seeking authorization (ijāzah) to transmit the Book on Jihad, and Ibn Khuzaymah granted it to him.
Muḥammad ibn Sahl al-Tūsī said: I heard al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān ask us, “Do you know Ibn Khuzaymah?”
“We do,” we replied.
He said, “We benefited from him far more than he benefited from us.”
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Sukkarī reported: I heard Ibn Khuzaymah say, “I was present in al-Muzanī’s session when he was asked about quasi-intentional homicide (shibh al-ʿamd). The questioner said to him, ‘Allah has mentioned in His Book only two categories of killing—intentional and accidental—so why do you say there are three, and why do you cite the report of ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān (1) as evidence?’
Al-Muzanī fell silent, so I said to his opponent, ‘The ḥadith is also transmitted by Ayyūb and Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ.’
He retorted, ‘And who is ʿUqbah ibn Aws?’
I answered, ‘A Basran shaykh from whom Ibn Sīrīn—renowned as he is—relayed traditions.’
The man then turned to al-Muzanī and said, ‘Are you debating, or is he?’
Al-Muzanī replied, ‘When a ḥadith is in question, he debates, because he knows more about it than I do; afterward I speak.’
Muḥammad ibn al-Faḍl ibn Muḥammad said: I heard my grandfather relate, “I sought my father’s permission to travel to Qutaybah. He told me, ‘First memorize the Qur’an; then I will allow you.’ So I mastered the Qur’an, whereupon he said, ‘Remain until you have led a complete recitation in prayer.’ I did so, and when the festival arrived, he granted me permission…"