Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 4139 — The virtue of the Ansar

It is narrated from Qudamah bin Ibrahim that he said: I saw al-Hajjaj punishing Abbas bin Sahl during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). Then Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) came; he was a very elderly Companion with two braids of hair, and he was wearing two garments consisting of a waist-wrap and a cloak. He came and stood between the two rows of guards and said: "O Hajjaj, do you not observe the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning us?" Al-Hajjaj asked: "What did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instruct concerning you?" He replied: "(He (peace and blessings be upon him) said) that the good-doers of the Ansar should be treated well and their wrongdoers should be pardoned." The narrator says: On hearing this, al-Hajjaj released him.
Imam Ibn Hibban recorded it in his Sahih through Imam Abu Ya'la.