Ahmad ibn Zuhayr related: Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us, ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Shu‘bah, who said:
“I heard al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan remark, ‘Whenever a new crier calls out to them, they run after him.’”

He (Ahmad) also narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Samad narrated to us, Shu‘bah narrated:
“I saw al-Hasan rise to begin the prayer, and he said, ‘These people are in desperate need of enforcers (1).’”

I read this report before Ahmad ibn Muhammad, the ḥāfiẓ of Egypt, and before Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Alawī in Damascus; both of them said:
‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar informed us; ‘Abd al-Awwal ibn ‘Isa informed us; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Afif al-Bushanjī informed us in the year 477 AH; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Shurayḥ al-Ansari informed us in Herat; Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawī informed us in 317 AH; Ahmad ibn Zuhayr told me; Sulayman ibn Abi Shaykh narrated to us; Salih ibn Sulayman told me, saying:

“Shu‘bah was a freedman of the tribe of Azd. He was born and raised in Wāsiṭ, though his scholarly formation was in Kufah. He had a son named Sa‘d, and two brothers—Bashshar and Hammad—both of whom worked as money-changers. Shu‘bah used to say to the students of hadith, ‘Woe to you! Stay in the marketplace, for I am but a dependent on my two brothers.’

“He added: ‘Shu‘bah never ate a single dirham that he had earned himself.’”

Through the same chain al-Baghawī said: My grandfather Ahmad ibn Mani‘ narrated to me; I heard Abu Qaṭn say:
“Never did I see Shu‘bah bow in prayer without thinking he had forgotten to bow, nor sit between the two prostrations without thinking he had forgotten (2).”

‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Shabbūyah also narrated to me; I heard Abu al-Walīd; I heard Shu‘bah say:
“So long as I have flour and sugar cane (3), I care nothing for whatever of this world passes me by.”