Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa

Another companion of both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad was Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa. He was one of the trustworthy men of strong retention. He recorded the Nawādir from both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad and transmitted the books and dictated lessons. He held judicial office in Baghdad for the Commander of the Faithful al-Maʾmūn, and continued judging until his eyesight weakened during al-Muʿtaṣim's reign, when he asked to be excused. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said, “If hadith scholars were as truthful in hadith as Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa is in legal reasoning, they would reach the utmost degree in it.”

Another companion of both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad was Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa. He was one of the trustworthy men of strong retention. He recorded the Nawādir from both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad and transmitted the books and dictated lessons. He held judicial office in Baghdad for the Commander of the Faithful al-Maʾmūn, and continued judging until his eyesight weakened during al-Muʿtaṣim's reign, when he asked to be excused. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said, “If hadith scholars were as truthful in hadith as Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa is in legal reasoning, they would reach the utmost degree in it.”

I heard our imam and teacher, Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, say: The reason Ibn Samāʿa recorded the Nawādir from Muḥammad was that he saw him in a dream as though he were piercing needles. He sought an interpretation and was told, “This is a man who speaks wisdom; strive not to miss a single word from him.” At that point he began recording the Nawādir from him.

I heard our imam and teacher, Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, say: The reason Ibn Samāʿa recorded the Nawādir from Muḥammad was that he saw him in a dream as though he were piercing needles. He sought an interpretation and was told, “This is a man who speaks wisdom; strive not to miss a single word from him.” At that point he began recording the Nawādir from him.

Among those who learned from both of them was Hishām ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Rāzī, although he was weak in transmission. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan died in his house in Rayy and was buried in their cemetery. I heard Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā, God have mercy on him, report of Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Rāzī that he disliked having the Uṣūl read to him through Hishām's transmission because of its inconsistencies. He would direct that the Uṣūl be read through Abū Sulaymān's or Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa's transmission because of their soundness and the two men's precision.

Among those who learned from both of them was Hishām ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Rāzī, although he was weak in transmission. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan died in his house in Rayy and was buried in their cemetery. I heard Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā, God have mercy on him, report of Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Rāzī that he disliked having the Uṣūl read to him through Hishām's transmission because of its inconsistencies. He would direct that the Uṣūl be read through Abū Sulaymān's or Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa's transmission because of their soundness and the two men's precision.

Of this generation was Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān, the teacher of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī. He was the senior scholar of our companions in Egypt in his time. He learned from Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and their peers. He had a compiled book known as al-Ḥujaj, one of the fine books. It is said that he was blind.

Of this generation was Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān, the teacher of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī. He was the senior scholar of our companions in Egypt in his time. He learned from Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and their peers. He had a compiled book known as al-Ḥujaj, one of the fine books. It is said that he was blind.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: After accepting judicial office, Abū Yūsuf prayed every day two hundred units of prayer. Ibn Samāʿa also prayed them every day. Bishr prayed two hundred units every day, and continued praying them after he suffered paralysis.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: After accepting judicial office, Abū Yūsuf prayed every day two hundred units of prayer. Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa also prayed them every day. Bishr prayed two hundred units every day, and continued praying them after he suffered paralysis.

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.

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.”

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.

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 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.”

Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Muḥammad, nephew of Hilāl al-Raʾy, narrated to us: My father Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdān al-Ṭayālisī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Ṣalt narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: I made the pilgrimage with my father in the year 96, when I was sixteen. There was an old man around whom people had gathered. I asked my father, “Who is this man?” He said, “A man who accompanied Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, called ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Juzʾ.” I asked my father, “What does he have?” He said, “Reports he heard from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace.” I said, “Take me forward to him so I can hear from him.” My father went ahead and parted the people for me until I came close. I heard him say: I heard God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, say: “Whoever gains understanding of God’s religion, God will suffice him against his cares and provide for him from where he does not expect.”

Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Muḥammad, nephew of Hilāl al-Rāzī, narrated to us: My father Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdān al-Ṭayālisī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Ṣalt narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: I made the pilgrimage with my father in the year 96, when I was sixteen. There was an old man around whom people had gathered. I asked my father, “Who is this man?” He said, “A man who accompanied Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, called ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Juzʾ.” I asked my father, “What does he have?” He said, “Reports he heard from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace.” I said, “Take me forward to him so I can hear from him.” My father went ahead and parted the people for me until I came close. I heard him say: I heard God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, say: “Whoever gains understanding of God’s religion, God will suffice him against his cares and provide for him from where he does not expect.”

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa and Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: All our scholars used to say that the two prostrations for forgetfulness come after the salutation, and that one recites the testimony of faith and gives the salutation with them. Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān said: This is how Anas ibn Mālik gives his ruling. Abū Ḥanīfa said: I asked Anas ibn Mālik, and he said: That is how it is.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa and Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: All our scholars used to say that the two prostrations for forgetfulness come after the salutation, and that one recites the testimony of faith and gives the salutation with them. Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān said: This is how Anas ibn Mālik gives his ruling. Abū Ḥanīfa said: I asked Anas ibn Mālik, and he said: That is how it is.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: When I wished to pursue knowledge, I began choosing a field and consulting others. I said: Shall I memorize the Qurʾān, so that people come to me to recite it and I teach them? Then I said: Young people will memorize it as I do. I consulted others and was advised to study grammar. I said: If I reach its highest level, I will sit with a boy, educating him for a king. I consulted again and was advised to study unfamiliar vocabulary and poetry. I said: If I reach its highest level, I will praise and blame people and seek charity through it. Then I said: Theology. But if I reach its highest level, they will call me a heretic. Then I said: Hadith. But if I reach its highest level, I will have to accommodate young people in it; and if a group gathers around me or seeks me out, and I produce the unusual reports I have collected, they will say: “A liar!” It will then become a reproach against me until the Day of Resurrection. Then I said: Jurisprudence. I sought a fault in it but found none. I said: As soon as I begin it, I become a companion of scholars and elders. If a question arises among relatives or neighbors, or concerning an inheritance obligation, they will ask me about it. If I know the answer, well and good; otherwise they will say: “You must ask those whose company you keep.” I will ask, and they will await my answer. I will return to them with nobility, knowledge and dignity. Whoever seeks religious benefit through it attains something good and substantial and rises in standing. Whoever desires worship and goodness cannot be accused of worshipping without knowledge or reason; rather, it will be said: “He learned and acted on his knowledge.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: When I wished to pursue knowledge, I began choosing a field and consulting others. I said: Shall I memorize the Qurʾān, so that people come to me to recite it and I teach them? Then I said: Young people will memorize it as I do. I consulted others and was advised to study grammar. I said: If I reach its highest level, I will sit with a boy, educating him for a king. I consulted again and was advised to study unfamiliar vocabulary and poetry. I said: If I reach its highest level, I will praise and blame people and seek charity through it. Then I said: Theology. But if I reach its highest level, they will call me a heretic. Then I said: Hadith. But if I reach its highest level, I will have to accommodate young people in it; and if a group gathers around me or seeks me out, and I produce the unusual reports I have collected, they will say: “A liar!” It will then become a reproach against me until the Day of Resurrection. Then I said: Jurisprudence. I sought a fault in it but found none. I said: As soon as I begin it, I become a companion of scholars and elders. If a question arises among relatives or neighbors, or concerning an inheritance obligation, they will ask me about it. If I know the answer, well and good; otherwise they will say: “You must ask those whose company you keep.” I will ask, and they will await my answer. I will return to them with nobility, knowledge and dignity. Whoever seeks worldly advancement through it attains something good and substantial and rises in standing. Whoever desires worship and goodness cannot be accused of worshipping without knowledge or reason; rather, it will be said: “He learned and acted on his knowledge.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: When a report from the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—comes through trustworthy transmitters, we accept it. When it comes from his Companions, we do not go beyond their statements. When it comes from the Successors, I compete with them.