‘I arrived at the Masjid and al-Mughīrah, the Amīr of al-Kūfah said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, saying, ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else, for whoever lies upon me intentionally, then he shall take his seat in the Fire’.’

Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘It is enough of a lie for a man to narrate everything he hears’.

’ Alī bin Hujr as-Sa’dī narrated to us, Alī bin Mushir narrated to us, Muhammad bin Qays il-Asadī informed us, on authority of Alī ibn Rabī’at al-Asadī, on authority of al-Mughīrat ibn Shu’bah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him a similar narration, however he did not mention the words ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else’.

‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.

‘Know that a man who relates everything he hears is not safe, and he can never be an Imām, as long as he narrates everything he hears’.

Abū Bakr bin Abī Shaybah narrated to us, Alī bin Hafs narrated to us, Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, the same as that.

‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.

‘A man cannot be an Imām whose example is followed until he withholds from some of what he hears’.

‘Iyās bin Mu’āwiyah asked me saying: ‘Indeed I see that you love knowledge of the Qur’ān, so recite for me a Sūrah and explain it until I can reflect on what you know’. [Sufyān] said, so I did that, and [Iyās] said to me: ‘Memorize from me what I am about to say to you- Beware of abominations in Ḥadīth for indeed rarely does anyone convey them except he lowers himself and his Ḥadīth are denied’.’

‘It is the case that you do not relate to the people a narration which their minds cannot grasp except that it becomes a Fitnah for some of them’.

‘There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them’.

‘There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations’.’

‘Indeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false Ḥadīth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: ‘I heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating [such and such]…’

‘Indeed in the sea are devils chained up, whom Sulaymān shackled and they are at the point of emerging. Then they will recite a Qur’ān upon the people.’

‘Go back to such-and-such narration‘. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. So [Ibn Abbās] said to him: ‘Go back to such-and-such narration’. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. Thus [Bushayr] said to him: ‘I do not know whether you know all of my Ḥadīth and you reject this one and that, or if you reject all of my Ḥadīth and know this one and that?’ Ibn Abbās said to him: ‘Indeed we would be narrated to on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, at a time when one would not lie upon him, however when the people took the difficult [Munkar] and the docile [Sahīh], we abandoned listening to Ḥadīth from them’.

‘Indeed we would take Ḥadīth and they would be taken on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. However if you take every difficult and docile [narration] then how far that is [from being upright]!

‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’. Then it seemed that Ibn Abbās was not listening to his Ḥadīth and not reflecting on them, so [Bushayr] said: ‘Oh Ibn Abbās, why is it that I see you not listening to my Ḥadīth? I narrate to you on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, however you are not listening’. Ibn Abbās said: ‘Indeed once upon a time we would listen to a man saying, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ rushing towards him with our eyes and harkening towards him with our ears; then when the people took the difficult and the docile we no longer took from people except those whom we knew’.

‘I wrote to Ibn Abbās asking him to write something [pertaining to knowledge] for me and he withheld from me quite a bit, and said: ‘As [if he were] a sincere child, I will write for him something especially suited to his status withholding from him what would not benefit him’. [Ibn Abī Mulaykah] said: ‘So [Ibn Abbās] called for the judgment of Alī [bin Abī Tālib which was a book with which Alī would pass verdicts in Kuffah], and he began to write from it [with respect to the request of Ibn Abī Mulaykah] and he came upon something [not appropriate to the station of Alī regarding the science of verdicts]. So [Ibn Abbās] said: ‘By Allah, Alī did not give judgment according to this unless he was astray’.’

‘A book was brought to Ibn Abbās which contained the verdicts of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, and he effaced but a small amount,’ and Sufyān bin Uyaynah indicated with his arm [the amount].

‘When they narrated these things after Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, a man from the companions of Alī said: ‘May Allah curse them. Did they corrupt every [type of] knowledge!?’

‘There are no Ḥadīth on authority of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, that are confirmed except from the companions of Abd Allah bin Mas’ūd.’

‘Indeed this knowledge is faith, so carefully consider from whom you take your faith’.

‘So-and-so narrated to me like this-and-that’. He said: ‘If your companion is trustworthy, then take from him.’

‘I met one hundred [transmitters] in al-Madīnah, each of whom were reliable. Narrations were not taken from one about who it was said, ‘he is not from its people’.’

‘There is to be no narrating on authority of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, except by trustworthy narrators (Thiqāt)’.

‘The chain of narration is from the Dīn, and were it not for the chain of narration whoever wished could say what he wanted’.

