Ahmad said, “I find no fault in his narrations; he is dearer to me than Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid.” (1)

ʿAbbās al-Dūrī stated, “Abū Ḥamzah was among the trustworthy. Whenever someone who had journeyed to study with him fell ill, he would look into whatever provisions the ailing student required and order that they be supplied. He never traded in sugar; he was called ‘al-Sukkarī’ only because of the sweetness of his speech.”

Ibn al-Ghalābī transmitted from Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn who said: “Abū Ḥamzah related from Ibrāhīm al-Ṣāʾigh—whom he praised for his righteousness—that when one of al-Ṣāʾigh’s neighbors became sick, he would give charity equal to the patient’s daily expenses in gratitude for having been spared that illness himself.”

Al-Nasā’ī said, “He is reliable.”

Ibn Rāhawayh reported from Ḥafṣ ibn Ḥumayd, who heard Ibn al-Mubārak say, “Abū Ḥamzah is a master of ḥadith,” or words to that effect. Concerning Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid he added, “He is not a ḥāfiẓ, yet his narrations are not to be abandoned.” (2)

Sufyān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik narrates from Ibn al-Mubārak who said, “Al-Sukkarī and Ibrāhīm ibn Ṭahmān both have accurate written copies.” (3)

Ibrāhīm ibn Rustum relates that Abū Ḥamzah said, “I continued to attend the sessions of Ibrāhīm al-Ṣāʾigh for a little over twenty years, and no one in my household ever knew where I went or from where I returned.”

The author comments: This was because Ibrāhīm al-Ṣāʾigh was imprisoned—specifically in the prison of the al-Musawwidah—and no one would visit him except clandestinely. (4)