Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “Abu Bakr ibn Khallad al-Bahili narrated to us; I heard Yahya ibn Sa‘id say:

‘I heard Hisham ibn ‘Urwah declare, “Ibn Ishaq has reported from my wife, Fatimah bint al-Mundhir, yet—by Allah—he has never once set eyes on her.”’

I say: Hisham is truthful in that oath; he never saw her, and Ibn Ishaq never claimed that he had. He merely stated that she transmitted ḥadith to him. We ourselves have heard ḥadith from a number of women without ever seeing them. Likewise, several of the Successors narrated from ‘A’ishah although they had never seen her at all.

Abd Allah ibn Ahmad went on: “I told my father about Ibn Ishaq’s report, and he said, ‘Why should Hisham object? Perhaps Ibn Ishaq came, sought permission to enter upon her, and she granted it—only Hisham did not know.’”

Al-Athram said: “I asked Abu ‘Abd Allah about Ibn Ishaq, and he replied, ‘His ḥadith are ḥasan (sound).' He then added, ‘Yet Malik, when he mentioned him, said: “A dajjal—one of the impostors.”’

Al-Khatib said: “Some have mentioned that a group of scholars in Malik’s own time faulted him for letting his tongue run against people who were known for righteousness, devotion, reliability, and trustworthiness.”

I say: Not so; he did not censure them except because, in his view, they fell short of those qualities. He will be rewarded for that, even if his ijtihad proved mistaken—may Allah have mercy on him.

Al-Khatib further said: “Al-Barqani informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Malik al-Adami told me; Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Iyadi narrated to us; Zakariyya al-Saji told us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi told me; Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Fulayh said:

‘Malik said to me, “Hisham ibn ‘Urwah is a liar.”’”

Ahmad—meaning al-Athram—said (1)