Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ

Another companion of Abū Yūsuf was Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ. He held judicial office in Egypt and was weak in his transmission. Abū Yūsuf used to tell him, “You take a legal question from us fresh and return it with kohl applied.” ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd and others recorded dictated lessons from him.

Another companion of Abū Yūsuf was Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ. He held judicial office in Egypt and was weak in his transmission. Abū Yūsuf used to tell him, “You take a legal question from us fresh and return it with kohl applied.” ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd and others recorded dictated lessons from him.

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.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ say: I entered upon Abū Yūsuf when he was gravely ill. He asked, “Ibrāhīm, what do you say about a question?” I said, “In a condition like this?” He said, “There is no harm: let us study, so someone who is saved may be saved through it.” He then asked, “When casting pebbles at the pilgrimage pillars, is it better to cast them while mounted or walking?” I said, “Mounted.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Walking.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Tell us about it, God be pleased with you.” He said, “If it is one at which you do not stop, it is better to cast while mounted, because that allows you to move away faster. If it is one at which you stop, it is better to cast while walking, because you can stand more firmly and supplicate more abundantly.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ say: I entered upon Abū Yūsuf when he was gravely ill. He asked, “Ibrāhīm, what do you say about a question?” I said, “In a condition like this?” He said, “There is no harm: let us study, so someone who is saved may be saved through it.” He then asked, “When casting pebbles at the pilgrimage pillars, is it better to cast them while mounted or walking?” I said, “Mounted.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Walking.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Tell us about it, God be pleased with you.” He said, “If it is one at which you do not stop, it is better to cast while mounted, because that allows you to move away faster. If it is one at which you stop, it is better to cast while walking, because you can stand more firmly and supplicate more abundantly.”