Ibn al-Mubārak remarked, “Sharik is more knowledgeable about the ḥadith of his own region than al-Thawri.”

When this was relayed to Ibn Maʿīn he replied, “No one can be compared with Sufyān, yet Sharik reports more than he does from certain teachers.”

Al-Nasāʾī said, “There is nothing objectionable about him.”

Al-Jawzajānī said, “He had a poor memory, his ḥadith are inconsistent, and he is inclined.(1)”

I say: he had a mild tendency toward Shiʿism, in keeping with the general disposition of the people of his town.

He was one of the leading jurists, and there were incidents between him and Imām Abū Ḥanīfa.(2)

He was born in the year 95 AH. It is also said that he was born in Bukhara and later transferred to Kufah.

Al-Bukhārī named his grandfather Sinān, whereas his teacher Abū Nuʿaym called him al-Ḥārith.

Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī said, “Sharik made mistakes in four hundred ḥadith.”

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sharik reported: “My father held ten thousand legal questions from Jābir al-Juʿfī and ten thousand legal questions from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym.”

Abū Nuʿaym said, “I heard Sharik say, ‘ʿUthmān was preferred on the day he was preferred, and he was the best of the people.’”

I say: After such a statement, one can hardly ask for greater fairness from a Kufan.