al-Raḥmān al-Zuhri—the last of that group; through his line of transmission we possess, at a very elevated level, the report entitled “The Description of the Hypocrite” (1).
Al-Khaṭīb (2) said: “Jaʿfar al-Firyābī, the judge of Dinawar, was reliable and authoritative, a true reservoir of learning, a man of insight and understanding. He travelled east and west and met the foremost scholars.”
Abu Ḥafṣ al-Zayyāt recounted: “When al-Firyābī arrived in Baghdad he was received with ṭayyārāt (festive banners) (3) and zabāzib (ceremonial lanterns), and the people were summoned to Manār Street so that they might hear him.”
He added: “Those who gathered were estimated to be about 30,000, while the prompters (mustamlūn) numbered 316.”
Abu ʿAlī ibn al-Ṣawwāf said: “I heard al-Firyābī say, ‘Everyone I met, I heard directly from his own lips—except for two shaykhs: Abū Muṣʿab, whose tongue had become heavy, and al-Muʿallā ibn Mahdī in Mosul. I began writing (hadith) in the year 224 AH.’”
Abu al-Faḍl al-Zuhri said: “When I attended al-Firyābī’s session, there were about 10,000 people with inkwells writing; none of them is still alive except me—this in addition to those who were merely listening and not writing.” He then broke down in tears.
I say: His audition from al-Firyābī took place in 298 AH.
Abu Aḥmad ibn ʿAddī said: “We used to attend Jaʿfar al-Firyābī’s gathering, and there would be 10,000 people present, or even more.”