Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: Judge Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Abū Ḥanīfa’s companion, was a client of the Banū Shaybān and was described as possessing perfection. His standing in abundant transmission, legal reasoning, and composition in the branches of knowledge concerning the lawful and unlawful was elevated. His companions revered him greatly.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: Judge Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, Abū Ḥanīfa’s companion, was a client of the Banū Shaybān and was described as possessing perfection. His standing in abundant transmission, legal reasoning, and composition in the branches of knowledge concerning the lawful and unlawful was elevated. His companions revered him greatly.

ʿUmar ibn Aḥmad ibn Shāhīn informed us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba related to us, from his grandfather Yaʿqūb: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan was a client of the Banū Shaybān. His father came to Wāsiṭ, where Muḥammad was born to him. He sought hadith and heard from Misʿar, al-Thawrī, and others. He then came to Baghdad, where people heard from him. Hārūn al-Rashīd took him out and appointed him judge in Raqqa, then dismissed him. He came to Baghdad and settled near Bāb al-Shām. When Hārūn departed for Rayy, he took him along. He died there in 189 at the age of fifty-eight.

ʿUmar ibn Aḥmad ibn Shāhīn informed us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba related to us, from his grandfather Yaʿqūb: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan was a client of the Banū Shaybān. His father came to Wāsiṭ, where Muḥammad was born to him. He sought hadith and heard from Misʿar, al-Thawrī, and others. He then came to Baghdad, where people heard from him. Hārūn al-Rashīd took him out and appointed him judge in Raqqa, then dismissed him. He came to Baghdad and settled near Bāb al-Shām. When Hārūn departed for Rayy, he took him along. He died there in 189 at the age of fifty-eight.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad informed us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām say: We were with Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan when al-Rashīd approached. Everyone rose except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, who did not rise. Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who harbored resentment toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, rose and went in, and the caliph’s companions went in. Al-Rashīd waited a little; then permission to enter was announced. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan rose and entered, and his companions were alarmed; he remained a while, then emerged cheerful and happy. He said: He asked me, “Why did you not rise with the people?” I replied, “I disliked departing from the class in which you placed me. You deemed me fit for learning; I disliked leaving it for the class of service, which lies outside it. Your cousin, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Whoever loves men to stand before him should take his seat in the Fire.’ He intended scholars by that. Whoever rises to fulfill service and honor kingship inspires fear in the enemy; whoever remains seated follows the Sunna taken from you, which is your religion.” He said, “You speak truthfully, Muḥammad.” He then spoke privately to me: “ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb made a treaty with the Banū Taghlib on condition that they not make their children Christians. They have made their sons Christians, making their blood lawful to shed. What do you think?” I said, “ʿUmar confirmed them under that arrangement. They made their sons Christians after ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān and your cousin [ʿAlī] tolerated it. Your cousin’s standing in knowledge is not hidden from you, and precedent proceeded accordingly. This amounts to a treaty by the caliphs after him, and nothing attaches to you concerning it. I have disclosed the learning to you; your judgment is superior.” He said, “No: we shall proceed as they did, God willing. God commanded His Prophet to consult; he would consult about his affairs, then Gabriel would bring him God’s guidance. But you must pray for the one God has placed in authority over you, and instruct your companions to do so. I have ordered something for you to distribute among them.” A large sum was brought out for him, and he distributed it.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad informed us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām say: We were with Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan when al-Rashīd approached. Everyone rose except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, who did not rise. Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who harbored resentment toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, rose and went in, and the caliph’s companions went in. Al-Rashīd waited a little; then permission to enter was announced. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan rose and entered, and his companions were alarmed; he remained a while, then emerged cheerful and happy. He said: He asked me, “Why did you not rise with the people?” I replied, “I disliked departing from the class in which you placed me. You deemed me fit for learning; I disliked leaving it for the class of service, which lies outside it. Your cousin Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Whoever loves men to stand before him should take his seat in the Fire.’ He intended scholars by that. Whoever rises to fulfill service and honor kingship inspires fear in the enemy; whoever remains seated follows the Sunna taken from you, which is your religion.” He said, “You speak truthfully, Muḥammad.” He then spoke privately to me: “ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb made a treaty with the Banū Taghlib on condition that they not make their children Christians. They have made their sons Christians, making their blood lawful to shed. What do you think?” I said, “ʿUmar instructed them to do so. They made their sons Christians after ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān and your cousin [ʿAlī]—may God be pleased with them both—tolerated it. Your cousin’s standing in knowledge is not hidden from you, and precedent proceeded accordingly. This amounts to a treaty by the caliphs after him, and nothing attaches to you concerning it. I have disclosed the learning to you; your judgment is superior.” He said, “No: we shall proceed as they did, God willing. God commanded His Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—to consult; he would consult about his affairs, then Gabriel would bring him God’s guidance. But you must pray for the one God has placed in authority over you, and instruct your companions to do so. I have ordered something for you to distribute among them.” A large sum was brought out for him, and he distributed it.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa related to us: Hārūn al-Rashīd summoned Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan to his gathering, then summoned al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād. He also brought a man of the descendants of Abū Ṭālib and a document of safe-conduct. He handed it to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, who read it. He asked, “What do you say about it?” He said, “This is valid safe-conduct,” and raised his voice, saying, “Commander of the Faithful, this is valid safe-conduct, and shedding the blood of the man for whom this document was written is forbidden.” He ordered the document taken from his hand and handed to al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who read it and said quietly, “This is safe-conduct.” Hārūn became angry, and Abū al-Bakhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb the judge entered. Without being ordered, he reached out and took the document, read it, drew a knife from his leather sock, cut it in half, threw it aside, and said, “This document is annulled; it is not safe-conduct but invalid safe-conduct. Kill this man; responsibility for his blood is upon me.” Hārūn took an inkwell before him and struck Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s face, wounding his head. Ibn Samāʿa said: I was present. He left, and I followed him as he wept. When he reached his house, I asked, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, why weep over a wound received in God’s cause?” He replied, “By God, it is not for that that I weep.” I asked, “What shortcoming was yours?” He said, “I ought to have asked Abū al-Bakhtarī, ‘On what grounds do you say this?’, established the proof against him, and spoken the truth even if I were killed.” He then said, “What warrant does a Muslim judge have for keeping a knife like this in his leather sock?” That day the Ṭālibid told Hārūn, “Hārūn, fear God! You speak against the two jurists of the earth because they found no justification in your safe-conduct for shedding blood and told you, ‘Let this soul die at its appointed time and be gracious to it,’ yet you accept the word of a man notorious for claiming a lineage not acknowledged by the father he claimed?” He thereby excluded Abū al-Bakhtarī from his claimed lineage. Then he said, “Ask about him among the people who remove filth in Medina’s bathhouses: they will tell you of marks on his back that they describe to people. Someone like this cannot say anything but this. By God, I do not care whether I fall upon death or death falls upon me; I shall die only at my appointed time.” Al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm the ascetic said: Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan related to me that he attended this gathering. Al-Qāsim ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq said that he was present for all this speech. He said: The man who was killed was Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; peace be upon them.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa related to us: Hārūn al-Rashīd summoned Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan to his gathering, then summoned al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād. He also brought a man of the descendants of Abū Ṭālib and a document of safe-conduct. He handed it to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, who read it. He asked, “What do you say about it?” He said, “This is valid safe-conduct,” and raised his voice, saying, “Commander of the Faithful, this is valid safe-conduct, and shedding the blood of the man for whom this document was written is forbidden.” He ordered the document taken from his hand and handed to al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who read it and said quietly, “This is safe-conduct.” Hārūn became angry, and Abū al-Bakhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb the judge entered. Without being ordered, he reached out and took the document, read it, drew a knife from his leather sock, cut it in half, threw it aside, and said, “This document is annulled; it is not safe-conduct but invalid safe-conduct. Kill this man; responsibility for his blood is upon me.” Hārūn took an inkwell before him and struck Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s face, wounding his head. Ibn Samāʿa said: I was present. He left, and I followed him as he wept. When he reached his house, I asked, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, why weep over a wound received in God’s cause?” He replied, “By God, it is not for that that I weep.” I asked, “What shortcoming was yours?” He said, “I ought to have asked Abū al-Bakhtarī, ‘On what grounds do you say this?’, established the proof against him, and spoken the truth even if I were killed.” He then said, “What warrant does a Muslim judge have for keeping a knife like this in his leather sock?” That day the Ṭālibid told Hārūn, “Hārūn, fear God! You speak against the two jurists of the earth because they found no justification in your safe-conduct for shedding blood and told you, ‘Let this soul die at its appointed time and be gracious to it,’ yet you accept the word of a man notorious for claiming a lineage not acknowledged by the father he claimed?” He thereby excluded Abū al-Bakhtarī from his claimed lineage. Then he said, “Ask about him among the people who remove filth in Medina’s bathhouses: they will tell you of marks on his back that they describe to people. Someone like this cannot say something like this. By God, I do not care whether I fall upon death or death falls upon me; I shall die only at my appointed time.” Al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm the ascetic said: Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to me, from al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan, that he attended this gathering. Al-Qāsim ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq said that he was present for all this speech. He said: The man who was killed was Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; peace be upon them.

