Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Madanī. This person is the father of al-Saffāḥ and al-Manṣūr. He transmitted hadith from his father, his grandfather, Saʿīd b. Jubayr, and a group of others. A group, among whom were his two sons who became caliphs—Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh al-Saffāḥ and Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr—also transmitted hadith from him.
ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, before his death, appointed him as his successor for the li-erhk. He was knowledgeable in many sciences. He was given the glad tidings: "felik, leadership will fall into the hands of your children." In the eighty-seventh year of the hijra, he was invited to the bayʿa (pledge of allegiance). His influence continued to grow. Eventually, he died in this year. There are reports that he died a year before or a year after this date. He was sixty-three years old at his death.
He was the most handsome of people in terms of hair. After him, he appointed his son Ibrāhīm as successor for leadership. However, the caliphate was destined for his son al-Saffāḥ. As will be explained later, his son al-Saffāḥ took the caliphate from the Umayyads in the 132nd year of the hijra.