Abū al-Walīd Bishr ibn al-Walīd al-Kindī

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!”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū Khāzim narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāʾil narrated to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn al-Hāshimī was al-Maʾmūn’s contemporary and had heard hadith with him and al-Amīn when Hārūn summoned people from different lands so the two could hear from them. This ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn collected enough hadiths to fill a book, placed it before al-Maʾmūn, and said, “May God set the Commander of the Faithful right! These are hadiths I heard with you from the teachers al-Rashīd chose for you. Now those who frequent your court are people who contradict these hadiths: among them Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, Bishr ibn Ghiyāth, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Yaḥyā ibn Aktham,” and he named others like them. “If their position is true, al-Rashīd was wrong in what he selected for you and if al-Rashīd was right, you should remove those who are wrong.” Al-Maʾmūn took the book and told ʿĪsā, “Perhaps these people have an argument; I shall ask them.” The first to enter was Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. Ismāʿīl said, “I will deal with this book for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “Then attend to it,” and handed him the book. He kept it for some time and then returned it. Al-Maʾmūn read it and found a form of abuse, paid it no attention, and said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people.” He took the book from him. Bishr ibn Ghiyāth entered; he told him the matter, and Bishr said, “I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He took it and later brought a book, saying, “This is its answer.” Al-Maʾmūn read it and found that it rejected the acceptance of solitary reports. He said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people. Your companions cite such reports in some of their questions and begin their books with solitary reports. If it is permissible to act on a solitary report in any matter, it is permissible to act on one in comparable matters; if it is not permissible in anything, why did they put them in their books?” He took back the book he had given him. The next to enter was Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. He said, “Hand it to me, and I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He kept it a long time; whenever al-Maʾmūn asked, he said, “I have not finished.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “This is taking a long time. Wisdom does not entitle you to this much, in my view, even if you establish your argument: your opponent has explained his disagreement with you and his proof against you in a single book, while perhaps you cannot argue against him in a hundred books.” [The clause concerning wisdom is awkward in the digitized Arabic.] This reached ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who had not previously attended al-Maʾmūn. He composed the small Book of the Argument, beginning with the kinds of reports, how they were transmitted, what must be accepted and rejected, our obligations, and what to do upon hearing contradictory reports, clarifying these matters. He then arranged chapters for those hadiths and in each explained Abū Ḥanīfa’s argument and position, its transmitted evidence, and its analogical reasoning, investigating it thoroughly. He worked on his book until it reached al-Maʾmūn. Having read it, he said, “This is the proper answer on behalf of these people.” Then he began reciting: They envied the youth because they could not attain his striving; thus they are his enemies and adversaries like the co-wives of a beautiful woman, saying of her face, out of envy and malice, “It is ugly.” He then asked who had composed the book and about his circumstances. When he was told, he gave orders concerning him, and from that day he began attending with the jurists.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī informed us: Abū Khāzim narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāʾil narrated to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn al-Hāshimī was al-Maʾmūn’s contemporary and had heard hadith with him and al-Amīn when Hārūn summoned people from different lands so the two could hear from them. This ʿĪsā ibn Hārūn collected enough hadiths to fill a book, placed it before al-Maʾmūn, and said, “May God set the Commander of the Faithful right! These are hadiths I heard with you from the teachers al-Rashīd chose for you. Now those who frequent your court are people who contradict these hadiths: among them Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād, Bishr ibn al-Walīd, Bishr ibn Ghiyāth, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, Yaḥyā ibn Aktham,” and he named others like them. “If their position is true, al-Rashīd was wrong in what he selected for you and if al-Rashīd was right, you should remove those who are wrong.” Al-Maʾmūn took the book and told ʿĪsā, “Perhaps these people have an argument; I shall ask them.” The first to enter was Ismāʿīl ibn Ḥammād. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. Ismāʿīl said, “I will deal with this book for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “Then attend to it,” and handed him the book. He kept it for some time and then returned it. Al-Maʾmūn read it and found a form of abuse, paid it no attention, and said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people.” He took the book from him. Bishr ibn Ghiyāth entered; he told him the matter, and Bishr said, “I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful, and make the argument clear.” He took it and later brought a book, saying, “This is its answer.” Al-Maʾmūn read it and found that it rejected the acceptance of solitary reports. He said, “This is no answer on behalf of these people. Your companions cite such reports in some of their questions and begin their books with solitary reports. If it is permissible to act on a solitary report in any matter, it is permissible to act on one in comparable matters; if it is not permissible in anything, why did they put them in their books?” He took back the book he had given him. The next to enter was Yaḥyā ibn Aktham. Al-Maʾmūn told him the matter. He said, “Hand it to me, and I will deal with it for you, Commander of the Faithful.” He kept it a long time; whenever al-Maʾmūn asked, he said, “I have not finished.” Al-Maʾmūn said, “This is taking a long time. Wisdom does not entitle you to this much, in my view, even if you establish your argument: your opponent has explained his disagreement with you and his proof against you in a single book, while perhaps you cannot argue against him in a hundred books.” [The clause concerning wisdom is awkward in the digitized Arabic.] This reached ʿĪsā ibn Abān, who had not previously attended al-Maʾmūn. He composed the small Book of the Argument, beginning with the kinds of reports, how they were transmitted, what must be accepted and rejected, our obligations, and what to do upon hearing contradictory reports, clarifying these matters. He then arranged chapters for those hadiths and in each explained Abū Ḥanīfa’s argument and position, its transmitted evidence, and its analogical reasoning, investigating it thoroughly. He worked on his book until it reached al-Maʾmūn. Having read it, he said, “This is the proper answer on behalf of these people.” Then he began reciting: They envied the youth because they could not attain his striving; thus they are his enemies and adversaries like the co-wives of a beautiful woman, saying of her face, out of envy and malice, “It is ugly.” He then asked who had composed the book and about his circumstances. When he was told, he gave orders concerning him, and from that day he began attending with the jurists.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard the judge Abū Khāzim say, “I have never seen younger men of Baghdad more intelligent than ʿĪsā ibn Abān and Bishr ibn al-Walīd.” Abū Khāzim said: ʿĪsā was exceptionally generous and used to say, “By God, if a man were brought to me who treated his property as I treat mine, I would place him under financial guardianship.” A man brought Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Muhallabī before him, claiming four hundred dinars. ʿĪsā asked him about the claim, and he acknowledged it. The man said, “Imprison him for me.” ʿĪsā replied, “You are entitled to his imprisonment, but I do not think I should imprison Abū ʿAbd Allāh when I can redeem him with my own property.” ʿĪsā paid it on his behalf from his own property.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Abū Bakr al-Dāmghānī the jurist informed us: al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated to us: I heard the judge Abū Khāzim say, “I have never seen younger men of Baghdad more intelligent than ʿĪsā ibn Abān and Bishr ibn al-Walīd.” Abū Khāzim said: ʿĪsā was exceptionally generous and used to say, “By God, if a man were brought to me who treated his property as I treat mine, I would place him under financial guardianship.” A man brought Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād al-Muhallabī before him, claiming four hundred dinars. ʿĪsā asked him about the claim, and he acknowledged it. The man said, “Imprison him for me.” ʿĪsā replied, “You are entitled to his imprisonment, but I do not think I should imprison Abū ʿAbd Allāh when I can redeem him with my own property.” ʿĪsā paid it on his behalf from his own property.

