al-Rahman ibn Jawshan, Kahmas, al-Muthanna ibn Saʿid al-Dubʿi, al-Muthanna ibn Saʿid al-Taʾi, Ibn Abi Layla, Misʿar ibn Habib, Misʿar ibn Kidam, Muʿawiyah ibn Abi Muzarrid, Musʿab ibn Sulaym, Ibn Abi Dhiʾb, Sufyan, Shuʿbah, Israʾil, Sharik, and many others besides.
He was one of the oceans of knowledge, a foremost authority in memorization.
Those who narrated from him include: Sufyan al-Thawri—who had been one of his own teachers—ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, al-Fadl ibn Musa al-Sinani (both of whom were older than he), Yahya ibn Adam, ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, al-Humaydi, Musaddad, ʿAli, Ahmad, Ibn Maʿin, Ishaq, the sons of Abu Shaybah, Abu Khaythamah, Abu Kurayb, Ibn Numayr, Abu Hisham al-Rifaʿi, ʿAbd Allah ibn Hashim al-Tusi, Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbar al-ʿAtaridi, Ibrahim ibn ʿAbd Allah al-ʿAbsi, and multitudes of others.
His father was the supervisor of the public treasury in Kufah and enjoyed great awe and prestige.
He himself transmitted from Yahya ibn Ayyub al-Maqabiri.
He said: “Wakiʿ inherited one hundred thousand dirhams from his mother.”
Yahya ibn Yaman remarked, “When Sufyan al-Thawri passed away, Wakiʿ took his place.”
Al-Qaʿnabi related: “We were in the presence of Hammad ibn Zayd; when Wakiʿ left, the people said, ‘That man is the preserver of Sufyan’s tradition.’ Hammad replied, ‘If you wish, I would even say he outweighs Sufyan.’”
Al-Fadl ibn Muhammad al-Shaʿrani said: “I heard Yahya ibn Aktham say, ‘I accompanied Wakiʿ in both residence and travel. He fasted continuously and completed a full recitation of the Quran every night.’”