I have mentioned these two only to keep them distinct, for the three men are senior contemporaries. Among the scholars there are a number of Muḥammad ibn Ḥātims, but they all belong to a generation younger than this tier.

109 – Ṣāḥib al-Baṣrī, Abū Ayyūb Sulaymān ibn Ayyūb *
The leading imām, ḥāfiẓ, meticulous critic, and reliable authority: Abū Ayyūb Sulaymān ibn Ayyūb, famed as Ṣāḥib al-Baṣrī.

He transmitted from Ḥammād ibn Zayd, Hārūn ibn Dīnār, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, and others of their level.

Those who narrated from him include Ismāʿīl the judge, Ṣāliḥ Jazara, Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṣūfī, and Abū al-Qāsim al-Baghawī.

Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said, “Trustworthy, a ḥāfiẓ.”

Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥibbān reported that Ibn Maʿīn said, “Sulaymān, Ṣāḥib al-Baṣrī, is one of the reliable ḥuffāẓ; when sitting with Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd he would rely on his memory, deeming it beneath him to write in his presence.”

ʿAlī ibn al-Junayd al-Rāzī said, “Abū Ayyūb was among the ḥuffāẓ; in Basra I never saw anyone more distinguished than he.”

Muṭayyan said, “He died in 235 AH.”