 Critiquing the meaning of a poem by al-Shammākh, Ibn al-A'rābī and Aḥmad ibn Sa‘īd showed surprise at Tha'lab’s confidence.In another anecdote, related by Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Mujāhid al-Mukri, Tha’lab once expressed concern for his soul as a disciple of Abū Zayd Sa’id ibn Aws al-Anṣārī (d.830) and Abū Amr ibn al-‘Alā (d.770), over the exegetes, traditionists and fuqaha (jurists).However Ibn Mujahid then told him of his dream wherein the Prophet had sent a message to Tha'lab that his was the superior science.