It also states that Habīb al-'Ajamī kept company with al-Hasan al-Basrī (1). This is correct, for al-Hasan had many companions, including Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, Yūnus ibn 'Ubayd, 'Abd Allāh ibn 'Awf, Muhammad ibn Wāsi', Mālik ibn Dīnār, Habīb al-'Ajamī, Farqad al-Sabakhī, and others among the devout worshippers of Basra.
It further states that al-Hasan kept company with Alī. This is false by the consensus of the authorities, who agree that al-Hasan never met Alī. Rather, he learned from Alī’s companions: from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, Qays ibn 'Abbād, and others, who in turn transmitted from Alī. This is how the scholars of authentic hadith narrated it.
Al-Hasan was born when two years remained of Umar’s caliphate. When Uthmān was killed, he was in Medina. His mother was a slave woman belonging to Umm Salama. After Uthmān was killed, al-Hasan was taken to Basra, while Alī was in Kufa. At that time, al-Hasan was merely an unknown boy of no renown.
The report claiming that Alī entered the congregational mosque of Basra and expelled all the storytellers except al-Hasan is a lie by the consensus of the authorities. What is established, rather, is that Alī entered the mosque and found a storyteller addressing the people. He asked:
“What is your name?”
He replied:
“Abū Yahyā.”
Alī asked:
“Do (2) you know how to distinguish the abrogating from the abrogated?”
He replied:
“No.”
Alī said, “