Abdallah ibn Khazim al-Sulami

Abd Allah ibn Khazim ibn Asma ibn al-Salt al-Sulami. His house in Basra belonged to his paternal aunt Dujaja, mother of Abd Allah ibn Amir, who granted it to him. ¹

He was among the notables with Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura in the conquest of Kabul. Al-Baladhuri relates that he struck an elephant that was with the polytheists, and it fell upon the gate through which they had come out, and they could not close it, so the Muslims entered it by force. Al-Baladhuri quotes Abu Mikhnaf that the one who hamstrung the elephant was al-Muhallab. ¹

He is Abd Allah ibn Khazim ibn Asma ibn al-Salt ibn Habib ibn Haritha ibn Hilal ibn Samak ibn Awf ibn Imri' al-Qays ibn Bahtha ibn Salim ibn Mansur, Abu Salih, the famous commander; it is said that he had Companionship, and al-Hakim listed him among the Companions who settled in Khurasan though there is doubt about confirming it, and Abu Nu'aym said some later writers claimed he had lived in the Prophet ﷺ's time, but there is no truth to that ². Abd Allah ibn Khazim had a black silk turban that he wore on Fridays, feasts and in war; when it was placed on his head he would wrap it and say that the Prophet had invested him with it ².

Abu Ahmad al-Askari said Abd Allah ibn Khazim was among the bravest of men and governed Khurasan for ten years ². Al-Sallami mentions in his history the report of Ibn al-Zubayr's strife and what befell in it ².

Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami was one of the brave Arabs of early Islam; he took part in the eastern conquests, had a black turban that he said the Prophet had given him, and later governed Khurasan for ten years ².

• al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba, entry 5090 (al-Maktaba al-Asriyya scan, p. 867); his Companionship is not established in Ibn Hajar's judgement ("it is said that he had Companionship… there is doubt about confirming it").
• The report of hamstringing the elephant at Kabul is transmitted in two versions by al-Baladhuri; Abu Mikhnaf attributes it to al-Muhallab.