Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim al-Birtī related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: I heard the judge Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta. Ibn Kāmil said: He was the judge of Mūsā al-Hādī and Hārūn al-Rashīd in Baghdad. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī did not disagree about his trustworthiness in transmission. He was the first person addressed as Chief Judge. He had appointed his son Yūsuf as his deputy on the western side, and al-Rashīd confirmed him in his post. After Abū Yūsuf died, Abū al-Bakhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb al-Qurashī became Chief Judge.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Marzubānī informed us: Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim al-Birtī related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: I heard the judge Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta. Ibn Kāmil said: He was the judge of Mūsā al-Hādī and Hārūn al-Rashīd in Baghdad. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī did not disagree about his trustworthiness in transmission. He was the first person addressed as Chief Judge. He had appointed his son Yūsuf as his deputy on the western side, and al-Rashīd confirmed him in his post. After Abū Yūsuf died, Abū al-Bakhtarī Wahb ibn Wahb al-Qurashī became Chief Judge.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq related to us: Yūsuf ibn Abī Yūsuf related to us: My father, Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta al-Bajalī, related to us. Their affiliation was counted among the Anṣār, specifically the Aws. Abū Yūsuf said: My grandfather Saʿd was brought to the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, on the day of the Trench. He prayed for his forgiveness and stroked his head. That touch remains among us to this day. When you looked at Abū Yūsuf, it was as though he had been anointed with oil from that touch.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq related to us: Yūsuf ibn Abī Yūsuf related to us: My father, Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta al-Bajalī, related to us. Their affiliation was counted among the Anṣār, specifically the Aws. Abū Yūsuf said: My grandfather Saʿd was brought to the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, on the day of the Trench. He prayed for his forgiveness and stroked his head. That touch remains among us to this day. When you looked at Abū Yūsuf, it was as though he had been anointed with oil from that touch.

ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan al-Rāzī related to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Zaʿfarānī, resident of Wāsiṭ, related to us: Ibn Abī Khaythama related to us: Sulaymān ibn Abī Shaykh informed us: Abū Yūsuf was a descendant of Khunays ibn Saʿd, the brother of al-Nuʿmān ibn Saʿd, from whom ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq transmits.

ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan al-Rāzī related to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Zaʿfarānī, resident of Wāsiṭ, related to us: Ibn Abī Khaythama related to us: Sulaymān ibn Abī Shaykh informed us: Abū Yūsuf was a descendant of Khunays ibn Saʿd, the brother of al-Nuʿmān ibn Saʿd, from whom ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq transmits.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥabbān ibn Ṣadaqa the Qurʾan reciter said: Abū Yūsuf was Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Bujayr ibn Muʿāwiya. Saʿd’s mother was Ḥabta daughter of Mālik, of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. Saʿd ibn Ḥabta was a companion of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and was among those presented to the Prophet on the day of Uḥud, with Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj and Ibn ʿUmar.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥabbān ibn Ṣadaqa the Qurʾan reciter said: Abū Yūsuf was Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Bujayr ibn Muʿāwiya. Saʿd’s mother was Ḥabta daughter of Mālik, of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. Saʿd ibn Ḥabta was a companion of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and was among those presented to the Prophet on the day of Uḥud, with Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj and Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba related to us: Judge Abū Yūsuf was Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta al-Bajalī. Saʿd ibn Ḥabta was considered too young on the day of Uḥud. He settled in Kufa and died there. Zayd ibn Arqam prayed over him and pronounced five takbīrs. Al-Nuʿmān ibn Saʿd, who transmitted from ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, is trustworthy according to all our companions. He was of the Anṣār, the son of Saʿd ibn Bujayr. His affiliation was counted among the Anṣār because Bujayr, Saʿd’s father, lived in the pre-Islamic period and died an unbeliever. He had entered an alliance with Khawwāt ibn Jubayr of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. Khawwāt married him to a woman of their people called Ḥabta, who bore him Saʿd, Abū Yūsuf’s first ancestor in Islam. Saʿd supported the Prophet and received a prayer from him, God bless him and grant him peace. They said: Abū Yūsuf descends from Saʿd ibn Ḥabta ibn Khunays ibn Saʿd, the person associated with Chahārsūj Khunays in Kufa. [The genealogical forms are reproduced as transmitted rather than reconciled.]

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba related to us: Judge Abū Yūsuf was Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn Saʿd ibn Ḥabta al-Bajalī. Saʿd ibn Ḥabta was considered too young on the day of Uḥud. He settled in Kufa and died there. Zayd ibn Arqam prayed over him and pronounced five takbīrs. Al-Nuʿmān ibn Saʿd, who transmitted from ʿAlī, God be pleased with him, is trustworthy according to all our companions. He was of the Anṣār, the son of Saʿd ibn Bujayr. His affiliation was counted among the Anṣār because Bujayr, Saʿd’s father, lived in the pre-Islamic period and died an unbeliever. He had entered an alliance with Khawwāt ibn Jubayr—may God be pleased with him—of the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. Khawwāt married him to a woman of their people called Ḥabta, who bore him Saʿd, Abū Yūsuf’s first ancestor in Islam. Saʿd supported the Prophet and received a prayer from him, God bless him and grant him peace. They said: Abū Yūsuf descends from Saʿd ibn Ḥabta ibn Khunays ibn Saʿd, the person associated with Chahārsūj Khunays in Kufa. [The genealogical forms are reproduced as transmitted rather than reconciled.]

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: I heard Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī say: Abū Yūsuf was born in 113.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī informed us: I heard Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī say: Abū Yūsuf was born in 113.

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: Aḥmad ibn ʿAmmār ibn Abī Mālik related to us, from his father: None among them was like Abū Yūsuf. Without Abū Yūsuf, neither Abū Ḥanīfa nor Ibn Abī Laylā would have been remembered; he disseminated their learning and spread their opinions.

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: Aḥmad ibn ʿAmmār ibn Abī Mālik related to us, from his father: None among them was like Abū Yūsuf. Without Abū Yūsuf, neither Abū Ḥanīfa nor Ibn Abī Laylā would have been remembered; he disseminated their learning and spread their opinions.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū Khāzim ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, from Bakr al-ʿAmmī, from Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā: Abū Yūsuf retained Qurʾanic interpretation, accounts of military campaigns, and the historical battles of the Arabs; jurisprudence was the least of his branches of knowledge.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Abū Khāzim ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, from Bakr al-ʿAmmī, from Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā: Abū Yūsuf retained Qurʾanic interpretation, accounts of military campaigns, and the historical battles of the Arabs; jurisprudence was the least of his branches of knowledge.

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.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Abū al-Qāsim ibn Kaʾs related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say, “I have never prayed a prayer, or otherwise [the wording is elliptical], without praying to God for Abū Ḥanīfa and seeking his forgiveness.” When ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ transmitted from Abū Yūsuf, he would say, “The jurist of jurists, Chief Judge, and master of scholars Abū Yūsuf related to me.” Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq said: One day Bishr ibn al-Walīd told his dictation repeater, who had said “Yaʿqūb informed you”: “Will you not honor and exalt him? I have never seen anyone like him.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Abū al-Qāsim ibn Kaʾs related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say, “I have never prayed a prayer, obligatory or otherwise, without praying to God for Abū Ḥanīfa and seeking his forgiveness.” When ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ transmitted from Abū Yūsuf, he would say, “The jurist of jurists, Chief Judge, and master of scholars Abū Yūsuf related to me.” Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq said: One day Bishr ibn al-Walīd told his dictation repeater, who had said “Yaʿqūb informed you”: “Will you not honor and exalt him? I have never seen anyone like him.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad informed us: Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Asadī related to us: Nimr ibn Jidār related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī related to us: We performed pilgrimage with Abū Yūsuf. He became ill on the road, and we stopped at Biʾr Maymūn. Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna came to visit him. He told us, “Take Abū Muḥammad’s hadith,” and Sufyān transmitted forty hadith to us. When Sufyān got up, Abū Yūsuf told us, “Take what he transmitted to you,” and repeated all forty hadith to us from memory, despite his age, weakness, illness, and preoccupation with travel.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad informed us: Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Asadī related to us: Nimr ibn Jidār related to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī related to us: We performed pilgrimage with Abū Yūsuf. He became ill on the road, and we stopped at Biʾr Maymūn. Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna came to visit him. He told us, “Take Abū Muḥammad’s hadith,” and Sufyān transmitted forty hadith to us. When Sufyān got up, Abū Yūsuf told us, “Take what he transmitted to you,” and repeated all forty hadith to us from memory, despite his age, weakness, illness, and preoccupation with travel.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: Abū Yūsuf was writing a document while a man looked over it. When he finished, Abū Yūsuf asked him, “Is there any mistake in it?” He said, “No, not a letter.” He replied, “You have spared us the trouble of examining it,” and began reciting: “From his poor upbringing, it is as though he was enrolled in a school of bad manners.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: Abū Yūsuf was writing a document while a man looked over it. When he finished, Abū Yūsuf asked him, “Is there any mistake in it?” He said, “No, not a letter.” He replied, “You have spared us the trouble of examining it,” and began reciting: “From his poor upbringing, it is as though he was enrolled in a school of bad manners.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ say: I entered upon Abū Yūsuf when he was gravely ill. He asked, “Ibrāhīm, what do you say about a question?” I said, “In a condition like this?” He said, “There is no harm: let us study, so someone who is saved may be saved through it.” He then asked, “When casting pebbles at the pilgrimage pillars, is it better to cast them while mounted or walking?” I said, “Mounted.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Walking.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Tell us about it, God be pleased with you.” He said, “If it is one at which you do not stop, it is better to cast while mounted, because that allows you to move away faster. If it is one at which you stop, it is better to cast while walking, because you can stand more firmly and supplicate more abundantly.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Abū ʿUbayd related to us: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ say: I entered upon Abū Yūsuf when he was gravely ill. He asked, “Ibrāhīm, what do you say about a question?” I said, “In a condition like this?” He said, “There is no harm: let us study, so someone who is saved may be saved through it.” He then asked, “When casting pebbles at the pilgrimage pillars, is it better to cast them while mounted or walking?” I said, “Mounted.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Walking.” He said, “You are wrong.” I said, “Tell us about it, God be pleased with you.” He said, “If it is one at which you do not stop, it is better to cast while mounted, because that allows you to move away faster. If it is one at which you stop, it is better to cast while walking, because you can stand more firmly and supplicate more abundantly.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the accredited witness informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik and ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me: We used to attend Abū Muʿāwiya for jurisprudential hadith transmitted from al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa. Abū Muʿāwiya asked us, “Is Judge Abū Yūsuf not among you?” We said yes. He said, “Do you leave Abū Yūsuf and write from me? We used to attend al-Ḥajjāj. Abū Yūsuf would memorize while al-Ḥajjāj dictated to us; when we left, we wrote from Abū Yūsuf’s memory.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the accredited witness informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik and ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd related to me: We used to attend Abū Muʿāwiya for jurisprudential hadith transmitted from al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa. Abū Muʿāwiya asked us, “Is Judge Abū Yūsuf not among you?” We said yes. He said, “Do you leave Abū Yūsuf and write from me? We used to attend al-Ḥajjāj. Abū Yūsuf would memorize while al-Ḥajjāj dictated to us; when we left, we wrote from Abū Yūsuf’s memory.”

