except the desire to meet the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

When I reached Madinah I went to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and the two of them became my close companions and conversation partners. Ubayy said, “Zirr, do you mean to leave no verse of the Qur’an without asking me about it?” (1)

Shuʿbah relates—from ʿĀṣim—from Zirr, who said: “I was in Madinah on an Eid day when suddenly ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) appeared, a large, bald man, as though mounted on a lofty steed.”

Hammād ibn Zayd transmits—from ʿĀṣim—from Zirr, who said: “I attached myself to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf and to Ubayy.”

ʿĀṣim then remarked: “I encountered people who would ‘take the night as their camel’: they wore saffron-dyed clothes and drank nabidh prepared in large earthen jars, considering there to be no harm in it. Among them were Zirr and Abū Wāʾil (2).”

Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated—from ʿĀṣim: “Abū Wāʾil inclined toward ʿUthmān, while Zirr ibn Hubaysh inclined toward ʿAlī, yet I never saw either of them utter a word against the other until they both died.

“Zirr was older than Abū Wāʾil, so whenever they sat together Abū Wāʾil would not speak in Zirr’s presence—that is, he deferred to him out of respect for his age.”

Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid said: “I saw Zirr ibn Hubaysh when his jawbones were trembling from old age; he had reached one hundred and twenty years (3).”

ʿĀṣim also said: “I have never seen anyone whose recitation surpassed that of Zirr.”

Abū ʿUbayd stated: “Zirr died in the year 81 AH.”

Khalīfah (4) and al-Fallās said: “He died in the year 82 AH.”

Isḥāq al-Kawsaj reported from Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn: “Zirr is reliable.”