—of al-Wāsitī, through ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn (1)—and it likewise contained the report of Sulaymān ibn Bilāl from Yaḥyā ibn Ḥassān. I had previously heard his Musnad, and neither of these two traditions was in it. When I returned, I found my books in a condition contrary to that in which I had left them with him: he had copied the ḥadiths of Khālid and Sulaymān and inserted them into the Musnad.

Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā remarked, “I do not regard it permissible to narrate from him.” (2)

Al-ʿUqaylī informed us, saying: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd al-Qaṭṭān in Rayy narrated to us:

“I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān say: ‘I came to Kūfah on pilgrimage and left some books of mine with Yaḥyā. When I returned, he disowned them and denied any knowledge of them. I tried gentle persuasion, but it did no good.

“‘So I shouted at him, and people gathered around us. His copy-scribe then approached, took me by the hand, led me aside, and said, “If you keep quiet, you will recover them.”

“‘I kept quiet, and soon the scribe brought me the books. They had been tied up in a piece of cloth and felt, but the fastening had been altered. When I examined the fascicles, I found red marks in them—marks no one had previously placed there—and most of the marks were next to the transmissions of Marwān al-Ṭāṭarī from Sulaymān ibn Bilāl and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Darāwardī. I also discovered that two sections were missing.’ (3)”

Al-Nasāʾī said, “He is not trustworthy.”

On another occasion he said, “Weak.” (4)

Yet ʿAbbās reported from Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn: “Abū Yaḥyā al-Himmanī is reliable, and his son is reliable.”

Aḥmad ibn Zuhayr likewise transmitted from him: “Yaḥyā al-Himmanī is reliable.”