Sakhtawayh al-Naysaburi, known as al-Muzzakki, was the leading shaykh and hadith scholar of his city.

He received hadith from: Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Masargasi, Abu al-ʿAbbas al-Thaqafi, the “Imam of the Imams” Ibn Khuzaymah, Musa ibn al-ʿAbbas al-Juwayni, Abu Hamid al-Aʿmashi, Zanjawayh al-Labbad, Abu Nuʿaym ibn ʿAdi, Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab al-Argiyani, Abu al-ʿAbbas al-Daghuli, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Harun al-Hadrami, ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim, and many others besides them.

Al-Hakim said: “He dictated hadith for several years, and in his session we would count fourteen scholars transmitting, among them Abu al-ʿAbbas al-Aṣamm and Muhammad ibn Yaʿqub ibn al-Akhram.”

I say: Those who narrated from him include al-Hakim, Ibn Razqawayh, Abu al-Fath ibn Abi al-Fawaris, Abu Bakr al-Barqani, Abu ʿAli ibn Shadhan, his son Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muzzakki, Abu Nuʿaym al-Isfahani, Abu Talib ibn Ghaylan, and others.

Al-Khatib said: “He was reliable, firmly grounded, prolific, and constant in performing the Hajj. Al-Daraqutni selected hadiths from him, and people copied from him a vast amount of knowledge—such as al-Sarraj’s History, al-Bukhari’s History, and several of Muslim’s works. Abu Bakr al-Barqani owned a hamper of fascicles and books from him, yet he did not cite him in his Sahih, saying, ‘I still feel some reservation toward him because of the many singular reports he transmits.’ He later revised his view and said, ‘I possess from him hadiths with exceptionally high isnads. I had intended to publish them with lower isnads, but I am now unable to do so because of old age.’ (1)”

Al-Khatib also reported: “Al-Husayn ibn Shayta told us, ‘I heard al-Muzzakki say, “I have spent a badr (a large purse) of dinars on the study of hadith, and I came to Baghdad with merchandise.”’ (2)"