with them, for I fear they might drag you into their scheme and Abū ʿAbd Allāh would then be named in connection with it. So I excused myself and did not go.

When they had departed, my father and I went in to see Abū ʿAbd Allāh. He said to my father, “Abū Yūsuf, these people’s hearts have been so steeped in this notion that, as far as I can tell, nothing will draw it out. We ask Allah for safety. What business have we with such a calamity? I would not like anyone to pursue this.”

I asked, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, do you consider what they are proposing to be correct?”

He replied, “No. It contradicts the transmitted reports that command us to be patient.” Then Abū ʿAbd Allāh said, “The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘If he strikes you, be patient; if he withholds from you, be patient; and if he is placed in authority over you, be patient.’ ”

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said something similar, and Abū ʿAbd Allāh mentioned other words that I did not memorize.

Ḥanbal continues: The group went on their way, but their affair earned no praise and they achieved nothing of what they sought. They hid from the authorities and fled; some were caught and imprisoned, and one of them died in prison.1