Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was Abū ʿAmr Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī.

He held judicial office for al-Rashīd after Abū Yūsuf and performed the pilgrimage with him, sharing his riding conveyance. His kunya was Abū ʿAmr.

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was Abū ʿAmr Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī.

He held the judgeship for al-Rashīd after Abū Yūsuf, and performed the pilgrimage with him, riding alongside him. His kunya was Abū ʿAmr.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: I heard Abū Nuʿaym say: Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—had a fine face, clothes, and sandals, and showed kindness and generous support to everyone around him. The first person to write down his books was Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī, whose kunyah was Abū ʿAmr.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: I heard Abū Nuʿaym say: Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—had a fine face, clothes, and sandals, and showed kindness and generous support to everyone around him. The first person to write down his books was Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī, whose kunyah was Abū ʿAmr.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn ʿĀbis narrated to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salama say: After Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s death, the mufti of Kufa and the person to whom people looked in jurisprudence was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. He supplied the people’s needs. When he died, they needed someone to sit and teach them. His companions feared that his memory would die and knowledge disappear. Ḥammād had a son with good knowledge, and they agreed upon him. His father’s companions—Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, Abū Burda al-ʿUtbī, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and others—came and attended him. But grammar and Arab speech predominated in his interests, and he could not patiently remain sitting with them. Their opinion then settled on Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī. They asked him, but he declined. They asked Abū Burda, but he declined. Then they asked Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: I do not wish knowledge to die. He agreed and sat to teach them, and they attended him. After them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, al-Walīd, and men from Kufa. Abū Ḥanīfa taught them understanding of religion, showing them great kindness and continual care. Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, Sharīk, and Sufyān opposed him and sought to discredit him. This continued until his position became firmly established, the governors needed him, and the caliphs spoke of him.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn ʿĀbis narrated to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salama say: After Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s death, the mufti of Kufa and the person to whom people looked in jurisprudence was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. He supplied the people’s needs. When he died, they needed someone to sit and teach them. His companions feared that his memory would die and knowledge disappear. Ḥammād had a son with good knowledge, and they agreed upon him. His father’s companions—Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, Abū Burda al-ʿUtbī, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and others—came and attended him. But grammar and Arab speech predominated in his interests, and he could not patiently remain sitting with them. Their opinion then settled on Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī. They asked him, but he declined. They asked Abū Burda, but he declined. Then they asked Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: I do not wish knowledge to die. He agreed and sat to teach them, and they attended him. After them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, al-Walīd, and men from Kufa. Abū Ḥanīfa taught them understanding of religion, showing them great kindness and continual care. Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, Sharīk, and Sufyān opposed him and sought to discredit him. This continued until his position became firmly established, the governors needed him, and the caliphs spoke of him.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Rabīʿ narrated to us: Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: The people’s mufti in Kufa was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Ḥammād had a son called Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. When Ḥammād died, they agreed that Ismāʿīl should sit to teach them and patiently attend to them. But they found that poetry, evening conversation, and accounts of bygone people predominated in his interests. Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, one of Ḥammād’s companions, Abū Burda, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and a group of Ḥammād’s companions spoke; Abū Ḥuṣayn and Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit said: This silk merchant has good knowledge, though he is young; have him sit to teach. They did so. He was wealthy, generous, and intelligent. He sat and patiently devoted himself to them, generously supported them and gave them gifts. Judges and governors honored him, and his standing rose. The senior generation attended him; after them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, and al-Walīd ibn Abān. Those who opposed him and criticized him were Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, al-Thawrī, Sharīk, and a group who disagreed with him and sought to discredit him. His standing continued to rise and his companions multiplied until his circle was the largest in the mosque and the most ample in answering questions. He was patient with them, generously provided for every needy person among them, and gave gifts to every prosperous person. People’s attention turned toward him until governors, judges, and nobles honored him. He met extraordinary expenses, everyone praised him, and he accomplished things that defeated the Arabs. His broad knowledge enabled him, and destiny favored him; those who envied him multiplied. He used to say: A judge is like a swimmer in the sea: how long can he swim, and whom can he satisfy, even if he is learned?

