to listen to him. The boy was, at that time, still beardless, and Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ took exception to Abū Dāwūd’s having brought him.
Abū Dāwūd replied, “Even though he is beardless, he has a better memory than many of those who wear beards. Test him on whatever you wish.”
So he questioned him on various matters, and Abū Dāwūd’s son answered every one of them. Only then did Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ narrate to him, and he never again taught any other beardless youth. ⦗1⦘
He (Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ) was one of the foremost preservers of tradition, thoroughly versed in the hidden defects of hadith and keenly aware of their variants. He had visited Baghdad in earlier days, sat with its hadith masters, and held scholarly discussions with Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. Abū ʿAbd Allāh (Aḥmad) would often mention him and praise him.
It is said that during one such session each of them wrote down a hadith from the other. Ibn Ṣāliḥ then returned to Egypt, where his learning spread among its people and the leading scholars transmitted from him.
Abū al-Ghanāʾim ibn ʿAllān informed us; Abū al-Yaman al-Kindī informed us; Abū Manṣūr al-Qazzāz informed us; Abū Bakr the ḥāfiẓ informed us; Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān ibn ʿAlī the reciter informed me; Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Khalīl informed us; Abū Aḥmad ibn ʿAdī informed us; I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, who said: I heard Abū Bakr ibn Zanjawayh say:
“I travelled to Egypt and came to Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ. He asked me, ‘Where are you from?’
‘I am from Baghdad,’ I replied.
He said, ‘How far is your house from that of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal?’
I answered, ‘I am one of his companions.’
He said, ‘Write down for me the location of your house, for I intend to come to Iraq so that you may bring us together.’
So I wrote it for him. In the year 212 AH Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ arrived and went to ʿAffān. He asked after me, met me, and said, ‘What of the appointment between you and me?’
I then brought him to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and asked permission for him, saying, ‘Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ is at the door.’ He granted permission, rose to greet him, welcomed him warmly, and drew him close. Then he said to him, ‘I have been told that you have compiled…’