ʿĀṣim, from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿAlī with regard to the Qur’an’s recitation. ʿĀṣim declared that he had never diverged from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān in any aspect of his reading, and that Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, in turn, had never diverged from ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) in any part of his.

Aḥmad ibn Yūnus transmitted from Abū Bakr, who said: “Every element of ʿĀṣim’s recitation is that of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān—except for a single variant.”

Abū Bakr related on the authority of ʿĀṣim, who said: “Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī used to teach people in the Great Mosque. I recited to him, then asked him about a verse, whereupon he accused me of following a partisan inclination. From then on, whenever I entered the mosque, he would point me out and warn his companions about me.”

It is also narrated from Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān, who said: “ʿĀṣim told me, ‘Whatever reading I performed before Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān is precisely what I have taught you; and the reading I taught to Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh is the very reading I had presented to Zirr, who took it from Ibn Masʿūd.’”

Salamah ibn ʿĀṣim said: “ʿĀṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd was a man of refinement, piety, eloquence, and possessed a beautiful voice.”

Yazdād ibn Abī Ḥammād reported: “Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us, Abū Bakr narrated to us, saying: ‘ʿĀṣim did not count alif-lam-meem as a verse, nor ha-mim as a verse, nor kaf-ha-ya-ʿayn-sad as a verse, nor ta-ha as a verse, nor anything of that nature.’”

Ziyād ibn Ayyūb reported: “Abū Bakr narrated to us, saying: ‘When ʿĀṣim stood for prayer he would stand erect, as though he were a staff. On Fridays he would remain in the mosque until the ʿAṣr prayer. He was devoted and righteous, constantly engaged in prayer. Should he be on an errand and spot a mosque, he would say, “Let us turn in here; our need will not escape us,” then he would enter and pray.’”

Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī transmitted from Ṣāliḥ ibn Mūsā, who said: “I heard my father ask ʿĀṣim …”