someone about whom people ask concerning us, whereas no one asks about him concerning us; he is an imam whose example is to be followed.”

Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ʿAli al-Shashi said: “I was in the presence of Ibn Khuzaymah when Abu Bakr al-Naqqash, the Qurʾan-reciter, said to him, ‘I have heard that when the dispute broke out between al-Muzani and Ibn ʿAbd al-Hakam, it was said to al-Muzani, “He is refuting al-Shafiʿi.”’
Al-Muzani replied, ‘He cannot do that except through Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Naysaburi.’
Abu Bakr (al-Naqqash) remarked, ‘That is exactly what happened.’

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mudharib related: “I saw Ibn Khuzaymah in a dream and said to him, ‘May Allah reward you with goodness on behalf of Islam.’ He answered, ‘Gabriel said the very same words to me in heaven.’”

Al-Hakim said: “Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Hamdun, together with a group of our teachers—though Ibn Hamdun was the most familiar with this incident—told me:
When Abu Bakr ibn Khuzaymah reached the lofty age, stature, and singular authority that he did, he had disciples who during his lifetime shone like the stars of the firmament. Among them were:
– Abu ʿAli Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi, the first to carry the sciences of al-Shafiʿi and the subtleties of Ibn Surayj into Khurasan;
– Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishaq—meaning al-Sibghi—the successor of Ibn Khuzaymah in issuing legal rulings, the most skilled among the group in authorship, and the most adept in conducting himself in the assemblies of the rulers;
– Abu Bakr ibn Abi ʿUthman, the most refined of them, the widest in scholarly attainment, the most travelled, and the shaykh of those devoted to voluntary service and jihad;
– and Abu Muhammad Yahya ibn Mansur, who came from one of the foremost families, was the best versed in Ibn Khuzaymah’s school, and the most suitable among them for the judiciary.

He continued: “When Mansur ibn Yahya al-Tusi arrived in Nishapur—he used to frequent Ibn Khuzaymah to hear hadith from him, though he was a Muʿtazili—and saw what he saw of those four men we have just named, he envied them. He met more than once at the Gate of Muʿammar with Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman, the Qadari preacher, about their affairs, and the two of them said: ‘This imam does not rush into speculative theology; he forbids his students to dispute over it or teach it, yet followers of his have arisen who oppose him without his knowing it, for they…’