“If you see him, you will be filled with awe of him.” He said, “O Messenger of Allah, by Him who sent you with the truth, I have never been awestruck by anything.”

Abdullah ibn Unays then set out and reached the mountains of Arafah before the sun had set. Abdullah said: “I encountered a man, and I was terrified when I saw him. From the fear I felt of him, I knew that he was the man described by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I replied, ‘I am seeking something. Is there somewhere to stay for the night?’ He said, ‘Yes; come along.’ So I went after him. I performed the afternoon prayer as two brief units, fearing that he might see me. Then I caught up with him and struck him with the sword. I then left and came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and informed him.”

Muhammad ibn Ka'b said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, gave him a stick and repeated the words quoted above.” Muhammad ibn Ka'b said: “When Abdullah ibn Unays died, he instructed that it be placed upon his stomach. He was shrouded and buried, and it was buried with him.”

I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Abu Nu'aym mentioned him in the biography of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan in al-Akhbar, saying: “He was known as Ibn Matwayh ... and was among the devout and virtuous; he fasted continuously.” Al-Dhahabi also included him in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz (2/740) and described him as “the hadith master, the exemplar ...” Abu al-Shaykh said: “He was one of the wellsprings of truthfulness.” He also has a biography in al-Siyar (14/142–143).

Al-Qadi Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim was the hadith master al-'Assal. Abu Nu'aym wrote of him in al-Akhbar (2/283):