ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥalwānī

Concerning ʿAlqama ibn Marthad: the teacher and master, Shams al-Aʾimma Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥalwānī, related to us: the imam Abū Muḥammad Ismāʿīl ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Zāhid and the teacher Abū Sahl Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Makkī related to us: Abū Ḥātim Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Shādawayh related to us: al-Rabīʿ ibn Ḥassān al-Kissī related to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-ʿAnawī related to us: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan related to us: Abū Ḥanīfa related to us: ʿAlqama ibn Marthad related to us, from Abū Burayda, from his father, who said: “We were sitting with the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and he said:

‘Come with us to visit this Jewish neighbor of ours.’ We went to him, and he asked, ‘How are you? How...?’ He questioned him, then said, ‘Bear witness that there is no god but God and that I am God’s Messenger.’ The man looked at his father, who said nothing, so he remained silent. Then the Prophet said again, ‘So-and-so, bear witness that there is no god but God and that I am God’s Messenger.’ His father said, ‘Bear witness to him.’ He said, ‘I bear witness that there is no god but God and that you are God’s Messenger.’ The Prophet said, ‘Praise be to God, who has freed a soul from the Fire through me.’”

Later al-Aʿmash acknowledged Abū Ḥanīfa’s merit. Evidence is what the imam Shams al-Aʾimma Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥalwānī related to us: I heard the jurist Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAlī recount from the jurist Abū Jaʿfar al-Hinduwānī: Al-Aʿmash did not incline toward Abū Ḥanīfa or treat him kindly, and there was something difficult in his temperament. He swore an oath divorcing his wife if she told him that the flour was exhausted, wrote it, sent a message, mentioned it to anyone to tell him, or gestured about it. His wife was bewildered and sought a way out. She was told to consult Abū Ḥanīfa and related the story. He said: “It is easy: tonight tie the flour sack to the drawstring of his waistcloth, or wherever you can on his clothing. When he rises in the morning or during the night, he will discover that the sack is empty and the flour exhausted, and arrange for his provisions.” She did so. Al-Aʿmash rose in darkness or after daybreak and took his waistcloth. He felt the sack, touched it and pulled it toward himself as he pulled his waistcloth. He realized the flour was exhausted and said: “By God, this is one of Abū Ḥanīfa’s devices! How can we prosper while he lives, exposing us to our wives and showing them our incapacity and limited understanding?”