How should Shuʿbah’s verdict about Shahr b. Ḥawshab be treated?

Narrator Criticism, Integrity and Precision: Standards of Scholarly Appraisal

• Shuʿbah’s statement conclusively proves every Shahr report fabricated
• It is one critic’s specific judgment, to be weighed alongside other established evaluations
• Shuʿbah’s meeting with Shahr conclusively establishes universal approval
• His judgment makes the existence of any historical positive appraisal impossible