It is said: “No one among the people of the qibla is declared an unbeliever on account of a sin.” ‘Ataʾ remarked, “You have understood—so adhere to it.” (Abu Nu‘aym, al-Hilya 3:314.) He also said, “That upon which the ummah is unanimous carries more weight for us than any isnād.” (Ibid.) When someone told ‘Ataʾ that there were people claiming “Faith neither increases nor decreases,” he replied by citing the Qur’ān: “And those who have been guided—He has increased them in guidance” (Q. Muhammad 47:17). “So what is this guidance by which they have been increased?” he asked. When it was reported that they also denied that prayer and zakāh are part of God’s religion, he quoted: “They were commanded only that they should worship Allāh, being sincere to Him in religion, upright, establish prayer, and give zakāh—and that is the proper religion” (Q. al-Bayyinah 98:5), thus making these acts integral to the true religion. (Ibid.) Ya‘lā ibn ‘Ubayd relates that when he visited Muḥammad ibn Suwqah, the latter said, “May I relate a ḥadīth that may benefit you, for it has benefited me?” He continued, “‘Ataʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ said to me: ‘O son of my brother, those who came before you disliked superfluous speech, viewing it as sinful, except in four cases: (1) recitation of Allāh’s Book; (2) enjoining what is right; (3) forbidding what is wrong; and (4) the servant’s speech in pursuit of his necessary livelihood. Do you not shrink at the thought that your record, written throughout the morning, will be laid bare before you, and most of it will concern neither your religion nor your worldly affairs?’” (Abu Nu‘aym, al-Hilya 3:315.) He also advised, “If you fear the night’s cold (or heat), recite: Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm; a‘ūdhu billāhi min ash-Shayṭān ar-Rajīm.” (In Qīra and al-Hilya: “If the donkeys bray at night….”) Al-Ṭabarānī and others report that the study circle (ḥalqa) in the Masjid al-Ḥarām was led by Ibn ‘Abbās; after his death, it was taken up by ‘Ataʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ. ‘Uthmān ibn Abī Shaybah narrates from his father, from al-Faḍl ibn Dukayn, from Sufyān, from Salama ibn Kuhayl: “I never saw anyone who, by his deeds, sought what is with Allāh except three persons: ‘Ataʾ, Ṭawūs, and Mujāhid.” (Abu Nu‘aym, al-Hilya 3:311.) Imām Aḥmad said, “Ibn Namīr narrated to us from ‘Umar ibn Dharr: ‘I never saw anyone like ‘Ataʾ; nor did I ever see him wear a cloak, nor did I ever see him in a garment worth five dirhams.’” (Ibn al-Jawzī, Ṣifat al-Ṣafwa 2:212; al-Dhahabī, Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’ 5:87.) Abū Bilāl al-Ash‘arī reported from Qays, from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Jurayj, from ‘Ataʾ: “Ya‘lā ibn Umayya was his companion; he would sit in the mosque for an hour intending to perform i‘tikāf.” (Abu Nu‘aym, al-Hilya 3:312.) Al-Awzāʿī narrated from ‘Ataʾ: “If Fāṭima bint Rasūl Allāh ﷺ were to knead dough—or even if but the hairlock (qusṣa) at her forehead struck the bowl—she would press it with her eyelid.” (Abu Nu‘aym, al-Hilya 3:312.) From al-Awzāʿī also comes the comment on Q. an-Nūr 24:2 (“And let not compassion for them make you shy from enforcing the law of Allāh”): “This refers to carrying out the hudūd upon them.” (Ibid.) Al-Awzāʿī further recounted: “I was in al-Yamāma when a governor there tested the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ—branded them hypocrites though they were believers—and imposed punishments for divorce or manumission, labeling the offender a hypocrite but never a believer. They obeyed him in this. Later I met ‘Ataʾ and asked him about it. He said, ‘I see no harm in it; Allāh says…’ ” (The report continues.)