Humayd ibn Hilal reported that Abu Qatadah said, “Stay close to this shaykh, for I have never seen anyone whose opinion so closely matched that of ʿUmar as his—meaning al-Hasan (1).”

Anas ibn Malik said, “Consult al-Hasan, for he has remembered what we have forgotten.”

Matar al-Warraq remarked, “When al-Hasan emerged, it was as though he had come straight from the Hereafter, reporting what he had witnessed there (2).”

Mujalid, transmitting from al-Shaʿbi, said, “I never saw anyone whose complexion was darker than al-Hasan’s.”

Amat al-Hakam said, “Al-Hasan used to visit Hittan al-Raqashi, and I have never seen a young man whose face was more handsome than his!”

Jurthumah (3) said, “I saw al-Hasan dyeing his beard yellow every Friday (4).”

Abu Hilal likewise said, “I saw al-Hasan applying yellow dye.”

ʿArim related: “Hammad ibn Salamah told us, ‘I saw al-Hasan dyeing his beard yellow.’”

Qatadah said, “Whenever I set al-Hasan’s knowledge alongside that of any scholar, I always found him superior. If something puzzled him, however, he would write to Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab to ask about it. And I have never sat with a jurist without perceiving al-Hasan’s advantage over him.”

Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani said, “A man would sit with al-Hasan through three consecutive pilgrimage seasons yet never dare ask him a single question out of awe.”

Muʿadh ibn Muʿadh narrated: “I said to al-Ashʿath, ‘You met ʿAtaʾ and you have questions—why did you not ask him?’ He replied, ‘After meeting al-Hasan, everyone else seems small in my eyes.’”

Abu Hilal said, “I was with Qatadah when news came of al-Hasan’s death, so I said:”}」.json