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Rabīʿ narrated to us: Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: The people’s mufti in Kufa was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Ḥammād had a son called Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. When Ḥammād died, they agreed that Ismāʿīl should sit to teach them and patiently attend to them. But they found that poetry, evening conversation, and accounts of bygone people predominated in his interests. Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, one of Ḥammād’s companions, Abū Burda, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and a group of Ḥammād’s companions spoke; Abū Ḥuṣayn and Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit said: This silk merchant has good knowledge, though he is young; have him sit to teach. They did so. He was wealthy, generous, and intelligent. He sat and patiently devoted himself to them, generously supported them and gave them gifts. Judges and governors honored him, and his standing rose. The senior generation attended him; after them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, and al-Walīd ibn Abān. Those who opposed him and criticized him were Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, al-Thawrī, Sharīk, and a group who disagreed with him and sought to discredit him. His standing continued to rise and his companions multiplied until his circle was the largest in the mosque and the most ample in answering questions. He was patient with them, provided abundantly for every needy person among them, and gave gifts to every prosperous person. People’s attention turned toward him until governors, judges, and nobles honored him. He met extraordinary expenses, everyone praised him, and he accomplished things that defeated the Arabs. His broad knowledge enabled him, and destiny favored him; those who envied him multiplied. He used to say: A judge is like a swimmer in the sea: how long can he swim, and whom can he satisfy, even if he is learned?

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz narrated to us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, saying: The companions of Abū Ḥanīfa who regularly attended his study circle numbered ten. Four of them memorized jurisprudence as the Qurʾān is memorized: Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm, Asad ibn ʿAmr, and ʿAlī ibn Mushir. They report that Sufyān used to learn jurisprudence based on Abū Ḥanīfa’s positions from ʿAlī ibn Mushir, and that he relied on him and on their discussions when composing the book that he called al-Jāmiʿ.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz narrated to us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, saying: The companions of Abū Ḥanīfa who regularly attended his study circle numbered ten. Four of them memorized jurisprudence as the Qurʾān is memorized: Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm, Asad ibn ʿAmr, and ʿAlī ibn Mushir. They report that Sufyān used to learn jurisprudence based on Abū Ḥanīfa’s positions from ʿAlī ibn Mushir, and that he relied on him and on their discussions when composing the book that he called al-Jāmiʿ.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dāwūd, when Isḥāq asked him about Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, say: ‘Abū Yūsuf, Zufar, ʿĀfiya al-Awdī, Asad ibn ʿAmr, ʿAlī ibn Mushir, Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī.’ Then ʿAbd Allāh said: ‘If Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī were weighed against the people of the earth, he would outweigh them in virtue and righteousness.’

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dāwūd, when Isḥāq asked him about Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, say: ‘Abū Yūsuf, Zufar, ʿĀfiya al-Awdī, Asad ibn ʿAmr, ʿAlī ibn Mushir, Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī.’ Then ʿAbd Allāh said: ‘If Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī were weighed against the people of the earth, he would outweigh them in virtue and righteousness.’

