He said, “I heard Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth declare, ‘These people advocate taking up the sword’—I presume he meant Ibn Ḥayy and his followers.”
Bishr then remarked, “Show me anyone in your whole generation—apart from a very few—who does not advocate the sword. They do not acknowledge the [Friday] Prayer either.”
He added, “Zāʾidah used to sit in the mosque warning the people against Ibn Ḥayy and his companions.”
He said, “They were indeed advocates of the sword.”
Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Farrāʾ related: “I repeated to Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ something Wakīʿ had told me about the turmoil, and he said, ‘That is just like his teacher,’ meaning al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥayy. I asked Yūsuf, ‘Do you not fear that this is backbiting?’ He replied, ‘Why, you fool! I am better for these men than their own fathers and mothers. I am preventing people from acting on the innovations they have introduced, so their sins will not be heaped upon them; anyone who flatters them harms them even more.’”
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said: “I heard Abū Maʿmar say, ‘We were in the presence of Wakīʿ, and whenever he narrated a hadith from Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ we would pull back our hands and refrain from writing. He asked, “Why are you not recording Ḥasan’s hadith?” My brother gestured with his hand like this—indicating that Ḥasan advocated the sword—and Wakīʿ fell silent.’”
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā said: “I heard my grandfather say, ‘I was reciting to ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ, and when I reached Allah’s words, “So do not hasten against them” (Maryam 19:84), Ḥasan collapsed, bellowing like an ox. ʿAlī went to him, lifted him, wiped his face, sprinkled water on him, and leaned him against himself.’”
Abū Saʿīd al-Ashajj said: “I heard Ibn Idrīs—when the swooning of Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ was mentioned to him—say, ‘Sufyān’s smile is dearer to us than Ḥasan’s swooning.’”
Abū Usāmah said: “I came to Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, and his companions kept repeating, ‘There is no god but Allah, there is no god but Allah…’ I asked, ‘What is the matter—have I fallen into disbelief?’ He replied, ‘No, but they resent…’”