the Damascene scribe who supervised the Bureau of Land-Tax in greater Syria during the caliphate of al-Maʾmun,

His grandfather’s name is recorded as ʿAbd al-Rahman; some say Ahmad, while others report Saʿid—one of the mawali.

He was born in 150 AH, according to Abu Dawud.

He studied under Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash, al-Haytham ibn Humayd, Yahya ibn Hamza, al-ʿAttaf ibn Khalid, al-Walid ibn Muslim, al-Walid ibn Muhammad al-Muwaqqari (1), Suwayd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Maghraʾ, Muhammad ibn ʿUmar al-Waqidi, and many others.

Those who transmitted from him include Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari, Mahmud ibn Khalid, Yaʿqub al-Fasawi, Abu Zurʿa al-Nasri, Mahmud ibn Sumayʿ, Yazid ibn ʿAbd al-Samad, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Hamza, Abu al-Ahwas al-ʿUkbari, Abu ʿAbd al-Malik Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Busri, Jaʿfar al-Firyabi, and others.

Ibrahim ibn al-Junayd said: “I asked Yahya ibn Maʿin about Muhammad ibn ʿAʾidh and he replied, ‘The Scribe is trustworthy.’”

Abu Zurʿa said: “I asked Duḥaym about him, and he said, ‘He is truthful.’”

Abu Zurʿa al-Dimashqi also relates: “I asked Yahya ibn Maʿin about him, ‘Do you regard him as someone from whom ḥadith may be taken?’ He answered, ‘Yes.’ I then asked, ‘Even though he works in the land-tax administration?’ He said, ‘Yes.’”

Abu Zurʿa al-Dimashqi furthermore listed him among the jurisconsults of Damascus.

Ṣalih ibn Muhammad Jazara remarked: “He is reliable, except that he is a Qadari (i.e., he espouses the Qadari view on predestination).”