Sayyiduna Wathilah bin Asqa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When we narrate hadith to you by meaning, then that is sufficient for you.

It is narrated from Hisham that when Imam Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) would narrate a hadith, he would not alter the order of its parts, whereas when Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) would narrate a hadith, he would sometimes alter the order.

Jarir bin Hazim said: When Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated a hadith, the subject would be the same but the wording would be different. (That is, he would narrate by meaning.)

Ubaid bin Umair narrated a hadith from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of a hypocrite is like a goat sitting in a pen, or like two goats among a flock." Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: No, not like that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it in this and this way. The narrator said: Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would not add or subtract anything from what he heard from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor would he go beyond it, nor would he fall short in it.

Abdullah bin Awn said: When Imam Sha’bi, Imam Ibrahim Nakha’i, and Imam Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on them) narrated hadith, sometimes they would narrate it in one way and sometimes in another. I mentioned this to Imam Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him), so he said: If they narrate it exactly as they heard it, that would be better for them.

Abu Muammar said: When I hear a hadith in a certain style or tone, I follow it in the same manner as I heard it, adopting that style.