Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said: “Caravans from every province wore out their camels’ flanks on the way to him so that he might champion the doctrine of the People of Madinah.” He was a ḥadith memorizer, far removed from affectation and ostentation, eloquent and held in high esteem. He died in 371 AH.

228 – Abū ʿUthmān al-Maghribī Saʿīd ibn Salām al-Qayrawānī *
The imam, exemplar, and shaykh of the Sufis, Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd ibn Salām al-Maghribī al-Qayrawānī, eventually took up residence in Nīshāpūr. He travelled widely, performed the pilgrimage, spent a period living near the Sacred Precinct, and met the shaykhs of Egypt and Syria. During the days of Ḥajj he would keep out of sight.

Al-Ḥākim said: “I left Mecca regretful that I had not seen him. He later departed the city because of an ordeal and arrived in Nīshāpūr; at first he kept away from people, then he began to attend the congregational mosque.”

Al-Sulamī observed: “He was unrivalled among the shaykhs of his path; we never saw anyone like him in the loftiness of his spiritual state and his careful husbanding of time. He was persecuted because of a false accusation levelled against him, until he was beaten and paraded on a camel, whereupon he left the Sanctuary (1).”

Al-Khaṭīb said: “He was among the great shaykhs; he possessed remarkable spiritual states and miraculous gifts (2).”