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: When a report from the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—comes through trustworthy transmitters, we accept it. When it comes from his Companions, we do not go beyond their statements. When it comes from the Successors, I compete with them.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Whenever I disagreed with Abū Ḥanīfa on anything and considered it carefully, the position he adopted proved safer in the hereafter. I sometimes inclined toward a report, but he understood sound reports better than I did.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Whenever I disagreed with Abū Ḥanīfa on anything and considered it carefully, the position he adopted proved safer in the hereafter. I sometimes inclined toward a report, but he understood sound reports better than I did.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mūsā ibn Sulaymān, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, and Bishr ibn al-Walīd—God’s mercy upon them—narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan—may God have mercy on him—narrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfa—God’s mercy upon him—debated his companions about analogies, and they could hold their own and oppose him. But when he said, ‘I adopt juristic preference,’ none could keep up with him because of the many cases he brought forward under juristic preference. They would all desist and concede to him.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mūsā ibn Sulaymān, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, and Bishr ibn al-Walīdnarrated to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasannarrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfadebated his companions about analogies, and they could hold their own and oppose him. But when he said, ‘I adopt juristic preference,’ none could keep up with him because of the many cases he brought forward under juristic preference. They would all desist and concede to him.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa went on pilgrimage, and the problem of the houses arose in Kufa. Ibn Shubruma, Ibn Abī Laylā, al-Thawrī, and Kufa’s people were asked, but had nothing to offer. Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions were asked, but had no answer. They said: Only Abū Ḥanīfa can solve it. We yearned so eagerly for his arrival that we feared for him and ourselves. We feared he would be unable to answer, and his standing and ours would disappear together, until some of us wished him dead. When Abū Ḥanīfa approached Kufa, I went to meet him, thinking: I will tell him the question so perhaps he can consider it before being asked. When I met him he said: Yaʿqūb! He took me along with him. Then many people came out to meet him, and I could not say anything about it. He called for a riding animal and mounted it, and put me on an animal with him. The other people rode around us until the roads became crowded. When he arrived, he came to the mosque and prayed two units. People gathered, and the first thing he was asked was the question that had arisen about the houses. When it was put to him he lowered his head. When I saw him lower his head, I knew that a solution would emerge. Then he raised his head and said: The answer is such-and-such. We and the people rejoiced. After Abū Ḥanīfa died, I was one day in the caliph’s residence when a distinguished man passed us. They said: This is the mathematician. The caliph’s associates treated him with great respect. I called him over and put a jurisprudential topic to him. I had become uncertain about something Abū Ḥanīfa had said in that problem, so I said: We have needed calculation for this. I explained it to him, and he said: Work it through such-and-such a method. I did, but it did not yield a solution. He proposed another method; I tried it, but it did not work. He kept proposing methods without obtaining a solution. He said: Only one method remains; if it works, well and good, otherwise there is absolutely no method that will solve it. He mentioned Abū Ḥanīfa’s approach. I applied it and obtained the solution, but said: It does not work. I feared that he would go away and work that problem out by it. I then went away, developed the method, and worked problems through it. Whenever I met him and he asked me, I obscured the answer lest he perceive it. He was a versatile mathematician.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa went on pilgrimage, and the problem of the houses arose in Kufa. Ibn Shubruma, Ibn Abī Laylā, al-Thawrī, and Kufa’s people were asked, but had nothing to offer. Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions were asked, but had no answer. They said: Only Abū Ḥanīfa can solve it. We yearned so eagerly for his arrival that we feared for him and ourselves. We feared he would be unable to answer, and his standing and ours would disappear together, until some of us wished him dead. When Abū Ḥanīfa approached Kufa, I went to meet him, thinking: I will tell him the question so perhaps he can consider it before being asked. When I met him he said: Yaʿqūb! He took me along with him. Then many people came out to meet him, and I could not say anything about it. He called for a riding animal and mounted it, and put me on an animal with him. The other people rode around us until the roads became crowded. When he arrived, he came to the mosque and prayed two units. People gathered, and the first thing he was asked was the question that had arisen about the houses. When it was put to him he lowered his head. When I saw him lower his head, I knew that a solution would emerge. Then he raised his head and said: The answer is such-and-such. We and the people rejoiced. After Abū Ḥanīfa died, I was one day in the caliph’s residence when a distinguished man passed us. They said: This is the mathematician. The caliph’s associates treated him with great respect. I called him over and put a jurisprudential topic to him. I had become uncertain about something Abū Ḥanīfa had said in that problem, so I said: We have needed calculation for this. I explained it to him, and he said: Work it through such-and-such a method. I did, but it did not yield a solution. He proposed another method; I tried it, but it did not work. He kept proposing methods without obtaining a solution. He said: Only one method remains; if it works, well and good, otherwise there is absolutely no method that will solve it. He mentioned Abū Ḥanīfa’s approach. I applied it and obtained the solution, but said: It does not work. I feared that he would go away and work that problem out by it. I then went away, developed the method, and worked problems through it. Whenever I met him and he asked me, I obscured the answer lest he perceive it. He was a versatile mathematician.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mūsā and Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Muḥammad narrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfa narrated to me from Ḥammād, who used to say: When asked a difficult question, turn it back into a question for your questioner until you extricate yourself from his question. Someone secretly sent a man who sat waiting for me at the gate while I was with Ibn Hubayra, who had ordered me imprisoned. The man hurried to the prison and said: Abū Ḥanīfa, if the supreme ruler orders a man to kill someone, is he permitted to kill him? I asked him: Is that man someone who deserves execution? He said: Yes. I said: Then execute him. He said: What if he does not deserve execution? I said: The supreme ruler does not order the killing of someone who does not deserve execution.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mūsā and Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Muḥammad narrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfa narrated to me from Ḥammād, who used to say: When asked a difficult question, turn it back into a question for your questioner until you extricate yourself from his question. Someone secretly sent a man who sat waiting for me at the gate while I was with Ibn Hubayra, who had ordered me imprisoned. The man hurried to the prison and said: Abū Ḥanīfa, if the supreme ruler orders a man to kill someone, is he permitted to kill him? I asked him: Is that man someone who deserves execution? He said: Yes. I said: Then execute him. He said: What if he does not deserve execution? I said: The supreme ruler does not order the killing of someone who does not deserve execution.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us: A man said to Abū Ḥanīfa: I swore not to speak to my wife unless she spoke to me, and she swore to give all she owned in charity if she spoke to me unless I spoke to her. He asked: Have you asked anyone about this? He said: Yes, Sufyān al-Thawrī. He said that whichever spoke to the other would break the oath. He said: Speak to her; neither of you will break the oath. The man went to Sufyān, who was his relative, and told him. Sufyān came to me angrily and said: You make sexual relations lawful! He asked: What is that about? Then he said: Repeat the question to Abū ʿAbd Allāh. They repeated it, and Abū Ḥanīfa repeated his ruling. He asked: On what basis do you say that? He said: When she addressed her oath to him after he had sworn, she had spoken to him, and his oath ceased to apply. If he speaks to her, neither breaks an oath, because she spoke to him after his oath and the oath ceased to apply to them both. Sufyān said: He uncovers for you a point of knowledge of which we are all unaware.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us: A man said to Abū Ḥanīfa: I swore not to speak to my wife unless she spoke to me, and she swore to give all she owned in charity if she spoke to me unless I spoke to her. He asked: Have you asked anyone about this? He said: Yes, Sufyān al-Thawrī. He said that whichever spoke to the other would break the oath. He said: Speak to her; neither of you will break the oath. The man went to Sufyān, who was his relative, and told him. Sufyān came to me angrily and said: You make sexual relations lawful! He asked: What is that about? Then he said: Repeat the question to Abū ʿAbd Allāh. They repeated it, and Abū Ḥanīfa repeated his ruling. He asked: On what basis do you say that? He said: When she addressed her oath to him after he had sworn, she had spoken to him, and his oath ceased to apply. If he speaks to her, he does not break his oath, because he spoke after she had spoken; nor does she, because she spoke after he had spoken. Thus the oath ceased to apply to them both. Sufyān said: He uncovers for you a point of knowledge of which we are all unaware.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: When Abū Ḥanīfa wished to go out, he inspected his sandal strap, and if it needed mending he mended it. He often wore leather socks. I never saw him with a broken sandal strap. Abū ʿAbd Allāh also did this.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: When Abū Ḥanīfa wished to go out, he inspected his sandal strap, and if it needed mending he mended it. He often wore leather socks. I never saw him with a broken sandal strap. Abū ʿAbd Allāh also did this.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Were it not for fear of God that knowledge might be lost, I would give no one a ruling: they enjoy the benefit, while I bear the burden of sin.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Were it not for fear of God that knowledge might be lost, I would give no one a ruling: they enjoy the benefit, while I bear the burden of sin.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa was asked, when ʿAlqama and al-Aswad were mentioned: Which was more excellent? He said: By God, my standing allows me only to mention them with prayers and requests for forgiveness, out of reverence for them. How could I rank one above the other?

