The Meaning of the Pious Salaf’s Saying: “Bila Kayf” In regards to Allah’s Attributes

[Shehzad Sattar]

The Meaning of the Pious Salaf’s Saying: “Bila Kayf” In regards to Allah’s Attributes

Introduction:
In a number of narrations of the pious predecessors regarding Allah’s Attributes, is the phrase «bila (without) kayfa», so what does it mean?

The answer will be clear through this article, insha Allah.

Some of those reports:
- Sufyan Ibn `Uyaynah (d.198 H.) :
Ahmad bin Nasr said: I asked Sufyan Ibn `Uyaynah: “O Abu Muhammad I would like to ask you.”
He replied: «Do not ask.»
I said: “If I do not ask you then who do I ask?’ He said: «Ask.»
I said: “What do you say about the ahadeeth that narrated (such things as) : The hearts are between two fingers (of Allah), and that Allah laughs or is amazed at the one who remembers Him in market places?”
He answered: «Pass them as they came bila kayfa » (1) This has been reported with an authentic chain of narrators.
He also said: «Everything that Allah described Himself with in the Quran its recitation is its tafseer (interpretation), no kayfa nor similarity.» (2)

- Al-Awza`i (d. 157 H.)
Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 H.)
al-Layth bin Sa`d (d. 175 H.)
Malik bin Anas (d. 179 H.) :
al-Waleed bin Muslim said: "I asked Al-Awza`i, Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik bin Anas and al-Layth bin Sa’d regarding the ahadeeth that state the description (of Allah), ru’yah (seeing Allah on the Day of Judgement) and the Quran, so they said: «Pass them as they camebila kayfa»." (3)

- Ishaq bin Rahwaih (d. 238 H.) said: «Ibn Taher asked me about the hadeeth of the Prophet –sallallahu alayhi wa sallam– regarding the descending of Allah, so I said to him: “He descends bila kayfa”.»(4)
And many more examples.

The Meaning of 'Bila Kayf':

If we examine the other wordings of these previously mentioned narrations, as well as the other statements of the Righteous Predecessors (Salaf) concerning the attributes of Allah, we will find the explanation of their statement "bila kayf".

The principle rule concerning the statements of the companions, al-Tabi’een and their successors in matters of creed is that their statements complement each other in explanation unless reconciling their statements collectively is not possible. Some of the righteous salaf would narrate an athar (i.e. narration; report) using its exact wording, while others would narrate it by meaning.

For example, the athar of al-Waleed bin Muslim was reported with a different wording as follows: “I asked Al-Awza`i, Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik bin Anas and al-Layth bin Sa’d about the ahadeeth that mentions the Ru’yah (i.e seeing Allah on the Day of Judgement) and the attributes, so he said: «Pass them as they have come, and we do not explain them».” (5)

“Bila kayf" was explained in this report with the word “tafsir” (i.e. explanation; interpretation), meaning: not to explain how it is, and not to delve into its kayfiyyah.

Kayfiyyah is: the description and reality of a thing.
Takyeef is: describing the kayfiyyah and discussing it.

Abdul-Aziz al-Majishoon (d. 164 H.) said: «They are only commanded to look and ponder upon the creation of Allah. The question of ‘how?’ is asked of he who did not exist at one point then came into existence, whereas the One who always existed, and there is nothing like unto Him, none knows how He is except Him alone. » (6)

Wakee` bin al-Jarrah (d. 196 H.) said: «We submit to these ahadeeth as they have come, without asking: ‘How is this?’, and ‘Why did this come?’; meaning hadeeths like the hadeeth of Ibn Mas`ud: ”Allah, Most High, carries the heavens on a finger, and carries the mountains on a finger“, and hadeeth of the Prophet -Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam-: ”The heart of the son of Adam is between two fingers of the fingers of The Most Gracious (Ar-Rahman) “, and so forth.” (7)

Abu `Ubaid al-Qasim bin Sallam (d. 224 H.) reported in the chapter which includes ahadeeth about seeing Allah (ru’yah), the Kursi, the place of the two feet, the laughter of Allah due to His slaves despair[in one particular incident that has been reported] …"where our Lord was before creating the heavens?", and that the hellfire does not become full until Allah, Most High, places His foot in it; then it says: ‘That is sufficient, that is sufficient’ and similar hadeeths; then he said:«These are authentic ahadeeth that have been narrated by scholars of hadeeth and jurists, and we believe in their truthfulness without a doubt. However, if it was asked: ‘How does He place His foot? Or how did He laugh?’ We say: ‘This is not explainable, and we have not heard anyone explain it before’.»

