Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I was named after my maternal grandfather, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), and I was also given his kunyah. Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) had two kunyahs: Abu Bakr and Abu Khubayb.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that when Sayyidah Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) migrated to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), she was pregnant with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). When he was born, she brought him to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform his tahnik. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took him in his lap and called for a date. He chewed it, then took it out of his blessed mouth and put it in the child's mouth, and performed tahnik with it. So the very first thing to enter his stomach was the blessed saliva of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his hand over him and named him Abdullah. Then, at the age of seven or eight years, he came to pledge allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his father Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) having told him to do so. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him coming, he smiled and accepted his pledge of allegiance. He was the first child born in Madinah after the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah. The Jews (out of envy) used to say: We have cast a spell on them; now no male child will be born to them in Madinah. So when Abdullah was born, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised the cry of takbir. And Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), when he heard the takbirs of the people of Syria who had killed Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, said: "Those who said takbir at his birth were better than those who have said takbir at his killing." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Ibn Abi Mulaykah that Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was mentioned in the presence of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he said: He was most chaste in Islam and a reciter of the Qur'an. His father was al-Zubayr, his mother Asma, his maternal grandfather Abu Bakr, his paternal aunt Khadijah, his paternal grandmother Safiyyah and his maternal aunt Aishah (may Allah be pleased with them). By Allah, I held myself to account in his matter more than I did even for Abu Bakr and Umar, but he deliberately preferred the Humaydat, the Usamat and the Tuwaytat (that is, particular people of his own family) over me. Abu Ali al-Qabbani says: By the Humaydat is meant Humayd bin Zuhayr, and by the Tuwaytat the family of Tuwayt bin Habib, who belonged to Banu Asad.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) removed his name from the official register (diwan) at the time of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).

Hilal bin Yasaf narrates: The courier who brought the head of al-Mukhtar (al-Thaqafi) to Ibn al-Zubayr told me that when he saw it he said: Whatever Ka'b told me, I found it to be true, except that he had told me that a man from the tribe of Thaqif would kill me (he thought that it would be al-Mukhtar). Al-A'mash says: What did he know that Abu Muhammad - may Allah disgrace him - had been kept hidden for him.

Ibn Abi Mulaykah narrates that Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to fast continuously for seven days (wisal), and even on the morning of the third day he appeared the most lion-like in strength and vigour among us.

Umar bin Qays narrates that Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) had a hundred slaves, and each slave spoke a different language, and Ibn al-Zubayr would speak with each one of them in his own language. When I looked at his worldly affairs, I would say: This is a man who has not intended the Hereafter even for the blink of an eye. And when I looked at his affairs of the Hereafter, I would say: This is a man who has not intended the world even for the blink of an eye.

Ibn Abi Mulaykah narrates that Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) asked me: Is there something (of ill feeling) in your heart about Ibn al-Zubayr? I said: I have never seen anyone like him in intimate supplication, anyone like him in prayer, anyone as firm as him in the cause of Allah, or anyone as generous-hearted as him.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that Yazid bin Mu'awiyah wrote to Abdullah bin al-Zubayr: I have sent you a chain of silver, a shackle of gold and a neck-collar of silver, and I have sworn that you will come to me in that state. The narrator says: Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) threw the letter away and (recited the verse): "I will not soften for anything other than the truth even by a fingertip, until the stone softens for the molar of the one who chews it."

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that when Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) died, Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) held back from obeying Yazid bin Mu'awiyah and openly condemned him. When this news reached Yazid, he swore that he would be brought (to his court) only in shackles. Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) was told: Shall we not make for you shackles of silver which you can wear beneath your clothes, so that his oath is fulfilled and peace is made? He said: "May Allah not fulfil his oath." Then he recited the same verse: "I will not soften for anyone other than the truth even a little, until the stone softens for the teeth." He further said: "By Allah, receiving a blow of the sword with honour is far dearer to me than receiving the lash with humiliation." Then he called people to his own caliphate and announced his opposition to Yazid. So Yazid sent against him Muslim bin Uqbah al-Murri with the army of the people of Syria, and ordered him to fight the people of Madinah first and, once he had finished with that, to head for Makkah. The narrator says: Muslim bin Uqbah entered Madinah, and on that day the remaining Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left it (to save their lives). He caused great havoc there and went to excess in killing. Then he left it, and died on the way to Makkah. He appointed al-Husayn bin Numayr al-Kindi as his successor and said to him (in a contemptuous tone): "O saddle-cloth of a donkey! Beware of the deceptions of Quraysh, and deal with them only with the cutting edge of the sword and severity." So al-Husayn reached Makkah and fought Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) there for several days.