speak on ḥadīth the way ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī did in his time, Mūsā ibn Hārūn in his time, and al-Dāraquṭnī in his time.

Al-Dāraquṭnī was asked, “Did you ever see anyone the like of yourself?”
He replied, “In a single discipline I may well have seen someone better than I; but with respect to the combination of disciplines that have been gathered in me (1), no.”

Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī related from the amir Abū Naṣr Hibat Allah ibn Mākūlā, who said: “I saw in a dream as though I were asking about the condition of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Dāraquṭnī and what his outcome was in the Hereafter. It was said to me, ‘That one is called in Paradise al-Imām (2).’ ”

ʿAbbād ibn ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbbād: Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ṭālaqānī, father of the vizier [Ismāʿīl] (3) ibn ʿAbbād [mentioned earlier] (4).
He heard ḥadīth from Abū Khalīfa al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥubāb (5) and others among the scholars of Baghdad, Isfahān, Rayy, [and elsewhere] (6). Those who transmitted from him include his son, the vizier Abū al-Qāsim (7), as well as Abū Bakr ibn Mardawayh. This ʿAbbād also composed a book entitled “Aḥkām al-Qurʾān.” His death and that of his son occurred in this very year—may Allah have mercy on them both.

ʿAqīl ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid (8): Abū al-Ḥasan, nicknamed al-Aḥnaf al-ʿUkbarī, the celebrated poet. He has an independent dīwān, and among his choice verses are those cited by Shaykh Abū al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzī in al-Muntaẓam:

My destined term has passed its judgment—
Sharper than the censurer’s blame;
Severer than that blame of the critic
Is the turning away of a once-close friend;
Harder still than both of these
Is begging largesse from the base.

Among his fine poetry is also the following:

Whoever seeks sovereignty (9)
And relief from long-lasting care,
Let him live solitary among men
And be content with little.