Ishaq bin Rahwaih, Abu Ya`qoob (d. 238 H.) said: «Prince Abdullah bin Tahir said to me: ‘O Abu Ya`qoob, this hadeeth that you report from the Prophet –Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam- that”Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven“, how does He descend?’ I replied: "May Allah honor the prince! It is not said to the affair of Allah ‘how?’ He descends bila kayfa."» (9)

Abu Isa at-Tirmidhi (d. 279 H.) said: «More than one of the people of knowledge said about this hadeeth and other similar ahadeeth that discuss the attributes of Allah and the descending of the Lord, Glorified be He, every night to the lowest heaven; they said: “The narrations are confirmed, believed in, not imagined, and it is not to be said: ‘How?’; Malik, Sufyan bin `Uyaynah, Abdullah bin al-Mubarak have been reported as saying: “Take these ahadeeth as they are without ‘how’ (bila kayfa)” This is the view of the people of knowledge from Ahlu Al-Sunnah wal Jama’ah». (10)

He also said in another place in his “Sunan” : «Many narrations have been narrated from the Prophet –sallallahu alayhi wa sallam- such as this, ones that mention ru’yah, the people seeing their Lord (in the Hereafter), and the mentioning of the Foot (of Allah), and other similar things. The way of the scholars such as Sufyan Al-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, Ibn Al-Mubarak, Ibn `Uyaynah, Wakee`, and others regarding this is that they narrated these things, and then said: “These hadiths are to be narrated, we believe in them and it is not to be said: ‘How?’.” (11)

Nu`aym bin Hammad (d. 228 H.) said: “It is obligatory upon every believer to believe in all that Allah has described Himself with and to refrain from thinking about the (Essence of the) Lord -Most High-, and to act upon the hadeeth of the Prophet –sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: ‘Meditate upon the creation (of Allah) and do not meditate upon the Creator.’ Nu`aym said: ‘There is nothing like Him, nor is there anything that resembles Him.” (12)

From this, we deduce that the meaning of ‘bila kayfa’ is : without asking “kayfa?” (i.e. how); as we do not have knowledge about the kayfiyyah, and asking about the kayfiyyah leads to delving into it. Indeed, the reality of these attributes is part of the unseen that only Allah knows alone, and therefore to delve into the kayfiyyah is a form of likening the Creator with His creation, because mankind describes a matter according to what he witnesses and knows, whereas Allah {there is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer} [42: 11]. Delving in it is to speak about Allah without knowledge, therefore, it is obligatory to acknowledge, submit, and confirm the attributes that Allah -Most High- confirmed for Himself, as well as the attributes that the Messenger of Allah –Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam- confirmed that Allah possesses; without touching the topic of its kayfiyyah by asking about it or by explaning it, we leave the knowledge of its reality to Allah –Azza wa Jal-.

The meaning stated above is supported by the understanding of numerous expert scholars who came after the first generations:

Abu Abdillah al-Zubairi (14) (d. 317 H.) said in “Akhbaar al-Sifaat” : “We believe in these reports that came, as they have come, we truly believe in them, and we do not ask: ‘how?’, but we stop at where these hadeeths stop”. (15)

Abu Bakr al-Isma`ili (d. 371 H.) said in “I`tiqaad A’imat al-Hadeeth” : “He, Most High, Istawaa (rose) over the Throne bila kayfa, for Allah, Most High, informed us that He Rose (Istawaa) over the throne, and did not tell us how His Istwaa was”. (16)

He also said: “Allah, Most High, descends to the lowest heaven, as proven correct from the words of the Messenger of Allah –Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam-, and Allah, Most High, said: {Do they await but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds} [2: 210], and He said: {And your Lord come, and His angels, rank upon rank} we believe in all that as it is revealed, bila kayfa, for if Allah, The Exalted, wanted to explain to us the kayfiyyah of that, He would have done so." (17)

