He and Kuthayyir ʿAzza died on the very same day, and the people said, “The most knowledgeable of men and the finest poet among men have both departed.”

Abu Bakr al-Marwadhi reports: “I asked Ahmad, ‘Is ʿIkrimah’s hadith admissible as proof?’ He answered, ‘Yes, it is relied upon.’ ”

ʿUthman ibn Saʿid said: “I asked Ibn Maʿin, ‘Regarding Ibn ʿAbbas, do you prefer ʿIkrimah or ʿUbayd Allah?’ He replied, ‘Both; he would not choose between them.’ I then asked, ‘ʿIkrimah or Saʿid ibn Jubayr?’ He said, ‘Trustworthy, and trustworthy.’ ”

Jaʿfar ibn Abi ʿUthman al-Tayalisi relates from Yahya ibn Maʿin that he said, “If you see someone maligning ʿIkrimah or Hammad ibn Salamah, suspect his very Islam.”

I say: This applies to one who attacks them out of whim and injustice in assessing their rank. As for the person who reports, with fairness, the criticism and commendation that have been voiced about them, he has acted correctly. Yes, Yahya uttered this remark in connection with a specific hadith concerning the vision of Allah—Exalted is He—in a dream; that report is disapproved.

Ibn Mandah even compiled a booklet on the issue, entitling it “The Soundness of ʿIkrimah’s Hadith.”

Yaʿqub ibn Shaybah said: “I heard ʿAli declare, ‘Among Ibn ʿAbbas’s freedmen none possessed a larger store of knowledge than ʿIkrimah.’ ”

ʿIkrimah was counted among the scholars; those who narrated from him include al-Shaʿbi, Ibrahim, Jabir Abu al-Shaʿthaʾ, ʿAtaʾ, and Mujahid.

Ahmad al-ʿIjli said: “He was a Meccan Successor, reliable, and innocent of the Haruriyyah doctrine with which people accuse him—that is, of adopting their views.”

Al-Bukhari stated: “Every one of our companions uses ʿIkrimah’s narrations as proof.”

Al-Nasaʾi declared: “Trustworthy.”