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: Ibrāhīm ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ṭalḥī related to us, from his father, from ʿUmar ibn Ḥammād, from his father: One day I saw Abū Ḥanīfa with Abū Yūsuf to his right and Zufar to his left. They debated a question: whenever Abū Yūsuf made a statement, Zufar refuted it, and whenever Zufar made one, Abū Yūsuf refuted it, until noon. When the caller called to prayer, Abū Ḥanīfa raised his hand, struck Zufar’s thigh, and said, “Do not hope for leadership in a town where Abū Yūsuf is.” He adjudged Abū Yūsuf superior to Zufar.

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: Ibrāhīm ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ṭalḥī related to us, from his father, from ʿUmar ibn Ḥammād, from his father: One day I saw Abū Ḥanīfa with Abū Yūsuf to his right and Zufar to his left. They debated a question: whenever Abū Yūsuf made a statement, Zufar refuted it, and whenever Zufar made one, Abū Yūsuf refuted it, until noon. When the caller called to prayer, Abū Ḥanīfa raised his hand, struck Zufar’s thigh, and said, “Do not hope for leadership in a town where Abū Yūsuf is.” He adjudged Abū Yūsuf superior to Zufar.

Judge Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd dictated to us, saying, “Abū Yūsuf informed us.” His gathering was crowded. A man asked him, “Abū al-Ḥasan, do you mention Abū Yūsuf?” It seemed that ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd sensed an intention unworthy of someone like him toward Abū Yūsuf. ʿAlī told him, “If you wish to mention Abū Yūsuf, wash your mouth with cleansing alkali and hot water.” He then said, “By God, I have never seen anyone like him.” Ibn Abī ʿImrān said: He had seen al-Thawrī, al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, Mālik, Ibn Abī Dhiʾb, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, and Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj.

Judge Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd dictated to us, saying, “Abū Yūsuf informed us.” His gathering was crowded. A man asked him, “Abū al-Ḥasan, do you mention Abū Yūsuf?” It seemed that ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd sensed an intention unworthy of someone like him toward Abū Yūsuf. ʿAlī told him, “If you wish to mention Abū Yūsuf, wash your mouth with cleansing alkali and hot water.” He then said, “By God, I have never seen anyone like him.” Ibn Abī ʿImrān said: He had seen al-Thawrī, al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, Mālik, Ibn Abī Dhiʾb, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, and Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: Abū Yūsuf entered upon al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa, then judge of Kufa, and asked about the fetus of an enslaved woman. Al-Ḥajjāj told him, “The compensation is half of one tenth of its mother’s value.” Abū Yūsuf asked, “From where do you derive this?” He replied, “By analogy with a free woman’s fetus.” Then Abū Yūsuf asked, “For a free woman’s fetus, if it is expelled dead because of a blow, is the compensation not a ghurra, whereas if it is expelled alive and then dies, the full blood-money is due?” Al-Ḥajjāj said yes. Abū Yūsuf said, “You have reversed the matter, making the compensation for an enslaved woman’s fetus when dead greater than what is due if it is born alive and subsequently dies: its value alive might be two dirhams while its mother’s value is one hundred.” Al-Ḥajjāj told him, “My son, when there is something like this, do not put it to me before other people.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: Abū Yūsuf entered upon al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa, then judge of Kufa, and asked about the fetus of an enslaved woman. Al-Ḥajjāj told him, “The compensation is half of one tenth of its mother’s value.” Abū Yūsuf asked, “From where do you derive this?” He replied, “By analogy with a free woman’s fetus.” Then Abū Yūsuf asked, “For a free woman’s fetus, if it is expelled dead because of a blow, is the compensation not a ghurra, whereas if it is expelled alive and then dies, the full blood-money is due?” Al-Ḥajjāj said yes. Abū Yūsuf said, “You have reversed the matter, making the compensation for an enslaved woman’s fetus when dead greater than what is due if it is born alive and subsequently dies: its value alive might be two dirhams while its mother’s value is one hundred.” Al-Ḥajjāj told him, “My son, when there is something like this, do not put it to me before other people.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Abū Bakra ibn Qutayba related to us: I heard Hilāl say: When Abū Yūsuf came to us, both hadith scholars and scholars of legal reasoning gathered at his door. Each group claimed him and asserted greater entitlement to him and admission to his presence than the other. He looked out upon the people and said, “By God, I belong to both groups. I do not give one precedence over the other except on grounds demonstrating its precedence. I shall ask a question: whichever group answers correctly may enter.” He took off a ring he was wearing and said, “A man took my ring and chewed it until he crushed it.” Hadith scholars rose from every direction and disagreed: some said he must restore it fashioned as it was; others said he must pay for the loss in its value. Seeing this, I rose from among my companions and said, “God set you right: it belongs to the person who crushed it, who owes its owner its value as fashioned gold, unless the owner chooses to retain it, in which case the person who crushed it owes nothing.” Abū Yūsuf approved, brought me near, and admitted me and my companions. He asked my name; I said, “Hilāl [crescent].” He said, “You will become a full moon.” He dictated a question about a slave contracted to purchase his freedom, contrary to a previous opinion of his in the Book of Currency Exchange. When he finished, I approached him and said, “God set you right: this contradicts your opinion in the Book of Currency Exchange. Should we erase that and record this, or erase this and record that?” He said, “Leave both: someone will come who distinguishes between them.” Hilāl said: My witness to all this is Qutayba al-Bakrāwī, meaning Abū Bakra; he was present for it all.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Abū Bakra ibn Qutayba related to us: I heard Hilāl say: When Abū Yūsuf came to us, both hadith scholars and scholars of legal reasoning gathered at his door. Each group claimed him and asserted greater entitlement to him and admission to his presence than the other. He looked out upon the people and said, “By God, I belong to both groups. I do not give one precedence over the other except on grounds evident from it. I shall ask a question: whichever group answers correctly may enter.” He took off a ring he was wearing and said, “A man took my ring and chewed it until he crushed it.” Hadith scholars rose from every direction and disagreed: some said he must restore it fashioned as it was; others said he must pay for the loss in its value. Seeing this, I rose from among my companions and said, “God set you right: it belongs to the person who crushed it, who owes its owner its value as fashioned gold, unless the owner chooses to retain it, in which case the person who crushed it owes nothing.” Abū Yūsuf approved, brought me near, and admitted me and my companions. He asked my name; I said, “Hilāl [crescent].” He said, “You will become a full moon.” He dictated a question about a slave contracted to purchase his freedom, contrary to a previous opinion of his in the Book of Currency Exchange. When he finished, I approached him and said, “God set you right: this contradicts your opinion in the Book of Currency Exchange. Should we erase that and record this, or erase this and record that?” He said, “Leave both: someone will come who distinguishes between them.” Hilāl said: My witness to all this is Qutayba al-Bakrāwī, meaning Abū Bakra; he was present for it all.

He said: Abū al-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī related to me: That day I entered with the scholars of legal reasoning. The first person from whom Abū Yūsuf transmitted was al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥayy. It seemed that something occurred to him: he turned to the people and said, “By God, my fear for a man concerning anything is never as great as my fear for him concerning what he says about al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ.” He seemed to be alluding to Shuʿba. I stood up and said, “May God never see me in a gathering where Abū Bisṭām is disparaged,” and left. When I reached the road, I reflected: “This is the minister and Chief Judge. What does he care whether I leave him or sit with him?” I returned and entered. When Abū Yūsuf finished dictating, it seemed he had no concern but me. He already knew me because I had been with him in Baghdad. He told me, “Hishām, by God I intended nothing but good toward Abū Bisṭām, but I have never seen anyone like al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ.”

