Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 22:7

Ali ibn Mushir narrated to us, from Yusuf ibn Habib, from Ibn Buraydah, from a man among the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: "For me to recite a verse with *i'rab* (grammatical precision) is more beloved to me than for me to recite such-and-such number of verses without *i'rab*."