English Translation

Affan told us, Hammad told us, Asim told us, from Zirr, that a man said to Ibn Mas'ud: "How do you recognize this word: 'ma'un ghayra yasinin' or 'asinin'?" He said: "Have you recited the whole Qur'an?" He said: "I recite the whole of al-Mufassal in a single rak'ah." He said: "Reciting like poetry in haste? No father to you! I know the pairings of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, which he used to pair, two surahs at a time, from the beginning of al-Mufassal, and the first of Ibn Mas'ud's al-Mufassal was Surat al-Rahman."