Al-Silafī said: Ibn al-Ṭuyūrī narrated to us that he asked Abū Bakr al-Khaṭīb, when the latter returned from his pilgrimage, “Did you see in Mecca anyone who is upholding the study of ḥadīth?” He replied, “No—none but a young man named Jaʿfar ibn al-Ḥakkāk.”

Al-Muʾtaman al-Sājī remarked, “Jaʿfar kept company with Abū Dharr and with Abū Naṣr al-Sijzī; he was a man of real learning.”

Al-Yūnārtī said, “Ibn al-Ḥakkāk was among the virtuous, firmly reliable scholars.”

ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Anmāṭī said, “Trustworthy, dependable.”

Abū ʿAlī al-Ṣadafī stated, “I read to him in Baghdad many times, and he had an excellent grasp of ḥadīth. He was born in 416 AH and died in Ṣafar, 485 AH.” (1)

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Ṭāʾī informed us; Abū al-Yumn Zayd ibn al-Ḥasan, by written authorization, informed us; Muḥammad ibn Nāṣir informed us; Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā informed us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Azdī in Mecca narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn Sayf narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Dulayl narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khubayq narrated, saying:

Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith (2) said: “Looking at the face of an oppressor provokes anger; looking at a fool brings heat to the eyes; and looking at a miser hardens the heart.” (3)