Hammād said, “I heard Thābit say, ‘Had I not feared that you would treat me as you treated al-Hasan, I would have related to you some delightful reports. They deprived him of his siesta; they deprived him even of sleep.’

Humayd al-Ṭawīl said: Al-Hasan used to say, “Keep company with people in whatever manner you wish them to keep company with you, for they will accompany you in the same way.”

Ayyūb said, “I have never smelled the aroma of any stew more pleasant than the fragrance that rose from al-Hasan’s pot.” (1)

Abū Hilāl said, “Seldom did we enter upon al-Hasan without finding a pot from which a good scent was wafting.”

Muslim b. Ibrāhīm reported to us, saying that Iyās b. Abī Tamīmah said: “I attended the funeral of Abū Rajāʾ with al-Hasan, who was riding a mule, while al-Farazdaq rode alongside him on a camel. Al-Farazdaq said to him, ‘The people are staring at us, saying: the best of people, and the worst of people.’ Al-Hasan replied, ‘Abā Firās, how many a disheveled, dusty man clothed in two worn garments is better than I, and how many an aged idol-worshiper are you better than! What have you prepared for death?’ He answered, ‘The testimony that there is no god but Allah.’ Al-Hasan said, ‘That testimony has conditions; so beware of accusing a chaste woman of adultery.’ He asked, ‘Is there repentance?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’” (2)

Ḍamrah narrated from Aṣbagh b. Zayd: “Al-Hasan died, leaving behind books that contained knowledge.”

Mūsā b. Ismāʿīl reported: Sahl b. al-Huṣayn al-Bāhilī said, “I wrote to ʿAbd Allah, son of al-Hasan al-Basrī, asking him to send me his father’s books. He wrote back: ‘When my father’s illness became severe he said, “Gather them for me,” so I collected them, not knowing what he intended. When I brought them, he told the servant-girl, “Heat the oven,” and he ordered that the books be burned, all except a single booklet. He sent that booklet to me and told me that his father used to say, “Transmit what is in this sheet.” Later I met him and he recited it to me face to face exactly as the messenger had delivered it.’” (3)