‘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]’.  

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