In this year, Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ conquered Ṭabaristān. The first person to launch a military campaign there was Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ. According to the account of Sayf b. ʿUmar, the people of Ṭabaristān had previously made a peace treaty with Suwayd b. Muqrin and, in exchange for goods given by Isbahbez-ha, had requested that no further attacks be made against them. Allah knows best the truth of the matter.
According to the narration of al-Madāʾinī, Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ set out for Ṭabaristān with an army that included Ḥasan and Ḥusayn, the four ʿAbd Allāhs, Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān, and many of the Companions (ṣaḥāba). He passed through many towns and made peace treaties with their inhabitants in exchange for large amounts of goods. Eventually, they reached a town affiliated with Jurjān, where they fought the local people and were even compelled to perform the fear prayer (ṣalāt al-khawf). Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ asked Ḥudhayfa how the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) had performed the fear prayer, and Ḥudhayfa explained it to him. Saʿīd then led the fear prayer as described. Afterwards, the people of the fortress sought amān (guarantee of safety) from Saʿīd, who granted them safety on the condition that not a single person would be killed. Consequently, they opened the gates of the fortress. However, Saʿīd killed all of them except for one person and seized all the possessions in the fortress. A man from the Banū Nahd tribe found a chest among the spoils, secured with a large lock, and thought it contained jewels. When Saʿīd heard of this, he ordered the Banū Nahd man to bring the chest. When it was brought and the lock broken, a second chest was found inside. Upon opening this chest, they found a red cloth. When they unfolded the red cloth, they found a yellow cloth inside, and upon opening the yellow cloth, they found two testicles dyed a deep red and a rose. A poet satirized the Banū Nahd man with these two items, saying:
"Noble men return with captives and spoils. The Banū Nahd man found two testicles and a red rose in a chest.
These are many things. For this reason, they considered it a spoil. Beware lest you covet it."
It is said: Later, the people of Jurjān violated the peace treaty made with Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ. They refused to pay the 100,000, 200,000, or 300,000 dinars required by the treaty. Afterwards, as we will explain in due course, Yazīd b. Muhallab was sent against them with an army.
In the thirtieth year of the Hijra, ʿUthmān removed al-Walīd b. ʿUqba from the governorship of Kūfa and appointed Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ in his place. The reason for al-Walīd's dismissal was as follows: One day, he led the congregation in the morning prayer (ṣalāt al-fajr) as four rakʿas, then turned and asked, "Shall I increase it further?" One of the congregation replied, "After today, we will not visit you again." Afterwards, a group who were at odds with him went to ʿUthmān and complained about al-Walīd. One of the complainants claimed to have seen al-Walīd drinking wine, and another said he saw him vomiting wine. ʿUthmān ordered that al-Walīd be brought and subjected to the prescribed punishment for drinking wine. It is reported that ʿAlī removed al-Walīd's clothes, and Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ flogged him in the presence of ʿUthmān. ʿUthmān then dismissed him from the governorship and appointed Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ as governor of Kūfa.
In the thirtieth year of the Hijra, the prophetic ring that was on the finger of ʿUthmān fell into the well of Arīsh. This well was located two miles from Medina and had the least water among the wells. Despite much expense and searching, the ring has not been found to this day. Afterwards, ʿUthmān wore a silver ring on which was inscribed: "Muḥammadun Rasūlullāh (peace and blessings be upon him)." When ʿUthmān was killed, this second ring was lost, and it is not known who took it.
Ibn Jarīr narrates a lengthy hadith stating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) first wore a gold ring and then a silver one, and that he sent ʿUmar to Kisrā and Dihya to Caesar. The ring that ʿUthmān dropped into the well had previously been on the Prophet's finger, then after his death on the finger of the caliph Abū Bakr, then after his death on the finger of the caliph ʿUmar, and after his death on the finger of the caliph ʿUthmān for six years, until it fell into the well of Arīsh. In the thirtieth year of the Hijra, a dispute arose in Syria between Muʿāwiya and Abū Dharr. Abū Dharr objected to some of Muʿāwiya's practices and protested against wealthy people hoarding wealth. He did not approve of accumulating more than what suffices a person and said that surplus wealth should be distributed as stock, interpreting the following verse accordingly:
"Give tidings of a painful punishment to those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah." (al-Tawba 9:34)
Muʿāwiya forbade him from spreading these views, but Abū Dharr paid no heed to Muʿāwiya's warnings. Consequently, Muʿāwiya wrote to ʿUthmān, requesting that he summon Abū Dharr to Medina. When Abū Dharr arrived in Medina, ʿUthmān reproached him for some of his actions. When Abū Dharr expressed his wish to return to Syria, ʿUthmān did not permit it and ordered him to reside in Rabadha, east of Medina. According to one report, Abū Dharr himself requested to reside in Rabadha, saying: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: 'When buildings reach the Sal area, depart from there.' Now the buildings have reached the Sal area." Upon this, ʿUthmān permitted Abū Dharr to reside in Rabadha and told him to visit Medina from time to time so as not to revert to a Bedouin state after his migration. He did so and remained in Rabadha until his death. In the thirtieth year of the Hijra, ʿUthmān ordered that the third call to prayer (adhān) be given on Fridays in the Zevrāʾ district.
Those Who Died in the Thirtieth Year of the Hijra
According to our shaykh, Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Dhahabī, the following notable figures died this year:
Ubayy b. Kaʿb
Al-Wāqidī also stated that the report of this person's death in the thirtieth year of the Hijra is authentic.