1794 - Sulayman ibn al-Ash'ath informed us, saying: I heard Ahmad being asked, "Is there any dispensation (rukhsa) for a man to say, 'The speech of Allah,' and then remain silent?" He said: "Why should he remain silent?" He said, "If it were not for what the people have fallen into, silence would have been sufficient for him. But since they have spoken about what they have spoken, why should they not speak?" He said: And I heard Ahmad, when it was said to him, "So-and-so narrated from you that you commanded him to refrain (waqf)," he said: "I did not even verify my knowledge of him until later. It is possible that a person might ask me about a matter, and I refrain [from answering], but I do not refrain except out of dislike for speaking about it."