and, as for his transmission of fiqh and of the legal opinions of the Companions and Successors—let alone the four canonical schools—no one matched him. In his familiarity with the various religions and sects, the principles of jurisprudence, and kalām, I know of no equal. He commands a fine share of the Arabic language; his style is exceedingly strong, and his expertise in history and biography is nothing short of astonishing. (1)

He also said:

“He had an extensive grasp of the doctrines of the Companions and the Successors, and it was rare for him to speak on an issue without citing the positions of the Four Imams. On certain well-known questions he disagreed with all four, composing treatises on the matter and supporting his view with evidence from the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

“For several years now he has issued fatwas in accordance with whatever proof appears strongest to him, without binding himself to any single madhhab.

“He has upheld the unadulterated Sunnah and the way of the salaf, defending them with proofs, premises, and arguments to which no one before him had laid claim.

“He employed expressions from which earlier and later scholars alike had shrunk in awe, yet he ventured to use them. A large number of scholars in Egypt and Syria rose against him with unsurpassed vehemence: they declared him an innovator, debated him, and opposed him. Still he stood firm, neither flattering nor compromising, but proclaiming the bitter truth to which his ijtihād (independent reasoning), sharp intellect, and vast acquaintance with the Sunnah and scholarly opinions had led him—together with the piety for which he was famed, the perfection of his thought, his quick comprehension, and his fear of Almighty Allah.” (2)

And Jamāl al-Dīn Abū’l-Ḥajjāj al-Mizzī (3) said: “I have never seen anyone more knowledgeable of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, nor anyone who adhered to them more closely than he.” (4)