محمد بن أحمد بن حفص

Abū Zayd ʿImrān ibn Firīnām related to us. He said: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥafṣ say, mentioning it to Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Shaqīq: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rawwād said to Abū Ḥanīfa, may God be pleased with him: “This man has summoned me”—meaning the caliph—“and when I enter his presence, I cannot restrain myself from enjoining and forbidding. Put together some words for me to say, so that I can enjoin and forbid in safety and security.” Abū Ḥanīfa, may God be pleased with him, said to him: “When you enter his presence, greet him and remain silent, for it is their place to speak. If they ask you about something and you have an answer, answer. If not, say: ‘Commander of the Believers! The world is sought for four things. It is sought for honor: you are a noble man, the son of a noble man, and a cousin of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. It is sought for dominion: you have gained dominion over the Arabs and non-Arabs. It is sought for wealth: God has granted you immeasurable wealth. So fear God, Commander of the Believers, and devote yourself to righteous deeds. Be mindful of God concerning what God, mighty and exalted, has forbidden you, and you will have gathered the good of this world and the next.’” He said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī wrote this down from Abū ʿAbd Allāh.

The text says “four things” but explicitly lists three. The translation preserves this wording without supplying a fourth item.

My father and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sahl related to us. They said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥafṣ related to us. He said: I heard Ḥāmid ibn Ādam say: I heard that Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions used to come to Sufyān and debate with him. Sufyān studied their wording and answered them along the lines of what he had heard from them. They told Abū Ḥanīfa, may God be pleased with him. He said: ‘Do you not realize, you poor fellows, that he is a clever man who takes from you? Put the question to him and remain silent until he answers.’ They went to him, put questions to him, and remained silent. Sometimes he was right and sometimes he was wrong, which distressed him. [Abū Ḥanīfa] used to sit after the night prayer, and some companions would come and debate. Sufyān covered himself with his cloak and went to them as though disguised. He lay down at the side of the mosque, listening without their noticing him. When Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, may God have mercy on him and them, came to debate with him, he answered well, as though he had been with them. They told Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: ‘Is someone here with us conveying what we say to him?’ They said: ‘No.’ Later Abū Ḥanīfa realized what was happening. Sufyān entered and lay at the side of the mosque, covered with his cloak but with his ears exposed to listen. Abū Ḥanīfa noticed him, mentioned a report, and said: ‘Saʿīd ibn Masrūq al-Thawrī, the father of this covered man, related to me.’ When Sufyān realized he had been noticed, he got up and left. Ḥāmid ibn Ādam said: I mentioned this to Yaʿlā ibn ʿUbayd al-Ṭanāfisī. He laughed and said: ‘This is well known among us.’ I mentioned it to Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd, but he said nothing, neither affirming nor denying it. He was distressed that day, so I do not know whether he failed to answer because of his distress or for some other reason.

My father and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sahl related to us. They said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥafṣ related to us, from Bishr ibn Yaḥyā, from Jarīr, who said: I heard al-Aʿmash when a man came and asked him a question. He said: ‘Go to the people of that circle. When a question arises for them, they keep discussing it until they reach the right answer’—meaning the circle of Abū Ḥanīfa and his companions. May God have mercy on them and on the transmitters mentioned.

My father and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sahl related to us. They said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad related to us, from Bishr ibn Yaḥyā, from Jarīr, from al-Mughīra: When they asked him about something and disputed with him, he would say: ‘This is Abū Ḥanīfa’s view, may God have mercy on him.’

My father and ʿImrān ibn Firīnām related to us. They said: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥafṣ related to us. He said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī said: I heard ʿAmmār say: Misʿar ibn Kidām saw a perfumed man—and he mentioned a similar account.

The abbreviated reference نحوه is retained without repeating report 245.