had little knowledge of hadith and transmitted reports, or understanding of their meanings. He used to say, “My stock of hadith is meager,” as Abū Bakr ibn al-Arabī reported having heard him say. Hence his books contain a great many false and fabricated reports, even though authentic hadiths addressing those very subjects offer both sufficiency and healing.

One example is this report he attributed to Ahmad: he transmitted it from an unknown individual, who in turn related it from Ahmad without a connected chain of transmission. No one familiar with Ahmad and his words disputes that this is a lie fabricated against him. His explicit statements, transmitted by trustworthy, dependable narrators, and the reports mass-transmitted from him refute this nonsense attributed to him. Indeed, if Abū Hāmid transmits from