ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī said, “We were with Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd when a man recited Sūrah al-Dukhān; Yaḥyā collapsed and lost consciousness.”

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal remarked, “If anyone could have prevented such a swoon, it would have been Yaḥyā.”

Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd said, “To the best of my knowledge I never saw my grandfather laugh aloud; he never entered a public bath, applied kohl, or used scented oil.”

ʿAbbās al-Dūrī relates from Yaḥyā: “Whenever the Qur’an was recited in his presence he would fall forward until his face touched the ground.” He also said, “I have never entered a privy without a woman accompanying me,” meaning that his heart was too faint to go alone.

Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn reported, “A neighbor of his once began insulting and reviling him, saying, ‘That Khūzī!’ while we were in the mosque. Yaḥyā started to weep, repeating, ‘He is right. Who am I? What am I?’”

Ibn Maʿīn added, “Yaḥyā used to carry a string of prayer beads; he would slip his hand beneath his clothing and quietly glorify Allah.”

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī said, “People once disagreed in the presence of Shuʿbah and asked him to appoint an arbiter. He answered, ‘I am content with al-Aḥwal’—meaning al-Qaṭṭān. Al-Aḥwal came and judged against Shuʿbah, who exclaimed, ‘Who can endure your criticism, O Aḥwal (1)?!’”

Ibn Saʿīd concluded, “Yaḥyā was reliable, trustworthy, eminent, and an authoritative proof.”