His honorific is Abū ʿAbd al-Malik al-Umawī. He was the last caliph of the Umayyads. He died during one of the last ten days of the month of Dhu al-Ḥijja of this year. As has already been explained in detail on previous pages.
Marwan's vizier, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Yaḥyā b. Saʿd, was also among those who died this year. This man was a freedman of Banū ʿĀmir b. Luʾayy. He was a scribe of sound literary ability, and his eloquence became proverbial. It is related that the tradition of correspondence began with ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd and ended with Ibn ʿAmīd. He was a leader in correspondence and the art of writing, a model to be followed. He left behind letters amounting to a thousand folios. He was originally from Qisāriyya, but later came and settled in Damascus. He learned this craft from Sālim, the freedman of Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik. He also studied writing under Yaʿqūb b. Dāwūd, the vizier of al-Mahdī.
His son, Ismāʿīl b. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, was also a master in correspondence. At first, he taught children, instructing them in reading and writing. Later, circumstances changed and he became Marwan's vizier. Al-Saffāḥ killed him and subjected his body to various tortures. Yet it would have been better for Marwan to pardon such a person. Let us present some examples of his maxims:
"Knowledge is a tree; its fruits are words. Thought is a sea; in this sea are found the pearls of wisdom." When he saw a man who could not write beautifully, he advised him: "Make the tip of your pen long, anoint its point with oil, hold it slightly slanted and incline it to the right when writing." The man said: "I began to write following his advice, and my writing truly improved."
Once, a man asked him to write a letter of recommendation to the notables on his behalf. He wrote the following letter of recommendation: "A right has brought this letter of mine to you. The one who made this request had a right over me. He saw me as a source who could fulfill your need and as a position that could realize your aspiration. I fulfilled his need, so may you realize your aspiration." He would often recite this poem:
"After writing, the script whistles like an arrow; Pens are like arrows placed upon the bowstrings."