He said to me, “Do you remember the day I came in to al-Aḥwal while you were with him and al-Zuhrī was maligning me? Can you recall any of the words he used?”
I replied, “Commander of the Believers, I remember the day you entered and I could plainly see the anger on your face.”
He said, “The servant you saw standing over Hishām’s head was passing the whole conversation on to me while I was still at the door before I came in to you, and he told me that you yourself had not said a word.”
I answered, “That is correct.”
He went on, “I had pledged to Allah that if ever He granted me power on a day like that, I would kill al-Zuhrī.”
This was narrated by al-Wāqidī from Abū al-Zinād, from his father.
Al-Wāqidī also said: Ibn Akhī al-Zuhrī related to us, saying, “My uncle and Ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik had arranged to meet, and al-Walīd was eager for the chance to seize him.”
Al-Walīd ibn Muslim reported: Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz told us, conveying from al-Zuhrī, that he said to Hishām, “Settle my debt.”
Hishām asked, “How much is it?”
He replied, “Eighteen thousand dinars.”
Hishām said, “I fear that if I pay it for you, you will fall into debt again.”
Al-Zuhrī answered, “The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘A believer is not stung from the same hole twice.’”
So Hishām paid the debt for him.
Yet al-Zuhrī did not die before incurring a similar sum once again; Shaghb (1) was sold, and the debt was cleared.
Al-ʿAdanī narrated: Sufyān said, “I saw Mālik ibn Anas and ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar come to al-Zuhrī in Mecca. They spoke with him, requesting permission to hear from him. Al-Zuhrī said, ‘I intend to travel to Medina, and my route will pass by you both; come to me, God willing.’
“It was ʿUbayd Allāh who did the talking while Mālik remained silent beside him, and they heard nothing from him in Mecca.”
Maʿmar said, “I came to al-Zuhrī at al-Ruṣāfa and sat with him.”
Al-Layth transmitted from Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Jabalah, who said, “I was travelling with Ibn Shihāb when he fasted on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ. Someone said to him, ‘Why do you fast today while you break the fast during Ramadan when travelling?’
“He replied, ‘Ramadan can be made up on other days, but ʿĀshūrāʾ, once missed, is gone.’”