and fuqqāʿ (the frothy barley drink) is lawful to consume, whereas the Kūfan nabīdh—one whose larger amount intoxicates—is, according to the Ḥanafīs and the rest of the scholars, forbidden to drink in abundance. The majority further declare even a small quantity of it unlawful, although the Kūfans allow themselves some latitude in the matter. Several hadiths attest to its prohibition (1).

Imām Abū Bakr stopped giving formal Qur’an lessons roughly twenty years before his death. After that he merely transmitted the variant readings; these were written down from him by Yaḥyā ibn Ādam, the leading scholar of Kūfa, and through this route the recitation of ʿĀṣim became famous, accepted by the whole community and especially by the people of Iraq.

With respect to hadith, Abū Bakr does transmit singular and objectionable reports.

Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā said: I mentioned to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī the report of Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Manṣūr, from Mujāhid, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, in which ʿUmar said, “The fifth is not cut off except in five.” I also mentioned the report of Muṭarrif, from al-Shaʿbī, that ʿUmar said, “A killer, whether by mistake or on purpose, does not inherit.” Both reports had been related by Abū Bakr, so I asked, “Which of the two, in your view, is the more objectionable?”—though to me the report of Muṭarrif seemed the stranger. He replied, “The report of Manṣūr.” ʿAbd al-Raḥmān then added, “I have been hearing both of them from him for forty years (2).”

Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūnus said: Abū Bakr narrated to us, from Hishām, from Ibn —