2371 – ʿAli ibn Muhammad ibn Yaʿqub reported to us; he said: al-Hasan ibn ʿUthman reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: ʿUthman ibn Saʿid al-Haddad reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Yusuf, at Bismtiyat, related to me; he said: Abu al-Saqr al-Khilati reported to us, from al-Muʿafa ibn ʿImran, who said: Sufyan al-Thawri stated,

“I was a man who would leave for the prayer in the deep darkness before dawn. One morning I set out, and we had a neighbour who owned a vicious dog. I sat and watched until it moved away. Then the dog said to me, ‘Proceed, Abu ʿAbd Allah; I have only been authorized to deal with those who revile Abu Bakr and ʿUmar.’”