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 informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mūsā ibn Sulaymān, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, and Bishr ibn al-Walīd—God’s mercy upon them—narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan—may God have mercy on him—narrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfa—God’s mercy upon him—debated his companions about analogies, and they could hold their own and oppose him. But when he said, ‘I adopt juristic preference,’ none could keep up with him because of the many cases he brought forward under juristic preference. They would all desist and concede to him.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mūsā ibn Sulaymān, Muḥammad ibn Samāʿa, and Bishr ibn al-Walīdnarrated to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasannarrated to us: Abū Ḥanīfadebated his companions about analogies, and they could hold their own and oppose him. But when he said, ‘I adopt juristic preference,’ none could keep up with him because of the many cases he brought forward under juristic preference. They would all desist and concede to him.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Baghawī narrated to me: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muʾammal narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd informed us: A young neighbor of Abū Ḥanīfa frequently attended his gathering. One day he said: I want to marry into such-and-such a family in Kufa. I have proposed to them, but they demand a dower beyond my means and ability, and I am attached to the marriage. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Seek God’s guidance and give them what they ask. Perhaps when you consummate the marriage your wife will waive the outstanding dower. He agreed to their demand. When they contracted the marriage, he came to Abū Ḥanīfa and said: I asked them to take part of it, because I cannot afford all of it, but they refuse to bring her to me until the entire dower is paid. What do you advise? He said: Find a way and borrow until you consummate the marriage. Matters will be easier for you than under these people’s severity. He did so, and Abū Ḥanīfa was among those who lent him money. When the marriage was consummated and she was brought to him, Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why not make it appear that you wish to leave this town for a distant place and travel with your wife? The man hired two camels and brought them, announcing that he would go to Khurasan to seek a livelihood and take his wife. This distressed her family greatly. They came to Abū Ḥanīfa to complain and seek his ruling. He said: Satisfy him by returning what you took from him. They agreed. Abū Ḥanīfa told the young man: They have agreed to return the dower they took from you and release you from it. The young man said: I want something further from them. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Which would you prefer? Accept what they have offered; otherwise, the woman may acknowledge a debt to a man, and then you cannot take her away or travel with her until you pay her debt. The man said: For God’s sake, let them not hear this, or I will receive nothing from them! He agreed to stay and took the dower they offered to return.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Baghawī narrated to me: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī narrated to us: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Aḥmad ibn Muʾammal narrated to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd informed us: A young neighbor of Abū Ḥanīfa frequently attended his gathering. One day he said: I want to marry into such-and-such a family in Kufa. I have proposed to them, but they demand a dower beyond my means and ability, and I am attached to the marriage. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Seek God’s guidance and give them what they ask. Perhaps when you consummate the marriage your wife will waive the outstanding dower. He agreed to their demand. When they contracted the marriage, he came to Abū Ḥanīfa and said: I asked them to take part of it, because I cannot afford all of it, but they refuse to bring her to me until the entire dower is paid. What do you advise? He said: Find a way and borrow until you consummate the marriage. Matters will be easier for you than under these people’s severity. He did so, and Abū Ḥanīfa was among those who lent him money. When the marriage was consummated and she was brought to him, Abū Ḥanīfa said: Why not make it appear that you wish to leave this town for a distant place and travel with your wife? The man hired two camels and brought them, announcing that he would go to Khurasan to seek a livelihood and take his wife. This distressed her family greatly. They came to Abū Ḥanīfa to complain and seek his ruling. Abū Ḥanīfa told them: He may take her wherever he wishes. They said: We cannot let her leave. Abū Ḥanīfa told them: Satisfy him by returning what you took from him. They agreed. Abū Ḥanīfa told the young man: They have agreed to return the dower they took from you and release you from it. The young man said: I want something further from them. Abū Ḥanīfa said: Which would you prefer? Accept what they have offered; otherwise, the woman may acknowledge a debt to a man, and then you cannot take her away or travel with her until you pay her debt. The man said: For God’s sake, let them not hear this, or I will receive nothing from them! He agreed to stay and took the dower they offered to return.

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.

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Baghawī related to me: My grandfather ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās related to me: Aḥmad ibn Muʾammal related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us, from one of Abū Ḥanīfa’s Kufan companions, who said: Abū Ḥanīfa had a neighbour who was a shoemaker. He often worked at night and recited these verses repeating them: “They have abandoned me—and what a young man they abandoned, / for a day of adversity and the defence of a frontier! As though I had never been a man of standing among them, / nor my lineage among the family of ʿAmr. I am dragged through assemblies every day; / O God, behold the wrong done to me and my patience!” Abū Ḥanīfa would stand praying at night and hear his voice repeating these verses. He missed him for a night or two and asked about him. He was told: “The authorities seized and imprisoned him.” Abū Ḥanīfa went to the governor to intercede for him and said: “He is my neighbour and has the rights of a neighbour. The night watch seized him.” He asked: “What is his name?” He replied: “I know only that he is a shoemaker.” The governor said: “Release for Abū Ḥanīfa everyone arrested tonight.” Once released, the shoemaker came to Abū Ḥanīfa to thank him. Abū Ḥanīfa said to him: “Young man, we have not abandoned you.”

Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reader informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Baghawī related to me: My grandfather ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās related to me: Aḥmad ibn Muʾammal related to us: Bishr ibn al-Walīd related to us, from one of Abū Ḥanīfa’s Kufan companions, who said: Abū Ḥanīfa had a neighbour who was a shoemaker. He often worked at night and recited these verses repeating them: “They have abandoned me—and what a young man they abandoned, / for a day of adversity and the defence of a frontier! As though I had never been a man of standing among them, / nor my lineage among the family of ʿAmr. I am dragged through assemblies every day; / O God, behold the wrong done to me and my patience!” Abū Ḥanīfa would stand praying at night and hear his voice repeating these verses. He missed him for a night or two and asked about him. He was told: “The authorities seized and imprisoned him.” Abū Ḥanīfa went to the governor to intercede for him and said: “He is my neighbour and has the rights of a neighbour. The night watch seized him.” He asked: “What is his name?” He replied: “I know only that he is a shoemaker.” The governor said: “Release for Abū Ḥanīfa everyone arrested tonight.” Once released, the shoemaker came to Abū Ḥanīfa to thank him. Abū Ḥanīfa said to him: “Young man, we have not abandoned you.”

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.

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.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba narrated to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan informed me, from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: Abū Ḥanīfa died in prison and was buried in the Khayzurān cemetery. Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba said, “I was told that he died while prostrating.”

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba narrated to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan informed me, from Bishr ibn al-Walīd: Abū Ḥanīfa died in prison and was buried in the Khayzurān cemetery. Yaʿqūb ibn Shayba said, “I was told that he died while prostrating.”

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 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.

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.”

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.”