He transmitted ḥadīth from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, ʿAbd Allāh, ʿAmmār, al-ʿAbbās, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, and Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl.

He recited the Qur’an under the guidance of Ibn Masʿūd and ʿAlī.

Thereafter he took the lead in teaching Qur’an recitation; among those who studied with him were Yaḥyā ibn Waththāb, ʿĀṣim ibn Bahdalah, Abū Isḥāq, al-Aʿmash, and others.

Those men—and also al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, ʿAbdah ibn Abī Lubābah, ʿAdiyy ibn Thābit, Abū Isḥāq al-Shaybānī, Abū Burdah ibn Abī Mūsā, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, and many more—reported ḥadīth from him.

Ibn Saʿd (1) said: “He was reliable, and he transmitted a great many traditions.”

ʿĀṣim said: “Zirr was among the most eloquent of Arabs; Ibn Masʿūd used to consult him about the Arabic language.” (1)

Hammām related: ʿĀṣim narrated to us, from Zirr, who said, “I traveled to Medina during the caliphate of ʿUthmān—my only motive being eagerness to meet the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I met Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl and asked him, ‘Did you see the Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘Yes, and I campaigned with him in twelve expeditions.’ (2)

Shaybān the Grammarian transmitted from ʿĀṣim, from Zirr, who said, ‘I set out with a delegation from the people of Kūfah; by Allah, nothing impelled me to undertake that journey except the desire to meet the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’”