—no objection to him.
He also said: “The foremost disciples of al-Hasan are Qatadah and Humayd.”
Ibn Khirash remarked: “Reliable, truthful; yet the greater part of his narrations from Anas he actually heard from Thabit.” That is to say, he used to conceal this fact (1).

Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr related from Hammad ibn Salamah, who said: “Humayd took al-Hasan’s books, copied them, and then returned them to him.”

Al-Asmaʿi transmitted from Hammad ibn Salamah, who said: “Humayd left nothing of Thabit al-Bunani’s knowledge without mastering it and hearing it directly from him.”

Al-Tabudhaki narrated from Hammad: “Most of what Humayd reports from Anas he actually heard from Thabit.”

Zuhayr ibn Muʿawiyah said: “When I arrived in Basra I went to Humayd al-Tawil, and with him was Abu Bakr ibn ʿAyyash. I said to him, ‘Narrate to me.’ He replied, ‘Ask!’ I said, ‘I have nothing prepared to ask about.’ So he narrated 30 hadiths to me. I then said, ‘Narrate to me (again).’ He proceeded to relate 49 hadiths. I said, ‘I see you have just about reached your limit.’ He kept saying, at times, ‘I heard Anas…,’ and at other times, ‘Anas said….’ When he had finished I asked, ‘All these reports you have related to me from Anas ibn Malik—did you yourself hear them from him?’ Abu Bakr interjected, ‘Alas! You have missed what you should have secured. You ought to have stopped him at every hadith and questioned him.’ It was as though Humayd felt uneasy, so he said, ‘Whatever I have narrated to you from anyone, it is indeed from that very person.’ Even so, my heart was not satisfied.

Ibn al-Madini reported from Yahya ibn Saʿid, who said: “Whenever you tried to pin Humayd al-Tawil down on a particular hadith of Anas, he would become uncertain about it.”

ʿAffan related from Yahya ibn Saʿid, who said: “I used to ask Humayd about a point from al-Hasan’s legal opinions, and he would say, ‘I have forgotten it.’”

Yusuf ibn Musa transmitted from Yahya ibn Yaʿla al-Muharibi, who said: “Zāʾidah discarded—”