He said: Abū al-Walīd al-Ṭayālisī related to me: That day I entered with the scholars of legal reasoning. The first person from whom Abū Yūsuf transmitted was al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥayy. It seemed that something occurred to him: he turned to the people and said, “By God, my fear for a man concerning anything is never as great as my fear for him concerning what he says about al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ.” He seemed to be alluding to Shuʿba. I stood up and said, “May God never see me in a gathering where Abū Bisṭām is disparaged,” and left. When I reached the road, I reflected: “This is the minister and Chief Judge. What does he care whether I leave him or sit with him?” I returned and entered. When Abū Yūsuf finished dictating, it seemed he had no concern but me. He already knew me because I had been with him in Baghdad. He told me, “Hishām, by God I intended nothing but good toward Abū Bisṭām, but I have never seen anyone like al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to me: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: Abū Yūsuf used to use analogies for his companions. Of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan he said, “What a sword he is, but for its rust and its need for polishing!” Of al-Ḥasan al-Luʾluʾī he said, “To me he is like a pharmacist: if a man asks for something to bind his bowels, he gives him a laxative; if he asks for a laxative, he gives him something to bind them.” Of al-Marīsī he said, “To me he is like a darner’s needle: its point is fine, its eye narrow, and it breaks easily.” Of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ he said, “To me he is like a man with dirhams coated in kohl: whenever he touches them, they diminish.” I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā, judge of Hamadan, related to me from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: I heard Abū Yūsuf say all of this, adding: Of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik he said, “To me he is like a camel carrying a heavy load on a rainy day: its foreleg goes this way once and that way another time, but it comes through safely.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to me: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: Abū Yūsuf used to use analogies for his companions. Of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan he said, “What a sword he is, but for its rust and its need for polishing!” Of al-Ḥasan al-Luʾluʾī he said, “To me he is like a pharmacist: if a man asks for something to bind his bowels, he gives him a laxative; if he asks for a laxative, he gives him something to bind them.” Of al-Marīsī he said, “To me he is like a darner’s needle: its point is fine, its eye narrow, and it breaks easily.” Of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ he said, “To me he is like a man with dirhams coated in kohl: whenever he touches them, they diminish.” I mentioned this to Abū Khāzim, who said: Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā, judge of Hamadan, related to me from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: I heard Abū Yūsuf say all of this, adding: Of al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik he said, “To me he is like a camel carrying a heavy load on a rainy day: its foreleg goes this way once and that way another time, but it comes through safely.”

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Abū al-ʿAynāʾ related to us: Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī related to us: One day al-Rashīd told Judge Abū Yūsuf, “ʿĪsā ibn Jaʿfar has an enslaved woman who is dearer to me than anyone. Knowing that, he swore not to sell, give away, or free her. He now seeks release from his oath. Do you have a legal device for this?” He replied, “Yes: he gives the Commander of the Faithful half ownership of her and sells him the other half. He thereby does not break his oath.”

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Kāmil related to us: Abū al-ʿAynāʾ related to us: Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī related to us: One day al-Rashīd told Judge Abū Yūsuf, “ʿĪsā ibn Jaʿfar has an enslaved woman who is dearer to me than anyone. Knowing that, he swore not to sell, give away, or free her. He now seeks release from his oath. Do you have a legal device for this?” He replied, “Yes: he gives the Commander of the Faithful half ownership of her and sells him the other half. He thereby does not break his oath.”

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Khalaf related to us: Mūsā ibn Isḥāq al-Anṣārī related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr, a descendant of Qaraẓa ibn Kaʿb, related to us: A Muslim who intentionally killed a protected non-Muslim was brought before Abū Yūsuf, and evidence was established against him. He ordered him imprisoned pending retaliatory execution. On a court day, the litigants’ petitions were presented to him, including one that read: “You who kill a Muslim for an unbeliever: you have acted unjustly; the just man is unlike the unjust.” “People of Baghdad and its districts, whether jurists or poets!” “Abū Yūsuf has wronged religion by killing a Muslim for an unbeliever.” “Together say, ‘We belong to God and return to Him,’ and weep; bear patiently, for reward belongs to the patient.” Abū Yūsuf took the petition into al-Rashīd and informed him. He said, “Go and find a device.” Abū Yūsuf sat, and the victim’s representative and defendant attended. The evidence was established. Abū Yūsuf told the victim’s representative, “Produce evidence before me that your associate paid the jizya.” He did not produce it, so he prevented retaliation.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Aḥmad ibn Khalaf related to us: Mūsā ibn Isḥāq al-Anṣārī related to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr, a descendant of Qaraẓa ibn Kaʿb, related to us: A Muslim who intentionally killed a protected non-Muslim was brought before Abū Yūsuf, and evidence was established against him. He ordered him imprisoned pending retaliatory execution. On a court day, the litigants’ petitions were presented to him, including one that read: “You who kill a Muslim for an unbeliever: you have acted unjustly; the just man is unlike the unjust.” “People of Baghdad and its districts, whether jurists or poets!” “Abū Yūsuf has wronged religion by killing a Muslim for an unbeliever.” “Together say, ‘We belong to God and return to Him,’ and weep; bear patiently, for reward belongs to the patient.” Abū Yūsuf took the petition into al-Rashīd and informed him. He said, “Go and find a device.” Abū Yūsuf sat, and the victim’s representative and defendant attended. The evidence was established. Abū Yūsuf told the victim’s representative, “Produce evidence before me that your associate paid the jizya.” He did not produce it, so he prevented retaliation.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Bukayr al-Qaṣīr related to me: Abū Zayd Ḥammād ibn Dalīl related to us: Abū Yūsuf said: The Commander of the Faithful sat to hear grievances. I was the intermediary between him and those submitting grievances, taking their petitions and delivering them to him. An elderly man from the Sawād came to me with a petition claiming a specified orchard. He asserted that it belonged to him, was in the Commander of the Faithful’s possession, and had been seized from him. I asked, “In whose possession is it?” He said, “The Commander of the Faithful’s.” I asked, “Who cultivates it?” He said, “It is in the Commander of the Faithful’s possession; he seized it from me.” I tried every way to divert him from a claim against the Commander of the Faithful to one against someone else, but he refused to abandon his assertion that the Commander of the Faithful was the defendant. I entered with the petitions. The Commander of the Faithful sat on a chair, with Yaḥyā ibn Khālid seated beside him. As I took out the petitions, the old man’s petition came out near me, and I did not consider it lawful to postpone it. I said, “Commander of the Faithful, an elderly man from the Sawād is here claiming such-and-such orchard. I tried hard to get him to bring his claim against a subject, but he refused, saying, ‘My claim is against the Commander of the Faithful.’” He said, “I know this orchard. My father gave it to me, and it is my property.” I asked, “May the man attend?” He said yes, and I brought him in. I asked his claim. He said, “I claim such-and-such orchard,” specifying its boundaries, “against this Commander of the Faithful,” pointing at him. I asked, “Who manages it, and in whose possession is it?” He said, “This Commander of the Faithful’s.” I asked the Commander of the Faithful, “What do you say to this man’s claim?” He replied, “He has no such entitlement against me, and this orchard is not his.” I asked the man, “Do you have evidence?” He said, “His oath.” I said, “Commander of the Faithful, you must swear.” He replied, “Administer the oath.” I did, and he swore. The elder sprang up to leave, and as he turned away I heard him say, “His backside—like a draught of barley meal. [A coarse remark; its intended force is unclear.]” The Commander of the Faithful’s face darkened after swearing, and he lowered his head in thought. I thought, “I am ruined, and so is the man.” Yaḥyā ibn Khālid said, “Yaʿqūb, have you seen anyone like the Commander of the Faithful in justice and fair treatment of a subject? He gave justice against himself to the point of doing what you saw.” The Commander of the Faithful relaxed and rejoiced, saying, “Glory be to God! There must be fairness.” Yaḥyā ibn Khālid said, “Had this come from al-Fārūq, it would have been admirable,” or words to that effect. Abū Zayd said: Abū Yūsuf told us, “Whenever I remember that gathering, intense distress enters me, and I fear God for having abandoned justice there.” We asked, “What more could there be than what you did?” He asked, “Did you not understand its fault?” We said, “No, we saw only justice and upholding the right.” He said, “How so? I did not put him and his opponent on equal terms in the gathering by saying, ‘Commander of the Faithful, you are on a chair, and he is on the floor,’ and having a chair brought for him to sit on.”

