Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was also Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī.

He had long been a companion of Abū Ḥanīfa and learned extensively from him. He then went to Basra, but did not manage his affairs well; he was removed from the congregational mosque and shunned. He remained in that situation until Abū Yūsuf entered Basra with al-Rashīd as his companion, fellow traveller and chief judge. Abū Yūsuf rode to him and drew attention to him, and people spoke of him again. He then abandoned worldly affairs and devoted himself to worship, speaking scarcely to anyone until he died.

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was also Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī.

He had long been a companion of Abū Ḥanīfa and learned extensively from him. He then went to Basra, but did not manage his affairs well; he was removed from the congregational mosque and shunned. He remained in that situation until Abū Yūsuf entered Basra with al-Rashīd as his companion, fellow traveller and chief judge. Abū Yūsuf rode to him and drew attention to him, and people spoke of him again. He then abandoned worldly affairs and devoted himself to worship, speaking scarcely to anyone until he died.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥimmānī narrated to us: I heard ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī say: We were with Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī when Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā arrived. As he entered, the people gathered around him. Yūsuf asked them, “What is the matter?” I said, “Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā.” He said, “Abū Bakr, I shall ask you a question. Consider it carefully, then answer me.” Hilāl said, “Ask.” He asked, “What do you say about exchanging ten raṭls of dates for ten raṭls of dates?” Hilāl answered, “It is permitted.” He said, “Did I not tell you to consider it carefully?” Hilāl replied, “What is there about ten raṭls of dates for ten raṭls of dates that requires deliberation?” Yūsuf asked, “Is their original standard not volume?” He answered, “Yes; I was mistaken. It is permitted if the two measures are equal.” He asked, “What do you say about a man captured in Byzantine territory who fasted Shaʿbān thinking it was Ramadan?” He answered, “It does not suffice.” He asked, “And if he fasted Shawwāl thinking it was Ramadan?” He answered, “It suffices.” He asked, “Then what of the Prophet’s prohibition, God bless him and grant him peace, against fasting on the day of Fiṭr?” He answered, “I was mistaken: provided he fasts a day of Dhū al-Qaʿda.” He asked, “What do you say about a man who tells his wife: You are divorced once on the first day of the latter part of the month, and on the last day of the first part of the month?” He said: We dispersed from the gathering. Yūsuf died, and I met Hilāl years later. He told me, “Your companion’s question exhausted me; it became clear to me only last night. I said: The month has thirty days. On the fifteenth day one divorce takes effect, for that is the last day of the first part of the month. On the sixteenth another takes effect, for that is the first day of the latter part of the month.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥimmānī narrated to us: I heard ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī say: We were with Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī when Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā arrived. As he entered, the people gathered around him. Yūsuf asked them, “What is the matter?” I said, “Abū Bakr Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā.” He said, “Abū Bakr, I shall ask you a question. Consider it carefully, then answer me.” Hilāl said, “Ask.” He asked, “What do you say about exchanging ten raṭls of dates for ten raṭls of dates?” Hilāl answered, “It is permitted.” He said, “Did I not tell you to consider it carefully?” Hilāl replied, “What is there about ten raṭls of dates for ten raṭls of dates that requires deliberation?” Yūsuf asked, “Is their original standard not volume?” He answered, “Yes; I was mistaken. It is permitted if the two measures are equal.” He asked, “What do you say about a man captured in Byzantine territory who fasted Shaʿbān thinking it was Ramadan?” He answered, “It does not suffice.” He asked, “And if he fasted Shawwāl thinking it was Ramadan?” He answered, “It suffices.” He asked, “Then what of the Prophet’s prohibition, God bless him and grant him peace, against fasting on the day of Fiṭr?” He answered, “I was mistaken: provided he fasts a day of Dhū al-Qaʿda.” He asked, “What do you say about a man who tells his wife: You are divorced once on the first day of the latter part of the month, and on the last day of the first part of the month?” He said: We dispersed from the gathering. Yūsuf died, and I met Hilāl years later. He told me, “Your companion’s question exhausted me; it became clear to me only last night. I said: The month has thirty days. On the fifteenth day one divorce takes effect, for that is the last day of the first part of the month. On the sixteenth another takes effect, for that is the first day of the latter part of the month.”

Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Judge Abū Khāzim related to us, from Bakr, from Hilāl ibn Abī Yaḥyā: Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī travelled from Basra to Kufa and studied jurisprudence with Abū Ḥanīfa. When he wanted to return to Basra, Abū Ḥanīfa told him, “When you arrive in Basra, you will come to people with established leadership. Do not hasten to sit at a pillar, form a study circle, and say, ‘Abū Ḥanīfa said, Abū Ḥanīfa said.’ If you do, you will soon be made to leave.” Yūsuf departed, became pleased with himself, sat at a pillar, and said, “Abū Ḥanīfa said.” They expelled him from the mosque. No one mentioned Abū Ḥanīfa until Zufar came to Basra. He sat with the elders whose leadership was established, supporting their opinions with arguments they did not possess, which impressed them. Then he said, “There is another opinion here, better than this,” and stated it and argued for it without its being known that it was Abū Ḥanīfa’s. Once they approved of it, he said, “It is Abū Ḥanīfa’s opinion.” They replied, “It is a good opinion; we do not care who held it.” He continued until he brought them to Abū Ḥanīfa’s opinion.

Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Judge Abū Khāzim related to us, from Bakr, from Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā: Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī travelled from Basra to Kufa and studied jurisprudence with Abū Ḥanīfa. When he wanted to return to Basra, Abū Ḥanīfa told him, “When you arrive in Basra, you will come to people with established leadership. Do not hasten to sit at a pillar, form a study circle, and say, ‘Abū Ḥanīfa said, Abū Ḥanīfa said.’ If you do, you will soon be made to leave.” Yūsuf departed, became pleased with himself, sat at a pillar, and said, “Abū Ḥanīfa said.” They expelled him from the mosque. No one mentioned Abū Ḥanīfa until Zufar came to Basra. He sat with the elders whose leadership was established, supporting their opinions with arguments they did not possess, which impressed them. Then he said, “There is another opinion here, better than this,” and stated it and argued for it without its being known that it was Abū Ḥanīfa’s. Once they approved of it, he said, “It is Abū Ḥanīfa’s opinion.” They replied, “It is a good opinion; we do not care who held it.” He continued until he brought them to Abū Ḥanīfa’s opinion.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say: I performed the pilgrimage during Hārūn's reign, after Abū Yūsuf's death. Asad ibn ʿAmr, who held judicial office, performed the pilgrimage with Hārūn that year. I saw Hārūn performing the arrival circumambulation. He had omitted the brisk gait, and people were standing away from him. A servant behind him tugged his garment, telling him to go back and perform the brisk gait. I was at the back of the crowd and called out, “Commander of the Faithful, if you continue, it is valid.” He heard me and continued, abandoning what the servant wanted. I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: ʿUmar ibn Yaḥyā, Hilāl's brother, related to me: I witnessed all of this. When Hilāl intended to call out, I gathered my garment, put it in his mouth, and said, “By God, we left our mother only against her will. Do you want to deprive her of one of us?” By God, he could not restrain himself from calling it out. Abū Bakr continued in his report: When Hārūn finished the circumambulation and the running between the hills, he entered the Kaʿba with Asad ibn ʿAmr, his other commanders, and his cousins. It was closed behind them. I peered through a crack in the door and saw Hārūn seated and Asad ibn ʿAmr seated opposite him, while the others, Hāshimites and everyone else, stood on their feet. I realized that no one was nobler than a jurist, and a sense of Asad ibn ʿAmr's greatness entered my heart that only God knows. Then Hārūn departed with his procession. Asad mounted in the manner of judges and jurists. I followed him as he rode and asked, “Why did Abū Ḥanīfa distinguish between a breach of trust in tawliya and in murābaḥa?” By God, he did not know this statement of Abū Ḥanīfa, and he diminished in my eyes. I went to Yūsuf ibn Khālid, who was on pilgrimage that year, and told him the entire story. He said, “How would Asad know what this is? Abū Ḥanīfa distinguished between them because he treated tawliya as a transfer of a sale, since it is at the original price. It is as though the seller transfers to the new purchaser what he acquired by ownership of the item, for the original price by which he acquired it. He treated murābaḥa as a second sale, since it is at a price different from the original price.” Hilāl had a book on legal instruments and the rules of endowments, and was foremost in the science of legal instruments.