Abu Mansour Ma’mar bin Ahmad (d. 418 H.) said, while discussing the topic of Allah’s attributes: “We truly submit and believe in all of them bila kayfa, nor tawil, we believe in the like the belief of those who submit and are safeguarded (in religion);and we do not think about its kayfiyyah ... Seeking safety while dealing with the knowledge of the attributes of Allah, Most High, is even more important as {There is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer} [42:11]. His saying {nothing is like Him}negates every likeness and resemblance; and {and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer} negates every Ta’teel (i.e. denial of Allah’s Attributes; divesting Him of His Attributes) and Ta’weel (interpreting the them according to the non-apparent meaning).” (18)

Abu al-Mudhaffar as Sam`ani (d. 489 H.) said: “As for the hand (yad) : it is an attribute of Allah – Most High – without questioning how it is; He has two hands as it has been proven by the authentic saying of the Prophet –sallallahu alayhi wa sallam-: ”Both His hands are right“, and Allah knows best of the kayfiyyah of it."
And many other similar supporting scholarly statements.

Points Concerning the matter of the Kayfiyyah:

1- Our knowledge and belief in a matter is not dependent on knowing its kayfiyyah. In other words, not knowing the description and reality of an attribute neither negates nor opposes believing in the Attribute itself as there is no interdependence between the meaning and the kayfiyyah.

Hammad bin Abu Hanifah (d. 176 H.) said: «We said to them: Do you see the saying of Allah, Most High, {And your Lord comes and His angels rank upon rank} [89: 22] and His saying {Do they await but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds, and the angels} [al-Baqarah: 210]; does our Lord come as He said? And do the angels come rank upon rank? »

They said: “As for the angels, they come rank upon rank but the Lord, Most High, we do not know what He meant by that, and we do not know how His coming is.”

We replied: «We have not obligated you to know how His Coming is, but we obligate you to believe in His coming. What would be your ruling of someone who denies that the angels will come rank upon rank?»

They said: “He would be a denying disbeliever (kafir).”

We then said: «So is the ruling when someone denies that Allah -Most High- will come, he is a denying disbeliever.» (20)

Ibn Khuzaimah al-Shafi`i (d. 311 H.) said, regarding the attribute of descending: “The scholars of Hijaz and Iraq reported it from the Prophet, that the Lord descends to dunya heaven every night. We therefore testify and acknowledge on our tongues, while our hearts are certain of the information about Allah descending; without delving into how it is, as our Prophet did not describe to us how our Creator descends to the dunya heaven, he only informed us that He descends. And Allah –Most High– and His Prophet –Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam- did not leave a matter that Muslims are required to know about their religion without mentioning it to them. Therefore, we narrate this information and believe in what it includes about the descending of Allah without delving into how this happens, or describing this descending, for the Prophet did not describe it to us.” (23)

Ibn Abdul-Barr al-Maliki (d. 463 H.) said: “We have comprehended and perceived through our senses that we have souls that exist within our bodies but we do not know the reality of this. Our lack of knowledge about the description and reality of our souls does not mean that we do not have souls; similarly, our lack of knowledge about the kayfiyyah (reality; description) of Allah over His throne does not mean that He is not over His throne.” (24)

Abul Qasim Isma`il al-Asbahani Ash-Shafi`i (d. 535 H.) said, while addressing the topic of Allah’s attributes:
“If it was said: ‘How would it be valid to believe in a matter in which its reality and description is beyond our knowledge?' Or 'How would a thing that our minds never experienced before be described?'

The answer is: our belief in what we are commanded to believe in is correct, and our knowledge encompasses the matter in what is necessary/mandatory, although we do not have sufficient knowledge of its hidden reality; Such as being commanded to believe in the angels, the revealed books, the Messengers, the Last Day, Paradise and its grace, and Hell and its punishment; though it is a fact that we do not possess knowledge of each matter in detail, but we are commanded to believe in all these matters in totality. Is it not obvious that we do not know the names of numerous Prophets and angels, and we cannot even count them or know their descriptions or their special characteristics, yet all this was never a reason to invalidate our belief in that which we are commanded to believe in concerning them. The Prophet -Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ”Allah, Most High, says: ‘I have prepared for my righteous slaves what no eye has ever seen, what no ear has ever heard, and what no mind has imagined’.“ [Sahih Bukhari and Muslim] (25)

2- Delving into the kayfiyyah of Allah’s attributes is Tashbeeh(i.e. Comparing/likening Allah to His creation), for indeed man describes a matter according to what he has seen, whereas Allah{There is nothing like Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer}.

