Ishaq ibn Dawud al-Samarqandi said: A relative of mine from al-Shash came to me and related, “I visited Ahmad ibn Hanbal and began describing Abu (1) al-Mundhir to him, praising him at length. He replied, ‘I do not know this man; our brothers have been away from us for a long time. But why do you overlook ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman? Hold fast to that master—hold fast to that master.’ (2)
Nuʿaym ibn Naʿim narrated: I heard Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Numayr say, “ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman has outstripped us in memorization and scrupulous piety.” (3)
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Warraq said: I heard Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Mukharrimi proclaim, “People of Khurasan! So long as ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman is among you, turn to no one else.” (4)
He also said: I heard Abu Saʿid al-Ashajj declare, “ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman is our imam.” (5)
And I heard ʿUthman ibn Abi Shaybah say, “The standing of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman is clearer than anything they claim with respect to insight, retention, and self-restraint—may Allah grant him well-being.” (6)
Muhammad ibn Bashshar said, “The preservers of hadith for the entire world are four: Abu Zurʿa in al-Rayy, Muslim in Naysabur, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman in Samarqand, and Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil in Bukhara.”