Biography of Al-Layth ibn Sa'd

12 - Al-Layth ibn Sa'd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fahmi * (A)

The imam, the hafiz, the sheikh of Islam, and the scholar of the

lands of Egypt, Abu al-Harith al-Fahmi, client (mawla) of Khalid ibn Thabit ibn Za'in.

His family says: "We are of Persian origin, from the people of Isfahan," and there is no contradiction between the two statements.

His birth: in Qarqashanda, a village in Lower Egypt, in the year 94.

This is the date given by Yahya ibn Bukayr.

It has also been said: in the year 93.

Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam mentions it.

The first date is the more accurate, for Yahya says: "I heard al-Layth say: I was born in Sha'ban of the year 94."

Al-Layth said: "I performed the pilgrimage in the year 113."

He heard: Ata ibn Abi Rabah; Ibn Abi Mulayka; Nafi' al-Umari; Sa'id ibn Abi Sa'id al-Maqbari; Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri; Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki; Mishrah ibn Ha'an; Abu Qil al-Ma'afiri; Yazid ibn Abi Habib; Ja'far ibn Rabi'a; Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Ja'far; Bukayr ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Ashajj; Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim; al-Harith ibn Ya'qub; Darraj Abu al-Samh the preacher; Uqayl ibn Khalid; Yunus ibn Yazid; Hukaym ibn Abd Allah ibn Qays; Amir ibn Yahya al-Ma'afiri; Umar, client of Ghufra; Imran ibn Abi Anas; Ayyash ibn Abbas; Kathir ibn Farqad; Hisham ibn Urwa; Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Husayn; Ayyub ibn Musa; Bakr ibn Sawada; Abu Kathir al-Jallah; al-Harith ibn Yazid al-Hadrami; Khalid ibn Yazid; Safwan ibn Sulaym; Khayr ibn Nu'aym; Abu al-Zinad;

Qatada; Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban; Yazid ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Had; Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari; and many people.

So much so that he narrated from his own students; and he narrated from Nafi', then narrated a hadith from the two of them with four persons between them; and he did the same with his sheikh Ibn Shihab, narrating from him another hadith with three men between them.

A great number of people narrated from him, among them: Ibn Ajlan, his sheikh; Ibn Lahi'a; Hushaym; Ibn Wahb; Ibn al-Mubarak; Attaf ibn Khalid; Shababa; Ashhab; Sa'id ibn Shurahbil; Sa'id ibn Ufayr; al-Qa'nabi; Hujayn ibn al-Muthanna; Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam; Adam ibn Abi Iyas; Ahmad ibn Yunus; Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth, his son; Yahya ibn Bukayr; Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Hakam; Mansur ibn Salama; Yunus ibn Muhammad; Abu al-Nadr Hashim ibn al-Qasim; Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi; Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi; Abu al-Jahm al-Ala ibn Musa; Qutayba ibn Sa'id; Muhammad ibn Rumh; Yazid ibn Mawhib al-Ramli; Kamil ibn Talha; Isa ibn Hammad Zughba; Abd Allah ibn Salih the secretary; Amr ibn Khalid; and Abd Allah ibn Yusuf al-Tinnisi.

Al-Harith ibn Miskin joined him and asked him a question; and Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi saw him in Baghdad while he (al-Dawraqi) was a child.

Ahmad ibn Ishaq informed us; al-Fath informed us; al-Urmawi, Ibn al-Daya and al-Tara'ifi informed us, saying:

Abu Ja'far ibn al-Muslima informed us; Ubayd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us; Ja'far ibn Muhammad the hafiz narrated to us; Qutayba ibn Sa'id narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Sa'd ibn Sinan, from Anas ibn Malik:

that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Before the Hour there will be trials like patches of the dark night, in which a man will wake up a believer and end the day a disbeliever, and end the day a believer

and wake up a disbeliever; people will sell their religion for a worldly gain."

This hadith is hasan (good) and elevated (in isnad).

At-Tirmidhi reported it, from Qutayba; so we found it in agreement, with elevation (of isnad).

Abu Ali Yusuf ibn Ahmad al-Salihi informed us; Musa ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Jili informed us; Abu al-Qasim Sa'id ibn Ahmad ibn al-Banna informed us (H).

And Abu al-Ma'ali Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mu'ayyad al-Qarafi, the ascetic of Egypt, informed us; Abu al-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ishaq ibn Mawhub ibn al-Jawaliqi informed us in the year 620, in Baghdad (H).