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say: I performed the pilgrimage during Hārūn's reign, after Abū Yūsuf's death. Asad ibn ʿAmr, who held judicial office, performed the pilgrimage with Hārūn that year. I saw Hārūn performing the arrival circumambulation. He had omitted the brisk gait, and people were standing away from him. A servant behind him tugged his garment, telling him to go back and perform the brisk gait. I was at the back of the crowd and called out, “Commander of the Faithful, if you continue, it is valid.” He heard me and continued, abandoning what the servant wanted. I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: ʿUmar ibn Yaḥyā, Hilāl's brother, related to me: I witnessed all of this. When Hilāl intended to call out, I gathered my garment, put it in his mouth, and said, “By God, we left our mother only against her will. Do you want to deprive her of one of us?” By God, he could not restrain himself from calling it out. Abū Bakr continued in his report: When Hārūn finished the circumambulation and the running between the hills, he entered the Kaʿba with Asad ibn ʿAmr, his other commanders, and his cousins. It was closed behind them. I peered through a crack in the door and saw Hārūn seated and Asad ibn ʿAmr seated opposite him, while the others, Hāshimites and everyone else, stood on their feet. I realized that no one was nobler than a jurist, and a sense of Asad ibn ʿAmr's greatness entered my heart that only God knows. Then Hārūn departed with his procession. Asad mounted in the manner of judges and jurists. I followed him as he rode and asked, “Why did Abū Ḥanīfa distinguish between a breach of trust in tawliya and in murābaḥa?” By God, he did not know this statement of Abū Ḥanīfa, and he diminished in my eyes. I went to Yūsuf ibn Khālid, who was on pilgrimage that year, and told him the entire story. He said, “How would Asad know what this is? Abū Ḥanīfa distinguished between them because he treated tawliya as a transfer of a sale, since it is at the original price. It is as though the seller transfers to the new purchaser what he acquired by ownership of the item, for the original price by which he acquired it. He treated murābaḥa as a second sale, since it is at a price different from the original price.” Hilāl had a book on legal instruments and the rules of endowments, and was foremost in the science of legal instruments.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say: I performed the pilgrimage during Hārūn's reign, after Abū Yūsuf's death. Asad ibn ʿAmr, who held judicial office, performed the pilgrimage with Hārūn that year. I saw Hārūn performing the arrival circumambulation. He had omitted the brisk gait, and people were standing away from him. A servant behind him tugged his garment, telling him to go back and perform the brisk gait. I was at the back of the crowd and called out, “Commander of the Faithful, if you continue, it is valid.” He heard me and continued, abandoning what the servant wanted. I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: ʿUmar ibn Yaḥyā, Hilāl's brother, related to me: I witnessed all of this. When Hilāl intended to call out, I gathered my garment, put it in his mouth, and said, “By God, we left our mother only against her will. Do you want to deprive her of one of us?” By God, he could not restrain himself from calling it out. Abū Bakr continued in his report: When Hārūn finished the circumambulation and the running between the hills, he entered the Kaʿba with Asad ibn ʿAmr, his other commanders, and his cousins. It was closed behind them. I peered through a crack in the door and saw Hārūn seated and Asad ibn ʿAmr seated opposite him, while the others, Hāshimites and everyone else, stood on their feet. I realized that no one was nobler than a jurist, and a sense of Asad ibn ʿAmr's greatness entered my heart that only God knows. Then Hārūn departed with his procession. Asad mounted in the manner of judges and jurists. I followed him as he rode and asked, “Why did Abū Ḥanīfa distinguish between a breach of trust in tawliya and in murābaḥa?” By God, he did not know this statement of Abū Ḥanīfa, and he diminished in my eyes. I went to Yūsuf ibn Khālid, who was on pilgrimage that year, and told him the entire story. He said, “How would Asad know what this is? Abū Ḥanīfa distinguished between them because he treated tawliya as a transfer of a sale, since it is at the original price. It is as though the seller transfers to the new purchaser what he acquired by ownership of the item, for the original price by which he acquired it. He treated murābaḥa as a second sale, since it is at a price different from the original price.” Hilāl had a book on legal instruments and the rules of endowments, and was foremost in the science of legal instruments.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn Bakkār narrated to us: Asad ibn ʿAmr narrated to us, from Abū Ḥanīfa, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: It is as though I can see Abū Quḥāfa’s beard, like a blaze of ʿarfaj shrubs.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn Bakkār narrated to us: Asad ibn ʿAmr narrated to us, from Abū Ḥanīfa, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: It is as though I can see Abū Quḥāfa’s beard, like a blaze of ʿarfaj shrubs.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn Bakkār narrated to us: Asad ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: Qatāda entered Kufa and stayed at Abū Burda’s house. He came out and said: No one will ask me a question about lawful and unlawful matters without my answering it. