And he also said, “Reproach is the key that unlocks the hearts of difficult people, and reproach is better than harboring rancor.”

Hishām narrates from al-Ḥasan, who said:
Al-Ahnaf once noticed a silver dirham in a man’s hand and asked, “Whose is this?”
The man replied, “It is mine.”
Al-Ahnaf said, “It is not really yours until you spend it seeking divine reward or earning someone’s gratitude.” Then he quoted:
“You are the servant of wealth while you hoard it;
but when you spend it, the wealth becomes yours.” ⦗1⦘

It is related that whenever anyone visited al-Ahnaf, he would make room for him; and if no room could be made, he would at least act as though he were making space.

He also said, “Keep our gatherings clear of talk about women and food. I loathe a man who is forever describing what concerns his loins and his belly.”

It is reported that he once spoke to Musʿab on behalf of two prisoners, saying, “May Allah set the emir aright: if they have been jailed unjustly, justice is sufficient for them; and if they have been jailed justly, then pardon is sufficient for them.”

He further said, “It does not befit a ruler to give way to anger, for anger in the hands of one who holds power begets both the sword and regret.”

Al-Aṣmaʿī said that ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr related:
“Al-Ahnaf came to us in Kūfah with Musʿab, and I never saw a single trait people usually criticize without finding it in him. He was slight of build, small-headed, his teeth overlapped, his chin was crooked, his cheekbones jutted out, his eyes were sunken, his side-burns sparse, and his legs were knock-kneed—yet whenever he spoke, he dispelled every unfavorable impression about himself.”

(Al-ṣaʿl means having a small head; al-bakhaq denotes sunken eyes; and al-ḥanaf is when each foot turns inward toward the other.)