say, or that we have authorized for ourselves what they themselves feel free to do—namely, recounting people’s doctrines about them on the basis of what those narrators deem the necessary implication of their words, thereby fabricating a blatant lie against them… We do not consider that permissible with respect to anyone. Here, however, are the very books of those scholars: examine them for yourselves and do not blindly follow whoever merely reports from them.

– The critical spirit of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim permeates the work. Just as he scrutinized schools, opinions, and statements—separating what is sound from what is unsound—he also evaluated individual scholars and their writings.

As for his assessment of individuals, some examples are:
• His description (p. 881) of Saʿid ibn ʿAmir al-Dubʿi as “the Imam of the people of Basra in knowledge and religion, belonging to the rank of the teachers of al-Shafiʿi, Ahmad, and Ishaq.”
• His description (p. 848) of ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Warraq as “the righteous, learned man—about whom Imam Ahmad, when asked, ‘Whom should we consult after you?’ replied, ‘Ask ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Warraq.’”
• His description (p. 1009) of Imam Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil al-Bukhari as “the ḥāfiẓ of Islam.”
• His statement (p. 330) concerning Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir: “He is among the most knowledgeable of people regarding consensus and divergence.”
• His description (p. 872) of Abu ʿUmar al-Talamanki al-Maliki as “one of the leading Imams of his time in al-Andalus.”
• His description (p. 870) of Imam Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr as “the Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah in the western lands.”