Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman said: A man once came to ʿAbd Allah ibn Sulayman. People spoke to him about the visitor, saying, “He is such-and-such,” praising him at length. ʿAbd Allah looked at the man and then kept silent, whereupon the man departed. Some onlookers remarked, “That is simply his way.” He replied, “If he is really a zāhid (ascetic) as you say, then what business does he have with me?”