follow the Kulabiyya school,(1) and the two of them became intent on driving a wedge between those leading imams.

Al-Ḥākim said: I heard Imām Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq say: “It was by Allah’s decree that when al-Ḥākim Abū Saʿīd passed away, Ibn Khuzaymah—together with a number of his companions, out of ignorance—openly rejoiced at his death. They then asked him to host a banquet, and Ibn Khuzaymah owned some delightful orchards.

“He continued: I myself was forced, along with the rest of the group, to go out there in spite of my reluctance.

“Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Tamīmī informed me that the banquet was held in Jumādā al-Ūlā of the year 309 AH. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. Ibn Khuzaymah organised it: he brought in a large number of sheep and lambs, sacks of sugar, bedding, equipment, and cooks. Then he sent word to a body of hadith scholars, both elders and young men. They gathered at Janzarūdh,(2) mounted from there, and Abū Bakr led them, threading his way through the markets one after another, asking the people to join him and saying, ‘I have asked everyone who still lays claim to chivalry and affection for me to stay with our company today.’

“They came in droves until no notable person was left in the city—meaning Nishapur—while the cooks were cooking and a band of bakers were baking. Indeed, every loaf of bread and every piece of roast meat that could be found in the city was loaded onto camels, mules, and donkeys, and the imam—may Allah have mercy on him—stood overseeing every detail of the banquet in the best possible manner, so that all who attended attested that they had never witnessed anything like it.

“Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, the theologian, told me: ‘When we left…’”

(1) The Kulabiyya were a school of theology associated with Ibn Kullāb.
(2) A locality near Nishapur.