ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī said, “No Companion had followers who preserved his teachings and upheld his legal opinions except three: Zayd, ʿAbd Allah, and Ibn ʿAbbās.” (1)

Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah narrated on the authority of al-Zuhrī:
“It has reached us that when Zayd ibn Thābit was asked about a matter he would first say, ‘Has this actually happened?’ If they replied, ‘Yes,’ he would relate what he knew about it; but if they replied, ‘No,’ he would say, ‘Then leave it until it occurs.’” (2)

Mūsā ibn ʿUlayy ibn Rabāḥ reported from his father:
“When a man asked Zayd ibn Thābit about something, he would say, ‘I adjure you by Allah—has this really taken place?’ If the man said yes, he would speak on the issue; if not, he would remain silent.”

Al-Thawrī transmitted from Ibn Abī Khālid, from al-Shaʿbī:
“Marwān summoned Zayd ibn Thābit and seated some men behind a curtain. He began questioning Zayd while they wrote down his answers. Zayd realized what was happening and said, ‘O Marwān! Is this treachery? I am only expressing my opinion.’” (3)

This was also reported by Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥumayd al-Ruʾāsī from Ibn Abī Khālid with similar wording, adding, “So they erased it.”

Hishām narrated from Ibn Sīrīn:
“Abū al-Walīd took us on pilgrimage—there were seven of us, the sons of Sīrīn. As we passed through Medina he brought us to Zayd ibn Thābit and said, ‘These are the sons of Sīrīn.’ Zayd said, ‘These are from one mother, these two from another mother, and these two from a third mother.’ He said, ‘So what—’”