ʿĪsā ibn Abān ibn Ṣadaqa

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Salama ibn Salāma narrated to us: I heard Abū Khāzim say, “ʿĪsā ibn Abān attended Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan for only six months; afterward he corresponded with him in Raqqa.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Salama ibn Salāma narrated to us: I heard Abū Khāzim say, “ʿĪsā ibn Abān attended Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan for only six months; afterward he corresponded with him in Raqqa.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū Khāzim narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāʾil narrated to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn al-Hāshimī was al-Maʾmūn’s contemporary and had heard hadith with him and al-Amīn when Hārūn summoned people from different lands so the two could hear from them. This ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn collected enough hadiths to fill a book, placed it before al-Maʾmūn, and said, “May God set the Commander of the Faithful right! These are hadiths I heard with you from the teachers al-Rashīd chose for you. Now those who frequent your court are people who contradict these hadiths: among them Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, Bishr ibn Ghiyāth, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Yaḥyā ibn Aktham,” and he named others like them. “If their position is true, al-Rashīd was wrong in what he selected for you and if al-Rashīd was right, you should remove those who are wrong.” Al-Maʾmūn took the book and told ʿĪsā, “Perhaps these people have an argument; I shall ask them.” The first to enter was Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. Ismāʿīl said, “I will deal with this book for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “Then attend to it,” and handed him the book. He kept it for some time and then returned it. Al-Maʾmūn read it and found a form of abuse, paid it no attention, and said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people.” He took the book from him. Bishr ibn Ghiyāth entered; he told him the matter, and Bishr said, “I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He took it and later brought a book, saying, “This is its answer.” Al-Maʾmūn read it and found that it rejected the acceptance of solitary reports. He said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people. Your companions cite such reports in some of their questions and begin their books with solitary reports. If it is permissible to act on a solitary report in any matter, it is permissible to act on one in comparable matters; if it is not permissible in anything, why did they put them in their books?” He took back the book he had given him. The next to enter was Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. He said, “Hand it to me, and I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He kept it a long time; whenever al-Maʾmūn asked, he said, “I have not finished.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “This is taking a long time. Wisdom does not entitle you to this much, in my view, even if you establish your argument: your opponent has explained his disagreement with you and his proof against you in a single book, while perhaps you cannot argue against him in a hundred books.” [The clause concerning wisdom is awkward in the digitized Arabic.] This reached ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who had not previously attended al-Maʾmūn. He composed the small Book of the Argument, beginning with the kinds of reports, how they were transmitted, what must be accepted and rejected, our obligations, and what to do upon hearing contradictory reports, clarifying these matters. He then arranged chapters for those hadiths and in each explained Abū Ḥanīfa’s argument and position, its transmitted evidence, and its analogical reasoning, investigating it thoroughly. He worked on his book until it reached al-Maʾmūn. Having read it, he said, “This is the proper answer on behalf of these people.” Then he began reciting: They envied the youth because they could not attain his striving; thus they are his enemies and adversaries like the co-wives of a beautiful woman, saying of her face, out of envy and malice, “It is ugly.” He then asked who had composed the book and about his circumstances. When he was told, he gave orders concerning him, and from that day he began attending with the jurists.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū Khāzim narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāʾil narrated to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn al-Hāshimī was al-Maʾmūn’s contemporary and had heard hadith with him and al-Amīn when Hārūn summoned people from different lands so the two could hear from them. This ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn collected enough hadiths to fill a book, placed it before al-Maʾmūn, and said, “May God set the Commander of the Faithful right! These are hadiths I heard with you from the teachers al-Rashīd chose for you. Now those who frequent your court are people who contradict these hadiths: among them Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, Bishr ibn Ghiyāth, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Yaḥyā ibn Aktham,” and he named others like them. “If their position is true, al-Rashīd was wrong in what he selected for you and if al-Rashīd was right, you should remove those who are wrong.” Al-Maʾmūn took the book and told ʿĪsā, “Perhaps these people have an argument; I shall ask them.” The first to enter was Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. Ismāʿīl said, “I will deal with this book for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “Then attend to it,” and handed him the book. He kept it for some time and then returned it. Al-Maʾmūn read it and found a form of abuse, paid it no attention, and said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people.” He took the book from him. Bishr ibn Ghiyāth entered; he told him the matter, and Bishr said, “I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” He took it and later brought a book, saying, “This is its answer.” Al-Maʾmūn read it and found that it rejected the acceptance of solitary reports. He said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people. Your companions cite such reports in some of their questions and begin their books with solitary reports. If it is permissible to act on a solitary report in any matter, it is permissible to act on one in comparable matters; if it is not permissible in anything, why did they put them in their books?” He took back the book he had given him. The next to enter was Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. He said, “Hand it to me, and I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He kept it a long time; whenever al-Maʾmūn asked, he said, “I have not finished.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “This is taking a long time. Wisdom does not entitle you to this much, in my view, even if you establish your argument: your opponent has explained his disagreement with you and his proof against you in a single book, while perhaps you cannot argue against him in a hundred books.” [The clause concerning wisdom is awkward in the digitized Arabic.] This reached ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who had not previously attended al-Maʾmūn. He composed the small Book of the Argument, beginning with the kinds of reports, how they were transmitted, what must be accepted and rejected, our obligations, and what to do upon hearing contradictory reports, clarifying these matters. He then arranged chapters for those hadiths and in each explained Abū Ḥanīfa’s argument and position, its transmitted evidence, and its analogical reasoning, investigating it thoroughly. He worked on his book until it reached al-Maʾmūn. Having read it, he said, “This is the proper answer on behalf of these people.” Then he began reciting: They envied the youth because they could not attain his striving; thus they are his enemies and adversaries like the co-wives of a beautiful woman, saying of her face, out of envy and malice, “It is ugly.” He then asked who had composed the book and about his circumstances. When he was told, he gave orders concerning him, and from that day he began attending with the jurists.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard the judge Abū Khāzim say, “I have never seen younger men of Baghdad more intelligent than ʿĪsā ibn Abān and Bishr ibn al-Walīd.” Abū Khāzim said: ʿĪsā was exceptionally generous and used to say, “By God, if a man were brought to me who treated his property as I treat mine, I would place him under financial guardianship.” A man brought Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Muhallabī before him, claiming four hundred dinars. ʿĪsā asked him about the claim, and he acknowledged it. The man said, “Imprison him for me.” ʿĪsā replied, “You are entitled to his imprisonment, but I do not think I should imprison Abū ʿAbd Allāh when I can redeem him with my own property.” ʿĪsā paid it on his behalf from his own property.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard the judge Abū Khāzim say, “I have never seen younger men of Baghdad more intelligent than ʿĪsā ibn Abān and Bishr ibn al-Walīd.” Abū Khāzim said: ʿĪsā was exceptionally generous and used to say, “By God, if a man were brought to me who treated his property as I treat mine, I would place him under financial guardianship.” A man brought Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Muhallabī before him, claiming four hundred dinars. ʿĪsā asked him about the claim, and he acknowledged it. The man said, “Imprison him for me.” ʿĪsā replied, “You are entitled to his imprisonment, but I do not think I should imprison Abū ʿAbd Allāh when I can redeem him with my own property.” ʿĪsā paid it on his behalf from his own property.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kalbī the jurist say: I was with ʿĪsā ibn Abān as he was dying. He said, “Kalbī, count my property.” I counted it and found it considerable. Then he said, “Count my debts.” I counted them and found them almost equal to his property. He said, “They used to like to live the lives of the rich and die the deaths of the poor.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kalbī the jurist say: I was with ʿĪsā ibn Abān as he was dying. He said, “Kalbī, count my property.” I counted it and found it considerable. Then he said, “Count my debts.” I counted them and found them almost equal to his property. He said, “They used to like to live the lives of the rich and die the deaths of the poor.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Abū Khāzim say: I heard Bakr say, “I never saw anyone and wished to be like him except Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa. Nor did I ever see two jurists as brotherly toward one another, each acknowledging his companion’s claims as he did his own, as Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa and ʿĪsā ibn Abān.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Abū Khāzim say: I heard Bakr say, “I never saw anyone and wished to be like him except Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa. Nor did I ever see two jurists as brotherly toward one another, each acknowledging his companion’s claims as he did his own, as Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa and ʿĪsā ibn Abān.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba narrated to us: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say, “No judge more learned in jurisprudence than ʿĪsā ibn Abān has governed Basra since the beginning ofIslam down to our own time.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba narrated to us: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say, “No judge more learned in jurisprudence than ʿĪsā ibn Abān has governed Basra since the beginning ofIslam down to our own time.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥumayd al-Baṣrī, known as al-Kallābāzī, say: I heard my father say: We litigated before ʿĪsā ibn Abān, judge of Basra, concerning our estate known as al-Kallābāziyya and the conditions under which it was endowed. He repeatedly had us return. One day we appeared and said, “Judge, our affair concerning this estate has taken a long time. We need the judge to decide between us, for we do not know whom else to turn to.” He reached up, took his tall cap from his head, and said, “By God, the judge does not know how to answer this question of yours. If you are willing to wait until God opens something in it for me and you, then wait; otherwise, do as you choose.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥumayd al-Baṣrī, known as al-Kallābāzī, say: I heard my father say: We litigated before ʿĪsā ibn Abān, judge of Basra, concerning our estate known as al-Kallābāziyya and the conditions under which it was endowed. He repeatedly had us return. One day we appeared and said, “Judge, our affair concerning this estate has taken a long time. We need the judge to decide between us, for we do not know whom else to turn to.” He reached up, took his tall cap from his head, and said, “By God, the judge does not know how to answer this question of yours. If you are willing to wait until God opens something in it for me and you, then wait; otherwise, do as you choose.”

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the learned jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: A man appeared in a lawsuit before ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who was serving as our judge in Basra. He ordered that the man be struck on the back of his neck, and this was done. The man claimed he had lost his sight and went to al-Muʿtaṣim to complain against him. Al-Muʿtaṣim asked, “To whom in Basra would you like us to write for you?” He replied, “To ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿĀʾisha al-Taymī.” He ordered a letter to him to investigate between the man and ʿĪsā. Upon returning, the man delivered it to Ibn ʿĀʾisha, who sent to inform ʿĪsā. ʿĪsā promised to attend the great mosque for the investigation. Ibn ʿĀʾisha arrived first and sat by a column. Then ʿĪsā came; I was with him that day, along with his officers and companions. Because of the crowd, he could not enter through any of the mosque’s doors, so he entered, and we with him, by the way the callers to prayer used on Fridays. ʿĪsā went to the judicial column where he, and judges before him, sat to judge, and sat there. Ibn ʿĀʾisha expected him to come over. When Ibn ʿĀʾisha had informed him of the letter, ʿĪsā had replied that he would attend only after the governor and the postal official were present. Both came. After a long wait, Ibn ʿĀʾisha sent to ʿĪsā: “The man”—meaning the litigant—“has arrived, and we are waiting for you.” ʿĪsā sent back: “I have not been dismissed from office; the office remains mine as before. The column where I am is the column known as the place where judges sit. If any of the judges’ duties has been entrusted to you, your seat should be there.” When Ibn ʿĀʾisha heard this, he realized he had erred, but was too proud to rise from where he sat and go to ʿĪsā’s place. I saw him inching along, keeping himself hidden from us, until he reached the place where ʿĪsā sat. The litigant presented his claim before them all. Ibn ʿĀʾisha asked ʿĪsā, “What do you say about what this man has mentioned?” ʿĪsā replied, “I will not say a word unless the governor’s scribe, the postal official’s scribe, and my scribe write it down.” Then ʿĪsā gave his statement, they all recorded it, and the letter was sent. The outcome was nothing like what Ibn ʿĀʾisha or the litigant had anticipated; the affair turned out as ʿĪsā wished. I mentioned this to the judge Abū Khāzim. He knew of it, affirmed Bakkār’s entire account, and also told me: A physician in Basra, whose judgment was relied upon and whose account was not suspected, told me he was at Ibn ʿĀʾisha’s house after the dispatch of his letter concerning this affair. He said, “While I was in its courtyard, I saw a sheet and picked it up. It contained a copy of what Ibn ʿĀʾisha had prepared and written to al-Muʿtaṣim. I found many additions to it that had not occurred between him and ʿĪsā.” Returning to Bakkār’s account: Afterward, some Hāshimīs sued Ibn ʿĀʾisha concerning income he took from their endowment. His mother was one of them, and he took it through her, since the endowment was for them, their children, and their children’s children. They said, “You are a man of Banū Taym. You have no right to take from our endowment, which is for us and our children, for we are of Banū Hāshim.” They sued him before ʿĪsā ibn Abān. ʿĪsā asked him for his grounds for taking what he did from their endowment. He said, “I take through my mother. The founder is the ancestor to whom they trace themselves through their fathers, and he is my maternal ancestor; I trace myself to him through her, as they do through their fathers.” ʿĪsā said, “I do not see a right for you in this. It is for the founder’s descendants who trace themselves to him through their fathers, not their mothers.” Ibn ʿĀʾisha said, “I have been receiving it under several judges,” naming Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī, and Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. ʿĪsā said, “If any of the judges you named actually ruled to that effect, and you have documentary evidence of one of their judgments, I shall enforce it for you and count you among the beneficiaries. If you do not, their officers merely exceeded their authority by paying you what they did from its income. Were they sued before me over that, I would make them liable for it.” He excluded him from the endowment and restored it to the Hāshimīs alone; this became a cause of his poverty. Bakkār said: Our companions, Hilāl and others, said that in giving this judgment ʿĪsā had departed from his companions’ position, for they regarded daughters’ children in this matter like sons’ children. They said he was driven to it by what Ibn ʿĀʾisha had done in the story we began with. This was mentioned to ʿĪsā, who said, “I have not departed from our companions’ position. The position on which I judged is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s.” Bakkār said: Neither we, Hilāl, nor those jurists who objected knew this to be Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s position. I mentioned it to Abū Khāzim, who knew it and said, “They have achieved nothing. ʿĪsā has transmitted this truthfully from Muḥammad. It is in his large Book of International Law: when a person from an enemy territory is granted safe-conduct for himself, his children, and his children’s children, his daughters’ children are not included.” I returned to the Book of International Law and found it as Abū Khāzim had said. Al-Ṭaḥāwī said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Baṣrī al-Sājī, one of the prominent Basrans who came to us and an accomplished specialist in inheritance shares, told me: After his affair with ʿĪsā, Ibn ʿĀʾisha went to the court and stayed there for some time. There the Baghdadis heard from him what they heard. Then he returned to Basra. Abū Khāzim said: When Ibn ʿĀʾisha wanted to return to Basra, Ibn Abī Duʾād asked him at their farewell, “Is there any need, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, that we can fulfill?” He replied, “Yes: appointment to the judgeship of Basra.” Ibn Abī Duʾād replied, “By God, there is no way to dismiss Abū Mūsā, but ask for something else.” He asked for nothing.

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the learned jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: A man appeared in a lawsuit before ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who was serving as our judge in Basra. He ordered that the man be struck on the back of his neck, and this was done. The man claimed he had lost his sight and went to al-Muʿtaṣim to complain against him. Al-Muʿtaṣim asked, “To whom in Basra would you like us to write for you?” He replied, “To ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿĀʾisha al-Taymī.” He ordered a letter to him to investigate between the man and ʿĪsā. Upon returning, the man delivered it to Ibn ʿĀʾisha, who sent to inform ʿĪsā. ʿĪsā promised to attend the great mosque for the investigation. Ibn ʿĀʾisha arrived first and sat by a column. Then ʿĪsā came; I was with him that day, along with his officers and companions. Because of the crowd, he could not enter through any of the mosque’s doors, so he entered, and we with him, by the way the callers to prayer used on Fridays. ʿĪsā went to the judicial column where he, and judges before him, sat to judge, and sat there. Ibn ʿĀʾisha expected him to come over. When Ibn ʿĀʾisha had informed him of the letter, ʿĪsā had replied that he would attend only after the governor and the postal official were present. Both came. After a long wait, Ibn ʿĀʾisha sent to ʿĪsā: “The man”—meaning the litigant—“has arrived, and we are waiting for you.” ʿĪsā sent back: “I have not been dismissed from office; the office remains mine as before. The column where I am is the column known as the place where judges sit. If any of the judges’ duties has been entrusted to you, your seat should be there.” When Ibn ʿĀʾisha heard this, he realized he had erred, but was too proud to rise from where he sat and go to ʿĪsā’s place. I saw him inching past several columns, until he reached the place where ʿĪsā sat. The governor and the postal official were with ʿĪsā where he sat. The claimant presented his claim before them all. Ibn ʿĀʾisha asked ʿĪsā, “What do you say about what this man has mentioned?” ʿĪsā replied, “I will not say a word unless the governor’s scribe, the postal official’s scribe, and my scribe write it down.” Then ʿĪsā gave his statement, they all recorded it, and the letter was sent. The outcome was nothing like what Ibn ʿĀʾisha or the litigant had anticipated; the affair turned out as ʿĪsā wished. I mentioned this to the judge Abū Khāzim. He knew of it, affirmed Bakkār’s entire account, and also told me: A physician in Basra, whose judgment was relied upon and whose account was not suspected, told me he was at Ibn ʿĀʾisha’s house after the dispatch of his letter concerning this affair. He said, “While I was in its courtyard, I saw a sheet and picked it up. It contained a copy of what Ibn ʿĀʾisha had prepared and written to al-Muʿtaṣim. I found many additions to it that had not occurred between him and ʿĪsā.” Returning to Bakkār’s account: Afterward, some Hāshimīs sued Ibn ʿĀʾisha concerning income he took from their endowment. His mother was one of them, and he took it through her, since the endowment was for them, their children, and their children’s children. They said, “You are a man of Banū Taym. You have no right to take from our endowment, which is for us and our children, for we are of Banū Hāshim.” They sued him before ʿĪsā ibn Abān. ʿĪsā asked him for his grounds for taking what he did from their endowment. He said, “I take through my mother. The founder is the ancestor to whom they trace themselves through their fathers, and he is my maternal ancestor; I trace myself to him through her, as they do through their fathers.” ʿĪsā said, “I do not see a right for you in this. It is for the founder’s descendants who trace themselves to him through their fathers, not their mothers.” Ibn ʿĀʾisha said, “I have been receiving it under several judges,” naming Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī, and Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. ʿĪsā said, “If any of the judges you named actually ruled to that effect, and you have documentary evidence of one of their judgments, I shall enforce it for you and count you among the beneficiaries. If you do not, their officers merely exceeded their authority by paying you what they did from its income. Were they sued before me over that, I would make them liable for it.” He excluded him from the endowment and restored it to the Hāshimīs alone; this became a cause of his poverty. Bakkār said: Our companions, Hilāl and others, said that in giving this judgment ʿĪsā had departed from his companions’ position, for they regarded daughters’ children in this matter like sons’ children on an equal basis. They said he was driven to it by what Ibn ʿĀʾisha had done in the story we began with. This was mentioned to ʿĪsā, who said, “I have not departed from our companions’ position. The position on which I judged is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s.” Bakkār said: Neither we, Hilāl, nor those jurists who objected knew this to be Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s position. I mentioned it to Abū Khāzim, who knew it and said, “They have achieved nothing. ʿĪsā has transmitted this truthfully from Muḥammad. It is in his large Book of International Law: when a person from an enemy territory is granted safe-conduct for himself, his children, and his children’s children, his daughters’ children are not included.” I returned to the Book of International Law and found it as Abū Khāzim had said. Al-Ṭaḥāwī said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Baṣrī al-Sājī, one of the prominent Basrans who came to us and an accomplished specialist in inheritance shares, told me: After his affair with ʿĪsā, Ibn ʿĀʾisha went to the court and stayed there for some time. There the Baghdadis heard from him what they heard. Then he returned to Basra. Abū Khāzim said: When Ibn ʿĀʾisha wanted to return to Basra, Ibn Abī Duʾād asked him at their farewell, “Is there any need, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, that we can fulfill?” He replied, “Yes: appointment to the judgeship of Basra.” Ibn Abī Duʾād replied, “By God, there is no way to dismiss Abū Mūsā, but ask for something else.” He asked for nothing.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūnus al-Baṣrī narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿĪsā ibn Abān, while he stood at the door of his mosque intending to enter for prayer, addressed by a woman: “Judge, fear God regarding my affair! Ask the jurists about my case before ruling against me. Ask Hilāl about it.” I heard him tell her, “Woman, we have no need of Hilāl.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūnus al-Baṣrī narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿĪsā ibn Abān, while he stood at the door of his mosque intending to enter for prayer, addressed by a woman: “Judge, fear God regarding my affair! Ask the jurists about my case before ruling against me. Ask Hilāl about it.” I heard him tell her, “Woman, we have no need of Hilāl.”