Ismāʿīl ibn Saʿīd the grammarian even composed a poem in praise of Abū Dharr.

Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī relates in his work Abridgment of the Jurists’ Sects, in the entry on the judge Ibn al-Bāqillānī: “Shaykh Abū Dharr—who inclined toward his school—told me something, so I asked him, ‘Where did you get this from?’ He replied, ‘I was walking in Baghdad with the ḥadith-master al-Dāraquṭnī when we met Abū Bakr ibn al-Ṭayyib. Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan embraced him and kissed his face and eyes. After we had left him I said, “Who is this man for whom you did what I never imagined you would do, and you are the leading scholar of your time?” He answered, “This is the imam of the Muslims and the defender of the religion—this is the judge Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ṭayyib.”’

Abū Dharr continues: ‘From that moment on I kept visiting him(1) with my father; in every land I entered—whether in Khurasan or elsewhere—no one was ever singled out as a champion of Ahl al-Sunnah except someone who followed his school and his way.’

I remark: He was the very scholar who, in Baghdad, engaged in debate to defend the Sunnah and the hadith-based method by means of dialectic and rigorous proof, while present were the leaders of the Muʿtazila, the Rāfiḍa, the Qadariyya and the various sects of innovation, all of whom enjoyed influence under the Būyhid regime. He refuted the Karrāmiyya and supported the Hanbalis against them; between him and the scholars of ḥadith there was warm rapport, even though they might differ over fine points—hence al-Dāraquṭnī treated him with great respect. He also authored a book entitled Al-Ibānah, in which he writes: ‘If it is asked, What proof is there that Allah possesses a face and a hand? the answer is His saying: “Only the Face of your Lord will remain” (Qur’an 55:27) and His saying: “What prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My two hands?” (Qur’an 38:75). Thus the Exalted affirmed for Himself a face and a hand.

‘Then, if it is asked, Do you say that He is in every place? we reply: Allah forbid! Rather, He is established upon His Throne just as He has informed us in His Book.

‘And as for the attributes of His Essence, which He has never ceased to possess…’