four men: Ayyub, Yunus, Ibn ʿAwn, and Sulayman al-Taymi.

Muʿadh ibn Muʿadh said, “I heard Ibn ʿAwn remark, ‘No one alive knows al-Hasan more intimately than we do. By Allah, I once went to his house on a sweltering day when he was absent, so I lay down on his bed and fell asleep. When I woke up, he was standing over me, gently fanning me.’”

Ibrahim ibn Rustum narrated from Kharijah ibn Musʿab: “I kept the company of Ibn ʿAwn for 24 years, and to the best of my knowledge the angels never recorded a single sin against him.”

Salam ibn Abi Mutiʿ said, “Among them Ibn ʿAwn had the firmest control of his tongue.”

Muʿadh ibn Muʿadh related: “More than one of the companions of Yunus ibn ʿUbayd told me that he said, ‘For 20 years I have known a man who longs to have just one day of Ibn ʿAwn’s days, yet he cannot manage it.’”

Ibn al-Mubarak said, “I have never seen anyone pray like Ibn ʿAwn.”

Rawh ibn ʿUbadah said, “I have never seen anyone more devoted to worship than Ibn ʿAwn.”

Muʿadh ibn Muʿadh said, “I heard Hisham ibn Hassan declare, ‘Someone unparalleled in my sight has narrated to me.’ I said to myself, ‘Today the virtues of al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin will become plain.’ Then he pointed with his hand to Ibn ʿAwn, who was sitting there.”

ʿUthman al-Batti said, “My eyes have never beheld anyone like Ibn ʿAwn.”

Al-Qaʿnabi reported: “Ibn ʿAwn never became angry; if someone provoked him, he would say, ‘May Allah bless you.’”

It is narrated from Ibn ʿAwn that when his mother once called him, he answered her, but his voice unintentionally rose above hers, so he set two slaves free in atonement.

Bakkar al-Sirini said, “I accompanied Ibn ʿAwn for a long time and never heard him swear an oath—whether lawful or sinful.”

Qurra ibn Khalid said, “We used to admire the scrupulousness of Muhammad ibn Sirin, until Ibn ʿAwn made us forget about him.”

Bakkar ibn Muhammad said, “Ibn ʿAwn would fast one day and break the fast the next.”