And I read before Abu Hafs Umar ibn Abd al-Mun'im al-Ta'i, from Abu al-Yumn Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Kindi; Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Muhtadi billah informed us in the year 532, saying:

Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Zayni informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Warraq informed us; Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn al-Ash'ath the hafiz narrated to us; Isa ibn Hammad al-Tujibi informed us; al-Layth ibn Sa'd informed us, from Hisham ibn Urwa, from his father, from Asma bint Abi Bakr, who said:

"I saw Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl standing, leaning his back against the Ka'ba, saying: O assembly of Quraysh! By Allah, there is none among you but me upon the religion of Ibrahim. And he used to spare the girls destined to be buried alive; he would say to a man who wanted to kill his daughter: Stop, do not kill her, I will provide for her sustenance; and he would take her; and when she had grown, he would say to her father: If you wish, I will return her to you; and if you wish, I will provide for her sustenance."

This hadith is sahih (authentic).

And it is al-Layth alone who narrates it from Hisham, by license (ijaza), for

al-Bukhari reported it in his (Sahih) as an annotation, saying:

"Al-Layth said: Hisham ibn Urwa wrote to me...," and he mentioned the hadith; so it is in the (Sahih) as a found narration (wijada) based on a license.

Ahmad ibn Ishaq informed us; Kamil ibn Abi al-Azhar informed us; Sa'id ibn Ahmad informed us; Muhammad ibn Muhammad informed us; Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Zunbur informed us; Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud narrated to us; Isa ibn Hammad narrated to us; al-Layth informed us, from Sa'id al-Maqbari, from his father, from Abu Hurayra:

from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "In Paradise there is a tree, the shade of which a rider travels for one hundred years."

Abd al-Hafiz ibn Badran informed us; Musa ibn Abd al-Qadir and al-Husayn ibn al-Mubarak informed us; Ahmad ibn al-Mu'ayyad informed us; Abd al-Latif ibn Askar, al-Hasan ibn Abi Bakr ibn al-Zubaydi and al-Nafis ibn Karam informed us; Ahmad ibn Abi

Talib and a group informed us, saying:

Abu al-Munajja Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Latti informed us; the six (others) said:

Abu al-Waqt al-Sijzi informed us; Muhammad ibn Abi Mas'ud informed us; Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Shurayh informed us; Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi informed us; al-Ala ibn Musa al-Bahili informed us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Nafi':

that Ibn Umar, when asked about a man marrying a Christian or Jewish woman, would say: "Allah has forbidden polytheist women to the Muslims, and I know of no association greater than a woman saying: My Lord is Isa ('Isa), when he is a servant among the servants of Allah."

Al-Bukhari reported it, from Qutayba, from al-Layth.

The qadi Taj al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Khalik ibn Abd al-Salam ibn Sa'id ibn Ulwan informed us in Baalbek, by my reading; Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim informed us (H).

And Izz al-Din Isma'il ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mardawi informed us; Muhammad ibn Khalaf the jurist informed us in the year 616 (H).

And Bibars al-Majdi informed us in Aleppo; Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Nakhal informed us, saying:

Fakhr al-Nisa Shuhda bint Ahmad the scribe informed us; Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Abd al-Salam al-Ansari informed us (H).

And Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn al-Farra informed us; Abu Muhammad

ibn Qudama the jurist informed us; Abu al-Fath ibn al-Batti and Yahya ibn Thabit al-Baqqal informed us. Abu al-Fath said:

Abu al-Fadl Ahmad ibn al-Hasan the hafiz informed us. And al-Baqqal said:

My father informed us; they said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ghalib the hafiz informed us and said:

I read before Abu al-Abbas ibn Hamdan; Muhammad ibn Ibrahim narrated to you; Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated to us; al-Layth ibn Sa'd narrated to me, from Yazid ibn al-Had, from Ibrahim ibn Sa'd, from Salih ibn Kaysan, from Ibn Shihab, from Ibn al-Musayyib, from Abu Hurayra, who said:

"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say," and he mentioned the hadith: "While I was sleeping, I saw myself at a well, and I drew from it what Allah willed that I draw..."

Isma'il ibn Abd al-Rahman and Ahmad ibn Abd al-Hamid informed us of it, saying:

Abd Allah ibn Ahmad the jurist informed us; Abu Bakr ibn al-Naqqur informed us; Ali ibn Muhammad al-Allaf informed us; Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Hammami informed us; Da'laj ibn Ahmad narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji narrated to us; Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Yazid ibn al-Had, from Ibrahim ibn Sa'd, from Salih ibn Kaysan, from Ibn Shihab, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, from Abu Hurayra:

"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: While I was sleeping, I saw myself at a well; I drew from it what Allah willed; then Ibn Quhafa drew a bucket or two, with weakness in his drawing; may Allah forgive him; then it became a watering place, and Ibn al-Khattab took it; I never saw a giant among the people draw water as he drew, until he quenched

the thirsting people."

This hadith, from the chain of Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd: Muslim reported it in his (Sahih), from his father, from Salih, in similar form; and al-Bukhari: from Yasara, from Ibrahim, from al-Zuhri directly.

Abu al-Ma'ali al-Qarafi informed us; al-Fath ibn Abd Allah informed us; al-Urmawi, Ibn al-Daya and al-Tara'ifi informed us, saying:

Ibn al-Muslima informed us; Abu al-Fadl al-Zuhri informed us; al-Firyabi narrated to us; Yazid ibn Khalid al-Ramli narrated to us; al-Layth ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from Uqayl, from Ibn Shihab, that Abu Idris A'idh Allah al-Khawlani informed him that Yazid ibn Amira, who was among the companions of Mu'adh ibn Jabal, said:

"Mu'adh would not sit in any session without saying as he sat: Allah judges with justice, blessed is His name, perish the doubters."

Al-Layth, may Allah have mercy on him, was the jurist of Egypt, its hadith master, its venerated one and its chief; the whole land gloried in his existence, to the point that the governor of Egypt, its judge and its superintendent were under his authority and referred to his opinion and counsel. Al-Mansur even wanted him to deputize for him over the province, but he asked to be excused from that.

Among the rare hadiths of al-Layth, from al-Zuhri, from Anas, is the hadith: "Whoever lies about me deliberately, let him take his seat in the Fire."

Abu Isa authenticated it and declared it gharib (unique).

Abu Musher al-Ghassani, the sheikh of the people of Damascus, said: "Al-Layth came to us and would sit in session with Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz; our companions came to him and presented (hadiths) to him; I never saw a presentation like that presentation, until I attended that of Malik."

Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Shabbawayh: "I heard Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam hear al-Layth ibn Sa'd say:"

"I reached eighty years and I never debated with a man of desire (sectarian)."

I say: "The desires and innovations were dormant in the time of al-Layth, Malik and al-Awza'i, and the Sunna was manifest and honored. But in the time of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq and Abu Ubayd, the innovation appeared, the imams of the tradition were tested, and the people of desires raised their heads with the coming of the dynasty alongside them; the scholars then needed to debate them with the Book and the Sunna. Then that multiplied, and the scholars also argued against them with reason; the dispute grew long, the conflict intensified, and doubts multiplied. We ask Allah for well-being."

Ibn Bukayr said: "I heard al-Layth say:"

"I heard al-Zuhri in Mecca in the year 113, when I was twenty years old."

And Isa ibn Zughba narrates from al-Layth, who said: "Our origin is from Isfahan, so be good to them."

Yahya ibn Bukayr said: "One who heard al-Layth informed me that he said:"

"I wrote much knowledge from Ibn Shihab, and I wanted to take the postal route to go see him at al-Rusafa; then I feared that it would not be for Allah, and I abandoned it; I entered upon Nafi'; he questioned me, and I said: I am an Egyptian."

He said: "From whom?"

I said: "From the tribe of Qays."

He said: "Son of how many years?"

I said: "Of twenty years."

He said: "As for your beard, it is the beard of a man of forty."

Abu Salih said: "I traveled with al-Layth to Iraq in the year 161; we set out in Sha'ban and observed the Adha feast in Baghdad."

He said: "Al-Layth said to me while we were in Baghdad: Ask where Hushaym al-Wasiti lodges, and say to him: Your brother al-Layth the Egyptian greets you, and asks you to send him some of your books."

I met Hushaym, and he handed me something; we copied from it, and I heard them with al-Layth.

Al-Hasan ibn Yusuf ibn Mulayh said: "I heard Abu al-Hasan al-Khadim, who had become blind from old age, in the session of Yusr, say:"

"I was a servant of Zubayda; al-Layth ibn Sa'd was brought to be consulted; I was standing at the head of my mistress Zubayda, behind the curtain; al-Rashid questioned him and said to him: I have sworn that I have two Paradises."

Al-Layth made him swear three times: "Do you fear Allah?"

He swore to him, so he said: "Allah says: {For whoever fears the standing before his Lord, there are two gardens}, Surah ar-Rahman, 16."

He said: "So al-Rashid granted him many land grants in Egypt."

I say: "If this is authentic, then it was before the caliphate of Harun."

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Abdi said: "I heard Ibn Bukayr narrate from Ya'qub ibn Dawud, the vizier of al-Mahdi, who said:"

"The Commander of the Believers said when al-Layth came to Iraq: Keep close to this sheikh, for it is established with me that no one remains who knows more about what he has narrated from him."

Al-Fasawi: "Ibn Bukayr narrated to us, saying:"

"Al-Layth said: Abu Ja'far said to me: Will you read for me Egypt?"

I said: "No, Commander of the Believers; I am too weak for that; I am a man of the clients."

He said: "With me there is no weakness in you, but your resolve to work for me has weakened."

Ibn Bukayr also narrated to us, saying:

"Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad said: I saw al-Layth at Rabi'a's, refuting them on the questions, and he had dazzled the people of the circle."

Abu Ishaq ibn Yunus al-Harawi: "Al-Darimi narrated to us; Yahya ibn Bukayr narrated to us; Shurahbil ibn Jamil narrated to us, saying:"

"I lived among the people in the days of the caliph Hisham, and al-Layth ibn Sa'd was young; there were in Egypt Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Ja'far, Ja'far ibn Rabi'a, al-Harith ibn Yazid, Yazid ibn Abi Habib and Ibn Hubayra, and they acknowledged al-Layth's merit, piety and the goodness of his Islam despite his youth."

Ibn Bukayr said further: "I never saw the like of al-Layth."

It is narrated: Abd al-Malik ibn Yahya ibn Bukayr, from his father, who said:

"I never saw anyone more complete than al-Layth."

Ibn Bukayr said: "Al-Layth had a fine physique and an Arab tongue; he excelled in the Qur'an and grammar, memorized hadith and poetry, and was excellent in scholarly discussion."

He went on enumerating fine qualities, folding his fingers, until he counted ten: "I never saw his like."

Al-Khatib reported in his (History), from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji, that he heard Ibn Bukayr say:

"I was informed, from Sa'id ibn Abi Ayyub, who said: Had Malik and al-Layth come together, Malik would have been mute before al-Layth, and al-Layth would have surpassed Malik among the most eminent."

I say: "Its isnad is not sound, due to the ignorance of the one who narrated it from Sa'id; or rather Sa'id did not know Malik as he should have."

Al-Mu'ammal ibn Muhammad and al-Musallam ibn Allan informed us in writing, saying:

Abu al-Yumn al-Kindi informed us; Abu Mansur al-Shaybani informed us; Abu Bakr the hafiz informed us; Ibn Rizq informed us; Ali ibn Muhammad the Egyptian informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Iyad ibn Abi Tayba al-Mufrad narrated to us; Harun ibn Sa'id narrated to us:

"I heard Ibn Wahb say: Everything in Malik's books that reads: 'and there informed me one of the people of knowledge who satisfied me' is al-Layth ibn Sa'd."

Likewise (the chain) to Abu Bakr: al-Suri narrated to us; Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar

al-Tujibi informed us; al-Hasan ibn Yusuf ibn Salih ibn Mulayh al-Tara'ifi informed us: "I heard al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman say:"

"Ibn Wahb said: Were it not for Malik and al-Layth, the people would have gone astray."

Ahmad al-Abbar said: "Abu Tahir narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, who said:"

"Were it not for Malik and al-Layth, I would have perished; I used to think that everything narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was to be acted upon."

Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Ras'ani: "Uthman ibn Salih narrated to us, saying:"

"The people of Egypt used to disparage Uthman, until al-Layth grew up among them and narrated to them his virtues; then they stopped."

"And the people of Homs used to disparage Ali, until Isma'il ibn Ayyash grew up among them and narrated to them the virtues of Ali; then they stopped."

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Iyad al-Mufrad: "I heard Harmala say:"

"Al-Layth ibn Sa'd used to send Malik one hundred dinars a year; Malik wrote to him: I have a debt."

"He sent him five hundred dinars. I heard Ibn Wahb say: Malik wrote to al-Layth: I intend to bring my daughter to her husband, and I would like you to send me some saffron."

"He sent him thirty loads of saffron; he sold from it five hundred dinars' worth, and a surplus remained with him."

Abu Dawud said: "Qutayba said:"

"Al-Layth used to turn over twenty thousand dinars every year, and he said: Zakat never became due on me."

"And al-Layth gave Ibn Lahi'a one thousand dinars,

gave Malik one thousand dinars, gave Mansur ibn Ammar the preacher one thousand dinars, and a slave girl worth three hundred dinars."

He said: "A woman came to al-Layth and said: Abu al-Harith, I have a son who is ill and craves honey."

He said: "Boy, give her a mirt of honey."

"And the mirt is one hundred and twenty rattl."

Abd al-Malik ibn Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth ibn Sa'd said: "I heard my father say:"

"Zakat never became due on me since I came of age."

Abu Salih said: "A woman asked al-Layth for a favor of honey; he ordered an waterskin for her and said:"

"She asked according to her need, and we gave her according to our abundance."

Ya'qub ibn Shayba said: "Abd Allah ibn Ishaq narrated to me; I heard Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Saylahini say:"

"A woman came with a small waterskin to al-Layth asking for honey; he ordered someone to load a waterskin with it for her; she kept refusing, and al-Layth kept refusing except that honey be carried with her, and said: We give you according to our measure."

And from al-Harith ibn Miskin, who said: "Some people bought a grove from al-Layth, made a profit on it, then returned it, and he accepted the return; then he called for a basket containing purses and ordered them fifty dinars; his son al-Harith objected to that, and he said:"

"Allah, forgiveness! They had placed much hope in it, and I wished to replace their hope with this."

Ahmad ibn Uthman al-Nasa'i: "I heard Qutayba hear Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth say:"

"I went on pilgrimage with my father; he arrived in Medina, and Malik ibn Anas sent him a tray of dates."

He said: "He placed a thousand dinars on the tray and returned it to him."

Isma'il Sammawayh: "Abd Allah ibn Salih narrated to us, saying:"

"I accompanied al-Layth for twenty years; he would not eat lunch or dinner except with people, and he ate nothing but meat unless he was ill."

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Iyad al-Mufrad: "Isma'il ibn Amr al-Ghafiqi narrated to us; I heard Ashhab ibn Abd al-Aziz say:"

"Al-Layth had four sessions every day: the first for the deputy of the ruler, in his affairs and needs; the ruler would honor al-Layth; if he disapproved of something from the judge or from the ruler, he would write to the Commander of the Believers, and dismissal would come; and he held a session for the people of hadith, and he used to say: Give success to the people of the shops, for their hearts are tied to their marketplaces."

"He held a session for legal questions, and the people would flock to him and ask him; and he held a session for people's needs: no one asked him but that he granted it, whether his need was great or small."

"He used to feed the people in winter harisa with bee honey and cow ghee, and in summer sawiq of almonds in sugar."

Likewise (the chain) to al-Khatib Abu Bakr: al-Barqani informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Muzakki informed us; al-Sirraj informed us: "I heard Qutayba say:"

"We returned with al-Layth ibn Sa'd from Alexandria, and he had three ships: a ship for his kitchen, a ship for his family, and a ship for his guests."

"When prayer time came, he would go out to the shore and pray."

"His son Shu'ayb was his imam; we went out for the maghrib prayer, and he said: Where is

Shu'ayb?"

They said: "He has a fever."

Al-Layth stood, gave the call to prayer and the iqama, then advanced and recited: {By the sun and its brightness}, then: {and he does not fear its outcome}.

"So it is in the mushafs of the people of Medina; the people of Iraq say it is a scribe's error; and he recited the basmala aloud and said the salam facing forward."

Al-Fasawi: "Ibn Bukayr said:"

"I heard al-Layth say often: I am older than Ibn Lahi'a; praise be to Allah who has endowed us with intellect."

Ibn Bukayr said further: "Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth narrated to me, from his father, who said:"

"When I bade farewell to Abu Ja'far in Jerusalem, he said: What I saw of the strength of your intellect has amazed me; praise be to Allah who placed in my subjects someone like you."

Shu'ayb said: "My father used to say: Do not report this as long as I live."

Qutayba said: "Al-Layth was older than Ibn Lahi'a by three years; if you looked, you would say: this one is the son and this one the father (meaning: Ibn Lahi'a was the father)."

He said: "And when Ibn Lahi'a's books burned, al-Layth sent him a thousand dinars the next day."

Muhammad ibn Salih al-Ashajj said: "Qutayba was asked: Who transmitted these

hadiths to you from al-Layth?"

He said: "A sheikh who was called Zayd ibn al-Hubab."

"Mansur ibn Ammar came to al-Layth, and he endowed him with a thousand dinars."

"The house of Ibn Lahi'a burned, and he endowed him with a thousand dinars, and endowed Malik with a thousand dinars, and he gave me a shirt of silk brocade, which is still with me."

Narrated by Salih ibn Ahmad al-Hamadhani, from Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Saydanani: "I heard al-Ashajj."

Ahmad ibn Uthman al-Nasa'i: "I heard Qutayba hear Shu'ayb say:"

"My father turned over between twenty thousand and twenty-five thousand dinars in a year; the year would end and he would be in debt."

Likewise (the chain) to al-Khatib: Abu Nu'aym the hafiz informed us; Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far informed us; Ishaq ibn Isma'il al-Ramli narrated to us: "I heard Muhammad ibn Rumh say:"

"The income of al-Layth ibn Sa'd was eighty thousand dinars every year, and Allah never made the zakat of a single dirham obligatory upon him."

I say: "What preceded concerning his income is the more accurate."

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Najda al-Tanukhi: "I heard Muhammad ibn Rumh say:"

"Sa'id al-Adam narrated to me, and said: I passed by al-Layth ibn Sa'd, and he cleared his throat at me, so I returned to him; he said to me: Sa'id, take this notebook and record in it for me those who keep to the mosque, of those who have neither trade nor gain."

I said: "May Allah reward you with good, Abu

al-Harith."

