It is narrated from Zirr bin Hubaysh that he came to Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask him about something. He (Safwan) asked him: Have you come such a distance to me only for this purpose? He said: Yes, I have come only for this. So he said (giving him glad tidings): Rejoice, for whoever sets out from his home in search of knowledge, the angels spread out their wings for him, pleased with what he is doing, until he returns. This chain is sahih (authentic). Abd al-Wahhab bin Bukht is among the trustworthy Egyptian narrators whose hadith is compiled; the two Shaykhs used him as evidence but did not record this hadith. This hadith revolves around the narration of Asim bin Bahdalah from Zirr, which the two Shaykhs ignored completely; but there are other trustworthy supporting narrators from Zirr bin Hubaysh besides Asim, among them al-Minhal bin Amr, on whom the two Shaykhs agree.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque and said: I have come to acquire knowledge. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed the angels spread out their wings for the seeker of knowledge, pleased with what he is doing." Arim (Abu al-Nu'man Muhammad bin al-Fadl al-Basri) is a trustworthy hafiz; Imam Bukhari relied on him and took hadiths from him in the Sahih, although Shayban bin Farrukh differed from him in this hadith and narrated it from al-Sa'q bin Hazn (with a different chain).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) related: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); then he mentioned the like of the previous hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal (may Allah be pleased with him) that Zirr bin Hubaysh came to him. Safwan asked: "What has brought you to me this morning?" He said: "I have come seeking knowledge." Safwan said: "Listen! Whoever sets out, as you have, in search of knowledge, the angels lower their wings for him, pleased with what he does." Abu Janab al-Kalbi narrated it as mawquf (a statement of the Companion), but he does not meet the conditions of this book; however, this does not weaken the hadith, because a group narrated it as marfu' (as a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)), and those who narrated it as marfu' are better at memorisation, and the addition they narrate is accepted.