Yaʿqūb al-Fasawī said in his History: Sulaymān al-Kūfī related to me, saying:

“I said to Abū al-Yamān, ‘How is it that when you mention Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr you say, “Ṣafwān narrated to us,” and when you mention Abū Bakr ibn Abī Maryam you say, “Abū Bakr narrated to us,” yet when you mention Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah you say, “Shuʿayb informed us”?’

“He became angry; but when he had calmed down he said to me, ‘Shuʿayb fell ill with the sickness in which he died. Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd, Muḥammad ibn Ḥimyār, and a number of men from Ḥimṣ—of whom I was the youngest—visited him and said,

‘We have wished to write from you for a long while, but you always refused us.’

“So he called for a basket and said, ‘Everything in this consists only of what I heard from al-Zuhrī. I myself wrote it down, reviewed it, and it has never left my hand. If you wish, copy it.’

“They asked, ‘What wording should we employ?’

“He replied, ‘Say: “Shuʿayb imparted it to us,” or “Shuʿayb informed us.” If you prefer to write it through my son, I have already recited it to him.’ ”

Abū Zurʿah of Damascus said: Abū al-Yamān narrated to us:

“We entered upon Shuʿayb during his final moments. He said, ‘These are my books: whoever wishes to take them, let him take them; whoever wishes to collate against them, let him collate; and whoever wishes to hear them read, let him hear them from my son, for he has heard them from me.’ ”

I say: This shows that most of what Abū al-Yamān transmits from him is by ijāzah (authorization), which he expresses with the formula “he informed us.” Abū al-Yamān’s reports from him are recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs with precisely that wording. Anyone who conveys knowledge by ijāzah from someone like Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah—given the meticulous care with which Shuʿayb wrote, verified, and preserved his books—offers a narration that is probative in the view of the critical scholars, provided the recipient of the ijāzah is himself trustworthy and firmly established. When this condition is absent, one must ascertain the accuracy, careful collation, and sound editing of the authorized copy, or the precision of either the grantor or the recipient; otherwise the narration drops below the level that permits it to be cited as proof. If all these qualities are lacking, the narration is not deemed sound by the majority.

As for Shuʿayb—may Allah have mercy on him—his books were of the highest beauty and precision,