Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us, saying: Makram informed us, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥibbān informed us, on the authority of his father, who said: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say: “I have seen no one better than Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ.” He was asked: “Not even Ibn al-Mubārak?” He replied: “Ibn al-Mubārak certainly possessed excellence, but I have seen no one better than Wakīʿ. He would face the qibla and memorize his hadith, stand in prayer at night, fast continuously, and issue legal opinions according to Abū Ḥanīfa’s position. He had heard a great deal from him.” Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said: “Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān also issued legal opinions according to Abū Ḥanīfa’s position.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us, saying: Makram informed us, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥibbān informed us, on the authority of his father, who said: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say: “I have seen no one better than Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ.” He was asked: “Not even Ibn al-Mubārak?” He replied: “Ibn al-Mubārak certainly possessed excellence, but I have seen no one better than Wakīʿ. He would face the qibla and memorize his hadith, stand in prayer at night, fast continuously, and issue legal opinions according to Abū Ḥanīfa’s position. He had heard a great deal from him.” Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said: “Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān also issued legal opinions according to Abū Ḥanīfa’s position.”

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.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān narrated to us, from his father: Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn informed us: Sufyān al-Thawrī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, Ḥammād ibn Zayd, Wakīʿ, ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām, and Jarīr transmitted from Abū Ḥanīfa. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said: “Ibn al-Mubārak is more reliable in my estimation than ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Maʿmar. By God, that is my view. He is among the most dependable people in what he narrates, and among the finest Muslims.”

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān narrated to us, from his father: Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn informed us: Sufyān al-Thawrī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, Ḥammād ibn Zayd, Wakīʿ, ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām, and Jarīr transmitted from Abū Ḥanīfa. Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said: “Ibn al-Mubārak is more reliable in my estimation than ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Maʿmar. By God, that is my view. He is among the most dependable people in what he narrates, and among the finest Muslims.”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Abū al-ʿAbbās, Jabāra’s nephew, narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I heard a man ask Abū Ḥanīfa: What helps one learn jurisprudence so as to retain it? He replied: Concentrating one’s attention. He asked: What helps one concentrate one’s attention? He replied: Removing attachments. He asked: What helps one remove attachments? He replied: Take a thing when it is needed, and take no more.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad informed us: Makram narrated to us: Abū al-ʿAbbās, Jabāra’s nephew, narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: I heard my father say: I heard a man ask Abū Ḥanīfa: What helps one learn jurisprudence so as to retain it? He replied: Concentrating one’s attention. He asked: What helps one concentrate one’s attention? He replied: Removing attachments. He asked: What helps one remove attachments? He replied: Take a thing when it is needed, and take no more.

Abū ʿUbayd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad the scribe narrated to us: Ibn Abī Khaythama narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Wakīʿ narrated to us: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Urinating in the mosque is better than some analogies.

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Marzubānī informed us: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad the scribe narrated to us: Ibn Abī Khaythama narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Wakīʿ narrated to us: I heard Abū Ḥanīfa say: Urinating in the mosque is better than some analogies.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mulayḥ and Sufyān, Wakīʿ’s sons, narrated to us from Wakīʿ, who said: We were with Abū Ḥanīfa when a woman came and said: My brother died leaving six hundred dinars, and they gave me only one dinar. He asked: Who divided your inheritance? She said: Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī. He said: That is your entitlement. Did your brother leave two daughters? She said: Yes. And a mother? Yes. And a wife? Yes. And twelve brothers and one sister? Yes. He said: The daughters have two-thirds, four hundred; the mother has one-sixth, one hundred; the wife has seventy-five. Twenty-five remain for the siblings: twenty-four, two dinars for each brother, and one dinar for you.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mulayḥ and Sufyān, Wakīʿ’s sons, narrated to us from Wakīʿ, who said: We were with Abū Ḥanīfa when a woman came and said: My brother died leaving six hundred dinars, and they gave me only one dinar. He asked: Who divided your inheritance? She said: Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī. He said: That is your entitlement. Did your brother leave two daughters? She said: Yes. And a mother? Yes. And a wife? Yes. And twelve brothers and one sister? Yes. He said: The daughters have two-thirds, four hundred; the mother has one-sixth, one hundred; the wife has seventy-five. Twenty-five remain for the siblings: twenty-four, two dinars for each brother, and one dinar for you.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Zufar, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: Whoever seeks leadership before its time lives in humiliation.

Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the witness informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Mughallis narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Zufar, from Abū Ḥanīfa, who said: Whoever seeks leadership before its time lives in humiliation.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: My father told me: I was with Abū Ḥanīfa when a woman brought a silk-fabric garment and said: Sell it for me. He asked: What price were you told to sell it for? She said: A hundred. He said: It is worth more than a hundred. He kept asking what price she named, and she increased by a hundred until she said four hundred. He said: It is worth more. She said: You are mocking me! He said: Bring a man. She brought one, who bought it for five hundred dirhams.

ʿUmar informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: My father said: I was with Abū Ḥanīfa when a woman brought a silk-fabric garment and said: Sell it for me. He asked: What price were you told to sell it for? She said: A hundred. He said: It is worth more than a hundred. He kept asking what price she named, and she increased by a hundred until she said four hundred. He said: It is worth more. She said: You are mocking me! He said: Bring a man. She brought one, who bought it for five hundred dirhams.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related: My father related: Abū Ḥanīfa imposed upon himself that whenever he swore by God in conversation he would give a dirham in charity. He swore and gave a dirham. Then he imposed a quarter-dinar upon himself; he swore and gave it. Then he imposed a dinar. Whenever he swore truthfully in conversation, he gave a dinar in charity. Whenever he spent on his dependants, he gave an equal amount in charity. Whenever he acquired a new garment, he clothed scholarly elders to the value of its price. When food was placed before him, he took some and put it on bread until he had set aside an amount equal to what he would eat. He then gave it to a poor person. If someone in his household needed it, he gave it to that person; otherwise he gave it to someone destitute.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related: My father related: Abū Ḥanīfa imposed upon himself that whenever he swore by God in conversation he would give a dirham in charity. He swore and gave a dirham. Then he imposed a quarter-dinar upon himself; he swore and gave it. Then he imposed a dinar. Whenever he swore truthfully in conversation, he gave a dinar in charity. Whenever he spent on his dependants, he gave an equal amount in charity. Whenever he acquired a new garment, he clothed scholarly elders to the value of its price. When food was placed before him, he took some and put it on bread until he had set aside an amount equal to what he would eat. He then gave it to a poor person. If someone in his household needed it, he gave it to that person; otherwise he gave it to someone destitute.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: I heard my father say: Zufar was intensely scrupulous, skilled in analogy, and sparing in writing; he memorized what he wrote.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾan reciter informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: I heard my father say: Zufar was intensely scrupulous, skilled in analogy, and sparing in writing; he memorized what he wrote.

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.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: My father related to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: My father sent me to Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī with money, saying, “Tell him to use it to support himself through his days. If he has no need of it, let him distribute it to whomever he wishes.” I heard Dāwūd say to himself, “You wanted roasted walnuts; I said yes and made them your relish. Then tonight you asked for dates with them. By God, you shall never taste dates until I meet God.” I told him what I had brought, and he said, “Abū Ḥanīfa’s property is something I approve of. If I were to accept anything from anyone, I would accept it. God knows how frequently I pray for Abū Ḥanīfa in my prayers: I learned from him and was educated through him.” He took none of the money.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥulwānī informed us: Makram ibn Aḥmad related to us: Aḥmad related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: My father related to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: My father sent me to Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī with money, saying, “Tell him to use it to support himself through his days. If he has no need of it, let him distribute it to whomever he wishes.” I heard Dāwūd say to himself, “You wanted roasted walnuts; I said yes and made them your relish. Then tonight you asked for dates with them. By God, you shall never taste dates until I meet God.” I told him what I had brought, and he said, “The property of Abū Ḥanīfa—may God be pleased with him—is something I approve of. If I were to accept anything from anyone, I would accept it. God knows how frequently I pray for Abū Ḥanīfa in my prayers: I learned from him and was educated through him.” He took none of the money.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: My father related to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: News reached me of Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī’s extreme straits. I visited and asked him about it. As Ḥammād was about to leave, Dāwūd began weeping. Ḥammād took four hundred dirhams from his own money and told him, “It is Abū Ḥanīfa’s inheritance.” He said, “Give it here,” took it, then said, “I have accepted it, but I prefer to live in the dignity of contentment. This is the money of a man whom I put behind none in scrupulousness and asceticism. Were I to accept anything from anyone, I would accept this, in honor of the dead and acknowledgment of the living.” [The acceptance and conditional wording are both retained as transmitted.]

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm informed us: Makram related to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ related to us: My father related to us: I heard Ḥammād ibn Abī Ḥanīfa say: News reached me of Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī’s extreme straits. I visited and asked him about it. As Ḥammād was about to leave, Dāwūd began weeping. Ḥammād took four hundred dirhams from his own money and told him, “It is Abū Ḥanīfa’s inheritance.” He said, “Give it here,” took it, then said, “I have accepted it, but I prefer to live in the dignity of contentment. This is the money of a man whom I put behind none in scrupulousness and asceticism. Were I to accept anything from anyone, I would accept this, in honor of the dead and acknowledgment of the living.” [The acceptance and conditional wording are both retained as transmitted.]

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: my father narrated to us, saying: Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād constantly attended Abū Ḥanīfa. His father said, “I have daughters, and we have no one else besides him.” He said, “Advise him to do what benefits him.” When al-Ḥasan came, he told him, “Your father has said such and such. Keep attending, for I have never seen a jurist poor.” He continued providing him with support until he became independent.

ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm the Qurʾān reciter informed us: Makram narrated to us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAṭiyya narrated to us: Mulayḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us: my father narrated to us, saying: Al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād constantly attended Abū Ḥanīfa. His father said, “I have daughters, and we have no one else besides him.” He said, “Advise him to do what benefits him.” When al-Ḥasan came, he told him, “Your father has said such and such. Keep attending, for I have never seen a jurist poor.” He continued providing him with support until he became independent.