Hajjaj al-Aʿwar said: “I asked Shuʿbah about Mubarak ibn Fadalah and al-Rabiʿ ibn Sabih (1). He replied, ‘Mubarak is dearer to me.’

ʿAffan narrated from Hammad ibn Salamah: “Mubarak ibn Fadalah used to sit with us in the company of Ziyad al-Aʿlam. Whenever a report with an uninterrupted chain (musnad) was required, it was referred to Mubarak, whereas questions of legal opinion (fatwa) went to Ziyad.”

Wuhayb said: “I saw Mubarak sitting with Yunus ibn ʿUbayd; he would recount hadith in Yunus’s circle while Yunus listened.”

ʿAffan also said: “Mubarak was reliable, he was one of the ascetics, he was …, and he was …”

Abu Hafs al-Fallas said: “Yahya and ʿAbd al-Rahman would not transmit from him.”

Abu Hatim remarked: “ʿAffan used to lavish praise on Mubarak ibn Fadalah.”

Al-Fallas likewise said: “I heard Yahya ibn Saʿid speak well of Mubarak ibn Fadalah.”

Abu Talib transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal: “Mubarak ibn Fadalah would frequently raise reports—tracing them back to the Prophet—and on more than one occasion he would say: ‘From al-Hasan al-Basri: ʿImran narrated to us, and Ibn Mughaffal narrated to us,’ whereas the other students of al-Hasan do not say that.”

ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad reported: “My father was asked about Mubarak and al-Rabiʿ ibn Sabih, and he said, ‘The two are very close (in standing).’ He was also asked about Mubarak and Ashʿath, and he said, ‘They are very close; Mubarak used to practice tadlis (2).’ ”

Al-Marwadhi narrated from Ahmad: “Nothing that Mubarak reports from al-Hasan is usable as evidence.”

ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad further said: “I asked Ibn Maʿin about Mubarak ibn Fadalah, and he replied, ‘His narrations are weak; he is like al-Rabiʿ ibn Sabih in weakness.’”