al-Zubayr and those with him able to stand at ʿArafah. He kept him under siege until he captured him in the month of Jumada in 73 AH and killed him, as we have already mentioned. He likewise led the people in the pilgrimage again in 74 AH (1).

ʿAbd al-Malik then appointed him governor over Mecca, Medina, al-Taʾif, and Yemen, and later transferred him to Iraq after the death of his brother Bishr ibn Marwān. He came to the people of Kufa, as we have related, and addressed them and treated them just as we have previously reported in detail. He remained among them for a full twenty years.

During that period he achieved many vast and far-reaching conquests: his cavalry reached the lands of India and Sind, where they captured numerous cities and provinces, and they also advanced to the very borders of China. Many episodes occurred in his career, of which we have already recounted a fair share. Here we shall set forth additional incidents—acts of daring, boldness, and treating grave matters lightly—some of which earn him praise and others blame, both in word and deed, as recorded by the ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir (2) and others:

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Khaythamah relates—from Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, the nephew of Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Madanī—the substance of which is:

Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf once prayed beside Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib—this was before he held any office. He kept rising from bowing before the imam and going into prostration ahead of him. When the prayer ended, Saʿīd seized the edge of his cloak—he had a remembrance he would recite after the prayer—and al-Ḥajjāj kept tugging at his garment while Saʿīd completed his dhikr. When Saʿīd had finished, he turned to him and said, “You thief, you traitor! Repeat this prayer; I was on the verge of striking your face with this sandal.” Al-Ḥajjāj gave no reply and departed for the ḥajj; afterwards he returned and went back to Syria, and later he came as governor over the Ḥijāz. When he had killed Ibn al-Zubayr, he headed back to Medina as its governor. On entering the mosque, he found the study circle of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib; al-Ḥajjāj went straight toward him, and the people feared for Saʿīd. He sat down in front of him and said, “Are you the one who uttered those words?” Saʿīd struck his chest with his hand and replied, “Yes!” He said, “May Allah reward you, teacher and disciplinarian, with the best of rewards; since that day I have not performed a single prayer without remembering your words.” Then he rose and left.

Al-Riyāshī narrates, from al-Aṣmaʿī and Abū Zayd, from Muʿādh ibn al-ʿAlāʾ—the brother of Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ—that he said:

When al-Ḥajjāj killed Ibn al-Zubayr, Mecca resounded with weeping. He ordered the people to gather in the mosque, then ascended the pulpit and, after praising and extolling Allah, said:

“O people of Mecca! I have heard of your great regard for the killing of Ibn al-Zubayr. Indeed, Ibn al-Zubayr was among the best of this ummah—until he coveted the caliphate and contended for it with its rightful holders. He tore away the obedience due to Allah and sought refuge in the Sanctuary of Allah. Had anything been able to shield the disobedient, the sanctity of Paradise would have shielded Adam: Allah created him with His own hand, breathed into him of His spirit, made His angels prostrate to him, granted him His honor, and lodged him in His Garden. Yet when he erred, He expelled him from the Garden because of his sin. Adam is more honored in Allah’s sight than Ibn al-Zubayr, and Paradise is more sacred than the Kaʿbah. Remember Allah and He will remember you (3).”