“Then what about ‘a day whose measure is fifty thousand years’?” Ibn ‘Abbās asked.

The man replied: “I only asked you so that you would explain it to me.” Ibn ‘Abbās said: “They are two days that Allah has mentioned in His Book. Allah knows best about them.” He was unwilling to say anything about the Book of Allah without knowledge.

Ibn Jarīr said: Ya‘qūb—meaning Ibn Ibrāhīm—narrated to me, saying: Ibn ‘Ulayyah narrated to us, from Mahdī ibn Maymūn, from al-Walīd ibn Muslim, who said: Talq ibn Habīb came to Jundub ibn ‘Abd Allāh and asked him about a verse of the Quran. He replied: “I solemnly charge you, if you are a Muslim, to get up and leave me”—or he said: “not to sit with me.”

Mālik reported from Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd, from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab, that whenever he was asked to explain a verse of the Quran, he would say: “We do not say anything about the Quran.” Al-Layth reported from Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd, from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab, that he would speak only about what was known of the Quran’s meaning.

Shu‘bah reported from ‘Amr ibn Murrah, who said: A man asked Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab about a verse of the Quran. He replied: “Do not ask me about the Quran. Ask the one who claims that nothing in it is hidden from him”—meaning ‘Ikrimah.

Ibn Shawdhab said: Yazīd ibn Abī Yazīd narrated to me, saying: We used to ask Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab about what was lawful and unlawful, and he was the most knowledgeable of people. Yet whenever we asked him to explain a verse of the Quran, he remained silent, as though he had not heard.

Ibn Jarīr said: Ahmad ibn ‘Abdah al-Dabbī narrated to me, saying: Hammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, saying: ‘Ubayd Allāh ibn ‘Umar narrated to us, saying: “I knew the jurists of Medina, and they certainly