248 — Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sandalī narrated to us, saying: al-Fadl ibn Ziyād narrated to us, saying: Abū ʿAbd Allāh—meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal—narrated to us, saying: Wakīʿ narrated to us, saying ⦗609⦘: Sufyān narrated to us, from Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, from his father, who said, “A servant’s trustworthiness never decreases without his faith decreasing as well.”