Ḥāmid ibn Yaḥyā al-Balkhī

ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us: Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Muslim al-Ṭarsūsī related to us: Ḥāmid ibn Yaḥyā al-Balkhī related to us: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us: When Musāwir al-Warrāq heard the clamor and shouting of Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, he began reciting: ‘Before today we enjoyed latitude in religion, until we were afflicted with the people of analogies: people who, when they gather, shout like foxes crying among the tombs.’ This reached Abū Ḥanīfa and his companions and distressed them. He then composed verses to appease them: ‘When people one day challenge us by analogy with an unusual, novel legal question, we bring them a firm, accurate analogy in Abū Ḥanīfa’s manner. When the jurist hears it, he comprehends it and records it in ink upon a sheet.’ This reached Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—and he was pleased with him. Musāwir said: We were invited to a banquet in Kufa on a very hot day. I entered and could not find a place for my feet because of the crowd. Abū Ḥanīfa was at the head of the room. When he saw me, he said, ‘Musāwir, come to me! Musāwir, come to me!’ I came over and found a spacious, cool place. I sat down and thought to myself, ‘My verses have benefited me today.’