It is recorded—Abu Nu’aym narrates it with this chain and wording in al-Hilya (vol. 3, p. 369). As a musnad, the same hadith also appears in al-Bukhari (vol. 2, p. 875, no. 2343) in al-Mazalim under “The unlawful taking of someone’s property without permission,” and in Muslim (vol. 1, p. 76, hadith 57) in al-Iman under “How sins diminish faith.” From the son of Ibn Shihab’s nephew, on the authority of his uncle, that ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Khattab used to order the public recitation of the qaṣīda of Labīd b. Rabīʿa, which begins: "Inna taqwā rabbinā khayru nafal… wa bi-idhnillāhi rīthī wal-ʿajal Aḥmadu Allāha fa-lā naddā lahu… biyadayhi al-khayru mā shāʾa faʿal Man hadāhu subula al-khayri ihtadā… nāʿim al-bāl wa-man shāʾa aḍalla" (These lines appear in Labīd’s Dīwān, p. 139.) Al-Zuhri reported: “I entered the house of ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUtba and found him angry, blowing his nose. I asked, ‘Why are you so upset?’ He replied: ‘I went to visit your amir, the most courteous—meaning ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-Azīz—in the company of ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. ʿUthmān. I greeted them, but they did not return my salām. So I recited: "Lā taʿjaba an tuʾtīyā fatakallamā… famā ḥushiya al-aqwāmu sharran min al-kibri Wa mussā turāba al-arḍi minhu khuliqtumā… wa fīhā al-maʿādu wal-maṣīru ilā al-ḥashri" Then I said, ‘May God have mercy on you! With your fiqh, virtue, and sunna, you recite poetry?!’ He answered, ‘When he exhaled, he formed the word barāʾa (meaning “I am free of that matter”).’” (This report and these verses are in Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr’s al-Tamhīd, vol. 9, p. 93, which adds two further lines: "Fa-law shuʾtu an alqā ʿaduwwan waṭāʿinan… la-lqaytuhu aw qāla ʿindīhī fī al-sirr Fa-in lam āmur wa lam anhākumā… ḍaḥiktu lahu ḥattā yalja wa-yastashrī") A shaykh came to al-Zuhri and said, “Tell me [a tradition].” He replied, “You do not know the language.” The shaykh insisted, “Perhaps I do.” Al-Zuhri then asked, “What do you make of the poet’s line: "Ṣarīʿ nadāmā yarfaʿu ash-sharba raʾsahu… wa qad mātathu minhu kullu ʿuḍwin wa mifṣali" ‘What is al-mafṣal?’ ‘The tongue.’ ‘Return to me and I will teach you.’” (Narrated by Abu Nu’aym in al-Hilya, vol. 3, p. 378; variant: “Come to me and I shall tell you.”) Al-Zuhri was fond of reciting: "Dhahabat ash-shabābu falā yaʿūdu jumānā… wa ka-anna mā qad kāna lam yakunā Qaṭawītu kaffī yā jumān ʿalā al-ʿaṣā… wa kafā jumānu bi ṭayyiḥihā ḥadathānā" (Reported in al-Hilya, vol. 3, p. 370; variant: “Faṭawīta kaffan yā jumān ʿalā al-ghiḍā.”) His signet ring bore the inscription: “Muḥammad asks Allāh for ʿāfiya (well-being).” When asked, “Did your uncle ever use perfume?” Ibn Akhī al-Zuhri replied, “I used to smell musk from his animal’s whip.” He advised: “Accumulate something that fire cannot touch.” Asked what it was, he said, “al-maʿrūf (doing good).” Once a man praised him lavishly; al-Zuhri gave him his cloak. People asked, “Will you give your garment on the word of Satan?” He answered, “Indeed, by seeking good one wards off evil.” (Narrated by Abu Nu’aym in al-Hilya, vol. 3, p. 371; variant: “Whoever seeks good wards off evil.”)