in Basra, and he added, “He is a delight to the eye in the study of hadith.”
This was reported by al-Marwadhi from him.

His son, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad, also transmitted on his authority that he said, “I have never seen anyone superior to Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī and Saʿīd ibn ʿĀmir, and I have never seen anyone more clear-minded than Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh—he was like a solid rock.”

Al-Kawsaj related from Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn—and Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī concurred—that he was “reliable.”

ʿUthmān al-Dārimī said: “I asked Ibn Maʿīn, ‘Which of the two do you prefer: Azhar al-Sammān in his reports from Ibn ʿAwn, or Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh?’ He replied, ‘Both are trustworthy.’
I then asked, ‘Is Muʿādh more firmly established in narrating from Shuʿbah, or is Ghundar?’ He answered, ‘Trustworthy, and trustworthy.’”

Al-Nasāʾī said: “Muʿādh is trustworthy, firmly reliable.”

ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī stated: “I heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd say, ‘I pursued hadith together with two Arab men—Khālid ibn al-Ḥārith al-Hujaymī and Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh al-ʿAnbarī—while I am a client of Quraysh, of the clan of Taym. By Allah, they never once reached a single transmitter before me so as to write anything down until I was present; and when they agreed with me, I cared nothing for whoever among the people might differ with me.’”

I also heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd say: “In Kūfah, Basra, or the Ḥijāz there is no one more accurate than Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh. When he corroborates me, I pay no heed to whoever disagrees with me. Shuʿbah used to swear that he would not transmit hadith, yet he would make an exception for Muʿādh and Khālid.”

It is further reported that Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd once said in his prostration, “O Allah, forgive Khālid ibn al-Ḥārith and Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh.”

He then said, “Shuʿbah narrated to us from Muʿāwiyah ibn Qurrah that Abū al-Dardāʾ said, ‘Indeed, I seek forgiveness in my prostration for seventy of my brothers, mentioning each of them by name along with his father’s name.’”

Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā ibn al-Ṭabbāʿ said: “I do not know of anyone who arrived in Baghdad except that….”