ʿAlī ibn Ḥarmala

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Kūfī informed us: ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn ʿUthmān ibn Zufar al-Taymī related to us: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-ʿAṣṣār related to me: Isḥāq ibn Ḥammād ibn Isḥāq related to me, from ʿAlī ibn Ḥarmala, from Abū Yūsuf—may God have mercy on him—who said: I was studying hadith and jurisprudence while poor and living in a shabby home. One day my father came while I was with Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—and I left with him. He said, ‘My son, do not stretch your legs alongside Abū Ḥanīfa. His bread is already baked, whereas you need to earn a living.’ I cut back considerably on my studies, giving priority to obeying my father. Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—noticed my absence and asked about me, and I began returning to his gathering. On my first visit after staying away, he asked, ‘What kept you from us?’ I said, ‘Earning a living and obeying my father,’ and sat down. When I was about to leave, he gestured toward a heap and said, ‘Use this to help yourself.’ I looked and found a hundred dirhams. He said, ‘Keep attending the study circle, and let me know when this runs out.’ I kept attending. After a short time he gave me another hundred. He continued looking after me, although I never told him of any need or that anything had run out. It was as though he was informed when it ran out, until I became self-sufficient and acquired wealth.’

‘His bread is already baked’ conveys that his livelihood was provided for. The Arabic’s description of the money as a heap is retained.