It is narrated from Ahmad bin Sayyar that al-Hakam bin Amr, Rafi' bin Amr and Atiyyah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them) enjoyed the company of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed al-Hakam bin Amr governor of Khurasan. The cause of his death was that when he was in Marw, a letter from Ziyad and then (another) from Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reached him; after it was read, he supplicated (for death) upon himself, which was answered, and he died in Marw. Buraydah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) had died before him, so the two of them were buried in the Jassin cemetery in Marw, opposite the bathhouse of Abu Hamzah al-Sukkari. I have visited the graves of both of them.

It is narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri that Ziyad sent Sayyiduna al-Hakam bin Amr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) as governor over Khurasan, and there the fighters obtained abundant spoils. So Ziyad wrote to him: "The Commander of the Believers (Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him) has written that the gold and silver be set aside specially for him and not be distributed among the Muslims." Al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote in reply: "You have mentioned the order of the Commander of the Believers, whereas I have found the Book of Allah (present) before the order of the Commander of the Believers. By Allah! If the heavens and the earth were closed up against a servant and he adopted piety (taqwa), Allah would make a way out for him." Then he had it announced: "Come to take your spoils," and he distributed them among the people. When Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) received news of this, he sent a man who put him in shackles and imprisoned him. So he died in those very shackles and was buried in them. He had said (as a bequest): "I will present my case (on the Day of Resurrection)."

It is narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri that Ziyad sent Sayyiduna al-Hakam bin Amr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) as the commander of an army. Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) met him in the governor's house among the people and asked: "Do you know why I have come to you? Do you remember that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about the man whose commander had ordered him to jump into the fire, and the man stood up to jump, but the people held him back, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'If he had jumped into it, both of them (the commander and the one commanded) would have entered the Fire; there is no obedience (to anyone) in disobedience to Allah'?" Al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Yes (I remember)." Imran (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I only intended to remind you of this hadith." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri that Sayyiduna al-Hakam bin Amr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said (weary of the tribulations): "O plague, take me to you!" A man asked: "Why are you saying such a thing, when you have heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say that none of you should wish for death?" He replied: "I have heard what you have heard, but I want death before (the appearance of) these six things: the buying and selling of judgments, an abundance of police (state agents), the rule of boys, unjust bloodshed, the severing of family ties, and a generation that will come in the last times who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments (melodies)."

It is narrated from Khalifah bin Khayyat that Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Amr bin Mujadda' al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in Basrah in the year 50 AH.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon there will be people in my Ummah who will recite the Qur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats. They will exit from the religion just as an arrow exits from the game, and then they will not return to it. Their sign will be shaving the head." Abdullah bin al-Samit said: I met Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) (the brother of al-Hakam bin Amr al-Ghifari) and asked him: I heard such-and-such a hadith from Abu Dharr? He replied: "What is surprising about that? I too heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Amr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When I was still a boy, I used to throw stones at the palm trees of the Ansar to bring down dates. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw me and asked: "O boy! Why do you throw stones at the date palms?" I said: To eat. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not throw stones at the trees; rather, eat those that have fallen underneath." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his hand over my head and supplicated: 'Allahumma ashbi' batnahu' (O Allah, fill his stomach).

It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Amr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I was throwing stones at the palm trees of the Ansar when people caught me and took me to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They said: He throws stones at our palm trees. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Rafi'! Why do you throw stones at their palm trees?" I said: O Messenger of Allah! Because of hunger. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Eat whatever falls down; may Allah fill you and quench your thirst."

It is narrated from Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri that the mother of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah bin Habib bin Abd Shams was Arwa bint Abi al-Far'ah of Kinanah. He passed away in Basrah in the year 50 AH; Ziyad led his funeral prayer and walked in his funeral procession.

Uyaynah bin Abd al-Rahman narrates from his father that he said: I went out in the funeral of Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), and Ziyad was walking ahead of the bier. Some of his (Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah's) freed slaves were walking backwards ahead of the bier, saying: "Gently, gently, may Allah bless you." The narrator says: Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) met us on the road at al-Mirbad. When he saw what those people were doing, he drove his mule at them, made as if to strike them with his whip, and said: "Clear the way! By the One who honoured the face of Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him), I have seen us with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) walking with the bier so quickly that we were almost running."