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ related to us: Bukayr al-Qaṣīr related to me: Abū Zayd Ḥammād ibn Dalīl related to us: Abū Yūsuf said: The Commander of the Faithful sat to hear grievances. I was the intermediary between him and those submitting grievances, taking their petitions and delivering them to him. An elderly man from the Sawād came to me with a petition claiming a specified orchard. He asserted that it belonged to him, was in the Commander of the Faithful’s possession, and had been seized from him. I asked, “In whose possession is it?” He said, “The Commander of the Faithful’s.” I asked, “Who cultivates it?” He said, “It is in the Commander of the Faithful’s possession; he seized it from me.” I tried every way to divert him from a claim against the Commander of the Faithful to one against someone else, but he refused to abandon his assertion that the Commander of the Faithful was the defendant. I entered with the petitions. The Commander of the Faithful sat on a chair, with Yaḥyā ibn Khālid seated before him. As I took out the petitions, the old man’s petition came out near me, and I did not consider it lawful to postpone it. I said, “Commander of the Faithful, an elderly man from the Sawād is here claiming such-and-such orchard. I tried hard to get him to bring his claim against a subject, but he refused, saying, ‘My claim is against the Commander of the Faithful.’” He said, “I know this orchard. My father gave it to me, and it is my property.” I asked, “May the man attend?” He said yes, and I brought him in. I asked his claim. He said, “I claim such-and-such orchard,” specifying its boundaries, “against this Commander of the Faithful,” pointing at him. I asked, “Who manages it, and in whose possession is it?” He said, “This Commander of the Faithful’s.” I asked the Commander of the Faithful, “What do you say to this man’s claim?” He replied, “He has no such entitlement against me, and this orchard is not his.” I asked the man, “Do you have evidence?” He said, “His oath.” I said, “Commander of the Faithful, you must swear.” He replied, “Administer the oath.” I did, and he swore. The elder sprang up to leave, and as he turned away I heard him say, “His backside—like a draught of barley meal. [A coarse remark; its intended force is unclear.]” The Commander of the Faithful’s face darkened after swearing, and he lowered his head in thought. I thought, “I am ruined, and so is the man.” Yaḥyā ibn Khālid said, “Yaʿqūb, have you seen anyone like the Commander of the Faithful in justice and fair treatment of a subject? He gave justice against himself to the point of doing what you saw.” The Commander of the Faithful relaxed and rejoiced, saying, “Glory be to God! There must be fairness.” Yaḥyā ibn Khālid said, “Had this come from al-Fārūq, it would have been admirable,” or words to that effect. Abū Zayd said: Abū Yūsuf told us, “Whenever I remember that gathering, intense distress enters me, and I fear God for having abandoned justice there.” We asked, “What more could there be than what you did?” He asked, “Did you not understand its fault?” We said, “No, we saw only justice and upholding the right.” He said, “How so? I did not put him and his opponent on equal terms in the gathering by saying, ‘Commander of the Faithful, you are on a chair, and he is on the floor,’ and having a chair brought for him to sit on.”

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Durayd informed us: Al-Sakan ibn Saʿīd informed us, from his father, from Hishām ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī: Ibn Abī Kathīr, a client of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb from Basra, said in an elegy for Judge Abū Yūsuf: “May a resounding mass of clouds water the grave where Yaʿqūb became decay’s captive. / He worked subtle analogy for us, so wine became lawful after its former disgrace. / Had the fates not aimed at him, and death not hurried him away from perfume, / He would have worked reasoning in analogy until finding anything forbidden became hard for doubters.” [The phrase about perfume is reproduced as transmitted; its intended wording is uncertain.]

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Durayd informed us: Al-Sakan ibn Saʿīd informed us, from his father, from Hishām ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī: Ibn Abī Kathīr, a client of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb from Basra, said in an elegy for Judge Abū Yūsuf: “May a resounding mass of clouds water the grave where Yaʿqūb became decay’s captive. / He worked subtle analogy for us, so wine became lawful after its former disgrace. / Had the fates not aimed at him, and death not hurried him away from breaking the fast, / He would have worked reasoning in analogy until finding anything forbidden became hard for doubters.”

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Al-Ḥakīmī informed us: Abū Umayya al-Khaṣīb related to us: Shabāb al-ʿUṣfurī related to us: Judge Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm died in 181.

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Al-Ḥakīmī informed us: Abū Umayya al-Khaṣīb related to us: Shabāb al-ʿUṣfurī related to us: Judge Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm died in 181.

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Mughīra al-Jawharī related to us: Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd related to us, from al-Wāqidī: Judge Abū Yūsuf died in 182.

Al-Marzubānī informed us: Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Mughīra al-Jawharī related to us: Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, from al-Wāqidī: Judge Abū Yūsuf died in 182.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr al-Manṣūrī related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Bahlūl related to us, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Bajalī related to us, saying: I heard Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: Abū Ḥanīfa said one day: “These companions of ours number thirty-six. Twenty-eight are suited to judicial office, six are suited to issuing legal opinions, and two instruct the judges and those who issue legal opinions.” He pointed to Abū Yūsuf and Zufar.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr al-Manṣūrī related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Bahlūl related to us, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Bajalī related to us, saying: I heard Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: Abū Ḥanīfa said one day: “These companions of ours number thirty-six. Twenty-eight are suited to judicial office, six are suited to issuing legal opinions, and two are suited to instructing the judges and those who issue legal opinions.” He pointed to Abū Yūsuf and Zufar.

ʿAbbās ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī informed us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us, saying: Nujayḥ related to us, saying: Ibn Karāma related to us, saying: We were with Wakīʿ one day when a man said Abū Ḥanīfa made a mistake.” Wakīʿ said: “Could Abū Ḥanīfa make a mistake when he had with him the likes of Abū Yūsuf and Zufar in their analogical reasoning, the likes of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth, Ḥibbān, and Mandal in their memorization of hadith, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn in his knowledge of language and Arabic, and al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī in their renunciation and scrupulousness? Someone whose companions were these people would not err, because if he erred they would correct him.”

ʿAbbās ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī informed us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us, saying: Nujayḥ related to us, saying: Ibn Karāma related to us, saying: We were with Wakīʿ one day when a man said Abū Ḥanīfa made a mistake.” Wakīʿ said: “Could Abū Ḥanīfa make a mistake when he had with him the likes of Abū Yūsuf and Zufar in their analogical reasoning, the likes of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth, Ḥibbān, and Mandal in their memorization of hadith, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn in his knowledge of language and Arabic, and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī and al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ in their renunciation and scrupulousness? Someone whose companions were these people would not err, because if he erred they would correct him.”

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn ʿĀbis narrated to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salama say: After Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s death, the mufti of Kufa and the person to whom people looked in jurisprudence was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. He supplied the people’s needs. When he died, they needed someone to sit and teach them. His companions feared that his memory would die and knowledge disappear. Ḥammād had a son with good knowledge, and they agreed upon him. His father’s companions—Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, Abū Burda al-ʿUtbī, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and others—came and attended him. But grammar and Arab speech predominated in his interests, and he could not patiently remain sitting with them. Their opinion then settled on Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī. They asked him, but he declined. They asked Abū Burda, but he declined. Then they asked Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: I do not wish knowledge to die. He agreed and sat to teach them, and they attended him. After them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, al-Walīd, and men from Kufa. Abū Ḥanīfa taught them understanding of religion, showing them great kindness and continual care. Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, Sharīk, and Sufyān opposed him and sought to discredit him. This continued until his position became firmly established, the governors needed him, and the caliphs spoke of him.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibn ʿĀbis narrated to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Salama say: After Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s death, the mufti of Kufa and the person to whom people looked in jurisprudence was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. He supplied the people’s needs. When he died, they needed someone to sit and teach them. His companions feared that his memory would die and knowledge disappear. Ḥammād had a son with good knowledge, and they agreed upon him. His father’s companions—Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, Abū Burda al-ʿUtbī, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and others—came and attended him. But grammar and Arab speech predominated in his interests, and he could not patiently remain sitting with them. Their opinion then settled on Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī. They asked him, but he declined. They asked Abū Burda, but he declined. Then they asked Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: I do not wish knowledge to die. He agreed and sat to teach them, and they attended him. After them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, al-Walīd, and men from Kufa. Abū Ḥanīfa taught them understanding of religion, showing them great kindness and continual care. Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, Sharīk, and Sufyān opposed him and sought to discredit him. This continued until his position became firmly established, the governors needed him, and the caliphs spoke of him.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Rabīʿ narrated to us: Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: The people’s mufti in Kufa was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Ḥammād had a son called Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. When Ḥammād died, they agreed that Ismāʿīl should sit to teach them and patiently attend to them. But they found that poetry, evening conversation, and accounts of bygone people predominated in his interests. Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, one of Ḥammād’s companions, Abū Burda, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and a group of Ḥammād’s companions spoke; Abū Ḥuṣayn and Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit said: This silk merchant has good knowledge, though he is young; have him sit to teach. They did so. He was wealthy, generous, and intelligent. He sat and patiently devoted himself to them, generously supported them and gave them gifts. Judges and governors honored him, and his standing rose. The senior generation attended him; after them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, and al-Walīd ibn Abān. Those who opposed him and criticized him were Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, al-Thawrī, Sharīk, and a group who disagreed with him and sought to discredit him. His standing continued to rise and his companions multiplied until his circle was the largest in the mosque and the most ample in answering questions. He was patient with them, generously provided for every needy person among them, and gave gifts to every prosperous person. People’s attention turned toward him until governors, judges, and nobles honored him. He met extraordinary expenses, everyone praised him, and he accomplished things that defeated the Arabs. His broad knowledge enabled him, and destiny favored him; those who envied him multiplied. He used to say: A judge is like a swimmer in the sea: how long can he swim, and whom can he satisfy, even if he is learned?

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Rabīʿ narrated to us: Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: The people’s mufti in Kufa was Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. Ḥammād had a son called Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān. When Ḥammād died, they agreed that Ismāʿīl should sit to teach them and patiently attend to them. But they found that poetry, evening conversation, and accounts of bygone people predominated in his interests. Abū Bakr al-Nahshalī, one of Ḥammād’s companions, Abū Burda, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥanafī, and a group of Ḥammād’s companions spoke; Abū Ḥuṣayn and Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit said: This silk merchant has good knowledge, though he is young; have him sit to teach. They did so. He was wealthy, generous, and intelligent. He sat and patiently devoted himself to them, generously supported them and gave them gifts. Judges and governors honored him, and his standing rose. The senior generation attended him; after them came Abū Yūsuf, Asad ibn ʿAmr, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, and al-Walīd ibn Abān. Those who opposed him and criticized him were Ibn Abī Laylā, Ibn Shubruma, al-Thawrī, Sharīk, and a group who disagreed with him and sought to discredit him. His standing continued to rise and his companions multiplied until his circle was the largest in the mosque and the most ample in answering questions. He was patient with them, provided abundantly for every needy person among them, and gave gifts to every prosperous person. People’s attention turned toward him until governors, judges, and nobles honored him. He met extraordinary expenses, everyone praised him, and he accomplished things that defeated the Arabs. His broad knowledge enabled him, and destiny favored him; those who envied him multiplied. He used to say: A judge is like a swimmer in the sea: how long can he swim, and whom can he satisfy, even if he is learned?

