He said, “So I repeated it to him, whereupon a man remarked, ‘Abū Zakariyyā, Wakiʿ transmitted it differently!’
He answered, ‘Be quiet! When Abū Yaʿqūb, the Commander of the Faithful, narrates something to you, do you still entertain doubts about him?’
Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṣaffār said, ‘If al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī were alive today, he would need Isḥāq on many issues.’
Al-Ḥākim said: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Muḥammad al-ʿAnbarī say; I heard Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Bālūwayh say; I heard Isḥāq say:
‘I entered upon Ibn Ṭāhir and found Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ with him. Ibn Ṭāhir asked him, “O Ibrāhīm, what do you say about washing clothes?”
He replied, “It is an obligation.”
Ibn Ṭāhir said, “And on what evidence do you base that?”
He answered, “On the words of the Exalted: ‘And purify your garments’ (al-Muddaththir 74:4).” It seemed that ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṭāhir approved of this.
I said, “May Allah honour the Emir, this is false. Wakiʿ informed us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us from Simāk, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās regarding ‘And purify your garments’—he said: ‘Your heart, so cleanse it.’ (1)
Rawḥ also informed us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿArūbah narrated to us from Qatādah concerning ‘And purify your garments’ (al-Muddaththir 74:4)—he said: ‘Your deeds, so set them right.’
Isḥāq then cited the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘Whoever interprets the Quran according to his own opinion, let him take his seat in the Fire.’ (2)”
Thereupon Ibn Ṭāhir said, “O…"