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, what do you say about a man absent from his family for years, whose death was reported to his wife? Thinking him dead, she married. Then her first husband returned, and she had borne a child. The first denied the child was his, and the second claimed it. Have both accused her of fornication, or only the one who denied the child? What is the answer? concerning it. Abū Ḥanīfa said: If he gives an opinion on it, he will err; if he says ‘someone narrated to us’ about it, he will lie. Qatāda asked: Has this case occurred? They said: No. He said: Why ask me about something that has not happened? Abū Ḥanīfa said: Scholars prepare for affliction and guard against it before it descends, so when it comes they recognize it and know how to enter it and emerge from it. Qatāda said: Leave this and ask me about Qurʾānic interpretation. Abū Ḥanīfa asked: What do we say about God’s words, ‘The one who possessed knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you’? He said: Yes, this was Āṣaf ibn Barkhiyā, Solomon’s scribe; he knew God’s greatest name. He asked: Did Solomon—peace be upon him—know this name? He said: No. He asked: Can there be someone in a prophet’s time more knowledgeable than the prophet? He said: No. By God, I will tell you nothing about interpretation; ask me about matters on which scholars disagree. Abū Ḥanīfa asked: Are you a believer? He said: I hope so. He asked: Why? He said: Because of the Exalted’s words, ‘And the One whom I hope will forgive my fault on the Day of Judgment.’ Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why not say what Abraham—peace be upon him—said when asked, ‘Do you not believe?’ He replied: ‘Yes, but so that my heart may be reassured.’ Qatāda rose, entered the house angrily, and swore not to narrate to them. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Years later he came to Kufa, blind. I called: Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, what do you say about ‘Let a group of believers witness their punishment’? He said: One man or more, Abū Ḥanīfa. He recognized my voice and had heard people address me by my kunyah.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn Bakkār narrated to us: Asad ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: Qatāda entered Kufa and stayed at Abū Burda’s house. He came out and said: No one will ask me a question about lawful and unlawful matters without my answering it. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, what do you say about a man absent from his family for years, whose death was reported to his wife? Thinking him dead, she married. Then her first husband returned, and she had borne a child. The first denied the child was his, and the second claimed it. Have both accused her of fornication, or only the one who denied the child? What is the answer? concerning it. Abū Ḥanīfa said: If he gives an opinion on it, he will err; if he says ‘someone narrated to us’ about it, he will lie. Qatāda asked: Has this case occurred? They said: No. He said: Why ask me about something that has not happened? Abū Ḥanīfa said: Scholars prepare for affliction and guard against it before it descends, so when it comes they recognize it and know how to enter it and emerge from it. Qatāda said: Leave this and ask me about Qurʾānic interpretation. Abū Ḥanīfa asked: What do we say about God’s words, ‘The one who possessed knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you’? He said: Yes, this was Āṣaf ibn Barkhiyā, Solomon’s scribe; he knew God’s greatest name. He asked: Did Solomon—peace be upon him—know this name? He said: No. He asked: Can there be someone in a prophet’s time more knowledgeable than the prophet? He said: No. By God, I will tell you nothing about interpretation; ask me about matters on which scholars disagree. Abū Ḥanīfa asked: Are you a believer? He said: I hope so. He asked: Why? He said: Because of the Exalted’s words, ‘And the One whom I hope will forgive my fault on the Day of Judgment.’ Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why not say what Abraham—peace be upon him—said when asked, ‘Do you not believe?’ He replied: ‘Yes, but so that my heart may be reassured.’ Qatāda rose, entered the house angrily, and swore not to narrate to them. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Years later he came to Kufa, blind. I called: Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, what do you say about ‘Let a group of believers witness their punishment’? He said: One man or more, Abū Ḥanīfa. He recognized my voice and had heard people address me by my kunyah.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related, from al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Azdī: My father related: Aḥmad ibn Asad ibn ʿAmr related: I saw Abū Ḥanīfa come to console my father over my grandfather ʿAmr ibn ʿĀmir. I saw him extend his hand and shake his. When the funeral took place, my father put him forward, and he led the prayer over him.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related, from al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Azdī: My father related: Aḥmad ibn Asad ibn ʿAmr related: I saw Abū Ḥanīfa come to console my father over my grandfather ʿAmr ibn ʿĀmir. I saw him extend his hand and shake his. When the funeral took place, my father put him forward, and he led the prayer over him.