful; had he known you were coming he would have stood to greet you and offer you salutations.’”
Al-Walid replied, “I know his situation.” He continued touring the mosque, admiring its architecture, and kept asking me about Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib. I responded with words that agreed with him, and he began to praise Saʿid. I then added, “O Commander of the Faithful, his eyesight is weak”—I only said this by way of excuse for him. Al-Walid said, “We are more entitled to go to him.” So he approached, stood over him, and gave him salām, but Saʿid did not rise for him.
Al-Walid asked, “How is the shaykh?” Saʿid replied, “Well, praise belongs to Allah. And how is the Commander of the Faithful?” Al-Walid said, “Well, praise belongs to Allah alone.” He then left, saying to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Aziz, “This man is the last remnant of the people.” ʿUmar answered, “Indeed, O Commander of the Faithful.”
They relate that al-Walid next delivered a sermon from the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. He sat for the first part of the sermon and stood for the second, saying, “This is how ʿUthman preached.” Afterward he distributed abundant gold and silver among the inhabitants of Medina, and he draped the Prophet’s Mosque with a covering he had brought from the Kaʿbah, a heavy brocade.
[Deaths recorded in this year]
-
al-Saʿib ibn Yazid⦗1⦘ ibn Saʿid ibn Thamāmah. His father had taken him on pilgrimage with the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—when he was seven years old; the report is related by al-Bukhari⦗2⦘. For this reason al-Waqidi said he was born in 3 AH and died in 91 AH. Others placed his death in 96 AH, and some said 88 AH; Allah knows best.
-
Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Saʿidi⦗3⦘, a distinguished Companion from Medina. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—passed away when he was fifteen years old. Al-Hajjaj had branded him on the neck—as he did Anas ibn Malik and branded Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah on the hand—in order to humiliate them so that people would not listen to their opinions. Al-Waqidi stated that he died in 91 AH at the age of one hundred; he was the last person to die in Medina from