Njia hii rahisi ya kuhifadhi hadīth haiwezi kupuuzwa, hasa wakati watu mashuhuri kama Imam Bukhari wamesimulia matukio kama la Marwan, yanayoonyesha kumbukumbu ya ajabu ya Waarabu. Marwan alikuwa gavana wa kwanza wa Dameski na pia amiri wa kwanza wa Nasaba ya Umayyad. Katibu wake, Abū al-Za‘za, anasimulia kwamba siku moja Marwan alimwita kwenye mahakama yake Sahaba mashuhuri, Abū Hurayra. Inasemekana kwamba sababu ya mwaliko huu adimu wa Sahaba kwenye mahakama ya Marwan ni kwamba Marwan alitilia shaka idadi kubwa ya hadīth ambazo Abū Hurayra alikuwa amezihifadhi na mara nyingi alizisimulia. Kabla Abū Hurayra hajaingia, Marwan alimwagiza katibu wake, Abū al-Za‘za, ajifiche nyuma ya pazia akiwa na kalamu na karatasi mkononi. Alisema, “Nitamwomba asimulie baadhi ya hadīth; wakati anasimulia, nataka wewe uziandike hadīth zote chini.” Abū Hurayra alipoingia, Marwan alimuuliza kuhusu baadhi ya hadīth. Abū Hurayra alipoanza kusimulia, Abū al-Za‘za aliziandika. Abū al-Za‘za anasema, “Abū Hurayra aliendelea kusimulia kwa muda mrefu, na niliona kwamba nilikuwa nimeandika mkusanyiko mkubwa wa hadīth kwenye karatasi zangu.” Inaonekana kutokana na maneno ya Abū al-Za‘za “ḥadīthun kathīrun” kwamba alikuwa ameandika kweli mkusanyiko mkubwa wa hadīth kwenye karatasi yake. Wakati huo, Abū Hurayra hakujua kwamba alikuwa anapimwa. Baada ya hapo, Abū Hurayra aliondoka. Marwan alihifadhi madaftari ya hadīth zilizoandikwa kwa siri, kisha akasubiri mwaka uliofuata. Mwaka mmoja baadaye, Marwan alimwalika tena Abū Hurayra ili amheshimu kwa uwepo wake. Safari hii pia Marwan alimwambia Abū al-Za‘za ajifiche nyuma ya pazia akiwa na karatasi alizoandika hadīth mwaka uliopita. Alisema, “Nitarudia maswali yale yale niliyomuuliza mwaka jana. Kagua uone kama yanalingana na hadīth za mwaka uliopita.” Ilikuwa ni jaribio la ghafla kwa Abū Hurayra. Abū al-Za‘za anasema, “Kwa hiyo Marwan alibaki na hadīth za mwaka mmoja uliopita mikononi mwake. Baada ya mwaka mmoja, alimwita tena Abū Hurayra, nami nikikaa kimya nyuma ya pazia. Alipouliza maswali hayo, nilitazama karatasi zangu. Hakuongeza wala kupunguza hata neno moja la Hadīth.8
This simple method of preserving úadīth cannot be ignored, especially when eminent personalities like Imam Bukhari have recorded incidents such as that of Marwan, which illustrate the extraordinary memory of the Arabs. Marwan was the first governor of Damascus and also the first emir of the Umayyad Dynasty. His secretary, Abñ al-Za‘za, narrates that once Marwón called the eminent Sahabi, Abñ Huraira , to his court. It is said that the reason behind this rare invitation of a Sahabi to Marwan’s court was that Marwan doubted the large number of ahadith Abñ Huraira had memorized and frequently narrated. Before Abñ Huraira entered, Marwan instructed his secretary, Abñ al-Za‘za, to hide behind a curtain with a pen and paper in his hand. He said, “I am going to ask him to narrate some aúódõth; while he narrates, I want you to pen all the aúódõth down.” When Abñ Huraira entered, Marwón asked him about some aúódõth. As Abñ Huraira began narrating, Abñ al-Za‘za wrote them down. Abñ al-Za‘za says, “Abñ Huraira continued narrating for a long time and I saw that I had written a large collection of aúódõth on my papers.” It seems from Abñ al-Za‘za’s words “úadõthun kathõrun” that he had indeed recorded a large collection of aúódõth on his paper. Meanwhile, Abñ Huraira had no idea he was being tested. After this, Abñ Huraira left. Marwón preserved the scrolls of the secretly recorded Hadith and waited for the following year. A year later, Marwan again invited Abñ Huraira to honor him with his presence. Once again, Marwan told Abñ al-Za‘za to hide behind the curtain with the papers on which he had written the aúódõth the previous year. He said, “I am going to repeat the same questions I asked last year. Check and see if it coincides with the aúódõth of the previous year.” It was an extemporaneous test for Abñ Huraira. Abñ al-Za‘za says, “So Marwón kept the year old aúódõth in his hands. After one year, he again called upon Abñ Huraira as I sat quietly behind the curtain. As he put the questions, I looked into my papers. He did not add to or subtract from even one word of a Hadīth.”8