Abdur-Rahman bin Mahdi, Abu Sa`eed (d. 198 H.) said to a youth from the children of Ja`far bin Sulaiman: «Stay where you are», so he sat down, and stayed like that until everyone left. Then Ibn Mahdi said: «You know of the disputes and whims that are present in this place, which I do not mind except what I have heard about you; for indeed, the matter (i.e. innovations; deviancies) stays light as far as it is not in your (i.e. authorities; rulers) command, for when it is in your command/authority it becomes magnified».

The young man asked: “O Abu Sa`eed, and what is that (you heard about me that made you concerned)? He said: «I was informed that you speak about our Lord, and you describe Him and liken Him with others.»

The young man replied: “That is true”, then he started to talk about the attributes.

Ibn Mahdi then interrupted saying: «O son, do not rush, let us first speak about creation, if we are uncapable of describing the creation then we are surely more uncapable of describing the Creator. Tell me about a hadeeth that Shu`bah narrated to me … that Abdullah commented on the ayah: {He indeed saw some of the great signs of his Lord} he said: ‘He saw Gabriel possessing 600 wings?’

He replied: "Yes", he knew the hadeeth.

Abdur-Rahman then said: «Describe to me a creation from the creation of Allah that has 600 wings.»

The young man just stood there staring at him, so Ibn Mahdi said to him: «O son, let me simplify it for you, I will remove 597 (wings); can you describe to me a creation with three wings( * )? Place the third wing in a place other than the two places that Allah normally places wings so that I may know.»

The young man replied: “O Abu Sa`eed, we are unable to describe the creation, therefore, surely we are more unable to describe the Creator. To this I bear witness to you that I retract what I used to say, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness.” Its sanad (chain) is sound. (21)

Abu Sa`eed Uthman ad-Darimi (d. 280 H.) said: «All of these ahadeeth, and even more than it, mention the descending of the Lord, Most High; and the people of Fiqh and knowledge from our scholarly teachers are upon believing in them; none of them deny any of it, or refrained from narrating them; until this group (i.e. Jahmiyyah) appeared, who opposed the hadeeths of the Messenger of Allah and expended great effort to nullify them, so they questioned: ‘How does He descend?’, to which we replied: ‘We were not commanded to know how He descends in our Religion, and our minds cannot grasp it, and there is no creation that is equal to Him that we may equate His acts or attributes with.» (22)

Some Reports from the Righteous Salaf stating that Allah acts however He wills:

Bishr bin as-Sari asked Hammad bin Zayd (d. 179 H.) : “O Abu Isma`eel, (tell me about) the Hadeeth that states: ”Allah, Most High, descends to the lowest heaven“”, Hammad answered: «All that is true, it is however He (Allah) wills».” (26)

Abu `Asim Khushaish bin Asram (d. 253 H.) said: «From the things that prove that Allah, Most High, descends however He wills and when He wills, is His ascending over the heavens, and His Istiwaa over the throne.» (27)

Uthman ad-Darimi (d. 280 H.) said: «The Lord is not to be questioned about what He does and how He does it; and they are questioned, because He is the All-Capable of what He wills to do, in the manner that He wills. On the other hand, it is only the weak creation, that has no power except what Allah has granted them, that is asked about what they do, and how they do it.» (28)

The famous report of Imam Malik when he was asked about the kayfiyyah of the Istiwa of Allah:

Several wordings have been reported for the response of Imam Malik –Rahimahullah– to someone’s question about the kayfiyyah of Allah’s Istiwa, saying: “O Abu Abdullah (i.e. Imam Malik), (Allah’s saying) {The Most Gracious upon the Throne Istawa} how was His Istiwa’?”
His respone was:

In the first narration:

«The Istiwaa is not unknown, the kayf (i.e. how it is) is ghayr ma`qul, believing in it is obligatory, and asking about it is innovation; and I assume nothing but (that you are) an innovator.» then he ordered that the man be taken out.

