Al-Khaṭīb related with his isnād (chain of transmission) from him that word had reached him that Dhū al-Nūn possessed Allah’s Greatest Name. He therefore travelled to seek it from him and said:
“When I arrived, he treated me lightly. I was wearing a long beard and carrying a long rikwa (1) (2). One day a man came and disputed with Dhū al-Nūn, and the man silenced him. I then argued with the man and silenced him in turn. Dhū al-Nūn arose, sat before me—he an elderly shaykh and I but a youth—and apologized to me. I served him for a year, after which I asked him to teach me the Greatest Name. He did not put me off and promised to do so. Six months later he produced a tray on which was a covered vessel, tied (3) with a cloth, and said: ‘Take this to our companion So-and-so.’
“I set out reflecting along the way: What is this he has sent me with? When I reached the bridge I opened it; inside was a mouse. It jumped out and ran off. I was furious and exclaimed, ‘Is Dhū al-Nūn mocking me?’ I returned to him angry, whereupon he said, ‘Woe to you! I was only testing you. If you cannot be trusted with a mouse, then how much less can you be trusted with the Greatest Name. Leave me; I do not wish to see you again.’ (4)”
This Ibn (5) al-Ḥusayn al-Rāzī was seen in a dream after his death and was asked, “What has Allah done with you?” He replied, “He forgave me for the words I spoke at the moment of death: ‘O Allah, I advised people sincerely with my speech while betraying myself with my actions; so grant me pardon for the treachery of my deeds in consideration of the sincerity of my words.’”
Yamūt ibn al-Muzarraʿ ibn Yamūt (6), Abū Bakr al-ʿAbdī of ʿAbd al-Qays—a Basran (7) and the nephew of al-Jāḥiẓ—also passed away. He came to Baghdad and related traditions there from Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī, Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī, and Abū al-Faḍl al-Riyāshī. A man of historical reports, literature, and witty anecdotes, he had changed his personal name to Muḥammad, yet the original one prevailed. Whenever he went to visit a sick person, he would knock on the door, and when asked, “Who is it?” would answer, “Ibn al-Muzarraʿ,” never mentioning his given name lest they take it as an ill omen (8).