and said:

“Had you [lived to see him, or] lived (1) in his time, you would have said, ‘He was the Mahdi (2).’”

Al-Athram also narrated: Muhammad ibn al-Alā narrated to us, from Abū [Bakr] (3) ibn Ayyāsh, from Abū Ishāq, who said:

“After him, I never saw (4) his like”—meaning Muāwiyah.

Al-Baghawī said: Suwayd ibn Saīd narrated to us; Dimām ibn Ismāīl narrated to us, from Abū Qays (5), who said:

“Muāwiyah had assigned a man to every tribe (6). A man from among us, known as Abū Yahyā, would go out every morning and make the rounds of the gathering places, asking, ‘Was a child born among you last night? Did anything happen (7) last night? Has anyone come to stay among you today (8)?’

“They would reply, ‘Yes, a man from Yemen has arrived with his family.’ They would then tell him the man’s name and the names of his family members. Once he had covered the entire tribe, he would go to the administrative office and enter their names in the register.”

Muhammad ibn Awf al-Tāī narrated: Abū al-Mughīrah narrated to us; Ibn Abī Maryam narrated to us, from Atiyyah ibn Qays, who said:

I heard Muāwiyah [ibn Abī Sufyān] (9) addressing us, saying:

“There is a surplus in your treasury after payment of your stipends (10), and I shall distribute it among you. If we receive a surplus next year, we shall distribute it among you; otherwise, there will be no grounds to reproach me. It is not my wealth; it is only Allah’s wealth, which He has bestowed upon you.”