 During the rule of Caliph Umar (r. 634–644), al-Walid was charged with collecting the "sadaqat" from the Banu Taghlib tribe in Upper Mesopotamia.His uterine brother, Uthman, appointed him governor of Kufa in 645/46, but his behavior and wine consumption riled the pious Muslims of that city, compelling Uthman to recall him in 649/50.He fled to Upper Mesopotamia following Uthman's assassination in 656 and died in al-Raqqa in 680.