and Zayd (1) ibn Akhram al-Taʾī, together with al-Riyāshī (2): the Zanj slaughtered them among the many residents of Basra they killed, as we have already told their story—may Allah disgrace them—and all those Muslims they murdered (may Allah be pleased with them).
ʿAlī ibn Khushram (3).
Abū Saʿīd al-Ashajj (4), one of the teachers from whom Muslim frequently narrates.
al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Faraj, Abū al-Faḍl al-Riyāshī, the philologist and grammarian (5).
He was well-versed in the Days of the Arabs and their exploits, widely read, trustworthy, and erudite.
He related traditions from al-Asmaʿī, Abū ʿUbaydah, and others, while Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī, Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā, and others narrated from him. Al-Riyāshī was killed (6) in Basra this year; the Zanj put him to death along with those they massacred.
He is mentioned by the jurist Ibn Khallikān (7) in The Obituaries.
It is reported from al-Asmaʿī (8) that he said: “A Bedouin passed by us searching for his son. We asked him to describe the boy, and he said, ‘He is like a little dīnār.’ We replied, ‘We have not seen him.’ Shortly thereafter he returned, carrying on his neck a small lad (9) who looked like a safl (10). We said to him, ‘If only—’”
(1) In the A and T editions his name appears as “Yazid.” He is Zayd ibn Akhzam, whose entry is found in the lexicons of al-Ta’i and al-Nabhani, also known as Abu Talib al-Basri. He was considered reliable, a hadith transmitter, and was martyred during the Zanj rebellion in Basra. Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’, vol.12, p.260; Taqrib al-Tahdhib, vol.1, p.271.
(2) In the A and T editions the name is given as ar-Raqashi—a corruption. He is actually ‘Abbas ibn al-Faraj ar-Riyyashi (Abu al-Faḍl al-Basri al-Nahwi), a leading scholar of literature. The Zanj killed him in Basra at the age of eighty. He was an authority in language and grammar of the akhbari approach, a polymath, and reliable. Maratib al-Nahwiyyin, p.75; Tarikh Baghdad, vol.12, p.138; Mu‘jam al-Udabā’, vol.12, p.44; Wafayāt al-A‘yān, vol.3, p.27; Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’, vol.12, p.372.
(3) Ali ibn Khashram ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman (Abu al-Hasan al-Marwazi), nephew of Bushr al-Hafi, was an imam, muhaddith, and regarded as truthful. Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah and others transmitted from him. Abu Rija reported: “I heard him say: ‘I fasted eighty-eight Ramadans.’” Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’, vol.11, p.552.
(4) ‘Abd Allah ibn Sa‘id al-Kindi al-Kufi was a muhaddith and mufassir, author of numerous works. He was considered truthful and died this year at just over ninety. Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’, vol.12, p.182; al-Ibar, vol.2, p.15.
(5) His biography appears above. In the A edition: ar-Raqashi.
(6) In the A edition: ar-Raqashi.
(7) Wafayāt al-A‘yān, vol.3, p.27.
(8) Additional material from the B and Za editions; Wafayāt al-A‘yān, vol.3, p.27.
(9) “Asayyid” is the diminutive of aswad (black); it is also rendered “Asayyud,” meaning “nearly black.”
(10) In the T edition: “sufl al-qadr.” In Wafayāt al-A‘yān it reads as if “a jar were hung around his neck.”