or as though they were in prayer; if he saw anyone smile or begin to talk, he would put on his sandals and leave. (1)
Ahmad ibn Sinan said: I heard ʿAbd al-Rahman say, “I have thirteen hadiths from al-Mughirah ibn Shuʿbah on wiping over the khuffayn (leather socks) (2)—that is, thirteen separate chains of transmission.”
Bundar said: I heard ʿAbd al-Rahman say, “Had I been able to start over, knowing what I know now, I would have written an explanation of each hadith alongside it, and I would have travelled to Medina so that I could examine the books of those from whom I heard narrations.” (3)
Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahim Saʿiqah said: I heard ʿAli say—after mentioning the Seven Jurists (4)—“The one who was most knowledgeable about their legal opinions and their hadiths was Ibn Shihab; after him came Malik; and after him ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi.”
(1) Introduction to al-Jarh wa al-Taʿdil, vol. 1, p. 257.
(2) The hadith of al-Mughira is recorded by Malik (1/36, Book of Purification, chapter: Wiping over leather socks); by al-Bukhari (1/265) in Purification—chapter on wiping over leather socks, chapter on one person performing wudu for another, and chapter on inserting the feet while they are still pure; in Prayer—chapter on praying in a Syrian cloak and chapter on praying in leather socks; in Jihad—chapter on wearing a cloak while travelling or in war; in Maghazi—chapter on the Prophet’s ﷺ stay at al-Hijr; and in Dress—chapter on wearing a cloak with narrow sleeves while travelling and chapter on a woollen cloak in battle. It is also related by Muslim (no. 274) in Purification—chapter on wiping over leather socks; by Abu Dawud (nos. 149–151), al-Tirmidhi (nos. 97–100), and al-Nasaʾi (1/82).
(3) Introduction to al-Jarh wa al-Taʿdil, vol. 1, p. 262.
(4) In the time of the Successors, legal practice rested on the views of the seven leading scholars of Medina: Saʿid b. al-Musayyab, ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr, al-Qasim b. Muhammad b. Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, Kharija b. Zayd, Abu Bakr b. ʿAbd al-Rahman b. al-Harith b. Hisham, Sulayman b. Yasar, and ʿUbayd Allah b. ʿAbd Allah b. ʿUtba b. Masʿud. A poet summed them up as follows:
“If asked, ‘Who are the seven oceans of knowledge, whose reports never depart from true learning?’ say: ʿUbayd Allah, ʿUrwa, al-Qasim, Saʿid, Abu Bakr, Sulayman, and Kharija.”