Al-Ḥākim said: “Al-Dāraquṭnī travelled to Syria and Egypt when he was already advanced in years; he performed the pilgrimage, benefited from others and benefited them in turn, and the catalogue of his writings is too lengthy to enumerate.”
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, as cited by al-Ḥākim, declared: “I swear by Allah, our shaykh al-Dāraquṭnī has left no one on the face of the earth who matches him in knowledge of the ḥadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor of the reports of the Companions, the Successors, and their followers.”
He went on to say, “He passed away on Thursday, the 8th of Dhū al-Qaʿdah in the year 385 AH.” Al-Khaṭīb recorded the same date for his death.
Al-Khaṭīb also wrote in his biography: “Abū Naṣr ʿAlī ibn Hibat Allah ibn Mākūlā related to me: ‘I saw—as though in a dream—that I was asking about al-Dāraquṭnī’s state in the Hereafter, and it was said to me, ‘There, in Paradise, he is called ‘the Imām.’’” (1)
It is soundly reported from al-Dāraquṭnī that he said, “Nothing is more hateful to me than speculative theology (ʿilm al-kalām).”
I say: The man never entered into kalām or dialectical disputation, nor did he immerse himself in it; rather, he was salafī. Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī heard this remark directly from him.
Al-Dāraquṭnī also said: “Some people of Baghdad disagreed—some maintained that ʿUthmān is superior, while others said ʿAlī is superior. They referred the matter to me, so I held back and said, ‘Withholding is better.’ Then I judged that remaining silent was not right for my religion, so I told the one who had asked my verdict, ‘Go back to them and say: Abū al-Ḥasan affirms that ʿUthmān is superior to ʿAlī by the unanimous agreement of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This is the view of Ahl al-Sunnah, and it is the first knot to be loosened on the path of Rāfiḍism.’”
I say: Preferring ʿAlī is not Rāfiḍism, nor is it an innovation; many of the Companions and Successors held that opinion. Each of ʿUthmān and ʿAlī possesses great merit, precedence, and striving, and both of them