Zakariyyā al-Ṭawīl

Muḥammad ibn Khuzayma al-Balkhī related to us. He said: I heard Zakariyyā al-Ṭawīl say: I heard Jārūd ibn Muʿādh say: Ibn al-Mubārak was told: ‘Sufyān speaks on the basis of opinion?’ He said: ‘Yes, and he does it well.’ I said: ‘How was his opinion compared with Abū Ḥanīfa’s?’ He said: ‘Compared with Abū Ḥanīfa’s opinion, his was only a little thing.’