the standing of narrators, and someone said to me, “That is Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn.”

A space was cleared for me, so I stepped forward and said, “Abū Zakariyyā—may Allah have mercy on you—I am a stranger, far from my homeland, eager to ask questions; please do not turn me away.”

He said, “Ask.”

So I asked about a number of men I had met. Some of them he endorsed, others he criticized. Then I asked him about Hishām ibn ʿAmmār.

He replied, “Abū al-Walīd, the prayer leader of Damascus, is trustworthy—indeed, more than trustworthy. Were arrogance hidden under his cloak or slung across his shoulders, it would not harm him in the least, given his righteousness and merit.”

The people in the circle cried out, “That is enough for you—may Allah have mercy on you! Give others a chance to ask.”

Still standing, I said, “Just uncover the status of one man—Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.”

He looked at me in amazement and said, “People like us—are we to assess Aḥmad? He is the Imām of the Muslims, the best and most virtuous of them.”

I left to find Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal’s house. When I was shown the way I knocked at his door, and he came out to me. I said, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, I am a stranger, far from home. This is my first time in this city. I seek ḥadīth and record the Sunnah, and my journey has been made solely to reach you.”

He said, “Enter the storeroom so that no eye may fall upon you.”

I entered, and he asked, “Where are you from?”

I said, “From the farthest West.”

He asked, “Ifriqiyyah?”

I replied, “Farther than Ifriqiyyah. From my land I cross the sea to reach Ifriqiyyah—my homeland is al-Andalus.”

He said, “Your country is indeed distant, and nothing would please me more than to help someone like you. But I am under a trial about which you have probably heard.”

I said, “Indeed I have heard. This is my first arrival, and I am unknown to you. If you permit me to come each day in the guise of a beggar, I will stand at the door and say what beggars say; then you can come out to this spot. Even if you relate only one ḥadīth to me each day, it would suffice.”

He said, “Yes—on condition that you do not appear in public or among the ḥadīth scholars.”

I replied, “I accept your condition.” So I would take a staff in my hand, wrap my head in a soiled cloth, come to his door and call out, “Charity—may Allah have mercy on you!” just as the beggars did. He would come out to me and shut the door