Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal said, “He is truthful.”

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd remarked, “He prayed abundantly and was scrupulously pious.” (1)

Sufyān al-Thawrī said, “There was no one in Kūfa more devoted in worship than he.”

Al-Marwadhī relates that Abū ʿAbd Allāh (Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal) said, “I was once with Ibn Maʿīn when he met Abū Badr. Ibn Maʿīn said to him, ‘Shaykh, fear Allah and review these ḥadiths—do not let it be that your son is the one handing them to you.’ ”

Abū ʿAbd Allāh continued, “I felt embarrassed and stepped aside; later I heard that Abū Badr had said, ‘If you are lying, then may Allah deal with you—may He indeed deal with you.’ ”

Then Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥanbal remarked, “I hope he is truthful.” (2)

I say: Afterwards, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn pronounced him reliable and treated him justly. Aḥmad ibn Abī Khaythama transmitted Yaḥyā’s endorsement.

His son, Abū Hammām, was likewise counted among the trustworthy scholars.

As for Abū Ḥātim, he said, “Abū Badr’s ḥadith transmission is soft; he is not to be cited as proof.”

I say: Yet he has already crossed the bridge—the compilers of the Ṣaḥīḥ collections have used his narrations as evidence. (3)

Abū Ḥātim then added, “Nonetheless, he possesses sound narrations from Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr.” (4)

I say: However, Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, despite his honesty and knowledge, still shows a degree of softness, and the foremost critics did not rely upon him.