—that is, to Herat—I went to Ibn Khuzaymah and asked him to write a letter of introduction for me. He obliged, and I entered Herat in Rabīʿ al-Awwal of the year 280 AH. I delivered the letter; he read it, welcomed me warmly, and inquired after Ibn Khuzaymah. Then he said, “Young man, when did you arrive?”
I replied, “Tomorrow.”
He said, “My son, go back for today, for you have not yet arrived until tomorrow.” (1)

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Azhar said: I heard ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Dārimī say: “Muhammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Sijzī—who had written from Yazīd ibn Hārūn and Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn—came to me and said, ‘Abū Saʿīd, people keep coming to me and asking me to narrate to them, and I fear I will not be excused if I turn them away.’
“I asked, ‘Why?’
“He replied, ‘Because of the Prophet’s statement: “Whoever is asked about knowledge and withholds it will be bridled with a bridle of fire.” (2)’
“So I said to him, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke of knowledge you actually possess, and you do not possess it.’ (3)”

Yaʿqūb al-Qarrāb said: I heard ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Dārimī say, “I have resolved never to narrate from anyone who conceded that the Qur’an was created.” He added, “He passed away before putting that resolve into practice.”

I say: Whoever assented under taqiyyah (duress) incurs no blame, and it is not proper to abandon his hadith.

I say, too: ʿUthmān al-Dārimī was like a thorn in the eyes of the innovators, and he is the one who rose