Ibrāhīm, beware of speaking about the Qur’an without knowledge.”
Someone remarked, “The verse does not support any of the interpretations just mentioned; rather, it is an explicit injunction to wash filth from one’s clothes. We seek Allah’s protection from corrupting His Book.”
Al-Ḥākim said: Abū Zakariyyā al-ʿAnbarī narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn Salamah narrated to us; I heard Isḥāq say:
ʿAbd Allah ibn Ṭāhir once said to me, “I have heard that you drank balādhur(1) to improve your memory.”
I replied, “I never considered doing that. Instead, Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān informed me, saying:
ʿUthmān ibn Sāj related to us, from Khuṣayf, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
‘Take one mithqal of kandar and one mithqal of sugar, pound them together, then swallow the mixture on an empty stomach; it is good for forgetfulness and for excessive urination.’ ”
ʿAbd Allah thereupon called for a sheet of paper and wrote it down.
I also heard al-ʿAnbarī say—I heard my father say—I heard ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad al-Farrāʾ say:
“I visited Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā and asked him about Isḥāq. He replied, ‘A single day spent with Isḥāq is dearer to me than my whole lifetime.’ ”
And Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Farrāʾ said, “May Allah have mercy on Isḥāq; how profound was his jurisprudential insight and how extensive his knowledge!”
Al-Tirmidhi (no. 2951) and Ahmad in the Musnad (no. 2069) both transmit the report through the chain of ʿAbd al-Aʿla, from Saʿid b. Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Imam Ahmad judged ʿAbd al-Aʿla as “weak in hadith; sometimes he narrates it as marfuʿ (attributed to the Prophet) and sometimes as mawqūf (stopped at the Companion).” Abu Hatim said, “He is not strong.” Al-Nasaʾi likewise said, “He is not strong, though his reports may be recorded.” Ibn ʿAdi remarked, “He relates things for which he has no corroboration.” Ibn Saʿd noted, “He was weak in hadith.” Ibn Maʿin said, “He is not particularly reliable.” Al-Tirmidhi’s grading of this hadith as ḥasan reflects his well-known leniency.
Ibn Jarir also recorded it (1/35) as a mawqūf report from Ibn ʿAbbas through the chain of Muhammad b. Humayd, from Jarir b. ʿAbd al-Hamid, from Layth b. Abi Sulaym, from Saʿid b. Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas. The chain is weak because both Muhammad b. Humayd and Layth b. Abi Sulaym are unreliable.
(1) Al-baladhur is the fruit of a tree whose kernel contains a blood-colored substance; this kernel is the part used medicinally. According to Al-Muʿtamad fi al-Adwiyah al-Mufradah, p. 31, it is beneficial for impaired intellect and for all cerebral disorders arising from coldness and moisture.