he returned, he inquired about the young man. They replied, “He is being held for a debt of ten thousand dirhams.” ʿAbd Allāh sought out the creditor, weighed out ten thousand dirhams for him, and bound him by oath not to tell anyone of the matter for as long as he lived. The youth was released, and Ibn al-Mubārak departed during the night. The young man caught up with him two stages out from ar-Raqqah. Ibn al-Mubārak said, “Young man, where were you? I did not see you!”
He answered, “Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, I was imprisoned for a debt.”
“So how were you set free?”
“A man came, paid my debt, and I do not know who he was.”
Ibn al-Mubārak replied, “Then praise Allah.” The young man only learned the truth after ʿAbd Allāh’s death. (1)
Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Sarrāj said: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār relate to me from ʿAlī ibn al-Fuḍayl, who said: I heard my father say to Ibn al-Mubārak, “You command us to practise renunciation, austerity, and contentment with little, yet we see you arriving with merchandise. How can that be?”
He answered, “Abū ʿAlī, I do this only to safeguard my dignity, preserve my honour, and seek aid thereby in obeying my Lord.”
My father said, “Ibn al-Mubārak, how excellent that is—provided it endures.” (2)
Al-Fath ibn Sukhruf reported: ʿAbbās ibn Yazīd narrated to us, Ḥibbān ibn Mūsā narrated: Ibn al-Mubārak was reproached for distributing wealth in other lands rather than his own. He replied, “I know of a people endowed with merit and sincerity who pursued hadith and mastered its pursuit because others need them. They have now fallen into hardship. If we abandon them, their knowledge will vanish; but if we support them, they will disseminate knowledge to the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. After prophethood I know of nothing more virtuous than spreading knowledge.” (3)
ʿAbbās al-Dūrī said: I heard Yaḥyā say, “I never saw anyone who narrated hadith solely for Allah’s sake except six persons, and Ibn al-Mubārak is one of them.”
Abū Ḥātim said: Ibn al-Ṭabbāʿ narrated to us from Ibn Mahdī, who said, “The leading imams are four:”