ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd said, “Had Ibn ʿAbbās reached our age, not a single one of us would have equalled even a tenth of him—in other words, none of us would have attained one-tenth of his rank.” (1)

Ibn ʿAbbās remarked, “No one has ever asked me about an issue without my knowing at once whether he is a jurist or not.” He was asked, “How did you acquire this knowledge?” He replied, “With a tongue that questions incessantly and a heart that understands.” Because of the breadth of his learning, he was called “the Ocean.” (2)

Ṭāwūs said, “I encountered about fifty of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whenever Ibn ʿAbbās mentioned something to them and they disagreed with him, he would persist with them until they accepted it.” (3)

Al-Aʿmash said, “When you looked at Ibn ʿAbbās you would say, ‘The most handsome of people!’ When he spoke you would say, ‘The most eloquent of people!’ And when he narrated you would say, ‘The most knowledgeable of people!’” (4)

Mujāhid said, “Whenever Ibn ʿAbbās explained something, you could see light upon it.”

Ibn Sīrīn stated, “People used to hold that a single man might possess knowledge that all the rest did not.” Ibn ʿAwn added, “It was as though he saw that I found this hard to accept, so he said, ‘Did Abu Bakr not know things the people did not? And after him, did ʿUmar not know things the people did not?’” (5)