Muhammad bin Abd Allah said, al-Abbās bin Abī Rizmah narrated to me, he said I heard Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] saying: ‘Between us and the people are ‘the legs’ (meaning the chain of narration, i.e. if a Ḥadīth was like a creature)’.

Muhammad said, I heard Abā Ishāq Ibrāhīm bin Īsā at-Tālqānī say, I said to Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak: ‘Oh Abā Abd ir-Rahman! How is the Ḥadīth which goes ‘Indeed from al-Birr after al-Birr is that you pray for your parents after you pray for yourself and you fast for them both after you fast for yourself’? So [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘Oh Abā Ishāq! On whose authority is this?’ I said to him: ‘This is a Ḥadīth from Shihāb bin Khirāsh’. [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘[He is] trustworthy. On whose authority [did he transmit]?’ I said: ‘on authority of al-Hajjāj bin Dīnār’. [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘[He is] trustworthy. On whose authority [did he transmit]?’ I said: ‘He [al-Hajjāj said] the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘Oh Abā Ishāq! Indeed between al-Hajjāj bin Dīnār and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, is a wilderness in which the necks of the mounts are severed, however, there is no difference of opinion regarding charity [offered on behalf of one’s parents]’.

Muhammad said, I heard Alī bin Shaqīq saying, I heard Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak saying in front of the people: ‘Abandon the Ḥadīth of Amr bin Thābit for indeed he would curse the Salaf [i.e., the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them]’.

‘I was sitting near al-Qāsim bin Ubayd Allah and Yahyā bin Sa’īd [bin Qays al-Madanī al-Qāḍī], when Yahyā said to al-Qāsim: ‘Oh Abā Muhammad! Indeed it is gravely harmful for the likes of you to be asked about something from the affair of this Dīn, and then knowledge of it is not found with you, and no relief [in the form of an answer]’ -or- ‘…knowledge and no articulation’. So al-Qāsim said [to Yahyā bin Sa’īd]: ‘Where did that come from?’ [Yahyā] said: ‘It is because you are the son of two Imāms of guidance- a descendent of Abu Bakr and Umar.’ [al-Qāsim] said to him: ‘More harmful than that- according to whoever reflects about Allah- is to speak without knowledge or to take [Ḥadīth] from someone who is not trustworthy’. [Abū Aqīl] said: ‘So [Yahyā bin Sa’īd] was quiet and did not respond to him’.

‘By Allah, indeed it is a grave matter that the likes of you, a descendent of two Imāms of guidance – meaning Umar and Ibn Umar – is asked about a matter and you have no knowledge of it’. So [al-Qāsim] said: ‘By Allah, more grave than that according to Allah, and to whoever reflects about Allah, is to speak without knowledge or to report on authority of one who is not trustworthy’. [Ibn Uyaynah] said that Abū Aqīl Yahyā bin al-Mutawakkil witnessed them both when they said that.

‘I asked Sufyān ath-Thawrī , Shu’bah, Mālik, and Ibn Uyaynah about a man who is not reliable (Thabt) in Ḥadīth, and someone comes and asks me about him, and they said: ‘Inform [others] against him that he is not reliable’.’

‘Ibn Awn was asked about the Ḥadīth of Shahr and he was standing at the threshold of the door, so [Ibn Awn] said: ‘Indeed they criticized Shahr, indeed they criticized Shahr’. Muslim, may Allah have mercy on him, said ‘He means- the tongues of men were busy criticizing him’.’

‘I had met Shahr then abandoned transmitting from him’.

‘Indeed Abbād bin Kathīr, about whose condition you are aware, when he related [narrations] he introduced a grave matter- do you believe that it should be said to the people ‘Do not take from him?’ Sufyān said: ‘Indeed!’ Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] said: ‘So when I was in an assembly and Abbād was mentioned there, I praised him regarding his Dīn and said: ‘Do not take from him.’

Muhammad said, Abd Allah bin Uthmān narrated to us, he said, my father said, Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak said: ‘I ended up in an assembly of Shu’bah, and he said: ‘This is Abbād bin Kathīr so be warned against him.’

‘I was at his door and Sufyān was with [Muhammad bin Sa’īd], then when he came out I asked [Sufyān] about him. So he informed me that he was a liar.’

‘We do not see the righteous more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth’.

Ibn Abī Attāb said: ‘So Muhammad bin Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān and I met and I asked him about it and he said on authority of his father: ‘You will not see the people of good (Ahl ul-Khayr) more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth.’ Muslim said: ‘He was saying that falsehood flows upon their tongues although they do not intend to lie’.

‘I entered upon Ghālib bin Ubayd Allah so he began dictating to me ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me this’ and ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me that’. So he prepared to answer the call of nature and stood up, then I looked in his notebook and in it was ‘Abān narrated to me, on authority of Anas’ and ‘Abān on authority of so-and-so’. So I abandoned [listening to his Ḥadīth] and stood up [to leave]’.

I heard al-Hasan bin Alī al-Hulwānī saying: ‘I saw in one of the books of Affān a Ḥadīth of Hishām Abīl-Miqdām meaning a Ḥadīth of Umar bin Abd il-Azīz. [In it was written] ‘Hishām said: ‘A man said to be Yahyā bin so-and-so narrated to me, on authority of Muhammad bin Ka’b…’ [Al-Hulwānī] said, I said to Affān: ‘They would say Hishām heard it [directly] from Muhammad bin Ka’b’. So [Affān] said: ‘Indeed Hishām was stricken [with accusations of lying] with regards to this Ḥadīth for he would say ‘Yahyā narrated to me on authority of Muhammad’, then he claimed afterwards that he heard it from Muhammad [directly]’.’

‘Who is this man from whom you transmit the Ḥadīth of Abd Allah bin Amr, ‘The day of Fitr is the day of prizes…’?’ [Abd Allah] said: ‘Sulaymān bin al-Hajjāj. Look at what I placed in your hands [of praise] about him’.

Ibn Quhzādh said I heard Wahb bin Zam’ah mentioning about Sufyān bin Abd il-Mālik, he said, Abd Allah –meaning Ibn al-Mubārak- said: ‘I saw Rawh bin Ghutayf, the companion of blood the amount of a Dirham , and I took a seat in one of his audiences. Then I began to become ashamed for my companions to see me sitting with him while his Ḥadīth are disapproved of.’

‘Baqiyyah [bin al-Walīd] is truthful of tongue however he transmits [Ḥadīth] from those who approach [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. are trustworthy] and from those who turn their backs on [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. and are weak]’.

‘al-Hārith al-A’war ul-Hamdānī narrated to me, and he is a liar’.

‘al-Hārith al-A’war narrated to me,’ and he [ash-Sha’bī] was testifying that he was one of the liars’.

‘I memorized the Qur’ān in two years’. Al-Hārith said: ‘The Qur’ān is easy; the revelation [i.e. the secret revelation to Alī in the belief of the Shī’ah] is more difficult ’.

‘I studied the Qur’ān for three years and the revelation for two years’; or he said: ‘…the revelation in three years and the Qur’ān in two years ’.

Hajjāj narrated to me, he said Ahmad- and he is Ibn Yūnus- narrated to me, Zā’idah narrated to us, on authority of Mansūr and al-Mughīrah, on authority of Ibrāhīm that al-Hārith was imputed.

‘Murrah al-Hamdānī heard something from al-Hārith and said to him: ‘sit by the door’. [Hamzah] said: ‘So Murrah went inside and took his sword and al-Hārith sensed evil and left’.

‘Beware of al-Mughīrah bin Sa’īd and Abū Abd ar-Rahīm for they are both liars’.

‘We would catch up with Abū Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulamī and at the time we were young men, so he would say to us: ‘Do not sit with story-tellers other than Abūl-Ahwas and beware of Shaqīq [Abū Abd ar-Rahīm]’. [Muslim] said: ‘This Shaqīq held the view of the Khawārij and is not Abū Wā’il [Shaqīq bin Salamah, the righteous Tabi’ī]’.

‘I met Jābir bin Yazīd al-Ju’fī and did not write [Ḥadīth] from him; he believed in ar-Raj’ah’ [A Rāfiḍī belief regarding Alī returning].

‘Jābir bin Yazīd narrated to us before there took place what happened [i.e. before his false beliefs] ’.

‘The people would transmit from Jābir before there appeared what appeared, then when there appeared what appeared, the people imputed him in his Ḥadīth and some of the people abandoned him’. So it was said to [Sufyān]: ‘What appeared?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Belief in ar-Raj’ah’.

‘I have 70,000 Ḥadīth all of which are on authority of Abū Ja’far on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him’.

‘Indeed I have fifty thousand Ḥadīth that I have not narrated from at all’. [Zuhayr] said: ‘Then that day he related a Ḥadīth and said, ‘This is from the fifty thousand’.