and whenever they launched into a discussion, I was the one who knew it best.

ʿUbayd Allah ibn Musa said: Dawud ibn Yazid narrated to us: I heard al-Shaʿbi say, “By Allah, if I were correct ninety-nine times and erred once, they would seize upon that one mistake.” (1)

Zakariyya ibn Abi Zaʾidah related from al-Shaʿbi that he said, “It is as though this knowledge has relocated to Khurasan.”

ʿAbd Allah ibn Idris transmitted—from ʿAmr ibn Khalifah, from Abu ʿAmr, from al-Shaʿbi—who said: “The community has split into four factions: those who love ʿAli and hate ʿUthman; those who love ʿUthman and hate ʿAli; those who love them both; and those who hate them both.”
I asked him, “Which group are you with?”
He replied, “I despise the one who despises either of them.” (2)

ʿAbd Allah ibn Idris also said: My uncle narrated to us that al-Shaʿbi told me, “I shall describe those men to you as if you had seen them yourself. Shurayḥ was the most knowledgeable of them in judicial matters, and ʿUbaydah equalled Shurayḥ in that field. As for ʿAlqamah, he attained the knowledge of ʿAbd Allah [ibn Masʿud] and did not go beyond it. Masruq took from each of them, while Rabiʿ ibn Khuthaym surpassed them all in learning and was the most scrupulous in piety.” (3)

Zakariyya ibn Abi Zaʾidah said: “Al-Shaʿbi would pass by Abu Salih (4), seize him by the ear, and say, ‘You presume to interpret the Quran when you cannot even recite the Quran!’”

ʿAbd al-Wahhab ibn Najdah reported: Baqiyyah narrated to us; Saʿid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz narrated to us; Rabiʿah ibn Yazid told me: “I sat with al-Shaʿbi in Damascus during the caliphate of ʿAbd al-Malik. A Companion then related from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said, ‘Worship…’”