Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said that Sulaymān ibn Mūsā used to say:

“When knowledge reaches us from the Ḥijāz through al-Zuhrī, we accept it; when it comes from Syria through Makḥūl, we accept it; when it comes from al-Jazīrah through Maymūn ibn Mihrān, we accept it; and when it comes from Iraq through al-Ḥasan, we accept it. These four were the people’s scholars during the caliphate of Hishām.”

Marwān ibn Muḥammad narrated from Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz that he said:

“Makḥūl was more versed in fiqh than al-Zuhrī; indeed, Makḥūl was the most learned jurist in Syria.”

ʿUthmān ibn ʿAṭāʾ said, “Makḥūl was a non-Arab who could not pronounce ‘qul’ (say) and would say ‘kul’ instead; nevertheless, everything he uttered in Syria was accepted.”

Abū Mus-hir transmitted from Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz who said, “In Makḥūl’s time no one was more discerning in issuing fatwas than he.”

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmmār said, “Makḥūl is the imām of the people of Syria.”

Al-ʿIjlī said, “He is a Successor, reliable.”

Ibn Khirāsh said, “Truthful, though he held views concerning qadar (predestination).”

Marwān ibn Muḥammad narrated from al-Awzāʿī: “We have not heard of any of the Successors who spoke about qadar except these two men—al-Ḥasan and Makḥūl; but when we investigated the matter, we found the report groundless.”

I say: that is, the two of them had retracted from such views.

Abū Ḥātim said, “In Syria there is no one more proficient in fiqh than Makḥūl.”

Ibn Yūnus said, “It has been reported that Makḥūl was from Egypt.”

It is also said that he had belonged to an Egyptian man of Hudhayl who set him free, after which he settled in Syria.

Another account states that he was Persian, one of the captives taken from Persia; his kunya was Abū Muslim.

He was a jurist and a scholar; he met Abū Umāmah and Anas, and he heard ḥadīth from Wāthilah ibn al-Asqaʿ.

There is a difference of opinion about the year of his death:

• Abū Nuʿaym, Duḥaym, and others said it was in 112 AH.
• Abū Mus-hir said he died in 113 AH.
• On another occasion he said: “after 112 AH.”