on a slip of paper written in a hand that resembled ʿAbd Allah’s; he would then toss it among the books in his house, whereupon ʿAbd Allah would find it and relate it, imagining that the writing was his own (1).

Ibn Ḥibbān went on to say: “ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us—Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr, who said:
‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “One pilgrimage performed by someone who has never made ḥajj is better than ten campaigns; one campaign undertaken by someone who has already performed ḥajj is better than ten pilgrimages; and a single expedition at sea is better than ten on land.”’ (2)

We heard this ḥadīth from Abū ʿArūbah; ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAzzūn narrated it to us; ʿAbd Allah transmitted it.

He (Ibn Ḥibbān) also said: “And he narrated from al-Layth, from Khālid ibn Yazīd, from Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl, from Rabīʿah ibn Sayf, from Shufay al-Aṣbaḥī, who heard ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr say:
‘I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “After me there will be twelve caliphs: Abū Bakr—he will remain only a little while; and the one who turns the mill-stone of the Arabs, ʿUmar…,”’ and he quoted the remainder of the report (3).”

This was transmitted to us by Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṣūfī; Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah related it.

I say: I read this before Aḥmad ibn al-Muʾayyad in Egypt. Aḥmad ibn Ṣirmā and Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām informed us, saying: “Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar informed us; Abū al-Ḥusayn ibn…"