Such, then, is the fate of dynasties in their final days: “When Allah intends ill for a people, none can repel it, and apart from Him they have no protector” (Surah al-Raʿd, 13:11).
Among the notable figures who died in this year were:
Aḥmad ibn al-Mubārak, Abū ʿAmr al-Mustamlī (1): an ascetic from Nishapur, nicknamed Ḥakamawayh, renowned for his devout worship. He heard ḥadīth from Qutaybah, Aḥmad, Isḥāq, and others, and for fifty-six years served the scholars of Nishapur as their scribe. He was poor, shabby in appearance, and wholly detached from the world. One day he entered upon Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Ismāʿīl while the latter was delivering a sermon of admonition; Abū ʿUthmān burst into tears and said to the audience, “What makes me weep is the ragged dress of an elder among the people of knowledge. I revere him too much to shame him in this gathering.” The listeners began to throw down their rings, silver coins, and garments until a large pile formed in front of Abū ʿUthmān. At that point Abū ʿAmr al-Mustamlī rose and said, “People, I am the one the shaykh meant by his words. Had I not feared he might be suspected of wrongdoing, I would have hidden what he chose to conceal.” Abū ʿUthmān marvelled at his sincerity. Abū ʿAmr then gathered what lay before the shaykh, and before he had even reached the mosque door he had given it all away in charity to the poor and the destitute (2). May Allah have mercy on him. He died in Jumādā al-Ākhirah of this year.
Isḥāq ibn al-Ḥasan (3): Ibn Maymūn ibn Saʿd, Abū Yaʿqūb al-Ḥarbī. He heard ḥadīth from ʿAffān, Abū Nuʿaym, and others, and was three years older than Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī (4). When Isḥāq al-Ḥarbī died, the announcement was made throughout the city and people flocked to his house for the funeral prayer. Some of the common folk thought it was Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī who had died, so they went to his door; Ibrāhīm said, “This is not the place you seek—you will come here tomorrow as well.” He survived him by less than a year. May Allah have mercy on them both.
Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad, Abū Yaʿqūb al-Zuhri, lived to the age of ninety and was trustworthy and righteous (5).