lific and reliable authority; however, al-Amash memorized [the tradition] more cor‌ rectly." Al-Ijli: says that "he [A(>im] had a compilation of traditions and a reading [of the Quran]. He was a reliable authority and one of the leading readers ... and he was a supporter ofUthman." Yaqub b. Sufyan says, "His transmission of the tradi‌ tion contained some confusion; nevertheless, he is reliable." Ibn Ulayya also was critical of him, saying, "Everyone named A im
tion." According to al-NasaI, "He is acceptable," but, according to Ibn Kharash, "His transmission of the tradition contains some deniable things." AI-Uqayli says, "He had no problem except poor memorization of the tradition." Al-Daraqutni also found fault with his memory, while I:Iammad b. Salma reports that "A im
fused toward the end of his life." He died in ١٢٧ or ١٢٨ A.H. (٧٤٥ or ٧٤٦ c.E.).١٩
A im
I:Iafand AbU Bakr.
As for I:Iaf,
to al-Dhahabi, "I:Iafwas reliable in his reading, consistent and accurate, but not so in the transmission of the tradition." I:Iafhimself said that he "did not depart from
A ims
٥٤, where I:Iafread the word as {iu fin God is He who shaped you out of weak‌
ness, whereas A im A.H. (٧٠٨ c.E.) and died in
١٨٠ A.H. (٧٩٦ C.E.).٢٠
Ibn Abi I:Iatim reported from AbdAllah, who had reported from his father: "His
[I:Iaf s]
and others have related, on the authority of Ibn MuIn, that he was not reliable. Ibn al-Madini says that "I:Iafwas weak in the tradition, and I intentionally avoided [trans‌ mitting] from him." Al-Bukhari states that he was rejected by the compilers [of bio‌ graphical dictionaries]. A similar opinion was held by Muslim. Al-NasaI considered him untrustworthy and [said] that the traditions he transmitted were not recorded. Salil). b. Mul).ammad says, "His traditions were not recorded, and all of them were objectionable." Ibn Kharash went as far as declaring him "a liar, rejected for fabri‌ cating traditions." Ibn I:Iayyan said: "He used to change the chains of transmission, and even fabricated chains for those traditions that did not have ones." Ibn al-Jawzi, in his-section on the fabrication of traditions, quotes Abd al-Ral).man al-Muhdi, who said, "I solemnly declare that it is not permissible to transmit [traditions] on his [I:Iaf s]
of those whose traditions have disappeared. What he transmitted contained objec‌
tionable traditions."٢١
As in the case of other readers of the Quran, the authorities are not in agreement about who transmitted from him.
As for AbU Bakr, his full name was Shuba b. Ayyash b. Salim al-I:Iannat al-Asadi al-KUfi. According to Ibn al-Jazari, "He presented his reading for critical approval to A im
but stopped teaching seven years before his death, and some say even longer than
that. He was a great religious authority, learned, and active in devotion. He used to say, I am half of Islam. He was one of the great scholars of prophetic tradition. When he was on his deathbed and his sister was crying, he asked her: What makes you cry? Look at that comer. I completed eighteen thousand recitations of the Quran