Mutarrif said, "I accompanied 'Imran ibn Husayn from Kufa to Basra.
Very rarely did he arrive at my house without reciting some poetry to me.
He said, 'Indirect speech accords great scope in avoiding lies.'"
Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "Messenger of Allah, I have praised my
Lord, the Almighty and Exalted, in some words of praise." He said, "Your
Lord loves praise," and did not say anything more.
Khalid ibn Kaysan said, "I was with Ibn 'Umar when Iyyas ibn Khaythama
got up and said to him, 'Shall I recite some poetry, Ibn al-Faruq?' 'Yes,'
he replied, 'but only recite good poetry to me.'" He recited until he came
to something which Ibn 'Umar disliked whereupon he told him to stop.
