—while still a young man, better known for his devoted worship than for his learning.

Al-Ḥārith went on to say: “In Ibn al-Qāsim were gathered worship, generosity, courage, knowledge, scrupulous piety, and renunciation of the world.”

Muḥammad ibn Waḍḍāḥ narrated: “A completely reliable informant told me, from ʿAlī ibn Maʿbad, who said:
‘I saw Ibn al-Qāsim in a dream and asked him, “How did you find the legal problems?” He replied, ‘Uff! Uff!’ I said, ‘What was the finest thing you encountered?’ He answered, ‘The ribāṭ (keeping guard on the frontier).’ He added, ‘And I saw Ibn Wahb in a state better than his.’”

Sahnūn said: “I too saw him in a dream, and I asked, ‘What has Allah done with you?’ He replied, ‘I found with Him what I love.’ I asked, ‘Which deed did you find most beneficial?’ He said, ‘Recitation of the Qur’an.’ I asked, ‘And the legal questions?’ He gestured, brushing them aside (1). I then asked him about Ibn Wahb, and he said, ‘He is in ʿIlliyyīn.’

Al-Ṭaḥāwī reported that Ibn al-Qāsim said: ‘I know of no fault in so-and-so except his visiting the rulers. Would that he busied himself with his own soul!’

Saʿīd ibn al-Ḥaddād said: “I heard Sahnūn say: Whenever I asked Ibn al-Qāsim about specific issues, he would tell me, ‘O Sahnūn! You have leisure, whereas I feel a humming in my head like the whirring of a millstone’—meaning, from standing in prayer at night. Seldom would he appear to us without saying, ‘Fear Allah, for a small portion of this pursuit coupled with God-consciousness is abundant, whereas a great deal of it without God-consciousness is little.’

Sahnūn also related: “When we performed the pilgrimage, I shared a mount with Ibn Wahb, Ashhab rode with his ward, and Ibn al-Qāsim travelled with his son Mūsā. Whenever I …”