al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik. He was trustworthy in transmission, abundant in learning, and extensive in his transmissions. Abū Yūsuf likened him to a camel loaded beyond its capacity and driven through mud: its foreleg would go this way, and then its hind leg that way, before it returned. Ibn Shujāʿ learned from him and others.

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik. He was trustworthy in transmission, abundant in learning, and extensive in his transmissions. Abū Yūsuf likened him to a camel loaded beyond its capacity and driven through mud: its foreleg would go this way, and then its hind leg that way, before it returned. Ibn Shujāʿ learned from him and others.

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Abū al-Walīd Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī. He held judicial office in Madīnat al-Salām for al-Maʾmūn. He was hostile toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and turned against him. Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik would forbid him to do so, saying, “Muḥammad has produced these books; you produce even a single legal question!”

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Abū al-Walīd Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī. He held judicial office in Madīnat al-Salām for al-Maʾmūn. He was hostile toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and turned against him. Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik would forbid him to do so, saying, “Muḥammad has produced these books; you produce even a single legal question!”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related: I was informed from ʿUbayd ibn Ismāʿīl: Al-Manṣūr summoned Abū Ḥanīfa, Sufyān al-Thawrī, and Sharīk. They were admitted, and he said: “I summoned you only for good.” He had already written three commissions. He told Sufyān: “Here is your commission for Basra’s judgeship. Take it and go there.” He told Sharīk: “Here is yours for Kufa; take it and proceed.” He told Abū Ḥanīfa: “Here is yours for my city and its surroundings; take it.” He told his chamberlain: “Send someone with them”—or words to that effect—“and give whoever refuses a hundred lashes.” Sharīk took his commission and proceeded. Sufyān told the attendant assigned to him: “I am just coming out,” entered his house, put the document in a wall recess, and fled to Yemen. It is said that Hishām ibn Yūsuf and ʿAbd al-Razzāq heard him there and that, out of fear, he related four thousand hadiths standing on his feet. Abū Ḥanīfa did not accept the commission. He received a hundred lashes, was imprisoned, and died in confinement. Thus ʿUbayd ibn Ismāʿīl related it to me. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard an elder called Abū Maʿshar relate this account. I asked al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik, who said: “This is well known about him. We have always recalled and related it.” He said: Abū Ḥanīfa was brought to al-Manṣūr, who lodged him. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUmāra came and said: “Abū Ḥanīfa, today I need you and your judgment. A reward has been ordered for me”—he mentioned thousands of dirhams—“and I fear being killed if I refuse. Find a way for me to turn it away.” Ten thousand dirhams were also ordered for Abū Ḥanīfa, with al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba responsible for paying them. When Abū Ḥanīfa realized they were being sent, he spoke to nobody that morning, as if unconscious. The money was brought that day by al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba’s messenger. They told him: “He has not spoken a word today.” He asked: “What should I do?” They replied: “Do as you think best.” He placed it in my place of prayer in a corner of the house and departed. The purse remained there. When Abū Ḥanīfa died, his son Ḥammād was absent. He returned afterward, carried the purse to al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba’s door, sought permission, and entered. He said: “I found in my father’s will: ‘When I have been buried, take the purse in the corner of the house to al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba and say: Here is your deposit that was with us.’” The purse was brought in. Al-Ḥasan looked at it and said: “May God have mercy on your father. He guarded his religion jealously when many others readily surrendered theirs.” [The first-person ‘my place of prayer’ reflects an unexplained voice change in the source.]

