He amassed a vast body of material, arranged it by subject-headings and by the names of the shaykhs, convened formal dictation gatherings, and was a figure of great prominence.

Those who transmitted from him include Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd and Ibn Ṣāʿid—both of whom had been his own teachers—as well as Ibn ʿUqda, the two Ḥākims, Ibn Mandah, Ibn Jumayʿ, Yaḥyā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Muzakkī, and others.

He was truthful and well-versed, one of the very vessels of knowledge, and in devotion to God he belonged to another category altogether.

Abū al-Fath al-Qawwās said, “I heard from him, and it was said that he was among the awliyāʾ (saints) (1).”

Al-Dāraqutnī was asked about him and replied, “An outstanding, trustworthy scholar.” (2)

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Isḥāq al-Muzakkī relates: “I heard Abū Bakr ibn Dāwūd the ascetic say, ‘I was in Basra during a time of drought, and for forty days I ate nothing but a single loaf of bread. Whenever hunger struck, I would recite Sūrah Yā Sīn with the intention of being satisfied, and God spared me the pangs of hunger.’” (3)

Ibn Dāwūd died in Rabīʿ al-Awwal 342 AH, on a Friday, ten days before the end of the month.

Al-Ḥākim recorded the date, adding: “He was the shaykh of his age in Sufism. He left Naysābūr in 294 AH and returned to it in 337 AH. He was among the accepted authorities, and he compiled ‘Akhbār al-Ṣūfiyyah’ (Accounts of the Sufis).”