Al-Hajjaj harming Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abd al-Malik threatening al-Hajjaj

It is narrated from Simak bin Musa that he said: When Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) went in to al-Hajjaj, he ordered that he be struck on the neck. Then he said to the people of Syria: "Do you know this man? This is the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then he asked: "Do you know why I had his neck struck?" The people said: "The Amir knows best." He said: "He was a source of trial in the first fitnah, and in the later fitnah too his breast was full of deceit." Muhammad bin al-Mughirah says: Al-Hajjaj used to parade him around the army camps to humiliate him, so Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the Caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan: "What do you think: if the servant of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) came to you, would you harm him like this?" So Abd al-Malik wrote to al-Hajjaj: "Leave him alone; let him live wherever he wishes, and do not interfere with him." And he wrote to Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): "No one other than me has any authority over you."

It is narrated from al-A'mash that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Abd al-Malik bin Marwan: "O Commander of the Believers! I served the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for ten years, and al-Hajjaj regards me as one of the common weavers of Basrah." So Abd al-Malik said to his scribe: Write to al-Hajjaj. And he sent him this message: "Woe to you! I fear that no good will remain at your hands. When this letter of mine reaches you, stand up at once and apologize to Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)."

It is narrated from Thabit al-Bunani that Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu Muhammad! Take knowledge from me, for I took it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took knowledge from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. So you will not find knowledge with anyone more trustworthy than me."

It is narrated from Ibn Awn that Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated very few hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whenever he narrated a hadith he would (out of caution) say: "Or as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said."

It is narrated from Ishaq bin Uthman that he said: I asked Musa bin Anas: How many military expeditions did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) undertake in all? He said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook twenty-three expeditions, eight of which were ones in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) would stay for several months. I asked: In how many expeditions did Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) take part with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: In eight expeditions.

It is narrated from Humayd that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and a man asked: "Did you hear this yourself from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" At this he became extremely angry and said: "By Allah! Not everything we narrate to you did we hear ourselves from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); rather, some of us used to narrate (hadiths) to others, and we did not accuse one another (of lying)."
Now the mention of the group of Companions whose virtues have reached us and whose mention came after the Companions mentioned earlier, along with knowledge of the times of their birth and death; among them is Hamal bin Malik bin al-Nabighah al-Hudhali.