Al-Ḥākim said: I heard Abū al-Ḥasan al-Kārazī (1) say, “I heard ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz say, ‘I heard Abū ʿUbayd declare:

“The one who follows the sunnah is like a man clutching a live ember; in my view today he is worthier than striking with the sword in the cause of Allah.” (2)

Abū ʿUbayd also said: “Noble words and subtle meanings are like gleaming necklaces set upon a clear breast.” (3)

ʿAbbās al-Dūrī related: I heard Abū ʿUbayd say, “I can discern a man’s intelligence in that he leaves the blazing sun and chooses to walk in the shade.” (4)

With my chain back to al-Khaṭīb: Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Bādā (5) told us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar al-Zabībī told us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Ṭayālisī narrated to us, ‘I heard Hilāl ibn al-ʿAlāʾ al-Raqī say:

“Allah bestowed four men upon this community in their own time: through al-Shāfiʿī people gained proper understanding of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him; through Aḥmad steadfastness was shown during the ordeal—without him the people would have fallen into disbelief; through Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn falsehood was purged from hadith; and through Abū ʿUbayd the obscure wording of hadith was elucidated—had that not happened, people would have plunged headlong into error.” (6)

Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib said: “I asked Abū Qudāmah about al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad…"