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Abū Bakra Bakkār ibn Qutayba say: I heard Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā say: I performed the pilgrimage during Hārūn's reign, after Abū Yūsuf's death. Asad ibn ʿAmr, who held judicial office, performed the pilgrimage with Hārūn that year. I saw Hārūn performing the arrival circumambulation. He had omitted the brisk gait, and people were standing away from him. A servant behind him tugged his garment, telling him to go back and perform the brisk gait. I was at the back of the crowd and called out, “Commander of the Faithful, if you continue, it is valid.” He heard me and continued, abandoning what the servant wanted. I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: ʿUmar ibn Yaḥyā, Hilāl's brother, related to me: I witnessed all of this. When Hilāl intended to call out, I gathered my garment, put it in his mouth, and said, “By God, we left our mother only against her will. Do you want to deprive her of one of us?” By God, he could not restrain himself from calling it out. Abū Bakr continued in his report: When Hārūn finished the circumambulation and the running between the hills, he entered the Kaʿba with Asad ibn ʿAmr, his other commanders, and his cousins. It was closed behind them. I peered through a crack in the door and saw Hārūn seated and Asad ibn ʿAmr seated opposite him, while the others, Hāshimites and everyone else, stood on their feet. I realized that no one was nobler than a jurist, and a sense of Asad ibn ʿAmr's greatness entered my heart that only God knows. Then Hārūn departed with his procession. Asad mounted in the manner of judges and jurists. I followed him as he rode and asked, “Why did Abū Ḥanīfa distinguish between a breach of trust in tawliya and in murābaḥa?” By God, he did not know this statement of Abū Ḥanīfa, and he diminished in my eyes. I went to Yūsuf ibn Khālid, who was on pilgrimage that year, and told him the entire story. He said, “How would Asad know what this is? Abū Ḥanīfa distinguished between them because he treated tawliya as a transfer of a sale, since it is at the original price. It is as though the seller transfers to the new purchaser what he acquired by ownership of the item, for the original price by which he acquired it. He treated murābaḥa as a second sale, since it is at a price different from the original price.” Hilāl had a book on legal instruments and the rules of endowments, and was foremost in the science of legal instruments.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us, from Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Dhirāʿ, who said: Yūsuf ibn Khālid narrated to us: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Rabīʿa al-Raʾy came to us, and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd was Kufa’s judge. Yaḥyā said to Rabīʿa: Do you not marvel at this city’s people? They have agreed upon one man’s opinion. Abū Ḥanīfa said: This reached me, so I sent Yaʿqūb, Zufar, and several companions to him, saying: Reason by analogy with him and debate him. Yaʿqūb asked him: What do you say about a slave owned by two people, whom one emancipates? He said: His emancipation is invalid. Why? Because this causes harm. and it is reported from the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—‘There must be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.’ He asked: If the other owner emancipates him? He said: His emancipation is valid. He said: You have abandoned your position. If the first declaration accomplished nothing and no emancipation resulted from it, the second emancipated him while he was still a slave. He fell silent.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us, from Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad al-Dhirāʿ, who said: Yūsuf ibn Khālid narrated to us: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Rabīʿa al-Raʾy came to us, and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd was Kufa’s judge. Yaḥyā said to Rabīʿa: Do you not marvel at this city’s people? They have agreed upon one man’s opinion. Abū Ḥanīfa said: This reached me, so I sent Yaʿqūb, Zufar, and several companions to him, saying: Reason by analogy with him and debate him. Yaʿqūb asked him: What do you say about a slave owned by two people, whom one emancipates? He said: His emancipation is invalid. Why? Because this causes harm. and it is reported from the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—‘There must be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.’ He asked: If the other owner emancipates him? He said: His emancipation is valid. He said: You have abandoned your position. If the first declaration accomplished nothing and no emancipation resulted from it, the second emancipated him while he was still a slave. He fell silent.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm al-Kattānī informed us: Abū Bakr related: Aḥmad—that is, Ibn Mughallis—related: ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī related: I heard Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī say: We sat with al-Battī in Basra. When we came to Kufa we sat with Abū Ḥanīfa. What comparison is there between the sea and irrigation channels? Nobody who mentions him can say he has seen his equal. Knowledge came to him without strain, and he was envied.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm al-Kattānī informed us: Abū Bakr related: Aḥmad—that is, Ibn Mughallis—related: ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī related: I heard Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī say: We sat with al-Battī in Basra. When we came to Kufa we sat with Abū Ḥanīfa. What comparison is there between the sea and irrigation channels? Nobody who mentions him can say he has seen his equal. Knowledge came to him without strain, and he was envied.