—which means: “What kind of man is this?! (1)”
Then Aḥmad ibn Salamah said: “A session for reviewing memorized reports was held for Muslim. A ḥadith was mentioned to him that he did not recognize, so he went home, lit the lamp, and told the people in the house, ‘None of you is to come in.’
Someone said to him, ‘A basket of dates has been presented to us.’
He replied, ‘Bring it here.’
They placed it before him, and he kept searching for the ḥadith, eating one date after another, until morning came; the dates were finished and he had located the ḥadith. (2)
Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥākim narrated this incident, then said: “A trustworthy companion of ours further informed me that he died because of it.” (3)
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim said: “Muslim was a reliable ḥāfiẓ. I wrote from him in Rayy, and my father was asked about him; he replied, ‘He is truthful.’” (4)
Abū Quraysh the ḥāfiẓ said: “I heard Muḥammad ibn Bashshār say:
‘The ḥuffāẓ of the world are four: Abū Zurʿah in Rayy, Muslim in Nīshāpūr, ʿAbdallāh al-Dārimī in Samarkand, and Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl in Bukhara.’”
(1) Tārīkh Baghdad, vol. 13, p. 102, where it reads: “He said: Marda as Ibn Budh …” The same report is also found in: Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, vol. 2, p. 589; Tahdhib al-Kamal, no. 1324; and Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 4, p. 37/1.
(2) In Tārīkh Baghdad the item is still to be located.
(3) The report together with Abu ʿAbd Allah’s statement appears in: Tārīkh Baghdad, vol. 13, p. 103; Tahdhib al-Kamal, no. 1324; Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 4, p. 37/1; al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya, vol. 11, p. 34; and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 10, p. 127.
(4) Al-Jarh wa l-Taʿdil, vol. 8, p. 83. Abu Hatim’s declaring Muslim reliable—although Muslim was a disciple of al-Bukhari, who was even more reliable and had a stronger memory—shows that the censure levelled against al-Bukhari by Abu Hatim and Abu Zurʿa arose from bias and personal inclination, for Muslim shared al-Bukhari’s view on the question of lafz (whether the utterance of the Quran is created). The report is also in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, vol. 2, p. 589, and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 10, p. 128.
(5) This report has already been cited on p. 423, where its full documentation was provided.