ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd (1) said: al-Masʿūdī informed us, on the authority of Abū Ḥuṣayn, who related that Shurayḥ was once asked about a sheep that ate flies. He answered, “Its fodder costs nothing, and its milk is wholesome.”
Imām Aḥmad (2) reported: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, from Abū Ḥayyān al-Taymī, who related from his father: Whenever a cat belonging to Shurayḥ’s household died, he would order that it be thrown into the inner courtyard of his house. He had no drainage outlet (3) that emptied into the street; everything drained into his own courtyard, doing this lest the Muslims be harmed—that is, he would dispose of the cat inside so that its stench would not offend anyone. Likewise, the roof-spouts of his house all discharged into the courtyard so that passers-by among the Muslims would suffer no inconvenience.
Al-Riyāshī (4) said: A man once remarked to Shurayḥ, “Your condition is truly disgraceful.” Shurayḥ replied, “I see that you recognize Allah’s favor upon other people, yet you are unaware of it in yourself.”
Al-Ṭabarānī (5) reported: Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Thaʿlab (6) the grammarian narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shabīb said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ziyād ibn Simʿān told me that Shurayḥ wrote to a brother of his who had fled from the plague:
“To proceed: You, the place where you are, and the place you left are all under the gaze of One whom neither the seeker wearies nor the fugitive escapes. The place you abandoned (7) has never gone beyond the reach of its destined decree, nor can anyone’s days wrong him. You and they are spread upon the same carpet, and escape from the All-Powerful is ever close at hand.”
Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah (8) reported: ʿAlī ibn Mushir narrated to us, from al-Shaybānī, from al-Shaʿbī, from Shurayḥ, that ʿUmar wrote to him:
“When something reaches you from the Book of Allah, judge by it, and do not let your desire for what is not in the Book of Allah distract you. Then look to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and judge by it. If a matter comes to you that is in neither the Book of Allah nor the Sunnah of His Messenger, then look to what the people have unanimously agreed upon and adopt it.”
In another wording he said, “Then examine what the righteous have ruled; if nothing is available, you may, if you wish, advance or, if you wish, hold back—but I see holding back as the safer course. Peace.”
Shurayḥ also related: “I was with ʿAlī in the market of Kūfa when he came upon a storyteller who was preaching. ʿAlī stopped and said, ‘Storyteller! You preach while we are still so close to the time of revelation. I shall ask you a question: if you answer, that will suffice; if not, I will discipline you.’
“The storyteller replied, ‘Ask, Commander of the Believers, whatever you wish.’
“ʿAlī asked, ‘What causes faith to remain firm and what causes it to vanish?’
“The storyteller answered, ‘The firmness of faith…’”}