Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, “Layth ibn Abi Sulaym’s reports are inconsistent, yet people have still narrated from him.”
He also remarked, “I never saw Yahya ibn Saʿid hold a worse opinion of anyone than he did of Layth, Ibn Ishaq, and Hammam; no one could challenge him about them.”
ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad related: “I asked ʿUthman ibn Abi Shaybah, and he told me, ‘I put the same question to Jarir about Layth, ʿAtaʾ ibn al-Saʾib, and Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad. He replied, “Layth was the most given to confusion, while Yazid was the soundest of them.”’”
ʿAbd Allah added, “I then asked my father about this, and he said, ‘I say exactly what Jarir said.’”
He further reported: “Yahya ibn Maʿin told me, ‘Layth is weaker than Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad; Yazid is superior to him in hadith.’”
Muʿawiyah ibn Salih ibn Yahya transmitted: “Layth is weak, though his narrations are still written down.”
Al-Fallas and others stated, “Yahya al-Qattan would not transmit from Layth or from Hajjaj ibn Artaʿah, whereas ʿAbd al-Rahman (ibn Mahdi) would relay their material through Sufyan and others.”
Ibn al-Madini and others said, “I heard Yahya (ibn Maʿin) declare, ‘Mujalid is dearer to me than Layth and Hajjaj.’”
Abu Maʿmar al-Qatiʿi reported: “Ibn ʿUyaynah regarded Layth ibn Abi Sulaym as weak.”
Ahmad ibn Sinan said, “I heard ʿAbd al-Rahman (ibn Mahdi) remark, ‘Among Layth, ʿAtaʾ, and Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, Layth is the best of the three in my estimation.’”
Yahya ibn Sulayman, citing Ibn Idris, said: “Whenever I sat with Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, I heard something from him that I had never heard before.”
Abu Nuʿaym related that Shuʿbah once asked Layth, “Where did those three—ʿAtaʾ, Tawus, and Mujahid—ever meet together for you?” Layth retorted, “When your father was being struck with a sandal on his wedding night.”
Qabisah reported that a man present observed, “From that day on, Shuʿbah remained on his guard against Layth.”
ʿAbd al-Malik Abu al-Hasan al-Maymuni said, “I heard Yahya mention Layth ibn Abi Sulaym and remark: ‘His narrations from Tawus are weak, and whenever Layth combines Tawus with someone else, the additional material comes from Layth and is weak.’”