Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān

Of this generation was Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān, the teacher of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī. He was the senior scholar of our companions in Egypt in his time. He learned from Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and their peers. He had a compiled book known as al-Ḥujaj, one of the fine books. It is said that he was blind.

Of this generation was Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān, the teacher of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī. He was the senior scholar of our companions in Egypt in his time. He learned from Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, and their peers. He had a compiled book known as al-Ḥujaj, one of the fine books. It is said that he was blind.

Of this generation—indeed, preceding them in birth and age—was Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Salama al-Ṭaḥāwī. He lived in Egypt, where the leadership of Abū Ḥanīfa's companions culminated in him. He learned from Abū Jaʿfar ibn Abī ʿImrān, Judge Abū Khāzim, and a group of others. At the beginning of his legal studies he studied according to al-Shāfiʿī's doctrine. Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī related to me: The cause of his move to our companions' doctrines was that Abū Ibrāhīm al-Muzanī said to him one day, “By God, nothing will come of you.” Abū Jaʿfar was angered and felt affronted, and moved to Abū Jaʿfar ibn Abī ʿImrān. The first of his books that he composed was his abridgment, arranged according to al-Muzanī's book. When he finished it, he said, “God have mercy on Abū Ibrāhīm; if he were alive, he would make expiation for his oath.” Abū Jaʿfar had distinguished books, such as Ikhtilāf al-ʿUlamāʾ—no one produced its like—his large book on legal instruments, his book on the Qurʾan's rulings, his commentary on the meanings of transmitted reports, and other distinguished books. He died in 321 and was born in 238.

Of this generation—indeed, preceding them in birth and age—was Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Salama al-Ṭaḥāwī. He lived in Egypt, where the leadership of Abū Ḥanīfa's companions culminated in him. He learned from Abū Jaʿfar ibn Abī ʿImrān, Judge Abū Khāzim, and a group of others. At the beginning of his legal studies he studied according to al-Shāfiʿī's doctrine. Shaykh Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī related to me: The cause of his move to our companions' doctrines was that Abū Ibrāhīm al-Muzanī said to him one day, “By God, nothing will come of you.” Abū Jaʿfar was angered and felt affronted, and moved to Abū Jaʿfar ibn Abī ʿImrān. The first of his books that he composed was his abridgment, arranged according to al-Muzanī's book. When he finished it, he said, “God have mercy on Abū Ibrāhīm; if he were alive, he would make expiation for his oath.” Abū Jaʿfar had distinguished books, such as Ikhtilāf al-ʿUlamāʾ—no one produced its like—his large book on legal instruments, his book on the Qurʾan's rulings, his commentary on the meanings of transmitted reports, and other distinguished books. He died in 321 and was born in 238.

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.

Judge Abū Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Al-Aʿmash asked me a legal question, and I answered. He asked, “From where do you derive this?” I replied, “From the hadith you yourself related to us,” and mentioned it to him. He said, “Yaʿqūb, I memorized this hadith before your parents came together, but have only now understood its interpretation.”

Judge Abū Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī related to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us: I heard Abū Yūsuf say: Al-Aʿmash asked me a legal question, and I answered. He asked, “From where do you derive this?” I replied, “From the hadith you yourself related to us,” and mentioned it to him. He said, “Yaʿqūb, I memorized this hadith before your parents came together, but have only now understood its interpretation.”

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.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram informed us: Judge Abū Khāzim related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Zufar was of the Banū al-ʿAnbar, from a noble household among them. His mother was an enslaved woman, so his face resembled non-Arab faces because of her, while his speech resembled Arab speech. He attended al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa’s gathering. Al-Ḥajjāj held judicial office in Kufa and was prone to foul speech; the Nakhaʿ cast aspersions on his lineage. Zufar spoke and commanded the gathering, filling al-Ḥajjāj’s heart [with disquiet, implicitly]. He turned to him and said, “As for the tongue, it is Arab; as for the face, it is not an Arab face.” Zufar replied, “As for me, my people have accepted me.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram informed us: Judge Abū Khāzim related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Zufar was of the Banū al-ʿAnbar, from a noble household among them. His mother was an enslaved woman, so his face resembled non-Arab faces because of her, while his speech resembled Arab speech. He attended al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa’s gathering. Al-Ḥajjāj held judicial office in Kufa and was prone to self-conceit; the Nakhaʿ cast aspersions on his lineage. Zufar spoke and commanded the gathering, filling al-Ḥajjāj’s heart [with disquiet, implicitly]. He turned to him and said, “As for the tongue, it is Arab; as for the face, it is not an Arab face.” Zufar replied, “As for me, my people have accepted me.”

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.”

Judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṭabarī related to us: Abū Sulaymān al-Jūzjānī related to us, from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan: I used to visit Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī as a boy and ask him questions. If I asked what he thought I needed, he answered; if I asked about these legal questions of ours, he smiled, showing me that he understood and knew them, without answering. Then he would say, “We have something to attend to; will you give leave?” and get up. I heard that he used to ask about me, and was told, “This is a boy of the Banū Shaybān, of their clients.” He would say, “He will attain a place in learning,” describing a great rank.

Judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr informed us: Al-Ṭaḥāwī related to us: Ibn Abī ʿImrān related to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṭabarī related to us: Abū Sulaymān al-Jūzjānī related to us, from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan: I used to visit Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī as a boy and ask him questions. If I asked what he thought I needed, he answered; if I asked about these legal questions of ours, he smiled, showing me that he understood and knew them, without answering. Then he would say, “We have something to attend to; will you give leave?” and get up. I heard that he used to ask about me, and was told, “This is a boy of the Banū Shaybān, of their clients.” He would say, “He will attain a place in learning,” describing a great rank.

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Muḥammad ibn Marwān al-Khaffāf—one of our school’s jurists—say: I heard Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: I held a document against a man for eight thousand dirhams. He paid me six thousand, leaving two thousand owing, which he denied. The judge then was Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allāh. I brought the man before him and said, “May God honor the judge! I have a document against this man for eight thousand dirhams, of which I demand two thousand.” Sharīk said, “What is this talk? Would you, grandson of Abū Ḥanīfa, leave even two dirhams to anyone?” He made me leave. I went to al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn and told him my case. Al-Qāsim said, “You asked Sharīk to deal with something he does not understand. I will take care of him for you.” He met him and explained it. Then he met me and told me to appear before him. I did so and made the same claim as before. Sharīk said, “Yes, that is how to put it, grandson of Abū Ḥanīfa.” He asked for evidence; I brought my witnesses, and he ruled for me. When I wanted to appear before him, I had been kept back until I gave some dirhams to the man standing beside his head, who then brought me forward. I went to al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn and told him all this, saying, “I saw an objectionable thing in his session: the man standing beside him advances whomever he wishes and delays whomever he wishes. I was among those he advanced for dirhams he took from me.” He replied, “You too, Ismāʿīl, did something objectionable: you gave dirhams so that he delayed those who should have preceded you.” Sharīk was later dismissed and al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn appointed; Ismāʿīl was appointed after him. All these men judged in Kufa. Ismāʿīl additionally judged in all districts of Baghdad and in Basra. He remained there until paralysis afflicted him, and he wrote asking leave to depart, which was granted.

The judge ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Muḥammad ibn Marwān al-Khaffāf—one of our school’s jurists—say: I heard Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: I held a document against a man for eight thousand dirhams. He paid me six thousand, leaving two thousand owing, which he denied. The judge then was Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allāh. I brought the man before him and said, “May God honor the judge! I have a document against this man for eight thousand dirhams, of which I demand two thousand.” Sharīk said, “What is this talk? Would you, grandson of Abū Ḥanīfa, leave even two dirhams to anyone?” He made me leave. I went to al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn and told him my case. Al-Qāsim said, “You asked Sharīk to deal with something he does not understand. I will take care of him for you.” He met him and explained it. Then he met me and told me to appear before him. I did so and made the same claim as before. Sharīk said, “Yes, that is how to put it, grandson of Abū Ḥanīfa.” He asked for evidence; I brought my witnesses, and he ruled for me. When I wanted to appear before him, I had been kept back until I gave some dirhams to the man standing beside his head, who then brought me forward. I went to al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn and told him all this, saying, “I saw an objectionable thing in his session: the man standing beside him advances whomever he wishes and delays whomever he wishes. I was among those he advanced for dirhams he took from me.” He replied, “You too, Ismāʿīl, did something objectionable: you gave dirhams so that he delayed those who should have preceded you.” Sharīk was later dismissed and al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn appointed; Ismāʿīl was appointed after him. All these men judged in Kufa. Ismāʿīl additionally judged in all districts of Baghdad and in Basra. He remained there until paralysis afflicted him, and he wrote asking leave to depart, which was granted.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kalbī the jurist say: I was with ʿĪsā ibn Abān as he was dying. He said, “Kalbī, count my property.” I counted it and found it considerable. Then he said, “Count my debts.” I counted them and found them almost equal to his property. He said, “They used to like to live the lives of the rich and die the deaths of the poor.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Asadī informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist narrated to us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard Ibn Abī ʿImrān say: I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Kalbī the jurist say: I was with ʿĪsā ibn Abān as he was dying. He said, “Kalbī, count my property.” I counted it and found it considerable. Then he said, “Count my debts.” I counted them and found them almost equal to his property. He said, “They used to like to live the lives of the rich and die the deaths of the poor.”