Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī reported: al-Aṣmaʿī narrated to us. He said:

“Whenever Shuʿbah came forth with a fair hadith, he would cry out, ‘Ah!’—overawed by its quality.”

Surayj ibn Yūnus reported: Hushaym narrated to us. He said:

“I entered the mosque and found Shuʿbah sitting by himself, so I sat down beside him. He lifted his leg, kicked me, and said, ‘You went looking for Manṣūr; when you could not find him among the columns you came to me instead!’”

Abū al-Walīd said: “I asked Shuʿbah about a hadith, and he replied, ‘By Allah, I will not relate it to you.’ I asked, ‘Why not?’ He said, ‘Because I heard it only once.’”

Al-Ṭayālisī related from Shuʿbah: “I have never seen anyone in Kūfah like Zubayd ibn al-Ḥārith.”

Umayyah ibn Khālid said: “I said to Shuʿbah, ‘Abū Shaybah has narrated to us—from al-Ḥakam, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā—that seventy men from the veterans of Badr were present at Ṣiffīn.’

He replied, ‘Abū Shaybah has lied. I went over this with al-Ḥakam, and we found no one from the people of Badr who attended Ṣiffīn except Khuzaymah ibn Thābit.’

I said, ‘But ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir was there, and Imām ʿAlī as well.’”

Al-Aṣamm reported: al-Ṣāghānī narrated to us. He said:

Shuʿayb ibn Ḥarb said: “I heard Shuʿbah say, ‘To be brought forward and have my neck struck is dearer to me than to transmit from Abū Hārūn al-ʿAbdī.’”

Bishr ibn ʿUmar al-Zahrānī said: “I heard Shuʿbah say, ‘To fall from the sky—or from the top of this castle—is dearer to me than to say, “al-Ḥakam said,” about something I never heard from him.’”

I said, “By Allah, that is true scrupulousness.”

Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād said: “I heard ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī say: I said …”