Abū Isḥāq al-Naysābūrī, known as al-Bayyiʿ, related to us: Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Aṣamm related to us: Al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān related to us: Al-Shāfiʿī wrote to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan after asking for his books to copy them, when he delayed sending them. He wrote: “Tell him whose like no eye that saw him has seen, / and whom to see is as though to see those before him:” “Learning forbids its people to withhold it from those fit for it; / perhaps he will give it freely to its people—perhaps.” He immediately sent the books to him.

Abū Isḥāq al-Naysābūrī, known as al-Bayyiʿ, related to us: Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Aṣamm related to us: Al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān related to us: Al-Shāfiʿī wrote to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan after asking for his books to copy them, when he delayed sending them. He wrote: “Tell him whose like no eye that saw him has seen, / and whom to see is as though to see those before him:” “Learning forbids its people to withhold it from those fit for it; / perhaps he will give it freely to its people—perhaps.” He immediately sent the books to him.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd ibn Mūsā related to us: I heard Ḥarmala say: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw anyone whose speech made it seem to me that the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. When he spoke, it seemed to me that the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language. I recorded from him the load of a male camel. I specified male because I heard that it carries more than a female.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd ibn Mūsā related to us: I heard Ḥarmala say: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw anyone whose speech made it seem to me that the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. When he spoke, it seemed to me that the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language. I recorded from him the load of a male camel. I specified male because I heard that it carries more than a female.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: I heard Idrīs ibn Yūsuf al-Qarāṭīsī, one of al-Shāfiʿī’s eminent companions, say: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw a man more learned in the forbidden and lawful, underlying reasons, and abrogating and abrogated texts than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: I heard Idrīs ibn Yūsuf al-Qarāṭīsī, one of al-Shāfiʿī’s eminent companions, say: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw a man more learned in the forbidden and lawful, underlying reasons, and abrogating and abrogated texts than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn al-Mughallis related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I acknowledge Mālik’s authority as a teacher over me, then Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s. Abū ʿUbayd said: I never saw anyone more learned in God’s Book than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn al-Mughallis related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I acknowledge Mālik’s authority as a teacher over me, then Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s. Abū ʿUbayd said: I never saw anyone more learned in God’s Book than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: If people treated jurists fairly, they would know that they had never seen anyone like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. I never sat with a jurist more learned in jurisprudence, or anyone who opened my tongue to jurisprudence as he did. He possessed a mastery of jurisprudence and its grounds beyond even the great scholars.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: If people treated jurists fairly, they would know that they had never seen anyone like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. I never sat with a jurist more learned in jurisprudence, or anyone who opened my tongue to jurisprudence as he did. He possessed a mastery of jurisprudence and analogous cases beyond even the great scholars.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: I heard Abū ʿUbayd say: I visited Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and saw al-Shāfiʿī with him. He asked him a question, and he answered. Al-Shāfiʿī admired the answer, took something, and wrote on it. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan saw him, gave him one hundred dirhams, and said, “Stay, if you desire learning.” I heard al-Shāfiʿī say, “I recorded from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan a male camel’s load. Without him, the learning opened to me would not have opened. All people depend in jurisprudence on the people of Iraq; the people of Iraq depend on the people of Kufa; and all the people of Kufa depend on Abū Ḥanīfa.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Ibn Mughallis related to us: I heard Abū ʿUbayd say: I visited Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and saw al-Shāfiʿī with him. He asked him a question, and he answered. Al-Shāfiʿī admired the answer, took something, and wrote on it. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan saw him, gave him one hundred dirhams, and said, “Stay, if you desire learning.” I heard al-Shāfiʿī say, “I recorded from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan a male camel’s load. Without him, the learning opened to me would not have opened. All people depend in jurisprudence on the people of Iraq; the people of Iraq depend on the people of Kufa; and all the people of Kufa depend on Abū Ḥanīfa.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard al-Muzanī ask a man, “With whom have you sat?” He replied, “Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s companions.” He said, “By God, when they spoke, they filled the ears, and when jurists overlooked things, they opened what was closed to them.” His companions looked at him, so he said, “By God, I did not say this of my own accord until I heard al-Shāfiʿī say even more.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard al-Muzanī ask a man, “With whom have you sat?” He replied, “Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s companions.” He said, “By God, when they spoke, they filled the ears, and when jurists overlooked things, they opened what was closed to them.” His companions looked at him, so he said, “By God, I did not say this of my own accord until I heard al-Shāfiʿī say even more.”

