I say: This demonstrates the perfection of that Imām’s intellect and his intuitive grasp of himself—for peers will ever continue to differ.
Abu Jaʿfar al-Tirmidhī relates: Abu al-Faḍl al-Washjirdī (1) narrated to me; I heard Abu ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣāghānī say, “I asked Yaḥyā ibn Aktham which of the two—Abu ʿUbayd or al-Shāfiʿī—was the more learned.
He replied, ‘Abu ʿUbayd used to come to us here frequently. When the books were at his disposal, he produced fine compilations from them, arranging them with eloquent wording by virtue of his command of Arabic. As for al-Shāfiʿī, we often sat with Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan in debate. He was a man of Qurayshī intellect, insight, and mental acuity—clear of mind and understanding, quick to reach the right conclusion, or words to that effect. Had he possessed a broader hearing of hadith, the Ummah of Muḥammad—peace and blessings be upon him—would have had no need of any other jurists besides him.’ (2)
Maʿmar ibn Shabīb said: I heard al-Maʾmūn say, “I tested Muḥammad ibn Idrīs in every matter and found him complete.” (3)
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Bint al-Shāfiʿī said: I heard my father and my uncle say, “Whenever Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah was faced with something in tafsīr or a legal ruling, he would turn to al-Shāfiʿī and say, ‘Ask this man.’” (4)
Tamīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: I heard Suwayd ibn Saʿīd say, “I was with Sufyān when al-Shāfiʿī arrived, greeted us, and sat down. Ibn ʿUyaynah then narrated a tender hadith,