Abu ʿUbayd al-Ājurrī said: I heard Abu Dawud say, “Sulayman ibn Harb would narrate a hadith, and then relate it again as though it were not the same report.” (1)
Al-Khatib commented, “He transmitted according to meaning, so the wording of the hadith would vary in his narration.” (2)
Imam Ahmad said, “We recorded traditions from Sulayman ibn Harb while Ibn ʿUyaynah was still alive.” (3)
Yaʿqub ibn Shaybah stated, “Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us; he was trustworthy, precise, and possessed a strong memory.” (4)
Al-Nasa’i said, “Reliable, dependable.” (5)
Al-Bukhari reported that Sulayman ibn Harb said, “I was born in Safar, in the year 140 AH.” (6)
Ibn Saʿd and others recorded, “He returned from Mecca after being dismissed from his judgeship there, and he died in Basra, in Rabiʿ al-Akhir, 224 AH.” (7)