and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, the ḥāfiẓ of the Maghrib, said: "A sound ḥadīth." Among them is al-Ḍiyāʾ al-Maqdisī in "Juzʾ Ittibāʿ al-Sunan wa-Ijtināb al-Bidaʿ." I have mentioned their statements after I extracted the ḥadīth in "al-Irwāʾ" as previously mentioned, and he is well aware of this; for he frequently refers to this book and others of my writings, benefiting from them like his teacher; as is known to all who have reviewed their extractions, then "neither thanks nor gratitude" as is said in some countries, but rather it is insinuation and slander, seeking faults accompanied by envy and deep-seated malice; as he indicates by referring to the two series "al-Ṣaḥīḥah" and "al-Ḍaʿīfah" whenever he attributes to them, saying: "his Ṣaḥīḥah," "his Ḍaʿīfah"; imitating the fanatical, spiteful Shaykh Ḥabīb al-Aʿẓamī and then the younger al-Ghumārī: al-Saqqāf! "Oh, what a wonder that a wretched one descended upon us from the arrival of a stray" (1) who exalts himself over these ḥuffāẓ, and criticizes them while he, as it is said, "is neither in the caravan nor in the vanguard," and that is nothing but a desire and love for prominence, ignoring the saying of the scholars: "The love of prominence breaks the backs." And that, by Allāh, is the height of wonder and arrogance! How so; this is his teacher and mentor—whom he praises! and clings to, flatters, and boasts of agreeing with him in dozens of ḥadīths (2)—could do nothing but declare the ḥadīth authentic in his commentary on "Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān/al-Iḥsān" (1/178-179), and "al-Siyar" (3/420 and 17/283), and if he found a way—he too—to disagree, he would not have hesitated!! How similar he is to that misguided al-Saqqāf who misguides the Imams of the Salaf, and opposes the ḥuffāẓ;