Makhlad ibn al-Ḥusayn said, “I sat with Ayyūb and Ibn ʿAwn, but I found no one among them whom I would place above Ibn al-Mubārak.”

ʿAbdān reported: “Ibn al-Mubārak—when the subject of tadlīs (the practice of concealing one’s actual source) was mentioned—spoke of it with great severity (1). Then he recited:

He doctored his ḥadīths for the people;
By Allah, such concealment will never be accepted.

From Ibn al-Mubārak: “Whoever shows disrespect toward the scholars forfeits his Hereafter; whoever belittles the rulers loses his worldly life; and whoever disparages his brethren sacrifices his honour.”

We have already presented evidence for ʿAbd Allāh’s prowess in horsemanship.

Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sinān told us:

“I was with Ibn al-Mubārak and Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān in Tarsus when the people cried out, ‘The alarm!’

“Ibn al-Mubārak went out with the rest. When the two forces had lined up, a Roman stepped forward and called for single combat. A man advanced to face him, but the unbeliever charged and killed him—indeed, he slew six Muslims in succession. Strutting between the two ranks, he kept demanding another opponent, yet no one dared confront him. Ibn al-Mubārak turned to me and said, ‘So-and-so, if I am killed, do such-and-such.’

“He then spurred his mount, advanced toward the infidel, and after a brief clash killed him. He challenged again; a second adversary emerged, and he killed him as well—until he had slain six of them. He called yet again for single combat, but they seemed to have lost their nerve before him (2)….”