leaving Hārūn alone to relay the dictation, and Sulaymān would never be asked about any hadith without citing it straight from memory.
On one occasion he was questioned about the narration concerning the Conquest of Mecca; he related it to us entirely from memory. We then rose and went to ʿAffān, who asked, “What did Abū Ayyūb relate to you?”—speaking of him with marked veneration (1).
Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī likewise said: “Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb was rarely satisfied with the teachers of his time; so if you find that he has transmitted from a particular shaykh, know for certain that the man is reliable” (2).
Yaʿqūb al-Fasawī reported: I heard Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb say, “I began pursuing hadith in the year 158 AH. I frequented Shuʿbah, and when he died I sat with Ḥammād ibn Zayd for nineteen years until his death. I still remember the passing of Ibn ʿAwn, and at first I would refuse to write from Ḥammād ibn Zayd any report traced back to Ibn ʿAwn, saying, ‘Here is a man whose death I myself have witnessed.’ Later on, however, I recorded those reports” (3).
Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṣūlī narrated: al-Muqaddamī the judge told us, my father told us, Yaḥyā ibn Aktham told us:
Al-Maʾmūn once said to me, “Whom have you left behind in Basra?”
I described several scholars for him, among them Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb, adding, “He is trustworthy, has an outstanding command of hadith, is intelligent, and exemplifies the utmost dignity and self-restraint.”
The caliph ordered me to bring him. I wrote to Sulaymān accordingly; he travelled and arrived, and it so happened that I ushered him in while Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Thumāmah, and others of their ilk were present. I was reluctant to introduce a man of his stature before such people.
When he entered he gave the salām, which al-Maʾmūn returned, then the caliph raised him to an honored seat, and Sulaymān prayed that Allah grant him glory and success.
Ibn Abī Dāwūd said, “Commander of the Faithful, may we ask the shaykh a question?”
Al-Maʾmūn looked at him, leaving the choice to Sulaymān.
Sulaymān said, “Commander of the Faithful, Ḥammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, saying: The Messenger of Allah said…”