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307—Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Lal, the jurist, informed us. He said: Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan related to us:
“I had a companion with me in Tarsus ⦗167⦘, Abu Ali ibn Khalawayh. He shared a house with me, and he had taken up the books of al-Suri, al-Antaki, and the dialectical theologians in Raqqah. I would forbid him from this, but he would not desist. Then one day he came to me and said, ‘I have repented.’
I asked, ‘Has something happened?’
He replied, ‘Yes. This night, I saw in a dream that I entered the house in which we were staying and found the scent of musk. I began following the scent until I found that it was wafting from the inkwell. So I said, “Indeed, all goodness lies in hadith.”’
٣٠٧ - أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ لَالٍ الْفَقِيهُ , قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ حَمْدَانَ , قَالَ: " كَانَ مَعِي رَفِيقٌ بِطَرَسُوسَ ⦗١٦٧⦘ وَهُوَ أَبُو عَلِيِّ بْنُ خَالَوَيْهِ , وَكَانَ مَعِي فِي الْبَيْتِ , وَكَانَ قَدْ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى كُتُبِ الصُّورِيِّ وَالْأَنْطَاكِيِّ وَأَصْحَابِ الْكَلَامِ فِي الرَّقَّةِ , وَكُنْتُ أَنْهَاهُ فَلَا يَنْتَهِي , حَتَّى كَانَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ جَاءَنِي , فَقَالَ: «أَنَا تَائِبٌ» . فَقُلْتُ: " أَحَدَثَ شَيْءٌ؟ قَالَ: " نَعَمْ , رَأَيْتُ فِيَ هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ كَأَنِّي دَخَلْتُ الْبَيْتَ الَّذِي نَحْنُ فِيهِ , فَوَجَدْتُ رَائِحَةَ الْمِسْكِ , فَجَعَلْتُ أَتَتَبَّعُ الرَّائِحَةَ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُهُ يَفُوحُ مِنَ الْمِحْبَرَةِ. فَقُلْتُ: «إِنَّ الْخَيْرَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ»