The Trustworthiness of Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn
Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, the great Hafiz and Shaykh of Islam, was a partner of Abd al-Salam ibn Harb al-Malaa’i. They ran a shop in Kufa selling fabrics and other goods, as was common among many early scholars who relied on their own earnings for sustenance (10/142).
Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Ramadi said: “I went out with Ahmad (ibn Hanbal) and Yahya (ibn Ma’in) to Abd al-Razzaq as their servant. When we returned to Kufa, Yahya ibn Ma’in said, ‘I want to test Abu Nu’aym.’ Ahmad said, ‘Do not do so; the man is trustworthy.’ Yahya replied, ‘I must.’ He took a piece of paper and wrote thirty hadiths, placing at the head of every ten a hadith that was not from Abu Nu’aym’s narrations. They then went to Abu Nu’aym, who came out and sat on a clay bench. Ahmad ibn Hanbal sat him on his right, Yahya on his left, and I sat below the bench.
Yahya took out the paper and read ten hadiths to him. When he reached the eleventh, Abu Nu’aym said, ‘This is not from my narrations; strike it out.’ He then read the second set of ten, and Abu Nu’aym remained silent until the second hadith, when he said, ‘This is not from my narrations; strike it out.’
When he read the third set and reached the third hadith, Abu Nu’aym’s expression changed, and his eyes turned red. He turned to Yahya and said, ‘As for this one (pointing to Ahmad), his piety is too great to do such a thing. As for this one (pointing to me), I am too insignificant for him to do this to. But this is your doing, O wrongdoer!’ He then kicked Yahya with his foot, throwing him off the bench, stood up, and went inside his house. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said to Yahya, ‘Did I not warn you and tell you that he is reliable?’ Yahya replied, ‘By Allah, his kick is more beloved to me than this entire journey.'”
From al-Husayn ibn Amr al-Anqazi, who said: “A man knocked on Abu Nu’aym’s door. Abu Nu’aym asked, ‘Who is it?’ The man replied, ‘It is me.’ Abu Nu’aym asked, ‘Who is “me”?’ The man said, ‘A man from the children of Adam.’ Abu Nu’aym came out, kissed him, and said, ‘Welcome! I did not think anyone from this lineage remained.'”
Abu Nu’aym said: “I often marvel at Aisha’s statement, ‘Those who provided for us have passed away.’ But I say:
‘The people have gone, leaving us behind,
Among the worst of humankind.
We count them as part of our number,
But when examined, they are not people.
Whenever I seek something from them,
They preempt me with despair before I even ask.
They weep for me until I wish
I could escape from them unscathed.'”
(Siyarul A’laamin Nubalaa: 10/142)
