except the reviewing of hadith and the remembrance of the righteous—always conducted with dignity, tranquillity, and gracious wording. If someone met him, he greeted the person with a cheerful face and turned to him attentively. He showed deep humility toward the senior scholars, and they in turn held him in great respect. Toward Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn in particular he displayed a deference, honour, and veneration I never saw him extend to anyone else; Yaḥyā was seven years older than he.

al-Khuṭabī ⦗1⦘ reported: ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said, “Whenever my father came home from the mosque he would stamp his foot so that they could hear the sound of his sandal, and at times he would clear his throat so they would know he had arrived.”

Al-Khallāl said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to us, Muḥannā said, “I saw Abū ʿAbdallāh several times while people were kissing his face and head; he said nothing and did not object. I also saw Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd al-Hāshimī having his head and forehead kissed, and he likewise neither refused nor disliked it.”

ʿAbdūs the perfumer said, “I sent my son with a maidservant to greet Abū ʿAbdallāh. He welcomed him, sat him in his lap, asked him questions, prepared some khabīs (a sweet dish) for him, and told the maidservant, ‘Eat with him,’ spreading it out before him.”

Al-Maymūnī said, “Abū ʿAbdallāh was of fine character, constantly cheerful, and would endure the harm of a neighbour.”

ʿUlwān ibn al-Ḥusayn said: I heard ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad say, “My father was asked, ‘Why do you not keep company with people?’ He replied, ‘Because the loneliness that follows parting is burdensome.’”