Muḍar said: al-Ḥasan used to call Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ “the adornment of the Qur’an-reciters.”

It is related from Ibn Wāsiʿ: “A man may weep for 20 years while his wife, living right beside him, never knows.”

Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Dawraqī narrated: Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā told me, Mukhallad ibn al-Ḥusayn told me, from Hishām, who said: Mālik ibn al-Mundhir, the governor, summoned Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ and said, “Take a seat on the bench of judgment.”

When he refused, the governor pressed him and declared, “You will sit, or I shall have you flogged 300 lashes.”

He replied, “If you do that, you have the power. Yet a humiliation in this world is better than a humiliation in the Hereafter.”

He also reported: One of the princes sent for him and wanted him for some appointment, but he declined. The prince said, “You are a fool.”

Muḥammad commented, “People have been saying that to me since I was a child.”

It is narrated that a storyteller who used to sit near Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ once said, “Why is it that I see hearts which never humble themselves, eyes that never shed tears, and skins that never shiver?”

Muḥammad answered, “My dear man, I see that the fault comes from you. When a reminder issues from the heart, it lands upon the heart.”

It was said that Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ would fast continuously yet conceal it.

Saʿīd ibn ʿĀmir reported: Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ entered upon the governor Bilāl ibn Abī Burdah. The governor invited him to eat, but he excused himself. Bilāl grew angry and said, “I see that you dislike our food.”

He replied, “Do not say that, O governor. By Allah, your best men are dearer to us than our own children.”

Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Khayr informed us, from Abū al-Makārim; Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥaddād informed us; Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn Muslim narrated from Muḥammad ibn Wāsiʿ, from Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, who said:

“We were allowed the benefit of temporary marriage (mutʿah) with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on two occasions, then a man later spoke his own opinion about it as he pleased.” (1)