As for the scholars of Kūfah and Basrah, however, he did make slips (1).

He gained no real mastery over the narrations of al-Aʿmash, and his transmissions from Thābit, ʿĀṣim, and Hishām ibn ʿUrwah are confused and contain many errors.

Yaʿqūb al-Fasawī said: Zayd ibn al-Mubārak related to us, from Muḥammad ibn Thawr, from Maʿmar, who said:

“The notebook I had of al-Aʿmash’s reports slipped from my possession. Ever since, I recall his hadith only from memory and relate them by heart.”

Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah said: Aḥmad ibn al-ʿAbbās narrated to us: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn say:

“I was told that the husband of Maʿmar’s wife’s sister was in the company of Maʿn ibn Zāʾidah. Her sister sent over a dānjūj (a sweet dish), and when Maʿmar learned of this after having eaten from it, he rose and vomited.”

Aḥmad ibn Shabbawayh said: ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us, saying:

“Maʿmar once ate some fruit that had been brought to his household. Afterward he inquired about it and was told, ‘It was a gift from So-and-so, the professional mourner (al-nawwāḥah).’ He immediately got up and made himself vomit.”

Maʿn—the governor of Yemen—once sent him some gold. Maʿmar sent it back and said to his family, “If anyone besides us learns of this, my head and yours will never rest under the same roof again.” (2)

Muʾammal ibn Yahab (3) reported that ʿAbd al-Razzaq said, “I wrote down 10,000 hadith from Maʿmar.”

ʿAbd al-Razzaq also said, “We know of no one who kept himself above this wealth except al-Thawrī and Maʿmar.”

We have been informed that Sufyān al-Thawrī once said, “Abū ʿUrwah narrated to us, from Abū al-Khaṭṭāb, from Abū Ḥamzah …,” and he mentioned a hadith. Few people realized it, but it was in fact a report of Maʿmar, from Qatādah, from Anas.