Hisham thereupon flew into a rage with his son Maslamah—who was known by the kunyah Abu Shakir—and said to him, “Al-Walid ibn Yazid is modelling himself on you, yet you are the one in whom I place my hopes for the caliphate.” He then dispatched him to preside over the pilgrimage in 119 AH; Maslamah put on a display of piety and dignity and distributed money in both Mecca and Medina.
A client of the people of Medina recited:
O questioner about our creed—
we stand upon Abu Shakir’s creed;
bestower of sleek‐necked steeds with reins—
no heretic is he, no unbeliever.⦗1⦘
A deep estrangement grew between Hisham and al-Walid ibn Yazid on account of the latter’s indulgence in all manner of obscenities and abominations. Hisham therefore turned against him and resolved to depose him, appointing his own son Maslamah as heir-apparent. Al-Walid fled into the desert, and the two men exchanged the vilest of letters; Hisham kept threatening him with stern reprisals. Matters remained thus until Hisham died while al-Walid was still in the wilderness.
On the night before the dispatches of allegiance reached him, al-Walid was overcome by intense restlessness. He said to one of his companions, “Woe to you, a great anxiety has seized me tonight; mount up with me, perhaps the ride will revive us.” They travelled about two miles, speaking of Hisham and the menacing letters he had sent. From afar they then saw a cloud of dust, clamour and voices; when it cleared, couriers heading toward him with the emblems of authority became visible.
He said to his companion, “Woe to you, these must be Hisham’s envoys—O Allah, grant that they bring good.” When the couriers drew near and recognised him, they dismounted, came forward, and greeted him as caliph.
Stunned, he asked, “Woe to you! Has Hisham died?”
They replied, “Yes.”
He asked, “Who sent you?”
They answered, “Salim ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, head of the chancery.” They handed him the letter; he read it, then questioned them about the people’s condition and the manner of his uncle Hisham’s death. When they told him, he immediately ordered that Hisham’s property and holdings in al-Ruṣāfah be placed under guard, and he composed the following verses:
Would that Hisham had lived to see
his heaped‐up measure squandered free;⦗2⦘
we weighed him with the self-same scale
and wronged him not by a finger-nail;
nor was our act a novel plan—
the Criterion made it lawful to man.⦗3⦘
[Al-Zuhrī had persistently urged Hisham to depose this al-Walid and stirred him to it, but Hisham held back, fearing public scandal and the possible alienation of the troops. Al-Walid sensed this from al-Zuhrī, loathed him, and subjected him to threats. Al-Zuhrī would retort, “Allah would never give you power over me, O reprobate!” Al-Zuhrī died before al-Walid’s accession. Al-Walid then fled from his uncle into the desert and remained there until Hisham’s death. He secured his uncle’s assets, rode directly out of the wilderness toward Damascus, appointed governors, received pledges of allegiance from every quarter, and the delegations converged upon him, and he wrote …]