and Zayd ibn Aslam, Abū al-Zinād, Abū Ṭuwālah ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Bukht, and a number of others.

Those who reported from him include his son Bishr, Baqiyyah, al-Walīd ibn Muslim, Muḥammad ibn Ḥimyar, Abū Ḥaywah Shurayḥ ibn Yazīd, Abū al-Yamān, ʿAlī ibn ʿAyyāsh, and many others.

He excelled in calligraphy and possessed considerable gravitas.

Muḥammad ibn Ḥimyar heard him say, “I accompanied al-Zuhrī on the journey to Mecca, and we used to study the Qur’an together.”

Abū Dāwūd said, “His father was Dīnār, the freedman of Ziyād.”

ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd said, “I asked Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, ‘What do you say about Shuʿayb’s transmission from al-Zuhrī?’ He replied, ‘He is on a par with Yūnus and ʿUqayl; he wrote down al-Zuhrī’s dictations for the ruler, for he was a scribe.’”

(I say: the ruler meant here is Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik.)

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad said, “I asked my father, ‘How sound is Shuʿayb’s audition from al-Zuhrī?’ He answered, ‘His reports have the feel of dictated narration.’ He then added, ‘The issue concerns those who heard from Shuʿayb himself, for he was rather sparing in hadith.’

“I asked, ‘What about Abū al-Yamān’s hearing from him?’ He said, ‘He would say, “Shuʿayb informed us.”’

“I asked, ‘And his son Bishr’s hearing?’ He said, ‘He would say, “My father narrated to me.”’

“I asked, ‘And Baqiyyah’s hearing?’ He replied, ‘Very little.’

“When death approached him, he gathered a group—Baqiyyah, his son, and others—and said, ‘These are my books; transmit them on my authority.’”

Abū Zurʿah of Damascus said, “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal related to me: ‘I saw Shuʿayb’s books; they were meticulously collated and precisely notated …,’ and Aḥmad spoke of him in glowing terms.

“I asked, ‘How does he rank beside Yūnus?’ He said, ‘Above him.’

“I asked, ‘And beside ʿUqayl?’ He said, ‘Above him.’

“I asked, ‘And beside al-Zubaydī?’ He said, ‘Equal to him.’”

Hanbal said, “I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh say, ‘Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah was scant-…’”