One day—exactly one day after Ibn Aslam’s passing—I was sitting with Aḥmad ibn Naṣr when a group of ḥadīth scholars entered and said to him:

“We have just come from Abū al-Naḍr. He conveys his greetings to you and says, ‘We ought to meet so that we may console one another over the death of a man the like of whom we have not seen since the time of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.’ (1)”

Someone remarked to Aḥmad ibn Naṣr, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, one million people performed the funeral prayer over him.”

Another added, “One million and one hundred thousand—both the pious and the impious among them are saying, ‘We have never known anyone comparable to this man.’ (2)”

Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim said: “I visited Ibn Aslam in Nīshāpūr four days before he died. He said to me, ‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh, come that I may give you glad tidings of the good Allah has bestowed upon your brother. Death has already descended upon me, and Allah has favoured me in that I do not possess a single dirham for which He will call me to account.

‘Close the door (3) and do not admit anyone until I die. Bury my books, and know that I leave this world without bequeathing anything but my cloak, my felt mat, the vessel in which I perform wuḍūʾ, and these books of mine. Do not burden the people with any expense.’

He had with him a small pouch containing about thirty dirhams and said, ‘This is for my son; a relative gave it to him as a gift, and I know of nothing more lawful for me than this, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “You and your wealth belong to your father.” (4)’ And he said: