Through this same chain up to Abū Nuʿaym, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Abū Yaḥyā al-Rāzī narrated to us; Hannād narrated to us; ʿAbdah narrated from al-Zibriqān, who said:
“I was sitting with Abū Wāʾil when I started reviling al-Ḥajjāj and listing his misdeeds. He said, ‘Do not revile him. How do you know? Perhaps he said, “O Allah, forgive me,” and Allah forgave him.’” (1)

Through this chain as well, Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb al-Ṣaffār narrated to me; Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us, from ʿĀṣim, who said:
“Whenever Abū Wāʾil prayed in his house, he would sob with a choking weep; and even if the whole world were offered to him on condition that he do it while someone could see him, he would not.” (2)

Al-Mughīra said: “Ibrāhīm al-Taymī used to give admonitions in Abū Wāʾil’s home, and Abū Wāʾil would tremble like a bird.”

ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdala said: “Abū Wāʾil would tell his maid-servant, ‘If Yaḥyā—meaning my son—brings you anything, do not accept it; but if my companions bring something, then take it.’ His son was the judge over al-Kunāsah.” (3)

He added: “Abū Wāʾil owned a small hut made of reeds in which he and his horse stayed. Whenever he set out on campaign, he would dismantle it and give the material away in charity; when he returned, he would rebuild it.” (4)

I say: This noble man was a leader in both knowledge and practice.

Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah said: “He died in the time of al-Ḥajjāj, after the battle of al-Jamājim.”

Khalīfah (5) said: “He died after al-Jamājim, in the year 82 AH.”

As for the statement