to Ismaʿil ibn Musa, and he said, “What were you doing with that flagrant sinner who reviles the early generations?” ⦗Ibn ʿAdī is the one who reports this.⦘

He (i.e., Ibn ʿAdī) then remarked: “He transmitted two hadiths with a continuous chain from Malik, and he was the sole transmitter of several reports from Sharik. The only thing people objected to was his excess in Shiʿite partisanship.”

ʿAli ibn Jaʿfar said: Ismaʿil ibn Bint al-Suddi told us:
“I was sitting in Malik’s circle when he was asked about a prescribed share in inheritance. He answered according to the opinion of Zayd. I said, ‘But what did ʿAli and Ibn Masʿud, may Allah be pleased with them, say about it?’ Malik signalled to the guards, and when they moved toward me I ran and outpaced them. They said, ‘What shall we do with his notebooks and inkwell?’
He replied, ‘Look for him gently.’
They came to me, so I returned with them. Malik asked, ‘Where are you from?’
I said, ‘From Kufa.’
He said, ‘And where did you leave your manners?’
I replied, ‘I only discussed the matter with you in order to learn.’
He said, ‘The merit of ʿAli and ʿAbd Allah is undeniable, but the people of our city follow the view of Zayd ibn Thabit. When you find yourself among a people, do not begin with what they do not know, lest they greet you from their side with what you dislike.’”

Ismaʿil al-Fazari died in 245 AH, being in his nineties—may Allah pardon him.

Those who died that same year include: Ahmad ibn ʿAbdah al-Dabbi; Hisham ibn ʿAmmar; Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Nabbal, the Qur’an reciter of Mecca; Ishaq ibn Abi Isra’il; Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Naysaburi; Dhu al-Nun al-Misri the preacher; Suwar ibn ʿAbd Allah al-ʿAnbari; ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿImran al-ʿAbidi; Duḥaym; Muhammad ibn Rafiʿ; and Abu Turab al-Nakhshabi, the ascetic.

78 – Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu ʿAbd Allah (ʿ)
He is, in truth, the Imam and verily the Shaykh of Islam—Abu ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn