He was the governor of Ṭabaristān. He passed away in the month of Rajab of this year. He served as governor for nineteen years, eight months, and six days. After him, his brother Muḥammad b. Zayd assumed leadership.
Hasan b. Zayd was a generous, open-handed person, well-versed in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the Arabic language. On one occasion, a poet praised him in a panegyric using the following phrase:
'Allah is one, and Ibn Zayd is one.'
Hasan b. Zayd replied to him: 'Be silent, may Allah shut your mouth. Instead of saying that, you should have said:
"Allah is one, and Ibn Zayd is a servant."'
After saying this, he descended from his throne, prostrated himself before Allah, rubbed his face in the earth, and did not give the poet a gift.
Another poet praised him and, at the beginning of his qaṣīda (ode), said:
'Do not say there is one glad tiding, but rather there are two glad tidings. One is the radiant brow of the herald, the other is the day of Mihrijān.'
Hasan b. Zayd said to him:
- It would have been better if you had begun your poem with the second verse rather than the first, and it is not appropriate for you to begin your poem with the letter "lā" (no).
- In this world, there is no word more precious than the phrase lā ilāha illā Allah (there is no god but Allah), and that phrase also begins with the letter "lā" (no). - You have spoken truly.
After saying this, he ordered that a valuable gift be given to the poet.
Among the famous figures who died this year is also Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. ʿAffān al-ʿĀmirī.