al-Faḍl ibn Abī Naṣr al-Tūsī, who would remark:
“We know of no one today who truly deserves this title—I mean the title ḥāfiẓ—and is entitled to it apart from him.”

This is what Abū al-Mawāhib ibn Ṣaṣrā related to me.

He also said: “When I reached Hamadhān, the ḥāfiẓ Abū al-ʿAlāʾ praised him and said to me, ‘I am certain that no one can rival the ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Qāsim in his craft. Were he to mingle with people and mix with them the way I do, both supporters and opponents would unite around him.’

“Abū al-ʿAlāʾ once asked me, ‘What doors have been opened for him, and how do you find the people’s attitude toward him?’

“I replied, ‘He keeps away from all of that; for forty years he has done nothing but collect, compile, and dictate ḥadith—even during his outings and in his moments of seclusion.’

“He said, ‘Praise be to Allah; this is the fruit of knowledge. As for us (1), we have obtained this house, these books, and the mosque. This shows how scant the scholars’ portions are in your lands.’

“Then he added, ‘In Baghdad they used to call Abū al-Qāsim nothing but a blazing flame, because of his zeal, intelligence, and keen perception.’ (2)”

Zayn al-Umanaʾ narrated: Ibn al-Qazwīnī told us, on the authority of his father—the professor at the Niẓāmiyya—who said:

“Al-Farāwī told us: ‘Ibn ʿAsākir came to us and, over the course of three days or so, read so much to me that he wearied me. I resolved to shut my door and refuse him entry. That thought occupied me during the night. The next morning a man arrived and said, “I am the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—sent to you. I saw him in my sleep, and he said: Go to al-Farāwī and tell him: If a dark-complexioned man from Syria comes to your town seeking my ḥadith, let no annoyance or weariness overcome you on his account.”’” (3)

He said: