His narrations contain numerous inconsistencies. What Ibn Fuḍayl relates from him is riddled with error and disorder, for he sometimes raised reports that he had originally transmitted from the Successors and ascribed them instead to the Companions.

Al-Nasāʾī said, “He is reliable in his earlier ḥadith, but he later changed. The narrations of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, Shuʿbah, and Sufyān from him are sound.”

Al-Ḥumaydī transmits from Sufyān: “I had heard from ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib long ago. Later he visited us again, and I listened as he related some of the same traditions—but he confused them, so I avoided him and kept my distance.”

Abū Nuʿmān reports from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd: “ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib’s memory deteriorated afterwards, whereas Ḥammād ibn Zayd heard from him before the change set in.”

Abū Quṭn narrates from Shuʿbah: “There are three whose ḥadith leaves me uneasy: ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, and another.”

Ismāʿīl ibn Bahrām relates from Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh: “Whenever I saw ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib and Ḍirār ibn Murrah, I noticed the trace of tears upon their cheeks.”

Ibn Saʿd and others said: “ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib died in the year 136 AH.”

Ahmad ibn Hibat Allāh informed us; ʿAbd al-Muʿizz ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Tamīm ibn Abī Saʿīd, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, Abū ʿAmr ibn Ḥamdān, and Abū Yaʿlā al-Mawṣilī all transmitted to us; Hudbah ibn Khālid related; Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated from ʿAtāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “On the night I was taken up, I passed by a fragrant scent. I asked, ‘What is this fragrance, O Gabriel?’ He replied, ‘This is the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter. She was combing her hair when the comb fell from her hand and she said, “In the name of Allah.” Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Do you mean my father?” She answered, “My Lord and your father’s Lord.” The girl said, “Shall I tell him?” She replied, “Yes, tell him.” Pharaoh then asked her, “Do you have a lord other than me?” She said, “My Lord and your lord is the One who is in heaven.” So he had a copper cauldron shaped like a cow heated for her. She said, “I have a request of you.” He said, “And what is your request?”

He thereupon threw her children into the cauldron one after another until only a small child was left. The child said, ‘Mother, be steadfast, for you are upon the truth.’ (1)