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa was asked, when ʿAlqama and al-Aswad were mentioned: Which was more excellent? He said: By God, my standing allows me only to mention them with prayers and requests for forgiveness, out of reverence for them. How could I rank one above the other?

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Whoever speaks on a matter of knowledge and assumes responsibility for it, thinking God will not ask him, ‘How did you give rulings in God’s religion?’, has treated his own self and religion lightly. Abū Yūsuf said: Abū Ḥanīfa was a successor to those who had passed, and by God he left no one like himself on the earth.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Whoever speaks on a matter of knowledge and assumes responsibility for it, thinking God will not ask him, ‘How did you give rulings in God’s religion?’, has treated his own self and religion lightly. Abū Yūsuf said: Abū Ḥanīfa was a successor to those who had passed, and by God he left no one like himself on the earth.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and Mūsā ibn Sulaymān al-Jūzajānī related to us: Abū Yūsuf related to us: Most jurists of Kufa performed most prayers in the congregational mosque; they also performed the predawn prayer there. Misʿar openly displayed hostility to Abū Ḥanīfa and encouraged attacks upon him. One night, as he was leaving, he passed Abū Ḥanīfa in prostration. He placed small pebbles on his garment without his knowing and went out. Abū Ḥanīfa used to say: “A jurist should impose upon himself some practice which people do not regard as obligatory.” He also said: “When sleep enters the heart, ablution becomes obligatory.” Misʿar went out and returned after the call to the morning prayer. He found Abū Ḥanīfa still in the same position, weeping and supplicating. Then he stood and performed the two dawn units, imploring God until the prayer was announced. He performed the morning prayer with the ablution of the beginning of the night. In the morning Misʿar took a group of his companions by the hand, went to him, and said: “I repent to God for speaking about you; release me from my obligation to you.” Abū Ḥanīfa replied: “Any ignorant person who has backbitten me is released, but a person of knowledge remains accountable until he repents, because scholars’ backbiting leaves a blemish among people. As for me, I have released you. But what of God’s claim against you for what He prohibited in His Book and His Prophet’s Sunna?” Thereafter they lived as brothers until they died.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and Mūsā ibn Sulaymān al-Jūzajānī related to us: Abū Yūsuf related to us: Most jurists of Kufa performed most prayers in the congregational mosque; they also performed the predawn prayer there. Misʿar openly displayed hostility to Abū Ḥanīfa and encouraged attacks upon him. One night, as he was leaving, he passed Abū Ḥanīfa in prostration. He placed small pebbles on his garment without his knowing and went out. Abū Ḥanīfa used to say: “A jurist should impose upon himself some practice which people do not regard as obligatory.” He also said: “When sleep enters the heart, ablution becomes obligatory.” Misʿar went out and returned after the call to the morning prayer. He found Abū Ḥanīfa still in the same position, weeping and supplicating. Then he stood and performed the two dawn units, imploring God until the prayer was announced. He performed the morning prayer with the ablution of the beginning of the night. In the morning Misʿar took a group of his companions by the hand, went to him, and said: “I repent to God Most High for speaking about you; release me from my obligation to you.” Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—replied: “Any ignorant person who has backbitten me is released, but a person of knowledge remains accountable until he repents, because scholars’ backbiting leaves a blemish among people. As for me, I have released you. But what of God’s claim against you for what He prohibited in His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace?” Thereafter they lived as brothers until they died.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa completed the Qurʾān once every day and night. In Ramadan, together with the night and day of the Festival of Breaking the Fast, he completed it sixty-two times. He was generous with money, patient in teaching knowledge, strongly enduring whatever befell him in that pursuit, and slow to anger. Our companions said that he prayed the morning prayer with the purification of the beginning of the night. I witnessed that for twenty years. Those who accompanied him before us said he did so for forty years. Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī also did that, enduring poverty as well.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa completed the Qurʾān once every day and night. In Ramadan, together with the night and day of the Festival of Breaking the Fast, he completed it sixty-two times. He was generous with money, patient in teaching knowledge, strongly enduring whatever befell him in that pursuit, and slow to anger. Our companions said that he prayed the morning prayer with the purification of the beginning of the night. I witnessed that for twenty years. Those who accompanied him before us said he did so for forty years. Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī also did that, enduring poverty as well.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I attended Abū Ḥanīfa for nineteen years and saw him pray the morning prayer with the ablution of the beginning of the night. I have seen nobody more eager for knowledge which he practised and taught people. A son of mine died during Abū Ḥanīfa’s lifetime. I appointed someone to attend to him and bury him, and did not leave Abū Ḥanīfa’s gathering, saying: “I would lose a day with Abū Ḥanīfa.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I attended Abū Ḥanīfa for nineteen years and saw him pray the morning prayer with the ablution of the beginning of the night. I have seen nobody more eager for knowledge which he practised and taught people. A son of mine died during Abū Ḥanīfa’s lifetime. I appointed someone to attend to him and bury him, and did not leave Abū Ḥanīfa’s gathering, saying: “I would lose a day with Abū Ḥanīfa.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Kāʾs related to us: al-Bukhtarī ibn Muḥammad related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us, from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan: al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn related to me that Abū Ḥanīfa spent a night standing with this verse: “Rather, the Hour is their appointed time, and the Hour is more calamitous and bitter,” repeating it, weeping, and supplicating humbly.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Kāʾs related to us: al-Bukhtarī ibn Muḥammad related to us: Ibn Samāʿa related to us, from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan: al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn related to me that Abū Ḥanīfa spent a night standing with this verse: “Rather, the Hour is their appointed time, and the Hour is more calamitous and bitter,” repeating it, weeping, and supplicating humbly.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related: Ibn Samāʿa related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa sat teaching. Sufyān came disguised and listened without his knowing. As he left, there was a man sleeping wrapped in his cloak. Abū Ḥanīfa said: “The father of this sleeper, Saʿīd ibn Masrūq, related to me. By Him who knows what I say, I wish that everything I know were in his breast, or in the breasts of the schoolchildren.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related: Ibn Samāʿa related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa sat teaching. Sufyān came disguised and listened without his knowing. As he left, there was a man sleeping wrapped in his cloak. Abū Ḥanīfa said: “The father of this sleeper, Saʿīd ibn Masrūq, related to me. By Him who knows what I say, I wish that everything I know were in his breast, or in the breast of one of the schoolchildren.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related: Ibn Mughallis related: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa the judge related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: We were with Misʿar, Sufyān sitting beside him discussing knowledge, when Abū Ḥanīfa approached. Misʿar made room and I rose from my seat for him. Misʿar asked: “Will you not greet Abū ʿAbd Allāh?” He turned to Sufyān: “May God have mercy on your father! He was far from love of leadership, fair to everyone he saw, and followed knowledge. Grey hair has come quickly to you.” Sufyān said: “Who would not tear his clothes on account of this Nabataean!” He rose and left.