I said, “His point is that al-Awzāʿī’s hadith material is weak because he relies on maqāṭīʿ (reports with interrupted chains) and on the mursal narrations common among the scholars of Syria—both of which are intrinsically weak. He is not suggesting that the Imām himself is weak.”

Al-Walīd ibn Muslim said, “I saw al-Awzāʿī remain seated in his prayer-place, remembering Allah until the sun rose. He would tell us that this was the practice of the early generations; when the sun had risen they would rise to one another and immerse themselves in the remembrance of Allah and in deepening their understanding of His religion.”

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid, reporting from al-Awzāʿī, said: “Al-Zuhrī handed me a parchment and said, ‘Transmit it from me.’ He also handed a parchment to Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr and said, ‘Transmit it from me.’”

Ibn Dhakwān said: Al-Walīd narrated to us that al-Awzāʿī declared, “We act upon it but we do not relate it”—meaning the parchment.

Al-Walīd also said: “Al-Awzāʿī used to remark, ‘This knowledge was once noble; men would convey it to one another in person. When it entered the books, those unworthy of it entered along with it.’”

Ibn al-Mubārak transmitted a similar statement from al-Awzāʿī.

There is no doubt that taking knowledge from loose sheets or by mere ijāzah is susceptible to error—especially in that era, before diacritical dots and vowel markings existed. A single misreading could overturn the meaning, whereas such mistakes do not occur when one learns directly from men’s lips. Likewise, narrating from memory is liable to slips, unlike transmission from a carefully reviewed book (1).

Muḥammad ibn ʿAwf reported: Hishām ibn ʿAmmār told us: I heard al-Walīd say, “It was burned.”