I heard Abū Bakr al-Ṣibghī say, “Among the scholars of ḥadith I have never seen anyone more awe-inspiring than Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib; we would sit before him as though birds were perched upon our heads.

Once, while we were in his mosque, Abū Zakariyyā al-ʿAnbarī sneezed and tried to suppress it. I said to him, ‘Easy, easy; do not be afraid—you are not standing before Allah (1).’

I also heard Abū al-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm say, ‘I heard Ibn Abī Ṭālib relate that Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā asked me, “Who is the most reliable memorizer you have met in Iraq?” I replied, “Since Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, I have seen no one like Abū Kurayb.”’

Abū al-Faḍl went on, ‘People held Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib in great awe, and he would only attend the judges’ court when compelled to give testimony.’

Ḥassān ibn Muḥammad the jurist narrated to us: ‘I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṭālib say: I visited Aḥmad several times after the ordeal (miḥna) and conversed with him, hoping he would transmit a ḥadith to me, until I said, “Abū ʿAbdillāh! The ḥadith of Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah, in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: ‘Imruʾ al-Qays is the standard-bearer of the poets to Hell’ (2).”’

He replied, ‘It is said to be through al-Zuhrī from him.’ I asked, ‘Who transmits it from al-Zuhrī?’ He said, ‘Abū al-Jahm.’ I asked, ‘And who relates it from Abū al-Jahm?’ He fell silent. I pressed him again and he said, ‘O Allah, grant safety,’ so I kept quiet.

He also said: I heard Abū ʿAlī al-Naysābūrī say, ‘I used to go repeatedly to al-Walī…’