Ibrahim bin al-Ashtar narrates from his father, and he from Umm Dharr (may Allah be pleased with her); she said: When the time of death drew near for Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), I began to weep. He asked me: "What has made you weep?" I said: How can I not weep when you are dying in this barren wilderness, and I have no garment that would suffice as a shroud for you or for me, nor do I have the strength to bury you alone? He said: "Be glad and do not weep, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Any Muslim husband and wife who lose two or three children and bear it patiently seeking the reward, they will never see the Fire (of Hell).' And indeed I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say to a group of people among whom I was present: 'A man among you will surely die in a barren wilderness (a desert), and a group of the believers will be present with him.' There is not one of those people left who did not die in a town or among a community, so I am that (remaining) man. By Allah! I have not lied, nor have I been told a lie, so keep watching the road." I said: How is that possible when the pilgrims have already gone and the road has been cut off (that is, the coming and going of travellers has ended)? He said: "Go and look." Umm Dharr (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I would run to the sand dune, then come back and nurse him. Meanwhile, I saw some men on their mounts; they looked like vultures, and their mounts were bringing them swiftly. (The narrator Ali said: I asked Yahya bin Sulaym whether the word is 'takhidu' (with a dal) or 'takhubbu' (with a ba). He said: With a dal.) Umm Dharr said: I signalled to them with my garment, so they hurried towards me until they came and stopped by me and asked: "Who is this?" I said: Abu Dharr. They said: "The Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?!" I said: Yes. On hearing this, they began to say that their fathers and mothers be ransomed for him, and they hurried in to him. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them: "Be glad! For I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say to a group of people among whom I was present: 'A man among you will surely die in a wilderness, and a group of the believers will be present with him.' There is not a man among them left who has not died in a town and among a community. By Allah! I have not lied, nor have I been told a lie. You hear that if I had a garment that would suffice as a shroud for me or for my wife, I would not be shrouded except in my garment or hers. I adjure you by Allah, and again I adjure you by Allah, that no man among you should shroud me who has been a commander, a chief, a courier, or a leader of a people." There was no one among those people who had not held one of these positions, except a young man of the Ansar. He said: "O uncle! I will shroud you; I will shroud you in this cloak of mine, or in two garments that are in my bag, made from yarn spun by my mother." Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Yes, you shall shroud me." So that Ansari, from among those present, shrouded him. They offered his funeral prayer and buried him, and all of them were Yemenis. An account of the virtues of Sayyiduna Habib bin Maslamah al-Fihri (may Allah be pleased with him).

Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri states that Habib bin Maslamah bin Malik al-Akbar bin Wahb bin Tha'labah bin Wa'ilah bin Amr bin Shayban bin Muharib bin Fihr (this is his lineage). He was a noble Companion who had heard hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He was called "Habib al-Rum" (Habib of the Romans), because he frequently entered the lands of the Romans (for jihad). Mus'ab said that Shurayh bin al-Harith composed these verses about him: "Listen! Whoever is named Habib, even if his manliness is evident, let him be a ransom for Habib of Banu Fihr. He is a valiant chief who leads the horses in such a way as if they (the horses) were treading not on fragments of pebbles but on blazing embers."

It is narrated from Atiyyah bin Qays and Rashid bin Sa'd that they both said: The Romans advanced against Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was in Armenia. He wrote to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asking for reinforcements. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) about this, so Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the governor of Iraq ordering him to reinforce Habib. So he reinforced them with the people of Iraq and appointed Salman bin Rabi'ah al-Bahili as their commander. They set out intending to help Habib (may Allah be pleased with him), but before they reached them, Habib and his companions encountered the enemy, and Allah Almighty granted them victory. Then when Salman and his companions reached Habib (may Allah be pleased with him), they asked to be made partners in the spoils of war and said: "We came to reinforce you." But the people of Syria said: "You did not take part in the fighting, so you have no share with us." Habib (may Allah be pleased with him) also refused to make them partners, and he and his companions kept hold of their spoils. The people of Syria and the people of Iraq quarrelled over this, until a major incident (a battle) almost broke out between them. Then some of the people of Iraq composed this verse: "If you kill Salman, we will kill your Habib, and if you set off towards Ibn Affan (Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him), we too will set off." Abu Bakr al-Ghassani said: I have heard that this was the very first enmity that arose between the people of Syria and the people of Iraq.

Ahmad bin Zuhayr bin Harb states: I heard my father say: "The kunyah of Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) was Abu Abd al-Rahman."

Ziyad bin Jariyah narrates from Sayyiduna Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: I was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he (peace and blessings be upon him) granted one third (of the spoils of war as a reward).

It is narrated from Abu al-Yaman Amir bin Abdullah bin Luhayy that Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) and other people used to call Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) "Habib al-Rum", because he waged jihad against the Romans so frequently.

Yahya bin Bukayr states that Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in Armenia in the year forty-two (42) AH, and at that time he was fifty years old.

Qaza'ah bin Yahya narrates from Sayyiduna Habib bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Visit at intervals (skipping days), and it will increase love."

Abu Hubayrah narrates from Sayyiduna Habib bin Maslamah al-Fihri (may Allah be pleased with him), and he was one whose supplications were answered, that he was appointed commander of an army, and he passed through the mountain passes. When he reached the enemy, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When a group gathers, and some of them supplicate while others say Amin, Allah Almighty surely answers them." Then he praised and extolled Allah Almighty and made this supplication: 'Allahumma ihqin dima'ana, waj'al ujurana ujur al-shuhada'' (O Allah, keep our blood safe, and grant us a reward equal to that of the martyrs). While they were in this state, the commander of the enemy (al-Hunbat) dismounted and came into the tent of Habib (may Allah be pleased with him). An account of the virtues of Sayyiduna al-Miqdad bin Amr al-Kindi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was also called Ibn al-Aswad.

Yunus bin Bukayr narrates from Ibn Ishaq that he said: Among those of Banu Zuhrah and their allies who took part in the Battle of Badr with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was al-Miqdad bin Amr bin Tha'labah bin Malik bin Zam'ah bin Thumamah bin Matrud bin Amr bin Rabi'ah bin Zuhayr bin Namir bin Tha'labah bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him).