Yahya ibn Saʿid envied him and said, “He narrates far too much from Ibn Jurayj. Whoever accompanies a man for twelve years—would he not wish to transmit abundantly from him?!” He added, “I have been informed that his mother used to help him with his writing.” I said, “I do not believe he remained in Mecca—if he did at all—except for about a year.”

Al-Khatib related that Muslim ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Balkhi said: “Ibn Jurayj married the mother of ʿUmar ibn Harun, and from that point ʿUmar’s hearing from him greatly increased (1).”

Ibn ʿAdiyy said: “It is reported that he met Ibn Jurayj. He was handsome, so Ibn Jurayj asked him, ‘Do you have a sister?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ Ibn Jurayj then married his sister, remarking, ‘Perhaps this beauty will be found in the sister just as it is in her brother.’ After that, ʿUmar alone transmitted certain reports from Ibn Jurayj that no one else related.”

Ibn Abi Dawud said, citing Saʿid ibn Zanjal: “I heard one of our companions, a man called Bur ibn al-Fadl (2), say: I heard Abu ʿAsim mention ʿUmar ibn Harun and state, ‘Among us he absorbed knowledge better than Ibn al-Mubarak (3).’”

Ahmad ibn Sayyar said, “He possessed a vast amount of audition.” Those who narrated from him include ʿAffan, Qutaybah, and more than one other.

It is said that the Murjiʾites of Balkh used to vilify him, whereas Abu Rajāʾ—meaning Qutaybah—praised him and declared him trustworthy (4).

And it was reported from Wakiʿ that he said: “ʿUmar ibn Harun passed by us, spent the night with us, and he was—”