Virtues of Abdullah bin Amir bin Kurayz (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from al-Zubayr bin Bakkar that Abdullah bin Amir bin Kurayz bin Rabi'ah bin Habib bin Abd Shams bin Abd Manaf (this is his lineage); his mother was Dajajah bint Asma' bin al-Salt bin Habib bin Harithah bin Hilal bin Hizam. Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) removed Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and appointed him governor of Basrah, and Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said (about him): "A young man of Quraysh has come to you whose mothers, paternal aunts and maternal aunts are all most noble; he will distribute wealth among you like this and like this (abundantly)." He possessed many virtues; it was he who conquered Khurasan, who entered ihram from Nishapur out of gratitude to Allah Almighty, and who set up arrangements for giving water (drinking fountains) on the plain of Arafat.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amir bin Kurayz and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is killed while defending his wealth is a martyr."

It is narrated from Mus'ab that it was mentioned with this same chain that when Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amir bin Kurayz (may Allah be pleased with him) was small, he was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This one resembles us." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) put his saliva on him and sought refuge (made supplication) for him. Abdullah began to swallow the saliva of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He has indeed been well watered." So on whatever land he worked (digging a well), water would come forth from it. To him belongs the area called "Nibaj Amir", al-Juhfah is also his, at Nakhlah, a night's journey from Makkah, is his "Bustan Ibn Amir" (garden), and he has many wells in the land. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) had married his daughter Hind to Abdullah bin Amir, and Hind bint Mu'awiyah treated her husband Abdullah bin Amir with the utmost kindness. One day she came with a mirror and a comb, and she used to serve him herself. Abdullah looked into the mirror and his face came opposite Hind's face; he saw her youth and beauty, and saw in his beard the grey hair that had placed him among the old men. He raised his head and said to Hind: "Go to your father (meaning: you are divorced)." She went to her father and told him what had happened. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said (in astonishment): "Is a noble woman divorced (like this)?" Hind said: "There was no shortcoming on my part," and then she related the whole story. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) sent for Abdullah and said: "I honoured you by giving you my daughter, and you have returned her to me?" Abdullah said: "I will tell you the reason for it: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, bestowed His favour upon me and made me a self-respecting and generous man; I do not like anyone to outdo me in favour. Your daughter, through her excellent companionship, has left me unable to repay her. I saw that I have become old while she is young; I cannot add anything to her wealth or her honour. So I thought it proper to return her to you so that you may marry her to a young man whose face is like a page of the Qur'an (beautiful and radiant)."