—al-Talamankī—had composed the book “ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth” for al-Ḥākim in 389 AH, transmitting it from a shaykh he named, who took it from another man, who in turn related it from al-Ḥākim.

Al-Ḥākim associated with several masters of the spiritual path: Ismāʿīl ibn Nujayd, Jaʿfar al-Khuldī, and Abū ʿUthmān al-Maghribī.

I myself obtained one of his narrations with an elevated chain in which I was granted authorisation.

I read before Abū ʿAlī ibn al-Khallāl: “Jaʿfar ibn ʿAlī informs you; al-SILAFĪ informed us; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār informed us; I heard the ḥadīth-master al-Khalīl ibn ʿAbd Allāh mention al-Ḥākim, venerate him, and say:

‘He made two journeys to Iraq and the Ḥijāz, the second in 368 AH; he debated al-Dāraquṭnī, who was pleased with him. He is trustworthy and possesses vast knowledge. His writings number close to five hundred fascicles: he is exhaustive, gathering both the trivial and the substantial, then commenting on them and clarifying matters (1).

‘He died in 403 AH’—so he stated (2).

He went on: ‘On the second day, when I entered his presence and a collection of Iraqi reports was being read to him—Sufyān al-Thawrī, from Abū Salamah, from al-Zuhrī, from Sahl, the ḥadīth on seeking permission—he asked me, “Who is this Abū Salamah?”

‘I replied immediately, “al-Mughīrah ibn Muslim al-Sarrāj.”

‘He said, “How can al-Mughīrah transmit from al-Zuhrī?”

‘I was left speechless (3), whereupon he said to me, “I have given you a week’s grace so that you may consider the matter.”’