1856.] Alfred von Kr enter' s edition of Wdqidy. 211 



ascribed to it the property of improving the memory. He waa 

 anxious to obtain the best information and spent several years in 

 the company of Ibn Mosayyab (died shortly after A. H. 90) who 

 was then one of the most celebrated traditionists and theologians. 

 He was particularly anxious to obtain information on the origin of 

 the Islam from the descendants of the Refugees and Ancar, but did 

 not neglect to consult their freed slaves and other hangers-on 

 (^1^-*). Zohry like some other men of his age thought it objection- 

 able to write down traditions, but gradually this practice became 

 universal and he gave up this prejudice.* Abu Zinnad (d. in 

 131, aged sixty-six years) relates that he used sometimes to accom- 

 pany him in his walks, and wherever he went he took tablets and 

 a note-book with him, and wrote down whatever he heard. QaliJk b. 

 Kaysan (died about 140) was a fellow-student of his, and as they 

 were consulting with each other on the best method of study, 

 they agreed to take down traditions and they both wrote all the 

 sayings of the prophet which they could gather, subsequently Zohry 

 proposed to take down also the sayings of his companions bearing 

 on dogmas, but on this point they differed. CaliA did not consider 

 them as decisive in law, but Zohry did, and wrote them down. 'Obayd 

 Allah b. 'Omar relates of him that they saw him giving a book of 

 traditions to his pupils, telling them, that they might propagate the 

 contents thereof on his authority. On one occasion he mentioned 

 to Malik a very long tradition, and as he could not remember it he 

 requested him to repeat it, but instead of repeating it, he wrote it 

 down for him. The amount of traditions, poems and other informa- 

 tion which Zohry taught was very great, and when al-Walyd moved 

 he found that the books (.y^, now this term is used for account 

 or office-books) containing what Zohry had taught made several 

 loads for beasts of burden. 



To illustrate the light in which writing was viewed even in the 

 commencement of the second century, I may mention that Sofyan 

 Thawry, died 161, received some traditioi.s from Zohry in writing, 



* Ma'mar apud lbn Sa'd folio 178 and Dzohaby. The tradition does not run 

 alike in both authors, one reads atnr, where the other reads omara, and they alter 

 the other words accordingly, but the sense which I give in the text, results from 

 both readings. I shall give the version, which we find in lbn Sa'd and the Khatyb 

 Baghdady in another article in the original. 



