The reply is that Hishām said this on the basis of his own opinion; it was not reported in the hadith. Evidence that he had no knowledge of the matter is Ma‘mar’s report: “I heard Hishām say, ‘I do not know whether they made up the fast or not.’” Al-Bukhārī recorded both statements from him. Hishām narrated the hadith from his mother, Fātimah bint al-Mundhir, from Asmā’. Hishām also reported from his father, ‘Urwah, that they were not instructed to make up the fast, and ‘Urwah was more knowledgeable than his son.

This is also the view of Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh, a contemporary and peer of Ahmad ibn Hanbal who agreed with him in both the foundational principles and detailed rulings of his legal approach. Their opinions are often cited together. Al-Kawsaj put his questions to both Ahmad and Ishāq, as did Harb al-Kirmānī and others. This is why al-Tirmidhī cites the opinions of Ahmad and Ishāq together: he transmitted their views from al-Kawsaj’s collection of questions.

Likewise, Abū Zur‘ah, Abū Hātim, Ibn Qutaybah, and other leading scholars of the early generations, the Sunnah, and hadith studied jurisprudence according to the approach of Ahmad and Ishāq, giving their views precedence over those of others. The leading hadith scholars, such as al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasā’ī, and others, were also among their followers and acquired knowledge and jurisprudence from them. Dāwūd was one of Ishāq’s students.

When Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about Ishāq, he would say: “Am I to be asked