Musaddad narrated to us, Muʿtamir narrated to us, I heard my father, and I heard Abū ʿUthmān say: “I have never heard a sanj (cymbal), a barbat (lute), or a mizmar (flute) whose sound was more melodious than Abū Mūsā’s—save one man. When that man led us in prayer, we would hope he would recite Sūrah al-Baqarah because his voice was so beautiful.”

It is also reported from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghanm, from Muʿādh (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said, “O Messenger of Allah, will we be held accountable for everything we say and will it all be recorded against us?” He replied, “What else hurls people headlong on their faces into Hell but the harvest of their tongues?”