Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah said: “Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb was born toward the end of ʿAlī’s caliphate, in 40 AH, and he did not hear anything from al-ʿAbbās.”

Ibn Wahb narrated from ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith, from Abū Ṣakhr, from ʿAbdullāh ibn Mughīth (1) Abū Burdah al-Ẓafarī, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “From one of the two soothsayers there will emerge a man who will study the Qur’an with a diligence unmatched by anyone who comes after him.”

Nāfiʿ ibn Yazīd reported that Rabīʿah said, “We used to say: that man is Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb.”

Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qārī related from his father: “I heard ʿAwn ibn ʿAbdullāh say, ‘I have never seen anyone more knowledgeable about the interpretation of the Qur’an than al-Quraẓī.’”

It was said that he owned properties in Medina and once accumulated a large sum of money. People advised him, “Put it aside for your children.” He replied, “No. I am saving it for myself with my Lord, and I am saving my Lord for my children.”

It was also said that his prayers were answered and that he enjoyed a lofty status.

24 – Yūsuf ibn Māhak al-Fārisī (ʿ)

One of the freedmen of the people of Mecca.

He narrated from: Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām, Abū Hurayrah, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, and Ibn