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim ibn al-Fallās related to us: Al-Muzanī related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw anyone more eloquent than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. When I heard him recite, it was as though the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim ibn al-Fallās related to us: Al-Muzanī related to us: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: I never saw anyone more eloquent than Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. When I heard him recite, it was as though the Qurʾan had been revealed in his language.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Ḥammād ibn Sufyān related to us, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: Whenever I asked anyone a question, I could see his face change, except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Ḥammād ibn Sufyān related to us, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān: I heard al-Shāfiʿī say: Whenever I asked anyone a question, I could see his face change, except Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Judge ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū Bakr al-Qarāṭīsī related to us: Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī related to us: I asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “Where did you get these subtle questions?” He replied, “From Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s books.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Judge ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū Bakr al-Qarāṭīsī related to us: Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī related to us: I asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, “Where did you get these subtle questions?” He replied, “From Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s books.”

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: Judge al-Nakhaʿī related to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Ṭayālisī related to us: ʿAbbās al-Dūrī related to us: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say: I recorded al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: Judge al-Nakhaʿī related to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Ṭayālisī related to us: ʿAbbās al-Dūrī related to us: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say: I recorded al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: Ibn Kaʾs al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū ʿArūba al-Ḥarrānī related to us: ʿAmr ibn Abī ʿAmr related to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said: My father left thirty thousand dirhams. I spent fifteen thousand on grammar and poetry and fifteen thousand on hadith and jurisprudence.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: Ibn Kaʾs al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū ʿArūba al-Ḥarrānī related to us: ʿAmr ibn Abī ʿAmr related to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said: My father left thirty thousand dirhams. I spent fifteen thousand on grammar and poetry and fifteen thousand on hadith and jurisprudence.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: al-Bukhtarī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan told his household, “Do not ask me for worldly necessities and occupy my heart with them. Take what you need from my agent; that lessens my concerns and leaves my heart freer.”

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: al-Bukhtarī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan told his household, “Do not ask me for worldly necessities and occupy my heart with them. Take what you need from my agent; that lessens my concerns and leaves my heart freer.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: the judge Abū Bakr Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Thaqafī narrated to us: Abū Khāzim ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to us: Bakr ibn Khalaf al-ʿAmmī narrated to me: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to me: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan the jurist narrated to me. Abū Khāzim said: He was a client of Banū Shaybān; they originally came from a village between Palestine and Ramla, which I know, and I know some of its inhabitants. They then moved to Kufa. He said: When al-Rashīd summoned me to appoint me judge in Syria, I arrived in the City of Peace and met Abū Yūsuf. He was the one who had named and recommended me. I told him, “Because of my claim upon you, my constant attendance on you, and my taking you as teacher and imam, you should obtain my exemption from this office.” He said, “I will ride with you to Yaḥyā ibn Khālid and speak to him.” He rode with me to Yaḥyā ibn Khālid. When we entered, Yaḥyā moved aside on his prayer mat for him, and he sat with him on it; I sat at the doorway. I heard him say, “This is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan; his circumstances are such and such,” describing me and mentioning my refusal. Yaḥyā asked him, “What is your opinion of him?” He said, “I say that if you exempt him, you will not find his equal.” When Yaḥyā heard this, he paid no attention to what I said and confirmed my appointment. When al-Rashīd arrived at Raqqa, I was summoned. I entered his presence with al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī and Abū al-Bukhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb. He brought out the safe-conduct written for Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan and handed it to me. I read it, knowing why we had been summoned. I weighed whether to reveal anything he could use to obtain a means of killing the man, or refrain from challenging it despite knowing the anger of al-Rashīd I would incur. I preferred God’s command and the Hereafter, and said, “This is an emphatic safe-conduct; there is no way to invalidate it.” He snatched the document from my hand and passed it to al-Luʾluʾī. He read it and said faintly—I do not know whether he was heard—“This is a safe-conduct.” It was snatched from his hand and passed to Abū al-Bukhtarī, who read it and then said, “I place no hope in it and do not approve it. This is an evil man who has broken communal unity, shed Muslim blood, and done such and such; he has no safe-conduct.” He then reached into his leather boot while I watched, drew out a knife, cut the document in two, and handed it to the servant. Turning to al-Rashīd, he said, “Kill him; responsibility for his blood rests on my neck.” We rose from the gathering. Al-Rashīd’s messenger came to prohibit me from giving anyone a legal opinion or judging. I remained in that condition until Umm Jaʿfar wanted to establish an endowment and sent to me about it. I explained that I had been forbidden to give legal opinions. She spoke to al-Rashīd, and he permitted me. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said: Everyone in al-Rashīd’s household and I were astonished at Abū al-Bukhtarī: he was a judge, yet issued this ruling and took responsibility for a Muslim’s blood; and then there was his carrying a knife in his boot. He said: Al-Rashīd did not kill Yaḥyā then; rather, he died in prison after some time. Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa said in his account: Al-Rashīd later brought Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan close, advanced him, appointed him chief judge, and took him to Rayy. He and al-Kisāʾī died there on the same day. Al-Rashīd said, “I have buried jurisprudence and grammar in Rayy.” Bakr al-ʿAmmī said in his account: When Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ruled that the safe-conduct was valid, while Abū al-Bukhtarī ruled it void and permitted his blood to be shed, Yaḥyā said, “Commander of the Faithful, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, with his standing in jurisprudence, rules my safe-conduct valid, while this man rules it void. What does this man have to do with giving legal opinions? His father was only a drummer in Medina.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: the judge Abū Bakr Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Thaqafī narrated to us: Abū Khāzim ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to us: Bakr ibn Khalaf al-ʿAmmī narrated to me: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to me: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan the jurist narrated to me. Abū Khāzim said: He was a client of Banū Shaybān; they originally came from a village between Palestine and Ramla, which I know, and I know some of its inhabitants. They then moved to Kufa. He said: When al-Rashīd summoned me to appoint me judge in Syria, I arrived in the City of Peace and met Abū Yūsuf. He was the one who had named and recommended me. I told him, “Because of my claim upon you, my constant attendance on you, and my taking you as teacher and imam, you should guide me in this affair.” He said, “I will ride with you to Yaḥyā ibn Khālid and speak to him.” He rode with me to Yaḥyā ibn Khālid. When we entered, Yaḥyā moved aside on his prayer mat for him, and he sat with him on it; I sat at the doorway. I heard him say, “This is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan; his circumstances are such and such,” describing me and mentioning my refusal. Yaḥyā asked him, “What is your opinion of him?” He said, “I say that if you exempt him, you will not find his equal.” When Yaḥyā heard this, he paid no attention to what I said and confirmed my appointment. When al-Rashīd arrived at Raqqa, I was summoned. I entered his presence with al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī and Abū al-Bukhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb. He brought out the safe-conduct written for Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan and handed it to me. I read it, knowing why we had been summoned. I weighed whether to reveal anything he could use to obtain a means of killing the man, or refrain from challenging it despite knowing the anger of al-Rashīd I would incur. I preferred God’s command and the Hereafter, and said, “This is an emphatic safe-conduct; there is no way to invalidate it.” He snatched the document from my hand and passed it to al-Luʾluʾī. He read it and said faintly—I do not know whether he was heard—“This is a safe-conduct.” It was snatched from his hand and passed to Abū al-Bukhtarī, who read it and then said, “I do not uphold it and do not approve it. This is an evil man who has broken communal unity, shed Muslim blood, and done such and such; he has no safe-conduct.” He then reached into his leather boot while I watched, drew out a knife, cut the document in two, and handed it to the servant. Turning to al-Rashīd, he said, “Kill him; responsibility for his blood rests on my neck.” We rose from the gathering. Al-Rashīd’s messenger came to prohibit me from giving anyone a legal opinion or judging. I remained in that condition until Umm Jaʿfar wanted to establish an endowment and sent to me about it. I explained that I had been forbidden to give legal opinions. She spoke to al-Rashīd, and he permitted me. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said: Everyone in al-Rashīd’s household and I were astonished at Abū al-Bukhtarī: he was a judge, yet issued this ruling and took responsibility for a Muslim’s blood; and then there was his carrying a knife in his boot. He said: Al-Rashīd did not kill Yaḥyā then; rather, he died in prison after some time. Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa said in his account: Al-Rashīd later brought Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan close, advanced him, appointed him chief judge, and took him to Rayy. He and al-Kisāʾī died there on the same day. Al-Rashīd said, “I have buried jurisprudence and grammar in Rayy.” Bakr al-ʿAmmī said in his account: When Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ruled that the safe-conduct was valid, while Abū al-Bukhtarī ruled it void and permitted his blood to be shed, Yaḥyā said, “Commander of the Faithful, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, with his standing in jurisprudence, rules my safe-conduct valid, while this man rules it void. What does this man have to do with giving legal opinions? His father was only a drummer in Medina.”

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the shaykh and imam Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Sahl al-Rāzī narrated to us the account of Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan, from Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, who said: I witnessed all this involving Hārūn and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. He added: When Muḥammad left, he began weeping profusely. I said, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, are you weeping like this because of this head wound?” For al-Rashīd had thrown an inkwell at him, wounding his head, and blood flowed over his face and clothes. He had told him, “It is you and your like who strengthen the resolve of this man and his like to rise against us.” He replied, “No, by God, I am not weeping because of it; I am weeping over my failure.” I asked, “What failure was yours? You have taken a stand more noble than anyone on the face of the earth.” He said, “When Abū al-Bukhtarī said what he said, I should have asked him, ‘On what basis do you say that?’ so that I could establish against him the proof of the falsity of his statement.”

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the shaykh and imam Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī narrated to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Sahl al-Rāzī narrated to us the account of Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥusayn, from Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, who said: I witnessed all this involving Hārūn and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. He added: When Muḥammad left, he began weeping profusely. I said, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, are you weeping like this because of this head wound?” For al-Rashīd had thrown an inkwell at him, wounding his head, and blood flowed over his face and clothes. He had told him, “It is you and your like who strengthen the resolve of this man and his like to rise against us.” He replied, “No, by God, I am not weeping because of it; I am weeping over my failure.” I asked, “What failure was yours? You have taken a stand more noble than anyone on the face of the earth.” He said, “When Abū al-Bukhtarī said what he said, I should have asked him, ‘On what basis do you say that?’ so that I could establish against him the proof of the falsity of his statement.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: the judge Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: ʿĪsā ibn Abān was handsome and used to pray with us. I would invite him to visit Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, but he would say, “These people contradict hadith.” ʿĪsā had a good memory for hadith. One day he prayed the dawn prayer with us, on a day when Muḥammad held his teaching session. I stayed with him until he sat in the session. When Muḥammad finished, I brought him close and said, “This is the son of your brother Abān ibn Ṣadaqa the scribe. He has intelligence and knowledge of hadith. I invite him to you, but he refuses and says we contradict hadith.” Muḥammad turned to him and said, “My son, what hadith have you seen us contradict? Do not bear witness against us until you have heard from us.” That day he asked him about twenty-five topics of hadith. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan answered them, explaining which reports were abrogated and bringing supporting evidence and proofs. After we left, ʿĪsā turned to me and said, “A veil lay between me and the light, and it has been lifted. I never thought there was anyone like this man in God’s dominion, whom He would reveal to people.” He attended Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan assiduously until he became learned in jurisprudence.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: the judge Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: ʿĪsā ibn Abān was handsome and used to pray with us. I would invite him to visit Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, but he would say, “These people contradict hadith.” ʿĪsā had a good memory for hadith. One day he prayed the dawn prayer with us, on a day when Muḥammad held his teaching session. I stayed with him until he sat in the session. When Muḥammad finished, I brought him close and said, “This is the son of your brother Abān ibn Ṣadaqa the scribe. He has intelligence and knowledge of hadith. I invite him to you, but he refuses and says we contradict hadith.” Muḥammad turned to him and said, “My son, what hadith have you seen us contradict? Do not bear witness against us until you have heard from us.” That day he asked him about twenty-five topics of hadith. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan answered them, explaining which reports were abrogated and bringing supporting evidence and proofs. After we left, ʿĪsā turned to me and said, “A veil lay between me and the light, and it has been lifted. I never thought there was anyone like this man in God’s dominion, whom He would reveal to people.” He attended Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan assiduously until he became learned in jurisprudence.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram informed us: the judge Muḥammad ibn Masrūq informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Shuʿayb ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan say, “My position, and the position of Abū Ḥanīfa and Abū Yūsuf, is Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿAlī, then ʿUthmān.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram informed us: the judge Muḥammad ibn Masrūq informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Shuʿayb ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan say, “My position, and the position of Abū Ḥanīfa and Abū Yūsuf, is Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿAlī, then ʿUthmān.” May God be pleased with them.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: al-Ṣūlī informed us: al-Sukkarī narrated to us: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Muḥammad al-Yazīdī recited to me verses by his father, lamenting Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and al-Kisāʾī, may God be pleased with them both: The world passes away; it has no permanence, and the splendor you see will perish. For each of us death is a watering-place, and each must come to drink there. Do you not see encroaching gray hair warning of decay? Fresh youth never returns. What destroyed the generations before you will reach you; be ready, for extinction is at hand. I grieved for the chief judge Muḥammad, shedding my tears with a wounded heart. I said: When an affair becomes obscure, who will one day make it clear for us, now that you are gone? The death of al-Kisāʾī after him pained me, and the open earth almost swayed beneath me. Our two learned men have perished and been taken away; among all people they have no equal. Whenever their memory crosses my heart, my grief is renewed, until death.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: al-Ṣūlī informed us: al-Sukkarī narrated to us: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Muḥammad al-Yazīdī recited to me verses by his father, lamenting Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and al-Kisāʾī, may God be pleased with them both: The world passes away; it has no permanence, and the splendor you see will perish. For each of us death is a watering-place, and each must come to drink there. Do you not see encroaching gray hair warning of decay? Fresh youth never returns. What destroyed the generations before you will reach you; be ready, for extinction is at hand. I grieved for the chief judge Muḥammad, shedding my tears with a wounded heart. I said: When an affair becomes obscure, who will one day make it clear for us, now that you are gone? The death of al-Kisāʾī after him pained me, and the open earth almost swayed beneath me. Our two learned men have perished and been taken away; among all people they have no equal. Whenever their memory crosses my heart, my grief is renewed, until death.

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿArafa the grammarian narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and al-Kisāʾī died in Rayy in the year 189. Al-Rashīd said, “I have buried jurisprudence and Arabic learning in Rayy.”

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿArafa the grammarian narrated to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and al-Kisāʾī died in Rayy in the year 189. Al-Rashīd said, “I have buried jurisprudence and Arabic learning in Rayy.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ibn Kathīr al-Bāhilī and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿĪsā narrated to me, both saying: the judge Muḥammad ibn Abī Rajāʾ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I saw Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan in a dream and asked, “What did your Lord do with you?” He replied, “He admitted me to Paradise and told me, ‘I did not make you a vessel for knowledge while intending to punish you.’” I asked, “And Abū Yūsuf?” He replied, “He is one degree above me—or above us.” I asked, “And Abū Ḥanīfa?” He replied, “He is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ibn Kathīr al-Bāhilī and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿĪsā narrated to me, both saying: the judge Muḥammad ibn Abī Rajāʾ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I saw Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan in a dream and asked, “What did your Lord do with you?” He replied, “He admitted me to Paradise and told me, ‘I did not make you a vessel for knowledge while intending to punish you.’” I asked, “And Abū Yūsuf?” He replied, “He is one degree above me—or above us.” I asked, “And Abū Ḥanīfa?” He replied, “He is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us, from the judge Abū Khāzim, who said: I heard Bakr al-ʿAmmī say: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa and ʿĪsā ibn Abān learned their fine manner of prayer from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, may God be pleased with him.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us, from the judge Abū Khāzim, who said: I heard Bakr al-ʿAmmī say: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa and ʿĪsā ibn Abān learned their fine manner of prayer from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, may God have mercy on him.