It is appropriate that here we discuss in brief about No’man bin Basheer. He name is No’man bin Basheer bin Sa’ad bin Nasr bin Sa’labah Khazraji Ansari. His mother is Umrah binte Ruwahah, the sister of Abdullah bin Ruwahah Ansari who was martyred along with Ja’far bin Abu Talib in the battle of Mutah. It is said that No’man was the first child among the Ansar (helpers of Medina) to be born after the Prophet entered Medina, just as Abdullah bin Zubayr was the first child to be born among the emigrants after the Prophet’s entry into Medina. His father Basheer bin Sa’ad was the first person to swear the oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr in Saqifa, and like wise the other Ansar followed suit. Basheer was killed in the battle of Aynut Tamar along with Khalid bin Waleed. No’man was from the family of poets and being a follower of Usman. He was the only Ansar who had accompanied Mu’awiyah in the battle of Siffeen. He was considered respectful and of high regard in the eyes of Mu’awiyah, thus Yazeed too liked him.
No’man remained alive till the Caliphate of marwan bin Hakam and was the governor of Hamas. When people started swearing the oath of allegiance to marwan, he invited people towards Abdullah bin Zubayr and opposed marwan. And this incident occurred when Zahhak bin Qays was killed in Marje Rahit. But the people of Hamas did not pay attention to his call and thus he fled from there, they pursued him until they found him and ultimately killed him. This happened in the year 65 A.H.
As regards Yazeed calling him a feeble man and it has been quoted by Ibne Qutaybah Deenawari in his book Al Imamah was Siyasah that, it was so because No’man bin Basheer had said that,
“The grandson of the Prophet is dearer to me than the grandson of Bahdul.” The grandson of Bahdul was none other than Yazeed bin Mu’awiyah whose mother Maysoon was the daughter of Bahdul Kalbiyyah.
Ibne Qutaybah is Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Muslim bin Qutaybah bin Muslim bin Amr Bahili is the same person who was sent by Yazeed to Ubaydullah nominating him as the governor of Kufa.
