So Abū Isḥāq shifted to the side, sat down like a pupil, and al-Khaṭīb began to speak. He set out Baḥr ibn Kanīz’s standing in a fine, orderly fashion, whereupon the shaykh praised him and said, “He is the Dāraqutnī of our age.” (1)

Abū ʿAlī al-Bardānī said, “The ḥadith master of his time, Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb, narrated to us; I have never seen his like, nor do I think he ever saw anyone comparable to himself.” (2)

Al-Silạfī related, “I asked Shujāʿ al-Dhuhlī about al-Khaṭīb, and he replied, ‘An Imām, a prolific author, a ḥadith master—we have not met his equal.’” (3)

Saʿīd al-Muʾaddib reported: “When I arrived I said to Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb, ‘Are you the ḥadith master Abū Bakr?’ He answered, ‘The pinnacle of memorization was reached by al-Dāraqutnī.’” (4)

Ibn al-Ābanūsī stated, “The ḥadith master al-Khaṭīb would walk about with a small fascicle in his hand, reading it as he went.” (5)

Al-Muʾtaman said that al-Khaṭīb used to remark, “Whoever authors a work has placed his intellect on a platter and presented it to the people.” (6)

Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir reported: “Makkī ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Rumaylī told us that the reason al-Khaṭīb left Damascus for Ṣūr was that a handsome youth used to attend his gatherings, and people began to talk…”