"I took the notebook from him, then went home; when I had prayed, I lit the lamp and wrote: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy; then: So-and-so son of so-and-so."

"Then a thought came upon me, and I said: So-and-so son of so-and-so."

He said: "While I was at that, a man came to me and said: Woe, Sa'id! You come to people who served Allah in secret, and you expose them before a human being? Al-Layth has died, and Shu'ayb has died; is their return not to Allah whom they served?"

"I stood up and wrote nothing; in the morning I went to al-Layth; his face brightened; I handed him the notebook; he unfolded it and saw in it nothing but: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy; he said: What happened?"

"I told him truthfully what had occurred; he cried out, and the people of the quarter gathered around him and asked him; he said: There is nothing but good in it."

"Then he turned to me and said: Sa'id, you saw through it and deprived yourself of it; you spoke the truth: Al-Layth has died, is their return not to Allah?"

Miqdam ibn Dawud said: "I saw Sa'id al-Adam, and it was said that he was one of the abdal (substitutes)."

Abu Salih said: "Al-Layth would recite in Iraq from atop a terrace before the people of hadith, with the book in my hand; when he finished, I would toss it to them, and they copied it."

Abd al-Malik ibn Shu'ayb narrated, from his father, who said:

"It was said to al-Layth: May Allah keep you well; we hear from you hadiths that are not in your books."

He said: "Is everything in my chest in my books? Were I to write what is in my chest, this mount could not carry it."

Narrated by the hafiz Ibn Yunus: "Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Harith narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik narrated to us, from his father."

Yahya ibn Bukayr: "Al-Layth said: I was in Medina, where thefts were frequent; I wore two boots; when I reached the door of the mosque, I would pull off one of them and enter."

Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari said: "Do not do this, for you are an imam who is watched (meaning, for wearing one boot over the other)."

Al-Athram: "I heard Abu Abd Allah say:"

"Among these Egyptians there is none more reliable than al-Layth, not Amr ibn al-Harith nor anyone; Amr ibn al-Harith was with me, and then I saw in him things that are repudiated; how sound is the hadith of al-Layth ibn Sa'd!"

He went on praising him, and a man said to Abu Abd Allah: "So-and-so declared him weak."

He said: "He does not know."

Al-Fadl ibn Ziyad said: "Ahmad said: Al-Layth is abundant in knowledge, sound in hadith."

Ahmad ibn Sa'd al-Zuhri said: "I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say:"

"Al-Layth is trustworthy, firm."

Abu Dawud said: "I heard Ahmad say:"

"Among the Egyptians there is no hadith more sound than that of al-Layth ibn Sa'd, and Amr ibn al-Harith comes close."

Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said: "I heard my father say:"

"The most sound of people in hadith from Sa'id al-Maqbari is al-Layth ibn Sa'd; he distinguishes what he narrated from Abu Hurayra from what his father narrated from Abu Hurayra."

"He is very firm in his hadith."

Hanbal said: "Ahmad was asked: Is Ibn Abi Dhi'b dearer to you for al-Maqbari, or

Ibn Ajlan?"

He said: "Ibn Ajlan's hearing became mixed with his father's; al-Layth is dearer to me than them for al-Maqbari."

Uthman al-Darimi said: "I heard Yahya ibn Ma'in say: Al-Layth is dearer to me than Yahya ibn Ayyub, and Yahya is trustworthy."

I said: "What of his hadith from Nafi'?"

He said: "Salih, trustworthy."

Ahmad ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Maryam said: "Ibn Ma'in said: Al-Layth is, in my view, higher than Ibn Ishaq."

I said: "Then al-Layth, or Malik?"

He said: "Malik."

And from Ahmad ibn Salih (who mentions al-Layth), he said:

"An imam whose right Allah has made obligatory upon us; in the land, after Amr ibn al-Harith, there was none like him."

Sahl ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti said: "I heard al-Fallas say:"

"Al-Layth ibn Sa'd is truthful; I heard Ibn Mahdi narrate from Ibn al-Mubarak, from him."

Ibn Sa'd said: "Al-Layth took fatwa upon himself alone; he was trustworthy, prolific in hadith, swift among men, generous, and he had hospitality."

And Ya'qub ibn Shayba said: "His hadith from al-Zuhri shows some confusion."

From al-Layth, who said: "I set out for Alexandria to al-A'raj and found that he had died, so I prayed over him."

Al-Ijli and al-Nasa'i said: "Al-Layth is trustworthy."

Ibn Kharash said: "Truthful, his hadiths are sound."

Abbas al-Duri: "Yahya ibn Ma'in narrated to us, saying:"

"This is the letter of Malik to al-Layth; Abd Allah ibn Salih narrated it to us; in it he says: You hold, by your imamate, your merit and your standing among the people of your land, and by the need of those around you for you, and by their reliance upon what reaches them from you."

Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Wahb: "I heard al-Shafi'i say:"

"Al-Layth was more versed in fiqh than Malik, except that his companions did not carry his work."

Abu Zur'a al-Razi said: "I heard Yahya ibn Bukayr say:"

"Al-Layth was more versed in fiqh than Malik, but the lot fell to Malik, may Allah have mercy on him."

Harmala said: "I heard al-Shafi'i say: Al-Layth followed the tradition more closely than Malik."

Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Al-Layth is firm."

Abu Hatim said: "He is dearer to me than Mufaddal ibn Fadala."

Abu Dawud said: "Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to me: I heard Ahmad say:"

"Al-Layth is trustworthy, but there is leniency in his taking (of hadiths)."

Yahya ibn Bukayr said: "Al-Layth said: Al-Mansur said to me: Will you read for me Egypt?"

I asked to be excused.

He said: "Since you refuse, point out to me a man whom I may appoint governor of Egypt."

I said: "Uthman ibn al-Hakam al-Judhami; he is a man of integrity, and he has a tribe."

He said: "That reached Uthman, and he swore an oath never to speak to al-Layth again."

He said: "And al-Layth held three posts for them under Salih ibn Ali."

Salih said to Amr ibn al-Harith: "I will not leave al-Layth until he holds a post for me."

Amr said: "He will not do it."

Salih said: "I will strike his neck."

Amr came to warn him, and he took charge of the bureau of stipends; he governed the Jazira in the days of Abu Ja'far, and directed the diwan in the days of al-Mahdi.

Abu Amr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Hayri said: "I heard Muhammad ibn Mu'awiya say (Sulayman ibn Harb was beside him):"

"Al-Layth ibn Sa'd went out one day, and they appraised his clothes, his mount, his ring and all he wore at eighteen thousand dirhams, up to twenty thousand."

Sulayman said: "But Shu'ba went out to us one day, and they appraised his donkey, his saddle and his bridle at eighteen dirhams, up to twenty."

From Abu Salih, the secretary of al-Layth, who said:

"We were at Malik's door, and he was withholding hadith; I said: This does not resemble our master."

"Malik heard it, let us in, and said: Who is your master?"

I said: "Al-Layth."

He said: "You compare us to a man to whom I wrote for a little saffron, with which we dyed our children's clothes, and who sold the surplus for a thousand dinars."

Abd al-Malik ibn Shu'ayb ibn al-Layth said: "I heard Asad ibn Musa say:"

"Abd Allah ibn Ali was hunting down the Umayyads to kill them."

He said: "I entered Egypt in a wretched

disguise; I came to al-Layth; when I finished the session, a servant of his followed me with one hundred dinars; yet in my saddlebag was a purse of one thousand dinars; I brought it out and said: I am wealthy; ask for me an audience with the sheikh."

"He asked for the audience; I entered, informed him of my lineage, and apologized for refusing (the gift); he said: It is a gift of piety."

I said: "I dislike to have it returned to me."

He said: "Hand it to whomever you see among the people of hadith."

Qutayba said: "Al-Layth used to ride to the cathedral mosque for all the prayers, and gave charity every day to three hundred poor people."

Sulaym ibn Mansur ibn Ammar: "My father narrated to me, saying:"

"I entered upon al-Layth alone; he drew out from beneath him a purse of one thousand dinars and said: Abu al-Sari, do not let my son know of it, lest it become worthless in his eyes."

Abu Salih, from al-Layth: "Al-Rashid said to me: What makes your land prosperous?"

I said: "The flow of the Nile, and the uprightness of its emir; it is from the head of the spring that murkiness comes: if the spring is clear, the canals are clear."

He said: "You have spoken the truth."

And from Ibn Wazir, who said: "Al-Layth governed the Jazira, and the emirs of Egypt would decide no matter without his consultation."

Abu al-Mu'sad said, and he addressed it to al-Mansur:

"To the servant of Allah, servant of Allah, I have ... counsels I whispered in secret, alone

Commander of the Believers, he guards Egypt ... for its emir is al-Layth ibn Sa'd"

Bakr ibn Mudar said: "There reached us the letter of Marwan ibn Muhammad to Hawthara, governor of Egypt:

"I have sent you a Bedouin, eloquent by nature and by his nature; so gather to find a man who will guide him in judgment and set him right in speech."

"The opinion of the people agreed upon al-Layth ibn Sa'd, though among them were his two teachers: Yazid ibn Abi Habib and Amr ibn al-Harith."

Ahmad ibn Salih said: "A question perplexed al-Rashid; he gathered for it the jurists of the earth, until al-Layth stood out and solved it for him."

Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam said: "Al-Layth narrated to us, saying:"

"I arrived in Mecca and went to Abu al-Zubayr, who handed me two booklets; I returned with them, then said: Had I gone back to him; I asked him: Did you hear all of this from Jabir ibn Abd Allah?"

He said: "Part of it I heard, and part was transmitted to me."

I said to him: "Mark for me what you heard."

"He marked for me what I have here."

I say: "Al-Layth narrated an elevated isnad in his time: he has from Ata from Aisha; from Ibn Abi Mulayka from Ibn Abbas; from Nafi' from Ibn Umar; from al-Maqbari from Abu Hurayra; and this type is the highest found in his time."

Then he is seen descending in some hadiths, not caring given the breadth of his knowledge: he narrated hadiths from al-Hiql ibn Ziyad,

who is much younger than he, from al-Awza'i, from Dawud ibn Ata, from Musa ibn Uqba, from Nafi', client of Ibn Umar.

Abd Allah ibn Salih said: "Al-Layth narrated to us, from Khalid ibn Yazid, from Sa'id ibn Abi Hilal, from Ibn al-Had, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwa:

that he asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the saying of the Most High: {And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphans}, Surah an-Nisa, 3, ..., the hadith.

Abu Salih said: "Al-Layth narrated to us; Khalid ibn Yazid narrated to me; Sa'id (narrated to me), from Ibn Ajlan, that Abu al-Zubayr informed him:

that he saw Ibn Umar, when he raised his head from the first prostration, sitting on the tips of his fingers, and he would say: That is from the Sunna."

Al-Layth alone narrated it.

Only Abu Salih narrates it from him.

A group said: "Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn al-Had, from Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abi Bakr, from Abd Allah ibn Muslim, from Ibn Shihab, from Anas:

that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about al-Kawthar and said: "It is a river my Lord has given me, whiter than milk, sweeter than honey, and in it are birds whose necks are like the necks of camels."

Umar said: "O Messenger of Allah, those birds are blessed indeed!"

He said: "The one who eats them is more delicately nourished than they, Umar."

Those who heard it: Ibn Bukayr, Mansur ibn Salama and Yunus ibn Muhammad, from him; and Abd Allah is the brother of al-Zuhri.

Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Hakam said: "We were in the session of al-Layth; the lentil was mentioned, and Muslama ibn Ali said: Seventy prophets blessed it."

Al-Layth finished his prayer and said: "No, not a single prophet; it is cold and harmful."

Abd al-Aziz al-Darawardi said: "I saw al-Layth, and Rabi'a and Yahya ibn Sa'id would shift aside reverently for him."

Sa'id al-Adam said: "Al-Ala ibn Kathir said: Al-Layth ibn Sa'd is our master, our imam and our scholar."

Ibn Sa'd said: "Al-Layth had taken fatwa upon himself alone in his time."

Yahya ibn Bukayr and Sa'id ibn Abi Maryam said:

"Al-Layth died at mid-Sha'ban of the year 175."

Yahya said: "On a Friday; and he prayed over him:

Musa ibn Isa."

Sa'id said: "He died on the night of Friday."

Khalid ibn Abd al-Salam al-Sadafi said: "I attended the funeral of al-Layth ibn Sa'd with my father, and I never saw a funeral greater than it; I saw all the people clad in grief, condoling one another and weeping; I said: Father, it is as if every one of the people were the kinsman of this funeral."

He said: "My son, you will never see his like."

Abu Bakr al-Khallal the jurist said: "Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Wasil the reciter informed me; al-Haytham ibn Kharija narrated to us; al-Walid ibn Muslim informed us, saying:"

"I asked Malik, al-Thawri, al-Layth and al-Awza'i about the reports concerning the (divine) attributes, and they said: Pass them on as they came."

Abu Ubayd said: "We have not known anyone who interprets these hadiths, and we do not interpret them."

I say: "Abu Ubayd authored the Book of (Gharib al-Hadith) and never once approached the reports of the divine attributes with interpretation, nor did he explain anything of them."

"He stated that he never knew anyone who explained them; if, by Allah, their interpretation had been permissible, or obligatory, their concern for that would have surpassed their concern for the hadiths of legal branches and manners; since they did not approach them with interpretation and affirmed them as they came, it is known that that is the truth from which there is no escape."

Al-Layth narrated from men of his own generation, indeed younger:

He narrated from: Sa'id ibn Bashir, Sa'id ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Jumahi, Shu'ayb

ibn Ishaq al-Dimashqi, Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Majishun, Abu Ma'shar and Hisham ibn Sa'd.

He narrated from: a man, from Ibrahim ibn Sa'd (who is younger than he).

He narrated from his secretary Abu Salih a single hadith.

Such is what has reached us of the biography of al-Layth, in brief, may Allah have mercy on him; praise be to Allah alone.