He went on to say, “I met al-Thawri, Ibn ʿUyaynah, Maʿmar, Mālik—indeed I met many, many scholars—but never have my eyes beheld anyone comparable to Wakīʿ.”
Al-Mufaḍḍal al-Ghilābī said, “We were in ʿAbbādān when Ḥammād ibn Masʿada said to me, ‘I would like you to come with me to see Wakīʿ.’ We went to him, offered greetings, and spoke with him. When we had left, Ḥammād said to me, ‘Abū Muʿāwiyah! I have seen al-Thawri, yet he was not like this man.’
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal reported, ‘I heard my father say, “Wakīʿ was a master memoriser—an unrivalled memoriser; I have never seen his equal.”’
Bishr ibn Mūsā related, ‘I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say, “I have never seen anyone like Wakīʿ in knowledge, retention, chains of transmission, and classification of topics, all the while displaying humility and godfearingness.”’
I say: These are the words of Aḥmad—renowned for his meticulousness and piety—though he had met the great luminaries such as Hushaym, Ibn ʿUyaynah, Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān, Abū Yūsuf the judge, and their peers.
Ibrāhīm al-Ḥarbī transmitted a similar statement from Aḥmad. Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Sawwār al-Naysābūrī said: ‘I heard ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Sulaymān al-Balkhī say, “I asked Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal about Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, Wakīʿ, and Abū Nuʿaym.” He replied:
‘I have never seen anyone with a better memory than Wakīʿ; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān’s knowledge and precision are sufficient for you. I have not encountered a man who assessed people more impartially, without favouritism, or who was more exacting about narrators, than Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd. As for Abū Nuʿaym, he makes the fewest mistakes of the four, and in my estimation he is reliable—his ḥadith constitute valid evidence.’”
Ṣāliḥ ibn Aḥmad said, ‘I asked my father, “Which of the two is more firmly reliable in your view, Wakīʿ or Yazīd?” He answered, “Praise be to Allah, both of them are reliable; yet I have never seen anyone with a broader command of knowledge than Wakīʿ, nor anyone more closely resembling the ascetics. He never sought the company of those in power.”’
Al-Tirmidhī said, ‘I heard Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan relate: “Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was asked—”’