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related: I was informed from ʿUbayd ibn Ismāʿīl: Al-Manṣūr summoned Abū Ḥanīfa, Sufyān al-Thawrī, and Sharīk. They were admitted, and he said: “I summoned you only for good.” He had already written three commissions. He told Sufyān: “Here is your commission for Basra’s judgeship. Take it and go there.” He told Sharīk: “Here is yours for Kufa; take it and proceed.” He told Abū Ḥanīfa: “Here is yours for my city and its surroundings; take it.” He told his chamberlain: “Send someone with them”—or words to that effect—“and give whoever refuses a hundred lashes.” Sharīk took his commission and proceeded. Sufyān told the attendant assigned to him: “I am just coming out,” entered his house, put the document in a wall recess, and fled to Yemen. It is said that Hishām ibn Yūsuf and ʿAbd al-Razzāq heard him there and that, out of fear, he related four thousand hadiths standing on his feet. Abū Ḥanīfa did not accept the commission. He received a hundred lashes, was imprisoned, and died in confinement. Thus ʿUbayd ibn Ismāʿīl related it to me. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard an elder called Abū Maʿshar relate this account. I asked al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik, who said: “This is well known about him. We have always recalled and related it.” He said: Abū Ḥanīfa was brought to al-Manṣūr, who lodged him. Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUmāra came and said: “Abū Ḥanīfa, today I need you and your judgment. A reward has been ordered for me”—he mentioned thousands of dirhams—“and I fear being killed if I refuse. Find a way for me to turn it away.” Ten thousand dirhams were also ordered for Abū Ḥanīfa, with al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba responsible for paying them. When Abū Ḥanīfa realized they were being sent, he spoke to nobody that morning, as if unconscious. The money was brought that day by al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba’s messenger. They told him: “He has not spoken a word today.” He asked: “What should I do?” They replied: “Do as you think best.” He placed it in a corner of the house and departed. The purse remained there. When Abū Ḥanīfa died, his son Ḥammād was absent. He returned afterward, carried the purse to al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba’s door, sought permission, and entered. He said: “I found in my father’s will: ‘When I have been buried, take the purse in the corner of the house to al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭaba and say: Here is your deposit that was with us.’” The purse was brought in. Al-Ḥasan looked at it and said: “May God have mercy on your father. He guarded his religion jealously when many others readily surrendered theirs.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us that al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād and al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik both died in the year 204, may God be pleased with them both.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us that al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād and al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik both died in the year 204, may God be pleased with them both.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad the judge narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik informed us: Abū Ḥanīfa visited Ibn Abī Laylā with Abū Yūsuf to discharge his social obligation toward him. When Abū Ḥanīfa sat with him, Ibn Abī Laylā told his doorkeeper: Admit the litigants present. It was as if he wanted to show Abū Ḥanīfa his effectiveness in judgment and adjudication. Litigants entered and a group came before him; he judged between them. Then two men came forward. One said: May God honor you, this man accused my mother of fornication and insulted me, saying: Son of a fornicatress! I ask the judge to obtain my right. Ibn Abī Laylā asked the defendant: What do you say? Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—said: Why ask him about this claim? This man has no standing against him: he says the accusation of fornication concerns his mother. Has his authorization to act for his mother been established before you? He said: No. He said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother is alive or dead. If alive, he has no basis for his claim except authorization from her to pursue her right. If dead, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā turned to the claimant and asked: Is your mother alive or dead? He said: Dead. He said: Produce evidence of her death before me so I may know. He produced evidence. Ibn Abī Laylā then went to ask the defendant about the allegation, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother has another heir. If he has siblings, the right to claim belongs to him and them. If he alone is the heir, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā asked: Does your mother have another heir? He said: No. He said: Produce evidence. He produced evidence that he alone was her heir. Ibn Abī Laylā went to ask the defendant about the claim, but Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother was free or enslaved. Ibn Abī Laylā asked him, and he said: Free. He required evidence, which he produced. He went to ask the defendant, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Return again to the claimant and ask whether she was Muslim or a woman protected by treaty. He said: A free Muslim woman from such-and-such a family, prominent people in Kufa. He said: Produce evidence that she was Muslim. He did so. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Now proceed, and ask the man about the claimant’s allegation. He asked, and the man denied it. He asked the claimant: Have you evidence? He said: Yes, a group of Kufa’s leading men. He said: Bring them with your opponent so I can hear their testimony against him. He brought them, and Abū Ḥanīfa rose. Ibn Abī Laylā said: Will you sit until the evidence arrives? He said: No, and left at once.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad the judge narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik informed us: Abū Ḥanīfa visited Ibn Abī Laylā with Abū Yūsuf to discharge his social obligation toward him. When Abū Ḥanīfa sat with him, Ibn Abī Laylā told his doorkeeper: Admit the litigants present. It was as if he wanted to show Abū Ḥanīfa his effectiveness in judgment and adjudication. Litigants entered and a group came before him; he judged between them. Then two men came forward. One said: May God honor you, this man accused my mother of fornication and insulted me, saying: Son of a fornicatress! I ask the judge to obtain my right. Ibn Abī Laylā asked the defendant: What do you say? Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why ask him about this claim? This man has no standing against him: he says the accusation of fornication concerns his mother. Has his authorization to act for his mother been established before you? He said: No. He said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother is alive or dead. If alive, he has no basis for his claim except authorization from her to pursue her right. If dead, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā turned to the claimant and asked: Is your mother alive or dead? He said: Dead. He said: Produce evidence of her death before me so I may know. He produced evidence. Ibn Abī Laylā then went to ask the defendant about the allegation, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother has another heir. If he has siblings, the right to claim belongs to him and them. If he alone is the heir, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā asked: Does your mother have another heir? He said: No. He said: Produce evidence. He produced evidence that he alone was her heir. Ibn Abī Laylā went to ask the defendant about the claim, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother was free or enslaved. Ibn Abī Laylā asked him, and he said: Free. He required evidence, which he produced. He went to ask the defendant, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Return again to the claimant and ask whether she was Muslim or a woman protected by treaty. He said: A free Muslim woman from such-and-such a family, prominent people in Kufa. He said: Produce evidence that she was Muslim. He did so. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Now proceed, and ask the man about the claimant’s allegation. He asked, and the man denied it. He asked the claimant: Have you evidence? He said: Yes, a group of Kufa’s leading men. He said: Bring them with your opponent so I can hear their testimony against him. Abū Ḥanīfa rose. Ibn Abī Laylā said: Will you sit until the evidence arrives? He said: No, and left at once.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad al-Marwazī narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard that Abū Ḥanīfa accepted deposits from Khurasanians. After he died, they brought them to Ḥammād, who said: I will not accept them. He was told: Your father used to accept them. He replied: My father had someone like me, but I have no one like him.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad al-Marwazī narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard that Abū Ḥanīfa accepted deposits from Khurasanians. After he died, they brought them to Ḥammād, who said: I will not accept them. He was told: Your father used to accept them. He replied: My father had someone like me, but I have no one like him.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Abū al-Qāsim ibn Kaʾs related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say, “I have never prayed a prayer, or otherwise [the wording is elliptical], without praying to God for Abū Ḥanīfa and seeking his forgiveness.” When ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ transmitted from Abū Yūsuf, he would say, “The jurist of jurists, Chief Judge, and master of scholars Abū Yūsuf related to me.” Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq said: One day Bishr ibn al-Walīd told his dictation repeater, who had said “Yaʿqūb informed you”: “Will you not honor and exalt him? I have never seen anyone like him.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Abū al-Qāsim ibn Kaʾs related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say, “I have never prayed a prayer, obligatory or otherwise, without praying to God for Abū Ḥanīfa and seeking his forgiveness.” When ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ transmitted from Abū Yūsuf, he would say, “The jurist of jurists, Chief Judge, and master of scholars Abū Yūsuf related to me.” Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq said: One day Bishr ibn al-Walīd told his dictation repeater, who had said “Yaʿqūb informed you”: “Will you not honor and exalt him? I have never seen anyone like him.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the accredited witness informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik and ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me: We used to attend Abū Muʿāwiya for jurisprudential hadith transmitted from al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa. Abū Muʿāwiya asked us, “Is Judge Abū Yūsuf not among you?” We said yes. He said, “Do you leave Abū Yūsuf and write from me? We used to attend al-Ḥajjāj. Abū Yūsuf would memorize while al-Ḥajjāj dictated to us; when we left, we wrote from Abū Yūsuf’s memory.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the accredited witness informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik and ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me: We used to attend Abū Muʿāwiya for jurisprudential hadith transmitted from al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa. Abū Muʿāwiya asked us, “Is Judge Abū Yūsuf not among you?” We said yes. He said, “Do you leave Abū Yūsuf and write from me? We used to attend al-Ḥajjāj. Abū Yūsuf would memorize while al-Ḥajjāj dictated to us; when we left, we wrote from Abū Yūsuf’s memory.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to me: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: Abū Yūsuf used to use analogies for his companions. Of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan he said, “What a sword he is, but for its rust and its need for polishing!” Of al-Ḥasan al-Luʾluʾī he said, “To me he is like a pharmacist: if a man asks for something to bind his bowels, he gives him a laxative; if he asks for a laxative, he gives him something to bind them.” Of al-Marīsī he said, “To me he is like a darner’s needle: its point is fine, its eye narrow, and it breaks easily.” Of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ he said, “To me he is like a man with dirhams coated in kohl: whenever he touches them, they diminish.” I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā, judge of Hamadan, related to me from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: I heard Abū Yūsuf say all of this, adding: Of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik he said, “To me he is like a camel carrying a heavy load on a rainy day: its foreleg goes this way once and that way another time, but it comes through safely.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to me: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: Abū Yūsuf used to use analogies for his companions. Of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan he said, “What a sword he is, but for its rust and its need for polishing!” Of al-Ḥasan al-Luʾluʾī he said, “To me he is like a pharmacist: if a man asks for something to bind his bowels, he gives him a laxative; if he asks for a laxative, he gives him something to bind them.” Of al-Marīsī he said, “To me he is like a darner’s needle: its point is fine, its eye narrow, and it breaks easily.” Of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ he said, “To me he is like a man with dirhams coated in kohl: whenever he touches them, they diminish.” I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā, judge of Hamadan, related to me from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: I heard Abū Yūsuf say all of this, adding: Of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik he said, “To me he is like a camel carrying a heavy load on a rainy day: its foreleg goes this way once and that way another time, but it comes through safely.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: When al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came to Abū Yūsuf, he caused him apprehension. Ibn Shujāʿ said: I heard Ibn Ziyād say, “For forty years I never spent a night without a lamp before me.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: When al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came to Abū Yūsuf, he caused him apprehension. Ibn Shujāʿ said: I heard Ibn Ziyād say, “For forty years I never spent a night without a lamp before me.”