999 - Ahmad ibn al-Husayn wrote to me, saying: Bakr ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from his father, from Abu 'Abd Allah [Ahmad ibn Hanbal], that he asked him about the Hadith: 'Whoever cheats us is not of us,' what is its implication? He replied: 'I do not know [anything] except what has been narrated,' and he mentioned the statement of 'Abd al-Rahman [ibn Mahdi], saying: 'He means that if he did not cheat, he would be like the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).'