It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The believer is simple-hearted and noble-natured, and the wicked person is cunning and mean-natured." This is a hadith which the earlier students of al-Thawri narrated with a connected chain, but the later ones corrupted (its chain). As for al-Hajjaj bin Furafisah, the two Shaykhs did not record from him; however, I heard Abu al-Abbas Muhammad bin Ya'qub say that Abbas bin Muhammad al-Duri said that according to Yahya bin Ma'in there is no harm in al-Hajjaj bin Furafisah (that is, he is reliable), and Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Hatim says: I heard my father say that al-Hajjaj bin Furafisah is a righteous and devout elder. It has a supporting narration from Yahya bin Abi Kathir in which the chain is established.