811 - Hamzah ibn al-Qasim informed me, saying: Hanbal narrated to us, saying: I heard Abu Abd Allah say: Ghundar, Muhammad ibn Ja'far, brought out his books from Shu'bah to us, and we wrote from them. I and Khalaf ibn Salim were present, and they contained those hadiths. As for me, I did not write them down, but as for Khalaf, he wrote all of them exactly as they were. Abu Abd Allah said: I used to write down the chains of narration (asanid) and leave the speech (matn). I said to Abu Abd Allah: Why? He replied: To know what Shu'bah narrated. Abu Abd Allah said: I do not like for anyone to write down these hadiths that contain the mention of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace; they contain neither permissible nor forbidden acts, nor sunan (legal precedents). I said: Should I write them? He replied: Do not look into them. What kind of knowledge is in those? You must focus on the sunan, the jurisprudence (fiqh), and what benefits you.