al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad, al-Hasan, Ibn Sīrīn, and Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī (1).
‘Abd Allah ibn Yazīd al-‘Ukbarī (2) said: “I heard a man ask Ahmad, ‘What do you say about recitation to melodies?’ He replied, ‘What is your name?’ The man said (3), ‘Muhammad.’ He said (4), ‘Would you be pleased to be called “O Mūhammad,” with the vowel drawn out?’” Judge Abū Ya‘lā (5) said: “This was an emphatic expression of his disapproval.”
Al-Hasan ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Jarawī said: “A man appointed me executor of his will. Among what he left was a slave woman who recited to melodies, and she accounted for most (6) of his estate, or nearly all of it. I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Hārith ibn Miskīn, and Abū ‘Ubayd, ‘How should I sell her?’ They said, ‘Sell her without presenting her as skilled in such recitation.’ I told them how much this would reduce her sale price, but they said, ‘Sell her without presenting her as skilled in such recitation (7).’” The judge said: “They said this only because listening to her recite in that manner is disliked, so it is not permissible (8) to