The Life of Abdullah Ibn Mubarek

I looked to the Sahabah and I looked to Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, but I didnt see a virtue for them over him, except in their companionship of the Prophet sallallahu ala!hi "a sallam# and their battles "ith him$% Suf!an ibn &!a!nah rahimahullah# 'p( )*Ismail ibn A!!ash, the scholar of al-Sham said, +here is none like Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak on the face of this earth, nor do I kno" of a sin(le (ood characteristic created b! Allah except that ,e has put it in Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak$% 'p( -*It is narrated that .akari!!a ibn Adi said, i sa" Ibn al-Mubarak in a dream and so I said /hat has !our 0ord done "ith !ou1 ,e said, ,e has for(iven me due to m! 2ourne!s in search of ,adith$ Al-3ihlah 4 +alab al-,adith, b! al-5hatib al-6a(hdadi# 'p( 7*8ne interestin( incident "hich sho"s this extertion of his is "hen he departed Mar"and travelled all the "a! to the cit! of 3a! a distance of 9:::km approx$# in order to hear and record the statement of al-,asan al-6asri narrated b! ,arun ibn al-Mu(hirah; uarter of "hom he narrated narrated narrations from$ ,e sa!s, I took kno"led(e from four thousand scholars and I narrated from a thousand of them$ +adhkirat al-,u?adh# 'p( A*Al-Muna"i mentions an account of "hen Ibn al-Mubaraks son died, a Ma2oosi .oroastrian# came to pa! his condolences sa!in(, +he intelli(ent one must do toda! "hat the i(norat one "ill do after a "eek has passed i$e$ be patient#$ Ibn al-Mubarak said to those around him, /rite this do"nB Ca!th al-Dadir, b! al-Muna"i# 'p( A*,e is reported to have said, A person does not stop bein( kno"led(eable so lon( ashe seeks kno"led(e$ +he moment he thinks that he is kno"led(eable, he becomes i(norant$ Ih!a &lum al-uires the presence of someone to 2ud(e bet"een them$Kafar; /hat about Abu Gua!m and Abdur-3ahman1,e said, +hat re>uires someone to 2ud(e bet"een them$Kafar; /hat about al-Ash2ai1,e said, Al-Ash2ai has died and his narrations have died alon( "ith him$Kafar; /hat about Ibn al-Mubarak1Ibn Main said, ,e is the Amir al-Muminin leader of the faithful in ,adith#$ +arikh 6a(hdad# 'p( 97-9A*+he Prophet sallallahu ala!hi "a sallam# said, I dont see ho" the seeker of Paradise can sleep, and I dont see ho" the one Neein( from ,ell4re can sleep$ 3eported b! al-+irmidhi "ho classed it as "eak, but al-+abarani recorded another cahin of this hadith "hich is classed ,asan (ood## 'p( OI*Ibrahim ibn Shamas; I sa" one "ho possessed the most understandin( 4>h#, one "ho possessed the most piet! and one "ho possessed the stron(est memor!$ As forthe one "ho possessed the most understandin(, that "as Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak$ As for the one "ho "as the most pious, then that "as al-Cudha!l ibn I!ad and as forthe one "ho had the stron(est memor!, then that "as /aki ibn al-Karrah$ +arikh 6a(hdad# 'p( O-* ,e Ibn al-Mubarak# once said, /hoever is miserl! "ith kno"led(e "ill be aPicted "ith one of three thin(s; Lither death "hich takes a"a! his kno"led(e, or he "ill for(et, or he ends up bein( "ith the 3ules and so his kno"led(e leaves him$ 'p( OJ*It "as once said to Ibn al-Mubarak, /h! do !ou narrate from Said and ,isham al-