Then al-Shafiʿi (1) said, “Jaʿfar al-Firyabi narrated it to us; ʿAmr related it to us in the same wording.”
Judge Abu al-Tahir al-Sadusi stated: “I heard al-Firyabi say, ‘Every teacher I met in Khurasan, Iraq, and the other provinces I heard only from his own dictation—except for Abu Musʿab, and he mentioned another, meaning Muʿalla ibn Mahdi, for the two of them had grown old and weak.’ ”
The hadith master ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAdi said: “I witnessed al-Firyabi’s gathering; it was estimated that it contained fifteen thousand inkwells, and an individual (2) had to spend the night in the hall to secure a place for the next morning.”
Ahmad ibn Kamil remarked, “Al-Firyabi was trustworthy, dependable.”
Judge Abu al-Walid al-Baji said, “Jaʿfar al-Firyabi is reliable and meticulous.”
Al-Daraqutni reported: “Al-Firyabi died in Muharram of the year 301 AH.”
Abu Hafs ibn Shahin said: “He passed away on a Wednesday night in Muharram, at the age of ninety-four.” He added, “He had dug for himself a grave in the cemetery of Abu Ayyub five years before his death, but it was not decreed that he be buried there.”
Ismaʿil al-Khatibi said: “He died five days into Muharram.”
ʿIsa al-Rukkhaji, however, said: “He died with four days remaining of Muharram.”
Abu Bakr al-Khatib concluded: “ʿIsa’s statement is the correct one,” a view echoed by more than one authority.