636 — ʿAlī ibn Abī Maryam also related to me, on the authority of Khālid ibn Yazīd al-Qaranī: Yahyā ibn Matar related to us, saying: I said to ʿĪsā ibn Jābān, “I will sit with these people for an hour.” He replied, “How do you know how long an hour is?” I said, “For a little while.” He said, “Then say it that way.”

He continued: One day, ʿĪsā said to me, “Go in and see whether you can find so-and-so in the mosque.” I went in, then came out and said, “There is no one in the mosque.” He said, “Do not say it that way.” I said, “I did not see anyone in the mosque.” He said, “Say it that way.”