The genealogy of this figure is as follows: Abu Bakr b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥārith b. Hishām b. Mugīra b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar b. Makhzūm al-Qurashī al-Madanī. He was one of the seven jurists (fuqahāʾ). It is said that his name was Muḥammad. It is also said that it was Abu Bakr. His kunya was Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. According to the soundest narration, both his name and his kunya were the same. He had many sons and brothers. He was a tābiʿī (member of the generation following the Companions) of great stature.
He transmitted hadith from ʿAmra, Abu Hurayra, Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr, ʿĀʾisha, Umm Salama, and others. Among those who transmitted hadith from him were a group including his sons Salama, ʿAbd Allāh, ʿAbd al-Malik, ʿUmar, and his freedman Sumayya. Among those who narrated from him were ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī, ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, ʿAṭāʾ b. Dīnār, Mujāhid, and al-Zuhrī.
He was born during the caliphate of ʿUmar. Because he prayed abundantly, he was called the monk of Quraysh. He was blind and spent all his time fasting. He was among the trustworthy (thiqa) transmitters and jurists. He has many sound narrations.
Abu Dāwūd said: "He lost his eyesight, and when he prostrated, he would place his hand in a bowl beside him—due to an illness."
According to the soundest narration, he died in the ninety-fourth year of the Hijra. There are weak reports that he died in the ninety-third or ninety-sixth year. Allah knows best.
I say: A poet composed the following two verses in which he mentioned the names of the seven jurists:
"Beware! Whoever does not follow the imams whose names I have listed, who are deeply learned, has departed from the truth.
Those imams are: ʿUbayd Allāh, ʿUrwa, Qāsim, Saʿīd, Abu Bakr, Sulaymān, and Khārija."
In the ninety-fourth year of the Hijra, Fadl b. Ziyād al-Raqqāshī, one of the ascetics of Basra, also died. This person had many virtues and merits. He said:
"Do not forget your own nafs (the lower self) while looking at others. Do not overlook your own sins while investigating the sins of others. For you will bear the punishment, not them. Do not spend your day saying, 'How did this happen? How did that happen?' For every word that comes from your mouth is being recorded and will be used as evidence against you. I have not seen anything that so quickly finds its place and is so beautifully sought as a good deed done to atone for a past sin."
Among those who died in this year was also Abu Salama Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf al-Zuhrī, an imam and scholar among the jurists of Medina. He narrated many reports from the community of the Companions (ṣaḥāba). He possessed vast knowledge and died in Medina.
Among the famous figures who died in this year was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAyz al-Azdī. He also had many narrations. He was a learned person and left behind many books to spread his knowledge. He narrated from the community of the Companions (ṣaḥāba). He was taken captive in the battle of Ibn al-Ashʿath. Ḥajjāj released him. Among the notable figures who died in this year was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muʿāwiya b. Khuzayma. He was appointed as judge of Egypt by ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Marwān. He was also the commander of the security forces there. He was a learned and virtuous person. He transmitted hadith, and a group narrated from him.