They said, “Then tell us about Hudhayfah.” He replied, “He was the Companion of Muhammad most knowledgeable about the hypocrites.”

They asked, “And Abu Dharr?” He said, “A small storehouse (1) filled to the brim with knowledge, kneaded thoroughly into him.”

They said, “And ʿAmmar?” He answered, “A believer who sometimes forgets; when you remind him, he remembers. Allah has blended faith with his very flesh and blood, and the Fire has no share in him.”

They said, “And Abu Musa?” He replied, “He has been dyed in knowledge through and through.”

They asked, “And Salman?” He said, “He mastered the knowledge of the first and the last (2)—an ocean that can never be exhausted. He is one of us, the Prophet’s household.”

They said, “Tell us about yourself, Commander of the Believers.” He said, “So that is what you were aiming at! Whenever I was asked, I would give, and whenever I fell silent, I would begin on my own (3).”

Masruq said, “I spoke face-to-face (4) with the Companions of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and found that their knowledge ultimately went back to six: ʿAli, ʿAbd Allah, ʿUmar, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu al-Dardaʾ, and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb. Then I spoke to those six themselves and discovered that their knowledge ended with ʿAli and ʿAbd Allah (5).”

Masruq also said, “I sat with the Companions of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and they were like watering holes;