109 – Khālid ibn Ṣafwān ibn al-Ahtam, Abū Ṣafwān al-Minqarī *
A towering scholar, master orator, and the most eloquent speaker of his age; Abū Ṣafwān al-Minqarī, al-Ahtamī, from Basra.
He once paid court to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. I have found no definite date for his death, save that he lived in the era of the Successors.
Among those who narrated from him are Shabīb ibn Shaybah, Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd, and others.
He is the one who said, “Three kinds of men are recognized only in three situations: the forbearing man when angered, the brave man when battle is joined, and the true friend in time of hardship.”
He also said, “The finest speech is neither the coarse, far-fetched Bedouin tongue nor the clipped, rustic village patter. Rather, it springs from noble soil, carries fresh meanings, delights the mouth, pleases the ear, grows lovelier as the years pass; the inkwell hums over it and the nobles treasure it.” ⦗1⦘
I (the author) say: he was renowned for his stinginess.
110 – al-Aʿmash, Sulaymān ibn Mihrān al-Kāhilī ** (ʿ)
The Imām, Shaykh al-Islām, leading teacher of the Qurʾānic reciters and ḥadīth scholars, Abū
(*) Khalifah, Tarikh, p. 248; al-Bayan wa-l-Tabyin, vol. 1, pp. 32, 47, 173, 292, 317, 336, 340, 352; vol. 2, pp. 93, 117, 220, 250, 297; vol. 3, pp. 164, 274; vol. 4, p. 92.
(1) One of his maxims runs as follows. He was asked: “Which of your brethren is dearest to you?” He replied: “The one who overlooks my slips, accepts my excuses, and repairs my deficiencies.”
The author comments: I say: Such a being is none other than Allah, the Most Generous of all benefactors.
(* *) Ibn Saʿd, Tabaqat, vol. 6, p. 342; Khalifah, Tarikh, pp. 232, 424; Khalifah, Tabaqat, p. 164; al-Bukhari, al-Tarikh al-Saghir, vol. 2, p. 91; Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Jarh wa-l-Taʿdil, vol. 4, p. 146; Ibn Hibban, Mashahir ʿUlamaʾ al-Amsar, p. 111; Abu Nuʿaym, Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, vol. 5, pp. 46–60; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 9, p. 3; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi l-Tarikh, vol. 5, p. 589; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Aʿyan, vol. 2, pp. 400–403; al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-Kamal, pp. 548–549; al-Mizzi, Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 20, p. 54, no. 2; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, vol. 6, p. 75; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-Iʿtidal, vol. 2, p. 224; al-Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, vol. 1, p. 154; Ibn al-Jawzi, Ghayat al-Nihaya, vol. 1, p. 315; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 4, pp. 222–226; Ibn ʿAbd al-Hadi, Khulasat Tadhhib al-Kamal, p. 155; Ibn al-Imad, Shadharāt al-Dhahab, vol. 1, pp. 220–223.