وَحَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ الْقَوَارِيرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ كَانَ رَجُلٌ قَدْ لَزِمَ أَيُّوبَ وَسَمِعَ مِنْهُ فَفَقَدَهُ أَيُّوبُ فَقَالُوا يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ إِنَّهُ قَدْ لَزِمَ عَمْرَو بْنَ عُبَيْدٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ حَمَّادٌ فَبَيْنَا أَنَا يَوْمًا مَعَ أَيُّوبَ وَقَدْ بَكَّرْنَا إِلَى السُّوقِ فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ الرَّجُلُ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ أَيُّوبُ وَسَأَلَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ أَيُّوبُ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّكَ لَزِمْتَ ذَاكَ الرَّجُلَ ‏.‏ قَالَ حَمَّادٌ سَمَّاهُ ‏.‏ يَعْنِي عَمْرًا ‏.‏ قَالَ نَعَمْ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ إِنَّهُ يَجِيئُنَا بِأَشْيَاءَ غَرَائِبَ ‏.‏ قَالَ يَقُولُ لَهُ أَيُّوبُ إِنَّمَا نَفِرُّ أَوْ نَفْرَقُ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْغَرَائِبِ ‏.‏

‘A man kept company with Ayyūb and listened [to Ḥadīth] from him, but then Ayyūb did not find him [one day]. [When Ayyūb asked, the people] said: ‘Oh Abā Bakr, indeed he keeps company with Amr bin Ubayd [now]’. Hammād said: ‘One day we were with Ayyūb, and we went to the market early in the morning. A man came to meet Ayyūb so he gave Salām to him, asked how he was doing, and then Ayyūb said to him: ‘It reached me that you kept company with that man’. Hammād said: ‘[Ayyūb] designated him, that is to say ‘Amr’.’ [The man] said: ‘Yes, Oh Abā Bakr. Indeed he came to us with strange things [i.e. reports]’. Ayyūb said to him: ‘Indeed we flee…’ or ‘…we fear from these strange things [transmissions]’.