Ibn Numayr narrated—through Hisham, from his father—who said:
“It used to be said: the people who value a scholar the least are his own family.”

Maʿmar reported—through Hisham, from his father—that ʿUrwah once burned some of his books, which contained jurisprudence, and then said, “I would gladly have ransomed them with my family and my wealth.” (1)

Ibn Abī al-Zinād transmitted—from his father—who said:
“I have never seen anyone with a richer store of poetry than ʿUrwah.” Someone remarked to him, “How extensive is your knowledge of verse!” He replied, “Whatever I quote is nothing compared to what ʿĀʾishah used to recite; scarcely would anything happen to her without her responding with a line of poetry.” (2)

Ḍamrah reported—from Ibn Shawdhab—who said:
“ʿUrwah would read a quarter of the Quran each day, looking into the musḥaf, and he would stand in prayer with it during the night. He never left off this practice except on the night his leg was amputated—al-ākilah (gangrene) had struck it, so it was sawn off. When the season of fresh dates arrived he would knock a breach in the wall of his orchard, give people permission to enter, and they would come in, eat, and carry some away.” (3)(4)

Al-Zubayr, in his work Genealogies, related: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Hudayrī told us—on the authority of al-Mughīrah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Makhzūmī—from his father, from Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām—who said:
“Knowledge belongs to one of three kinds of people: a man of noble descent who adorns his pedigree with it; a devout man who guides his religious life by it; or someone who seeks the patronage of a ruler and presents his knowledge as a gift. I know of no one who met these conditions more completely than ʿUrwah and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.” (5)(6)