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Al-Faḍl ibn Ghānim narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf was seriously ill, and Abū Ḥanīfa visited him repeatedly. On his last visit he saw that he was gravely ill, pronounced ‘We belong to God and to Him we return,’ and said: I had hoped you would serve the Muslims after me. If the people lose you, much knowledge will die with you. He then recovered and emerged from the illness. Abū Yūsuf was told what Abū Ḥanīfa had said about him. His self-esteem rose, and people’s attention turned toward him. He established a jurisprudence gathering of his own and reduced his attendance at Abū Ḥanīfa’s gathering. Abū Ḥanīfa asked about him and was told: He has established his own gathering, and your words about him reached him. He summoned a man he esteemed and said: Go to Yaʿqūb’s gathering and ask him: What do you say about a man who gave a cloth to a fuller to full for a dirham, then returned after some days to seek it? The fuller said: You have nothing with me, and denied it. Then the owner returned, and he handed him the cloth, fulled. Is he entitled to a wage? If he says he is, say: You are wrong. If he says he is not, say: You are wrong. The man went and asked him. Abū Yūsuf said: He is entitled to the wage. He said: You are wrong. Abū Yūsuf considered it a while, then said: He is not entitled to a wage. He said: You are wrong. Abū Yūsuf rose immediately and went to Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: Nothing brought you except the fuller’s question. He said: Yes. He said: Glory be to God! Someone sits issuing rulings to people and establishes a gathering to discuss God’s religion, yet his knowledge is such that he cannot answer a question concerning hire! He said: Abū Ḥanīfa, teach me. He said: If he fulled it after wrongfully appropriating it, he has no wage, because he fulled it for himself. If he fulled it before appropriating it, he is entitled to a wage, because he fulled it for its owner. Then he said: Whoever thinks he can dispense with learning should weep for himself.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Al-Faḍl ibn Ghānim narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf was seriously ill, and Abū Ḥanīfa visited him repeatedly. On his last visit he saw that he was gravely ill, pronounced ‘We belong to God and to Him we return,’ and said: I had hoped you would serve the Muslims after me. If the people lose you, much knowledge will die with you. He then recovered and emerged from the illness. Abū Yūsuf was told what Abū Ḥanīfa had said about him. His self-esteem rose, and people’s attention turned toward him. He established a jurisprudence gathering of his own and reduced his attendance at Abū Ḥanīfa’s gathering. Abū Ḥanīfa asked about him and was told: He has established his own gathering, and your words about him reached him. He summoned a man he esteemed and said: Go to Yaʿqūb’s gathering and ask him: What do you say about a man who gave a cloth to a fuller to full for a dirham, then returned after some days to seek it? The fuller said: You have nothing with me, and denied it. Then the owner returned, and he handed him the cloth, fulled. Is he entitled to a wage? If he says he is, say: You are wrong. If he says he is not, say: You are wrong. The man went and asked him. Abū Yūsuf said: He is entitled to the wage. He said: You are wrong. Abū Yūsuf considered it a while, then said: He is not entitled to a wage. He said: You are wrong. Abū Yūsuf rose immediately and went to Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: Nothing brought you except the fuller’s question. He said: Yes. He said: Glory be to God! Someone sits issuing rulings to people and establishes a gathering to discuss God’s religion, yet his knowledge is such that he cannot answer a question concerning hire! He said: Abū Ḥanīfa, teach me. He said: If he fulled it after wrongfully appropriating it, he has no wage, because he fulled it for himself. If he fulled it before appropriating it, he is entitled to a wage, because he fulled it for its owner. Then he said: Whoever thinks he can dispense with learning should weep for himself.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad the judge narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik informed us: Abū Ḥanīfa visited Ibn Abī Laylā with Abū Yūsuf to discharge his social obligation toward him. When Abū Ḥanīfa sat with him, Ibn Abī Laylā told his doorkeeper: Admit the litigants present. It was as if he wanted to show Abū Ḥanīfa his effectiveness in judgment and adjudication. Litigants entered and a group came before him; he judged between them. Then two men came forward. One said: May God honor you, this man accused my mother of fornication and insulted me, saying: Son of a fornicatress! I ask the judge to obtain my right. Ibn Abī Laylā asked the defendant: What do you say? Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—said: Why ask him about this claim? This man has no standing against him: he says the accusation of fornication concerns his mother. Has his authorization to act for his mother been established before you? He said: No. He said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother is alive or dead. If alive, he has no basis for his claim except authorization from her to pursue her right. If dead, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā turned to the claimant and asked: Is your mother alive or dead? He said: Dead. He said: Produce evidence of her death before me so I may know. He produced evidence. Ibn Abī Laylā then went to ask the defendant about the allegation, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother has another heir. If he has siblings, the right to claim belongs to him and them. If he alone is the heir, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā asked: Does your mother have another heir? He said: No. He said: Produce evidence. He produced evidence that he alone was her heir. Ibn Abī Laylā went to ask the defendant about the claim, but Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother was free or enslaved. Ibn Abī Laylā asked him, and he said: Free. He required evidence, which he produced. He went to ask the defendant, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Return again to the claimant and ask whether she was Muslim or a woman protected by treaty. He said: A free Muslim woman from such-and-such a family, prominent people in Kufa. He said: Produce evidence that she was Muslim. He did so. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Now proceed, and ask the man about the claimant’s allegation. He asked, and the man denied it. He asked the claimant: Have you evidence? He said: Yes, a group of Kufa’s leading men. He said: Bring them with your opponent so I can hear their testimony against him. He brought them, and Abū Ḥanīfa rose. Ibn Abī Laylā said: Will you sit until the evidence arrives? He said: No, and left at once.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad the judge narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik informed us: Abū Ḥanīfa visited Ibn Abī Laylā with Abū Yūsuf to discharge his social obligation toward him. When Abū Ḥanīfa sat with him, Ibn Abī Laylā told his doorkeeper: Admit the litigants present. It was as if he wanted to show Abū Ḥanīfa his effectiveness in judgment and adjudication. Litigants entered and a group came before him; he judged between them. Then two men came forward. One said: May God honor you, this man accused my mother of fornication and insulted me, saying: Son of a fornicatress! I ask the judge to obtain my right. Ibn Abī Laylā asked the defendant: What do you say? Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why ask him about this claim? This man has no standing against him: he says the accusation of fornication concerns his mother. Has his authorization to act for his mother been established before you? He said: No. He said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother is alive or dead. If alive, he has no basis for his claim except authorization from her to pursue her right. If dead, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā turned to the claimant and asked: Is your mother alive or dead? He said: Dead. He said: Produce evidence of her death before me so I may know. He produced evidence. Ibn Abī Laylā then went to ask the defendant about the allegation, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother has another heir. If he has siblings, the right to claim belongs to him and them. If he alone is the heir, the matter is different. Ibn Abī Laylā asked: Does your mother have another heir? He said: No. He said: Produce evidence. He produced evidence that he alone was her heir. Ibn Abī Laylā went to ask the defendant about the claim, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Turn to the claimant and ask whether his mother was free or enslaved. Ibn Abī Laylā asked him, and he said: Free. He required evidence, which he produced. He went to ask the defendant, but Abū Ḥanīfa said: Return again to the claimant and ask whether she was Muslim or a woman protected by treaty. He said: A free Muslim woman from such-and-such a family, prominent people in Kufa. He said: Produce evidence that she was Muslim. He did so. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Now proceed, and ask the man about the claimant’s allegation. He asked, and the man denied it. He asked the claimant: Have you evidence? He said: Yes, a group of Kufa’s leading men. He said: Bring them with your opponent so I can hear their testimony against him. Abū Ḥanīfa rose. Ibn Abī Laylā said: Will you sit until the evidence arrives? He said: No, and left at once.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī narrated to us: I was with the Commander of the Faithful al-Rashīd when Abū Yūsuf entered. Al-Rashīd said: Abū Yūsuf, describe Abū Ḥanīfa’s character to me—may God be pleased with him. He said: God Most High says, ‘He utters no word without an ever-ready watcher beside him,’ and such a watcher is beside every speaker’s tongue. What I knew of Abū Ḥanīfa was that he vigorously defended God’s prohibitions against violation and was extremely scrupulous about speaking in God’s religion without knowledge. He loved God to be obeyed and not disobeyed. He avoided worldly people in their age and did not compete for worldly prestige. He remained silent long and reflected continually upon extensive work. He was neither babbling nor talkative. If asked a question about which he possessed knowledge, he expressed it and answered with what he had heard. Otherwise he reasoned by analogy according to truth and followed it. He protected himself and his religion, freely gave knowledge and wealth, was self-sufficient without needing anyone, and inclined toward no greed. He kept far from backbiting and mentioned no one except favorably. Al-Rashīd said: This is the character of the righteous. He told the scribe: Write this description and give it to my son to examine. Then he said to his son: Memorize it, my son, so I may question you about it, God willing.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī narrated to us: I was with the Commander of the Faithful al-Rashīd when Abū Yūsuf entered. Al-Rashīd said: Abū Yūsuf, describe Abū Ḥanīfa’s character to me. He said: God Most High says, ‘He utters no word without an ever-ready watcher beside him,’ and such a watcher is beside every speaker’s tongue. What I knew of Abū Ḥanīfa was that he vigorously defended God’s prohibitions against violation and was extremely scrupulous about speaking in God’s religion without knowledge. He loved God to be obeyed and not disobeyed. He avoided worldly people in their age and did not compete for worldly prestige. He remained silent long and reflected continually upon extensive work. He was neither babbling nor talkative. If asked a question about which he possessed knowledge, he expressed it and answered with what he had heard. Otherwise he reasoned by analogy according to truth and followed it. He protected himself and his religion, freely gave knowledge and wealth, was self-sufficient without needing anyone, and inclined toward no greed. He kept far from backbiting and mentioned no one except favorably. Al-Rashīd said: This is the character of the righteous. He told the scribe: Write this description and give it to my son to examine. Then he said to his son: Memorize it, my son, so I may question you about it, God willing.

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.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Bazzāz related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd said, from Abū Yūsuf: While I was walking with Abū Ḥanīfa, he heard children shouting: “This is Abū Ḥanīfa, who does not sleep at night.” He said to me: “Abū Yūsuf, do you not see what these children are saying? I owe God a pledge that I shall not lay my side on a bed until I meet God Most High.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Bazzāz related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd said, from Abū Yūsuf: While I was walking with Abū Ḥanīfa, he heard children shouting: “This is Abū Ḥanīfa, who does not sleep at night.” He said to me: “Abū Yūsuf, do you not see what these children are saying? I owe God a pledge that I shall not lay my side on a bed until I meet God Most High.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz narrated to us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, saying: The companions of Abū Ḥanīfa who regularly attended his study circle numbered ten. Four of them memorized jurisprudence as the Qurʾān is memorized: Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm, Asad ibn ʿAmr, and ʿAlī ibn Mushir. They report that Sufyān used to learn jurisprudence based on Abū Ḥanīfa’s positions from ʿAlī ibn Mushir, and that he relied on him and on their discussions when composing the book that he called al-Jāmiʿ.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz narrated to us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, saying: The companions of Abū Ḥanīfa who regularly attended his study circle numbered ten. Four of them memorized jurisprudence as the Qurʾān is memorized: Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl, Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm, Asad ibn ʿAmr, and ʿAlī ibn Mushir. They report that Sufyān used to learn jurisprudence based on Abū Ḥanīfa’s positions from ʿAlī ibn Mushir, and that he relied on him and on their discussions when composing the book that he called al-Jāmiʿ.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Aktham say: When Abū Yūsuf was asked a question, he answered and said: “This is Abū Ḥanīfa’s position. Whoever places him between himself and his Lord has safeguarded his religion.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Aktham say: When Abū Yūsuf was asked a question, he answered and said: “This is Abū Ḥanīfa’s position. Whoever places him between himself and his Lord has safeguarded his religion.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the judge Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥibbān narrated to us, from his father: Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn was asked, “Whom do you prefer: al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Ḥanīfa, or Abū Yūsuf?” He said, “As for al-Shāfiʿī, I do not favor his hadith. As for Abū Ḥanīfa, upright people transmitted from him. As for Abū Yūsuf, he was not a liar; he was truthful.” He was asked, “Was Abū Ḥanīfa truthful in hadith?” He replied, “Yes, truthful.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: the judge Abū Bakr Makram ibn Aḥmad narrated to us: al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥibbān narrated to us, from his father: Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn was asked, “Whom do you prefer: al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Ḥanīfa, or Abū Yūsuf?” He said, “As for al-Shāfiʿī, I do not favor his hadith. As for Abū Ḥanīfa, upright people transmitted from him. As for Abū Yūsuf, he was not a liar; he was truthful.” He was asked, “Was Abū Ḥanīfa truthful in hadith?” He replied, “Yes, truthful.”

ʿUmar informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim related to me: Judge al-Birtī related to us: I heard Abū Nuʿaym say: Zufar sat opposite Abū Ḥanīfa, while Abū Yūsuf sat beside him.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad related to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim related to me: Judge al-Birtī related to us: I heard Abū Nuʿaym say: Zufar sat opposite Abū Ḥanīfa, while Abū Yūsuf sat beside him.

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.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us, from his father: When Abū Ḥanīfa died, people flocked to Zufar, while only a few came to Abū Yūsuf—two or three. Zufar was called Abū Khālid and Abū al-Hudhayl and was from Isfahan. His brother died, and he afterwards married his brother’s widow. When he was dying, Abū Yūsuf and others visited him and said, “Will you not give your testamentary directions, Abū al-Hudhayl?” He said, “These furnishings you see belong to this woman, and these three thousand dirhams belong to my brother’s children. I owe no one anything, and no one owes me anything.” Zufar was intensely devoted to worship and exertion.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us, from his father: When Abū Ḥanīfa died, people flocked to Zufar, while only a few came to Abū Yūsuf—two or three. Zufar was called Abū Khālid and Abū al-Hudhayl and was from Isfahan. His brother died, and he afterwards married his brother’s widow. When he was dying, Abū Yūsuf and others visited him and said, “Will you not give your testamentary directions, Abū al-Hudhayl?” He said, “These furnishings you see belong to this woman, and these three thousand dirhams belong to my brother’s children. I owe no one anything, and no one owes me anything.” Zufar was intensely devoted to worship and exertion.

Judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān relate from al-Walīd ibn Ḥammād al-Luʾluʾī, the nephew of al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī: I asked my uncle al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī, “You saw Zufar and Abū Yūsuf with Abū Ḥanīfa; how did you find them?” He replied, “I saw them like two sparrows upon whom a hawk had swooped.”

Judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: The jurist Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān relate from al-Walīd ibn Ḥammād al-Luʾluʾī, the nephew of al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī: I asked my uncle al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād al-Luʾluʾī, “You saw Zufar and Abū Yūsuf with Abū Ḥanīfa; how did you find them?” He replied, “I saw them like two sparrows upon whom a hawk had swooped.”

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dāwūd, when Isḥāq asked him about Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, say: ‘Abū Yūsuf, Zufar, ʿĀfiya al-Awdī, Asad ibn ʿAmr, ʿAlī ibn Mushir, Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī.’ Then ʿAbd Allāh said: ‘If Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī were weighed against the people of the earth, he would outweigh them in virtue and righteousness.’

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dāwūd, when Isḥāq asked him about Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions, say: ‘Abū Yūsuf, Zufar, ʿĀfiya al-Awdī, Asad ibn ʿAmr, ʿAlī ibn Mushir, Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn, and Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī.’ Then ʿAbd Allāh said: ‘If Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī were weighed against the people of the earth, he would outweigh them in virtue and righteousness.’

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 informed us: Makram informed us: the judge Muḥammad ibn Masrūq informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Shuʿayb ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan say, “My position, and the position of Abū Ḥanīfa and Abū Yūsuf, is Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿAlī, then ʿUthmān.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram informed us: the judge Muḥammad ibn Masrūq informed us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Shuʿayb ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan say, “My position, and the position of Abū Ḥanīfa and Abū Yūsuf, is Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿAlī, then ʿUthmān.” May God be pleased with them.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ibn Kathīr al-Bāhilī and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿĪsā narrated to me, both saying: the judge Muḥammad ibn Abī Rajāʾ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I saw Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan in a dream and asked, “What did your Lord do with you?” He replied, “He admitted me to Paradise and told me, ‘I did not make you a vessel for knowledge while intending to punish you.’” I asked, “And Abū Yūsuf?” He replied, “He is one degree above me—or above us.” I asked, “And Abū Ḥanīfa?” He replied, “He is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ibn Kathīr al-Bāhilī and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿĪsā narrated to me, both saying: the judge Muḥammad ibn Abī Rajāʾ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I saw Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan in a dream and asked, “What did your Lord do with you?” He replied, “He admitted me to Paradise and told me, ‘I did not make you a vessel for knowledge while intending to punish you.’” I asked, “And Abū Yūsuf?” He replied, “He is one degree above me—or above us.” I asked, “And Abū Ḥanīfa?” He replied, “He is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: the judge al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: We were with Abū Yūsuf when al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād approached. Abū Yūsuf said, “Get ahead of him and question him, or you will not be able to overcome him.” Then al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came forward and said, “Peace be upon you! Abū Yūsuf, what do you say…?” joining his question directly to the greeting. I saw Abū Yūsuf turning his face first to this side and then to that because of al-Ḥasan’s many objections, moving from one answer to another.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: the judge al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn ʿUbayda narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, saying: We were with Abū Yūsuf when al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād approached. Abū Yūsuf said, “Get ahead of him and question him, or you will not be able to overcome him.” Then al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came forward and said, “Peace be upon you! Abū Yūsuf, what do you say…?” joining his question directly to the greeting. I saw Abū Yūsuf turning his face first to this side and then to that because of al-Ḥasan’s many objections, moving from one answer to another.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: the judge al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Asadī narrated to us, saying: I asked Nimr ibn Jidār, “Which is more learned in jurisprudence, al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād or Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan?” He replied, “Al-Ḥasan. By God, I saw al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād question Muḥammad until Muḥammad wept because of the errors he exposed.” I said, “You have met Abū Yūsuf, al-Ḥasan, and Muḥammad; how did you find them?” He replied, “Muḥammad gave the best answers, but his questions were not on the level of his answers. Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād asked the best questions, but his answers were not on the level of his questions. Abū Yūsuf was the best of them both in questions and in answers.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr narrated to us: the judge al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr al-Asadī narrated to us, saying: I asked Nimr ibn Jidār, “Which is more learned in jurisprudence, al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād or Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan?” He replied, “Al-Ḥasan. By God, I saw al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād question Muḥammad until Muḥammad wept because of the errors he exposed.” I said, “You have met Abū Yūsuf, al-Ḥasan, and Muḥammad; how did you find them?” He replied, “Muḥammad gave the best answers, but his questions were not on the level of his answers. Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād asked the best questions, but his answers were not on the level of his questions. Abū Yūsuf was the best of them both in questions and in answers.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: When al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came to Abū Yūsuf, he caused him apprehension. Ibn Shujāʿ said: I heard Ibn Ziyād say, “For forty years I never spent a night without a lamp before me.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: When al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād came to Abū Yūsuf, he caused him apprehension. Ibn Shujāʿ said: I heard Ibn Ziyād say, “For forty years I never spent a night without a lamp before me.”

