—Hishām ibn ʿAmmār as their authority in Qur’an recitation and in the transmission of reports. He himself died three years later.

I say: Hishām was a man of great stature and far-reaching fame, yet others were more accurate and more upright than he—may Allah Most High have mercy on him.

Abū Aḥmad ibn ʿAdī states in his Kāmil: I heard Qusṭanṭīn ibn ʿAbd Allāh, the client of al-Muʿtamid, say:

“I was present at a lesson held by Hishām ibn ʿAmmār. The mustamli (the prompter who repeats the text for the scribes) asked, ‘Whom did you mention?’ He replied, ‘One of our shaykhs has narrated to us,’ and then he nodded off. The mustamli asked again, ‘Whom did you mention?’ and he dozed off once more. The mustamli then said, ‘You will get no benefit from him.’ So they gathered some money for him and gave it to him; after that he dictated to them until they themselves became weary.”

Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rāshid ibn Maʿdān al-Iṣbahānī said: I heard Ibn Wārah say, “For a time I resolved to abstain from transmitting the ḥadīth of Hishām ibn ʿAmmār because he used to sell ḥadīth.”

I say: It is astonishing that this eminent Imām, despite his lofty standing, should have done such a thing when he was not in need of it; no doubt he acted according to what he deemed permissible.

Ṣāliḥ ibn Muḥammad Jazara said: Hishām ibn ʿAmmār would accept payment for ḥadīth and would not relate anything unless he was paid. I entered to see him, and he said, “Abū ʿAlī, relate to me a ḥadīth from ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd.” I said, “Ibn al-Jaʿd narrated to us; Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī narrated to us, from al-Rabīʿ, from Abū al-ʿĀliyah, who said: ‘Teach for free just as you were taught for free.’” He said, “Are you taking a jab at me, Abū ʿAlī?” I replied, “I am not taking a jab; I had you in mind.”

Ṣāliḥ also said: I had stipulated with Hishām that I would read to him, selecting a single sheet from my notes, so I would take the Pharaonic paper (1) and write in a densely packed hand, and when night fell I would read—