Nūḥ ibn Ḥabīb said: “Wakīʿ narrated to us; ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī narrated, saying, ‘I was present at the death of Sufyān, and the words he kept repeating were: How hard death is!’”

Nūḥ continued: “I then went to ‘Abd al-Raḥmān and told him, ‘Wakīʿ has transmitted this from you.’ He was reclining, but he sat up and said, ‘I am the one who related that to Abū Sufyān—may Allah reward him well. And who is the like of Abū Sufyān? What can one possibly say about a man such as Abū Sufyān?’”

It is reported that Wakīʿ once supported a man with a purse of gold dinars merely because he had borrowed that man’s inkwell for writing (1), saying, “Accept my apology; I have nothing else to offer.”

‘Alī ibn Khushram said: “I heard Wakīʿ say, ‘A man’s scholarly achievement is not complete until he writes from one who is above him, from one who is his peer, and from one who is below him.’”

Maliḥ ibn Wakīʿ narrated: “When death descended upon my father, he extended his hands and said, ‘My son, look at my two hands; never have I struck anything with them at all.’”

Maliḥ added: “I related this to Dāwūd ibn Yaḥyā ibn Yamān, who said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in a dream. I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, who are the abdāl?” He replied, “Those who never strike anything with their hands, and Wakīʿ is one of them.” I said, “Rather, the one who fights with his hand in the path of Allah is more noble and superior.”’”

The ordeal that befell Wakīʿ—a most unusual affair—was something into which he became entangled while intending only good, yet he missed the opportunity to remain silent. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is enough sin for a person to relate everything he hears. (2) So let a servant be mindful of his Lord, and let him fear nothing but his own sin.”