I said: He was a devout imam—trustworthy, precise, encyclopaedic, and deeply learned—a man of Sunnah and steadfast adherence. It is reported that he first followed an Atharī, Ẓāhirī approach, then moved to the Mālikī school while plainly inclining toward al-Shāfiʿī’s jurisprudence in certain matters. This is no blemish on him, for he had reached the rank of the independent mujtahid imams. Whoever studies his writings will recognise his stature: the breadth of his knowledge, the power of his understanding, and the agility of his mind. Everyone’s statement may be accepted or rejected except that of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. When an imam errs in his ijtihād, we must not forget his merits or conceal his learning; rather, we seek forgiveness for him and offer an excuse on his behalf.

Abū al-Qāsim Ibn Bashkuwāl (1) said: “Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr was the imam of his age and the unique scholar of his time; his kunya was Abū ʿUmar.”

In Córdoba he narrated from Khalaf ibn al-Qāsim, ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Sufyān, Saʿīd ibn Naṣr, Abū Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, Abū Muḥammad ibn Asad, and a host of others too numerous to list.

From the East he received correspondence and authorisations from al-Saqaṭī, the ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Ghanī, Ibn Sībukht, Aḥmad ibn Naṣr al-Dāwūdī, Abū Dharr al-Harawī, and Abū Muḥammad ibn al-Naḥḥās.

Abū ʿAlī ibn Sukkara reported: “I heard Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī say, ‘No one in al-Andalus matched Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr in hadith; he possessed the greatest memorisation of anyone in the Maghrib.’” (2)

Abū ʿAlī al-Ghassānī said: “Abū ʿUmar produced valuable works on the Muwaṭṭaʾ, among them al-Tamhīd limā fī al-Muwaṭṭaʾ mina al-maʿānī wa-l-asānīd, which he organised according to the names of Mālik’s teachers in alphabetical order—a work unprecedented before him.”