He was a son of al-Musayyab ibn Zuhayr, a participant of the Abbasid Revolution who later served as a provincial governor and security chief.[1] In 792 he was appointed as governor (wali) of Egypt by the caliph Harun al-Rashid, as a replacement for the deceased Ibrahim ibn Salih. During his governorship he is reported to have been engaged in hostilities with the people of the Hawf district, and to have received a request from the emir of Córdoba Hashim I for reinforcements in support of his raids against the Franks. After remaining in office for a little under a year, he was dismissed and replaced with Ishaq ibn Sulayman al-Hashimi.[2]