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related: Ibn Mughallis related: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa the judge related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: We were with Misʿar, Sufyān sitting beside him discussing knowledge, when Abū Ḥanīfa approached. Misʿar made room and I rose from my seat for him. Misʿar asked: “Will you not greet Abū ʿAbd Allāh?” He turned to Sufyān: “May God have mercy on your father! He was far from love of leadership, fair to everyone he saw, and followed knowledge. Grey hair has come quickly to you.” Sufyān said: “Who would not tear his clothes on account of this Nabataean!” He rose and left.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad related: Ibn Samāʿa related, from Abū Yūsuf: When Abū Ḥanīfa heard what Sufyān said against him, something that hurt him, he would say: “He is young, and young men have sharp tempers.” When he approached he said: “He is young.” Sufyān said: “How much older than me is this Nabataean, that he belittles my age?” Abū Ḥanīfa did not deem it lawful to say anything else against him except that he was young.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad related: Ibn Samāʿa related, from Abū Yūsuf: When Abū Ḥanīfa heard what Sufyān said against him, something that hurt him, he would say: “He is young, and young men have sharp tempers.” When he approached he said: “He is young.” Sufyān said: “How much older than me is this Nabataean, that he belittles my age?” Abū Ḥanīfa did not deem it lawful to say anything else against him except that he was young.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related: I heard Ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: “When a judge intentionally acts unjustly, his judgment is void, whether formally dismissed or not. His misconduct has itself dismissed him.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related: I heard Ibn Samāʿa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: “When a judge intentionally acts unjustly, his judgment is void, whether formally dismissed or not. His misconduct has itself dismissed him.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us, saying: Abū Ḥanīfa was in the Sacred Mosque giving legal opinions when Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad stood beside him. Noticing him, he rose and said, “Descendant of God’s Messenger, had I noticed you when you first stood here, God would not have seen me sitting while you stood.” I told him, “Sit, Abū Ḥanīfa, and answer the people. This is how I found my forefathers.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Ibn Samāʿa narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us, saying: Abū Ḥanīfa was in the Sacred Mosque giving legal opinions when Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad stood beside him. Noticing him, he rose and said, “Descendant of God’s Messenger, had I noticed you when you first stood here, God would not have seen me sitting while you stood.” I told him, “Sit, Abū Ḥanīfa, and answer the people. This is how I found my forefathers.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa related to me: Zufar and Abū Yūsuf sat in Kufa’s mosque. Zufar leaned against a pillar; he was composed and would sit upright without moving. When debating him, Abū Yūsuf moved about frequently until he came and sat before him, or he said near him. Zufar would say, “There are many doors here; if you want to flee, take whichever you wish.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa related to me: Zufar and Abū Yūsuf sat in Kufa’s mosque. Zufar leaned against a pillar; he was composed and would sit upright without moving. When debating him, Abū Yūsuf moved about frequently until he came and sat before him, or he said near him. Zufar would say, “There are many doors here; if you want to flee, take whichever you wish.”

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.”

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.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: I heard Ibn Samāʿa say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād say, “I wrote down twelve thousand hadiths from Ibn Jurayj, all of which jurists need.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: I heard Ibn Samāʿa say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād say, “I wrote down twelve thousand hadiths from Ibn Jurayj, all of which jurists need.”