but his mistakes, when set against his sound judgments, are no more than a drop in a fathomless sea; and even those slips are forgiven. For in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī it is related: “When a judge exerts himself and reaches the correct ruling, he receives two rewards; if he strives and errs, he still receives one.” Thus he is rewarded either way.
Imām Mālik ibn Anas used to say, “Every person’s statement may be accepted or rejected—except the one lying in this grave,”¹ meaning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
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Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Fazāwī, Burhān al-Dīn, popularly known as “Ibn al-Farkāḥ,” d. 729 AH:
Ibn Kathīr read to him Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other ḥadīth collections, and studied Shāfiʿī jurisprudence under him. He said of him:
“He minded his own affairs, understood the tenor of his age, and spent all his time in study and worship. He read widely and frequently transmitted ḥadīth; we ourselves read Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other works to him. He taught at the Bādarāʾīyah Madrasa and penned marginalia on al-Tanbīh containing benefits found nowhere else, as well as a concise gloss on Ibn al-Ḥājib’s Mukhtaṣar in legal theory, in addition to other substantial writings. In short, I have not seen among our Shāfiʿī teachers anyone like him. He was handsome, radiated splendor, dignity, and gravity. His conduct was excellent; he could display sharpness yet would soon relent. His generosity was abundant and his kindness to students plentiful.
He passed away early Friday morning, the seventh of Jumādā al-Ulā, in the aforesaid school. The funeral prayer was held immediately after the Friday prayer in the Great Mosque. His bier was borne aloft on shoulders and fingertips, so great was the crowd, and he was buried near his father and relatives at Bāb al-Ṣaghīr. May Allah the Exalted have mercy on him.² -
Aḥmad ibn Abī Ṭālib ibn Abī al-Niʿam ibn Niʿmah, Shihāb al-Dīn, Abū al-ʿAbbās, al-Ḥajjār, known as “Ibn al-Shuhnah,” d. 730 AH:
Ibn Kathīr received from him several ḥadīth parts by ijāzah and audition, as well as Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. He said of him:
“He was a venerable shaykh, comely in appearance and pure of heart, blessed with unimpaired senses and faculties. He lived fully one hundred years—and more—for he heard Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī from al-Zabīdī in 630 AH, and he himself recited it for transmission in 730 AH, on 9 Ṣafar, in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, where we listened to him that very day, praise be to Allah.
Al-Ḥajjār died on Monday, the twenty-fifth of Ṣafar of the same year. The funeral prayer was performed at the Muẓaffarī Mosque on Tuesday, and he was buried in his own plot near the Dawmī corner beside the Afram Mosque. His funeral was thronged with mourners. May Allah have mercy on him.”³
¹ Pointing to the grave of the Prophet ﷺ.
² Ibn Kathīr’s words, abridged.
³ Ibn Kathīr’s words, abridged.