Al-Ḥākim said: I asked al-Dāraqutnī, “Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ʿAblah?” He replied, “The lines of transmission that reach him are not altogether clear, yet the man himself is trustworthy.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hāniʾ related: My father narrated to us from Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ʿAblah, who said:

“Hishām sent for me and said, ‘We have come to know you, tested you, and are pleased with your conduct and state. I have therefore decided to attach you to myself and my inner circle, to share my administration with you, and I have appointed you over the land-tax of Egypt.’

“I replied, ‘As for your opinion, Commander of the Faithful, may Allah reward and recompense you—and He alone suffices as rewarder and requiter—but I have neither insight into land-tax affairs nor the strength to manage them.’

“He became angry until his face twitched—there was a cast in his eyes—then he looked at me harshly and said, ‘You will take charge of it, willingly or unwillingly.’

“I kept silent for a moment, then said, ‘May I speak?’

“He said, ‘Yes.’

“I said, ‘Indeed Allah—exalted is He—has said in His Book: “We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it” (al-Aḥzāb 72). By Allah, He did not become angry with them when they refused, nor did He force them.’

“At this he laughed until his molars showed and excused me.”

Duhaim ibn al-Faḍl (1) said: I heard Ḍamrah say, “I have tasted life’s delight only in eating bananas with honey beneath the shade of the Rock (2) and in listening to Ibn Abī ʿAblah’s discourse; I have never seen anyone more eloquent than he.”

Ḍamrah also transmitted from Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ʿAblah that he said: I said to al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād, “I feel whisperings (waswasah) in my heart.” He replied, “I would not have wished you had died last year; you are today better than you were a year ago.”

Muḥammad ibn Ḥimyar reported: Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ʿAblah said, “Whoever shoulders peculiar, isolated knowledge shoulders a great deal of harm.”