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was Abū ʿAmr Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī.

He held judicial office for al-Rashīd after Abū Yūsuf and performed the pilgrimage with him, sharing his riding conveyance. His kunya was Abū ʿAmr.

Among Abū Ḥanīfa’s companions was Abū ʿAmr Asad ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī.

He held the judgeship for al-Rashīd after Abū Yūsuf, and performed the pilgrimage with him, riding alongside him. His kunya was Abū ʿAmr.

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.

Among those who learned jurisprudence from both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad were Abū Sulaymān Mūsā ibn Sulaymān al-Jūzjānī and Muʿallā ibn Manṣūr al-Rāzī. They transmitted the books and dictated lessons from them both. In scrupulousness, religion, and retention of jurisprudence and hadith, they held an elevated rank.

Among those who learned jurisprudence from both Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad were Abū Sulaymān Mūsā ibn Sulaymān al-Jūzjānī and Muʿallā ibn Manṣūr al-Rāzī. They transmitted the books and dictated lessons from them both. In scrupulousness, religion, and retention of jurisprudence and hadith, they held an elevated rank.

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.”

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik. He was trustworthy in transmission, abundant in learning, and extensive in his transmissions. Abū Yūsuf likened him to a camel loaded beyond its capacity and driven through mud: its foreleg would go this way, and then its hind leg that way, before it returned. Ibn Shujāʿ learned from him and others.

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik. He was trustworthy in transmission, abundant in learning, and extensive in his transmissions. Abū Yūsuf likened him to a camel loaded beyond its capacity and driven through mud: its foreleg would go this way, and then its hind leg that way, before it returned. Ibn Shujāʿ learned from him and others.

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Abū al-Walīd Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī. He held judicial office in Madīnat al-Salām for al-Maʾmūn. He was hostile toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and turned against him. Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik would forbid him to do so, saying, “Muḥammad has produced these books; you produce even a single legal question!”

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Abū al-Walīd Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī. He held judicial office in Madīnat al-Salām for al-Maʾmūn. He was hostile toward Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan and turned against him. Al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik would forbid him to do so, saying, “Muḥammad has produced these books; you produce even a single legal question!”

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Bishr ibn Ghiyāth al-Marīsī. He had many writings and transmissions from Abū Yūsuf. He was scrupulous and ascetic, but people turned away from him in that period because of his reputation for theological speculation and his engagement in it. Ḥusayn al-Najjār learned his doctrine from him.

Among Abū Yūsuf's particular companions was Bishr ibn Ghiyāth al-Marīsī. He had many writings and transmissions from Abū Yūsuf. He was scrupulous and ascetic, but people turned away from him in that period because of his reputation for theological speculation and his engagement in it. Ḥusayn al-Najjār learned his doctrine from him.

Another companion of Abū Yūsuf was Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ. He held judicial office in Egypt and was weak in his transmission. Abū Yūsuf used to tell him, “You take a legal question from us fresh and return it with kohl applied.” ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd and others recorded dictated lessons from him.

Another companion of Abū Yūsuf was Ibrāhīm ibn al-Jarrāḥ. He held judicial office in Egypt and was weak in his transmission. Abū Yūsuf used to tell him, “You take a legal question from us fresh and return it with kohl applied.” ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd and others recorded dictated lessons from him.

Among the companions of Abū Yūsuf and Zufar was Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā, known as Hilāl al-Raʾy. We have already mentioned his story with Abū Yūsuf when the latter entered Basra, in the accounts of Abū Yūsuf.

Among the companions of Abū Yūsuf and Zufar was Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā, known as Hilāl al-Raʾy. We have already mentioned his story with Abū Yūsuf when the latter entered Basra, in the accounts of Abū Yūsuf.

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.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī—God’s mercy be upon him—informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAffān narrated to us: I heard Nimr ibn Jidār say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—was of medium height, neither short nor tall. He spoke more beautifully than anyone, had the sweetest voice, and expressed what he intended most clearly.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafīinformed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAffān narrated to us: I heard Nimr ibn Jidār say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him—was of medium height, neither short nor tall. He spoke more beautifully than anyone, had the sweetest voice, and expressed what he intended most clearly.

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.”

Hilāl narrated to us: My father Abū ʿUbayd Allāh narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdān narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Ṣalt narrated to us, from Bishr ibn al-Walīd, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: I heard Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, say: I heard the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, say: “One who directs others to good is like its doer, and God loves helping the distressed.” Abū Bakr Hilāl said to us: Abū Ḥanīfa also lived in the time of the Companions ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā and Abū al-Ṭufayl ʿĀmir ibn Wāthila; both were Companions.

Hilāl narrated to us: My father Abū ʿUbayd Allāh narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdān narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Ṣalt narrated to us, from Bishr ibn al-Walīd, from Abū Yūsuf, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: I heard Anas ibn Mālik, may God be pleased with him, say: I heard the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, say: “One who directs others to good is like its doer, and God loves helping the distressed.” Abū Bakr Hilāl said to us: Abū Ḥanīfa also lived in the time of the Companions ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā and Abū al-Ṭufayl ʿĀmir ibn Wāthila; both were Companions.

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.

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.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: When Abū al-ʿAbbās arrived in Kufa, he summoned the scholars and gathered them. He said: This authority has passed to your Prophet’s household. God has brought you bounty and the establishment of justice. You scholars are the most entitled to help with it. You may have whatever gifts, honors, and hospitality you wish from God’s wealth. Pledge allegiance, a pledge that provides your imam with a binding claim upon you and gives you security at your resurrection. Do not meet God without an imam and thus be among those with no justification. Do not say: We fear the Commander of the Faithful too much to speak the truth. The people looked toward Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: If you want me to speak for myself and you, remain silent. They said: We want that. He said: Praise be to God who has brought justice to the Prophet’s kin—God bless him and grant him peace—removed the oppression of tyrants from us, and freed our tongues to speak truth. We have pledged allegiance to you according to God’s command, and fidelity to you according to God’s covenant, until the rising of the Hour. May God never deprive this authority of those related to His Prophet. Abū al-ʿAbbās answered him graciously, and said: Someone like you should speak for the scholars. They chose you well, and you conveyed the message well. When they left, they asked him: What did you mean by ‘until the rising of the hour’? The hour has already elapsed! He said: If you contrive against me, I will contrive for myself and leave you to the ordeal. They remained silent and knew that what he had done was right. [The account plays on sāʿa, meaning both ‘hour’ and the final Hour.]

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī say: When Abū al-ʿAbbās arrived in Kufa, he summoned the scholars and gathered them. He said: This authority has passed to your Prophet’s household. God has brought you bounty and the establishment of justice. You scholars are the most entitled to help with it. You may have whatever gifts, honors, and hospitality you wish from God’s wealth. Pledge allegiance, a pledge that provides your imam with a binding claim upon you and gives you security at your resurrection. Do not meet God without an imam and thus be among those with no justification. Do not say: We fear the Commander of the Faithful too much to speak the truth. The people looked toward Abū Ḥanīfa. He said: If you want me to speak for myself and you, remain silent. They said: We want that. He said: Praise be to God who has brought justice to the Prophet’s kin—God bless him and grant him peace—put an end to the oppression of tyrants against us, and freed our tongues to speak truth. We have pledged allegiance to you according to the command of God, exalted is He, and fidelity to you according to your covenant, until the rising of the Hour. May God never deprive this authority of those related to His Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace. Abū al-ʿAbbās answered him graciously, and said: Someone like you should speak for the scholars. They chose you well, and you conveyed the message well. When they left, they asked him: What did you mean by ‘until the rising of the hour’? The hour has already elapsed! He said: If you contrive against me, I will contrive for myself and leave you to the ordeal. They remained silent and knew that what he had done was right. [The account plays on sāʿa, meaning both ‘hour’ and the final Hour.]

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.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us: A man said to Abū Ḥanīfa: I buried something and do not know where in the house I buried it. He said: I am still less likely to know! The man wept. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Let us go. He rose with several companions, and the man brought them home. He asked: Where in the house might it be, and where are your belongings kept? He took them into a room. Abū Ḥanīfa asked his companions: If this room were yours and you had something to bury, what would you do? One said: I would bury it here, another named a different place, until they proposed five places. He dug in two of them and found it in the third. He said: Thank God who restored it to you.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: Ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us: Abū Yūsuf narrated to us: A man said to Abū Ḥanīfa: I buried something and do not know where in the house I buried it. He said: I am still less likely to know! The man wept. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Let us go. He rose with several companions, and the man brought them home. He asked: Where in the house might it be, and where are your belongings kept? He took them into a room. Abū Ḥanīfa asked his companions: If this room were yours and you had something to bury, what would you do? One said: I would bury it here, another named a different place, until they proposed five places. He dug in two of them and found it in the third. He said: Thank God who restored it to you.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: No one I have accompanied could say that he had seen anyone of more complete intellect or more perfect honorable conduct than Abū Ḥanīfa.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd narrated to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: No one I have accompanied could say that he had seen anyone of more complete intellect or more perfect honorable conduct than Abū Ḥanīfa—may God have mercy on him.

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?

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: After the dawn prayer, Abū Ḥanīfa was asked questions and answered them. He was asked: Did they not dislike speaking at such a time except of good things? Abū Ḥanīfa said: What greater good is there than saying: This is lawful and this forbidden—declaring God’s holiness and warning people against disobeying Him? When a provision bag is empty of food, its owner goes hungry.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: After the dawn prayer, Abū Ḥanīfa was asked questions and answered them. He was asked: Did they not dislike speaking at such a time except of good things? Abū Ḥanīfa said: What greater good is there than saying: This is lawful and this forbidden—declaring God’s holiness and warning people against disobeying Him? When a provision bag is empty of food, its owner goes hungry.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa often quoted this verse: It is sorrow enough to have neither a pleasant life nor a righteous deed with which God is pleased.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Hilāl ibn Yaḥyā narrated to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa often quoted this verse: It is sorrow enough to have neither a pleasant life nor a righteous deed with which God is pleased.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad al-Marwazī narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard that Abū Ḥanīfa accepted deposits from Khurasanians. After he died, they brought them to Ḥammād, who said: I will not accept them. He was told: Your father used to accept them. He replied: My father had someone like me, but I have no one like him.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad al-Marwazī narrated to us: I heard Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ say: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Mālik say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I heard that Abū Ḥanīfa accepted deposits from Khurasanians. After he died, they brought them to Ḥammād, who said: I will not accept them. He was told: Your father used to accept them. He replied: My father had someone like me, but I have no one like him.

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ḥammād ibn ʿAlī al-Sarrāj related to us: Abū Bilāl al-Ashʿarī related to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: Abū Ḥanīfa had a neighbour who used to drink at the tavern and then return at night singing: “They have abandoned me—and what a young man they abandoned, / for a day of adversity and the defence of a frontier!” He said: One night he returned and the patrol seized and imprisoned him. Abū Ḥanīfa missed his voice and asked about him. He was told: “The patrol imprisoned him.” Abū Ḥanīfa interceded for him until he was released, then said to him: “Young man, have you found that we abandoned you?”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Miskī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ḥammād ibn ʿAlī al-Sarrāj related to us: Abū Bilāl al-Ashʿarī related to us, from Abū Yūsuf, who said: Abū Ḥanīfa had a neighbour who used to drink at the tavern and then return at night singing: “They have abandoned me—and what a young man they abandoned, / for a day of adversity and the defence of a frontier!” He said: One night he returned and the patrol seized and imprisoned him. Abū Ḥanīfa missed his voice and asked about him. He was told: “The patrol imprisoned him.” Abū Ḥanīfa interceded for him until he was released, then said to him: “Young man, have you found that we abandoned you?”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Ibn Kāʾs the judge related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAffān related to us: Ismāʿīl ibn Yūsuf al-Shanbarī related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa scarcely ever received a request without fulfilling it. A man came and said: “I owe so-and-so five hundred dirhams and am in difficulty. Ask him to be patient with me and grant me a delay.” Abū Ḥanīfa spoke to the creditor, who said: “The money is his; I have released him from it.” The debtor said: “I have no need of that.” Abū Ḥanīfa said: “The request was not yours. It was mine, and it was fulfilled for me.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣayrafī informed us: ʿAlī ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarīrī related to us: Ibn Kāʾs the judge related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAffān related to us: Ismāʿīl ibn Yūsuf al-Shanbarī related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa scarcely ever received a request without fulfilling it. A man came and said: “I owe so-and-so five hundred dirhams and am in difficulty. Ask him to be patient with me and grant me a delay.” Abū Ḥanīfa spoke to the creditor, who said: “The money is his; I have released him from it.” The debtor said: “I have no need of that.” Abū Ḥanīfa said: “The request was not yours. It was mine, and it was fulfilled for me.”

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.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Shāhid informed us: Makram related to us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Sadūsī related to us: Abū Yūsuf Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to me: I heard Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl say: Abū Ḥanīfa was called “al-Waqd” because of his many prayers. [This epithet’s transmitted spelling and meaning are uncertain.]

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Shāhid informed us: Makram related to us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Sadūsī related to us: Abū Yūsuf Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to me: I heard Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl say: Abū Ḥanīfa was called “the peg” (al-watad) because of his many prayers.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad related: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa showed great kindness to everyone he knew, giving a man fifty dinars or more. If thanked before others, he was distressed and said: “You thank me, although it is only provision God has brought you. God’s Messenger, peace and blessings upon him, said: ‘I neither give you anything nor withhold it; I am only a treasurer, placing it where I am commanded.’”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad related: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa showed great kindness to everyone he knew, giving a man fifty dinars or more. If thanked before others, he was distressed and said: “You thank me, although it is only provision God has brought you. God’s Messenger, peace and blessings upon him, said: ‘I neither give you anything nor withhold it; I am only a treasurer, placing it where I am commanded.’”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related, from Abū Yūsuf: They used to say: God adorned Abū Ḥanīfa with jurisprudence, knowledge, practice, generosity, giving, and the Qurʾānic virtues he possessed.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related, from Abū Yūsuf: They used to say: God adorned Abū Ḥanīfa with jurisprudence, knowledge, practice, generosity, giving, and the Qurʾānic virtues he possessed.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis related: Abū ʿUbayd related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa’s mother swore an oath and told him: “Ask the preacher.” My maternal uncle Abū Ṭālib used to preach, and she attended his gathering. Abū Ḥanīfa summoned and questioned him: “My mother swore an oath and told me to ask you. I disliked disobeying her.” Abū Ṭālib said: “Give me the legal answer.” He said: “The answer is such-and-such.” He replied: “Tell her from me that the answer is such-and-such.” He told her, and she accepted the preacher’s statement.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis related: Abū ʿUbayd related: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Abū Ḥanīfa’s mother swore an oath and told him: “Ask the preacher.” My maternal uncle Abū Ṭālib used to preach, and she attended his gathering. Abū Ḥanīfa summoned and questioned him: “My mother swore an oath and told me to ask you. I disliked disobeying her.” Abū Ṭālib said: “Give me the legal answer.” He said: “The answer is such-and-such.” He replied: “Tell her from me that the answer is such-and-such.” He told her, and she accepted the preacher’s statement.

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.”

ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, from ʿAlī ibn Ḥarmala al-Taymī, from Abū Yūsuf: I pursued hadith and jurisprudence while poor and in shabby circumstances. One day my father came while I was with Abū Ḥanīfa, and I left with him. He said, “My son, do not stretch out your leg alongside Abū Ḥanīfa: Abū Ḥanīfa’s bread is baked, while you need to earn a living.” I reduced much of my pursuit of learning and preferred obeying my father. Abū Ḥanīfa missed me and asked about me, and I began visiting his gathering periodically. On the first day I came after my absence, he asked, “What has kept you from us?” I said, “Earning a living and obeying my father,” and sat down. When I wanted to leave, he gestured to me, and I sat. When everyone had left, he gave me a purse and said, “Make use of this.” I looked and found one hundred dirhams. He said, “Stay with the study circle, and tell me when this runs out.” I stayed with the circle. After a short time he gave me another hundred, and continued looking after me. I never told him of a need or reported that anything had run out; it was as though he was informed when it did, until I became self-sufficient and acquired wealth.

ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, from ʿAlī ibn Ḥarmala al-Taymī, from Abū Yūsuf: I pursued hadith and jurisprudence while poor and in shabby circumstances. One day my father came while I was with Abū Ḥanīfa, and I left with him. He said, “My son, do not stretch out your leg alongside Abū Ḥanīfa: Abū Ḥanīfa’s bread is baked, while you need to earn a living.” I reduced much of my pursuit of learning and preferred obeying my father. Abū Ḥanīfa missed me and asked about me, and I began visiting his gathering periodically. On the first day I came after my absence, he asked, “What has kept you from us?” I said, “Earning a living and obeying my father,” and sat down. When I wanted to leave, he gestured to me, and I sat. When everyone had left, he gave me a purse and said, “Make use of this.” I looked and found one hundred dirhams. He said, “Stay with the study circle, and tell me when this runs out.” I stayed with the circle. After a short time he gave me another hundred, and continued looking after me. I never told him of a need or reported that anything had run out; it was as though he was informed when it did, until I became self-sufficient and acquired wealth.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim related to us: ʿUbayd ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard ʿUmar ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: No gathering in the world was dearer to me to attend than those of Abū Ḥanīfa and Ibn Abī Laylā. I have never seen a jurist more learned in jurisprudence than Abū Ḥanīfa or a judge better than Ibn Abī Laylā.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim related to us: ʿUbayd ibn Muḥammad related to us: I heard ʿUmar ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: No gathering in the world was dearer to me to attend than those of Abū Ḥanīfa and Ibn Abī Laylā. I have never seen a jurist more learned in jurisprudence than Abū Ḥanīfa or a judge better than Ibn Abī Laylā.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq al-Zuhrī related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I accompanied Abū Ḥanīfa for seventeen years, never leaving him on the Feast of Breaking the Fast or the Feast of Sacrifice except because of illness.

Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Hāshimī related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūrī related to us: ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī related to us: Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq al-Zuhrī related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: I accompanied Abū Ḥanīfa for seventeen years, never leaving him on the Feast of Breaking the Fast or the Feast of Sacrifice except because of illness.