—“I read (1) to ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn al-Khiḍr (2), on the authority of Abū Muḥammad al-Kinānī; Abū al-Najīb al-Armavī (3) related it to me (4), and Abū Dharr al-Harawī (5) transmitted it, saying: I heard Ibn Zanayn declare, ‘Two righteous men were tried (6) by having evil companions: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.’ ”
Ibn ʿAsākir (7) further stated, in his refutation of Abū ʿAlī al-Ahwāzī (8) regarding the latter’s treatise listing what he alleged to be the blemishes of al-Ashʿarī—and Abū ʿAlī had claimed that the Ḥanbalīs did not accept al-Ashʿarī’s composition al-Ibānah:
Al-Ahwāzī said: “Al-Ashʿarī has a book on the Sunnah which his followers have taken as a shield against Ahl al-Sunnah; through it they curry favor with the common folk among our own adherents, and he entitled the book…”
= He is Abu Hafs Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, known as Ibn Shahin; a hadith scholar of Iraq and author of several works. He died in 385 AH. al-Khatib al-Baghdadi said of him: “He was trustworthy and reliable.” See: al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, 11:265–268; al-Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, 3:987–989; Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan, 4:283–285.
(1) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entry on al-Daraqutni, and among the hadith transmitters adhering to the Sunnah that I have reviewed.
(2) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entry on Shaykh Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr of Damascus.
(3) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entry on Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad, who prefaced his report with “He narrated to me…”.
(4) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entries on Abu al-Najib ‘Abd al-Ghaffar and ‘Abd al-Wahid al-Armawi.
(5) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entry on Abu Dharr ‘Abd ibn Ahmad al-Harawi.
(6) In the printed edition of Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: entry on Bilya.
(7) In Fi Tabyeen Kathib al-Muftari: pp. 388–389.
(8) He is Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Ahwazi, the chief Qur’an reciter of Greater Syria in his time; originally from Ahwaz, he settled in Damascus. He died in 446 AH. al-Dhahabi writes: “He composed a volume on the faults of al-Ash‘ari in which there are fabrications.” See: Ibn Asakir, Tahdhib Tarikh Dimashq, 4:197–198; al-Dhahabi, Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala, 15:89; 18:13–18; Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan, 2:237–240.