Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Harawi, Abu Ishaq ibn Yasin, Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Harawi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbdus al-Taraʾifi (1), Abu al-Nadr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi, the jurist, Hamid al-Raffaʾ, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-ʿAnbari, Abu al-Fadl Yaʿqub al-Qarrab, together with a great many people from the residents of Herat and of Nishapur.
Al-Hakim said: I heard Muhammad ibn al-ʿAbbas al-Dabbi say—I heard Abu al-Fadl Yaʿqub ibn Ishaq al-Qarrab say:
“We have never seen the like of ʿUthman ibn Saʿid, nor has ʿUthman seen anyone comparable to himself. He acquired Arabic letters from Ibn al-Aʿrabi, jurisprudence from Abu Yaʿqub al-Buwayti, and hadith from Ibn Maʿin and Ibn al-Madini, and he rose to the forefront of these disciplines—may Allah have mercy on him— (2).”
Abu Hamid al-Aʿmashi said: “Among the hadith scholars I have not seen the equal of Muhammad ibn Yahya, ʿUthman ibn Saʿid, and Yaʿqub al-Fasawi (3).”
Abu ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Duhl said: I asked Abu al-Fadl al-Qarrab,
“Have you ever seen anyone superior to ʿUthman ibn Saʿid al-Darimi?”
He lowered his head for a moment and then replied, “Yes— Ibrahim al-Harbi. We sat in al-Darimi’s gathering more than once, and the governor ʿAmr ibn al-Layth once passed by and offered him greetings. He responded, ‘And upon you,’ and then continued, ‘Musaddad narrated to us … ,’ adding nothing beyond returning the salutation (4).”
Ibn ʿAbdus al-Taraʾifi said: “When I decided to set out to visit ʿUthman ibn Saʿid—"