His mother was Sumayya, the slavegirl of al-Harith ibn Kalada ath-Taqafi. He was said to have been born in the Year of the Conquest of Makkah in Ta'if. He was governor of Basra for Mu'awiyiya after he claimed him as his brother and he later added Kufa to his jurisdiction. He spent the winter in Basra and the summer in Kufa. He left 'Amr ibn Hurayth in charge of Kufa when he left it, and Samura ibn Jundub over Basra when he left it. He is neither a recitor nor a faqih but he was well-known and a scribe for Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. He died in Kufa while he was governor there for Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan