Even so, al-Daqqāq mentioned him in his Epistle and disparaged him, saying: “He was a Malamati Sufi. He lived in Rayy and later in Hamadhan. He authored a book entitled Safwat al-Tasawwuf, and his familiarity with hadith—especially when it comes to the teachers of al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others—is barely minimal.”

I replied, “My good man, restrain yourself; Ibn Tahir’s power of memorization is far superior to yours.”

He then added, “I have also been told that he subscribed to al-ibāha.”

I said, “What do you mean by ibāha? If you are speaking of absolute licentiousness, far be it from Ibn Tahir. By Allah, he was an Athari Muslim who revered the sacred bounds of the religion, even if he erred or adopted an unusual view. If, however, you mean a particular licence—such as permitting samāʿ (musical audition) or permitting the gaze at beardless youths—then that is a sin, and the Zahiris’ opinion that allows it is weak (1).”

Ibn Nāṣir said: “Muhammad ibn Tahir is not a valid authority; he wrote a treatise arguing for the permissibility of looking at beardless youths and held the doctrine of ibāha (2).”

Abu Saʿd al-Samʿani reported: “I asked Ismaʿil ibn Muhammad, the hadith master, about Ibn Tahir. He hesitated and then spoke ill of him. I also heard Abu al-Qasim Ibn ʿAsakir say:”}