and Abū al-Qāsim al-Hudhalī recited the Qur’an before him.

He then served as imam of the Great Mosque of Isfahān after Abū al-Muẓaffar ibn Shabīb (1).

Yaḥyā ibn Manda said: “He heard a great deal, possessed an extensive range of transmissions, wrote in a precise hand, and studied under many teachers. He told me that he was born in 372 AH.

“My uncle once mentioned him while the ḥadith master ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Nakhshabī and a number of others were present. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz remarked, ‘He compiled a Musnad arranged on the pattern of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, but he copied most of it directly from the original text and only later attached the chains of transmission—and that is not the practice of the ḥadith specialists.’

“Later Yaḥyā added, ‘He discussed matters that there is no room to relate here; had he limited himself to transmitting hadith and teaching the Qur’an, it would have been better for him.’” (2)

Al-Daqqāq said: “I have not seen in Isfahān a shaykh who combined mastery of Qur’anic sciences, the variant readings, hadith, narrations, and prolific writing and audition more excellently than Abū Bakr al-Baṭarqānī. He was good-natured, well-presented, skillful in recitation and understanding, and trustworthy in hadith.” (3)

Ibn Manda said: “He passed away in Ṣafar of the year 460 AH.” (4)