By the time he was in his seventies, four sons had been born to him: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, ʿUbayd Allāh, ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related: “I was travelling with my uncle ʿUbayd Allāh on the road to Naysābūr. When we reached Biʾr Majannah my uncle said, ‘I was once here before and an elderly camel-driver engaged me in conversation. He told me, “I was returning from Khurāsān with my father. When we reached this spot, we came upon forty loads of baggage. We assumed they were bolts of cloth, but then we saw a small tent with an elderly shaykh inside—your father, in fact. Some of us asked him about the loads, and he replied, ‘This is merchandise for which few have any desire in these times—these are the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (1).”’ ”

Al-Baṭriqānī said: “I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh say, ‘I journeyed through the East and the West twice (2).’ ”

Here is an anecdote we record out of sheer wonder:

Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd al-Malik said: “Abū Jaʿfar al-Hamadhānī, the leader of the Khurāsān pilgrims, told me: I questioned one of the attendants of the Prophet’s blessed resting place who was more than one hundred and twenty years old. He said, ‘One day I saw a man dressed in white enter the Sacred Precinct at the noon hour. The wall of the Prophet’s Chamber parted, and he went inside carrying an inkwell, paper, and a pen. He stayed for as long as Allah willed, then the wall opened again and he emerged. I seized the hem of his garment and said, “By the One you worship, who…’ ”