Abu Ahmad Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Farraʾ said, “We felt greater awe for Abu Nuʿaym than we did for the emir himself.”

I comment: Abu Nuʿaym did have a mild tendency toward Shiʿism.

Ahmad ibn Mulāʿib related: A trustworthy man told me that Abu Nuʿaym said, “The recording angels have never written down that I ever insulted Muʿawiyah.”

We have also been informed that Abu Nuʿaym said, “Love for ʿAli—may Allah be pleased with him—is worship, and the best worship is that which is kept hidden.” (1)

Muḥammad ibn Abān reported: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān say, “If this cross-eyed man—meaning Abu Nuʿaym—agrees with me, I do not care who disagrees with me.” (2)

Yaʿqūb al-Sudūsī said: I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal remark, “With him we can rival Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah.”

I add: Abu Nuʿaym died as a martyr, for he was stabbed in the neck and a severe swelling developed.

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh Muṭayyin said, “I saw Abu Nuʿaym and spoke with him. He died on the day of doubt at the beginning of Ramadan in the year 219 AH.”

Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah, citing his source, stated: “Abu Nuʿaym passed away in Kūfah on the night of Tuesday, at the close of Shaʿbān in the year 219 AH.” (3)

I remark: Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā, known as al-Zamin, diverged from the consensus and claimed that he died at the end of the year eight