thing. Know, therefore, that the prohibition of the minor and the major sin are not on the same footing; God only forbade both so that His proof might be fully established against His creatures and so that no one would turn away from His command. Yet beyond His threat lie His pardon and His generosity.

He then recited:
“My cousin shall never—as long as I live—fear the force of my assault,
nor shall I quail before the charge of one who brandishes threats;

and I—though I may threaten him and promise him—
am one who breaks my threat yet fulfills my promise.” (1)

ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd remarked, “You have spoken truly. The Arabs pride themselves on keeping both promise and threat, and a man may be praised for adhering to each. Listen to what they say:

“He neither breaks a promise nor a threat,
nor does he go to bed while his vengeance is still undone.”

This tallies with the Almighty’s words: “The companions of Paradise will call out to the companions of the Fire: ‘We have indeed found true what our Lord promised us; have you found true what your Lord promised you?’ They will answer, ‘Yes.’”

Abu ʿAmr said, “The first statement accords with the reports of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the hadith clarifies the Quran.”

Al-Asmaʿi relates that Abu ʿAmr told him:
“Beware of the noble man when you have insulted him, of the ignoble man when you have honored him, of the intelligent man when you have embarrassed him, of the fool when you jest with him, and of the profligate when you associate with him. It is contrary to good manners to reply to one who has not addressed you, to question one who will not answer you, or to speak to one who does not listen to you.”

Al-Asmaʿi said: I asked Abu ʿAmr, “What is your name?” He replied, “Zabbān.”

Another report from al-Asmaʿi states: “Abu ʿAmr has no personal name.”

As for Yaḥyā al-Yazidi, he transmitted that Abu ʿAmr’s name was al-ʿUryān; another report from him says that his name was Yaḥyā.

Al-Asmaʿi also said: I heard him declare, “I was already a leading authority while al-Hasan was still alive.”

Abu Ḥātim narrates from Abu ʿUbaydah that Abu ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlaʾ said, “I myself inserted this line into al-Aʿshā’s poem, and I ask Allah’s forgiveness for it:”