His saying: “And the Kayf is ghayr ma`qul" means that the kayf (i.e. how; reality) is unknown, because “ma`qul” is derived from the word `aql, and in the Arabic language “ `aql” is the opposite of Jahl (i.e. ignorance).

Al-Khaleel al-Faraheedi (d. 170 H.) said: “al-`Aql is the opposite of Jahl.” (29)

Al-Fayrooz Aabadi said: “al-A’ql is: the knowledge" (30)

An example for this meaning in the Quran is “ya`qiloon” in ayah: (49: 4).

`Aql also means: understanding; as Ibn seedah stated in “Al-Muhkam”. (31)

An example for this is ayah (22: 46), and (29: 43).

This answer has been also given by Abu Ja`far at-Tirmidhi (32) al-Shafi`i (d. 295 H.) to a question regarding the Attribute of Nuzool (descending):
Ahmad bin Uthman said: “I was with Abu Ja`far at-Tirmidhi when a man asked him about the hadeeth of the Prophet -Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam- ”Verily, Allah descends to the lowest heaven“ (the man then asked:) how is the descending ? Will there be something above Him?”

Abu Ja`far at-Tirmidhi replied: “Descending is known, and how (it is) is unknown, to believe in it is obligatory, and to ask about it is an innovation.” (33) The narrators of its chain are all trustworthy.

The second narration:

Imam Malik, May Allah bestow His mercy upon him, answered:«Ar-Rahman Istawa over His throne as He described Himself, and it is not to be said: ‘How?’, and ‘how’ of it is lifted (Kayfa anhu marfu`), and you are an evil man engaging in innovation, dismiss him.» The man then was forced out. (34)

This answer is similar to what the pious predecessors said, as noted in the previous reports, that it cannot be asked: ‘How?’ regarding the attributes of Allah, Most High, because Allah and His Messenger -Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam- did not inform us about the kayfiyyah and reality of His attributes, therefore it is not permissible to ask about a matter of which its knowledge did not reach us, and there is no other way to learn about the matter except through Allah, Most High, and His Messenger -Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam-; thus Imam Malik said: “And Kayfa (how?) of it is lifted”, meaning: it is not permissible to ask “how?” in regards to the Attributes. And this is a statement that is in agreement with his reported statement in the other report about Allah’s attributes, which we have transmitted at the beginning of this article, when he said: «Pass these narrations as they are without (asking) 'how?' (kayfa)”.

( * ) Some angels have 3 wings, see the Quran (35:1)
(1) “Maraseel Abi Dawud”, chapter on Salat Tatawu`; “As-Sifat” by Ad-Daraqutni (p. 71); and Siyar A’lam An-Nubala” by Adh-Dhahabi (8/467)
(2) “Kitab as-Sifat” by Ad-Daraqutni (p. 70); and Sharh Usool I`tiqad Ahl As-Sunnah” by Al-Lalaka’I (3/431)
(3) “Elal Ibn Abi Hatim” (5/468)
(4) “Al-Asma wa Sifat” b Al-Bayhaqi (2/377) with a sahih chain.
(5) “Mu`jam Ibn Al-Muqri” (p.111); “Aqeedat As-Salaf Ashaab Al-Hadeeth” by Al-Sabuni (p.69).
“Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala” by Adh-Dhahabi (8/162) narrated it through Abu Bakr Al-Khallal; and “Al-Sharee`ah” by Al-Ajurri (3/1146), in the narration of these two books they were asked about the narrations of attributes only.
“Al-Sifaat” by Al-Daruqtni (p.75), and its wording is: “In regards to these hadith on the seeing of Allah and other than that, they said: pass it (as it is) without kayfa (asking how).”
“Sharh Usool ‘Itiqad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah” by Al-Lalaka’i (3/503) and its wording is: “In regards to these hadith on the seeing of Allah, they said: Pass them without (asking) how”
(6) “Siyar A`lam Nubala” by Adh-Dhahabi (7/311-312); He also narrated it in “al-Uluw” (p.141) and declared it to be sahih; It was also narrated by Ibn Battah in “al-Ibanah al-Kubrah”.
(7) “as-Sunnah” by Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal (1/267); and “As-Sifat” by Ad-Daraqutni (p.71) with a sahih chain.
(8) “As-Sifat” by Ad-Daraqutni (p.68-69); it was also narrated by Al-Lalaka’i in “Sharh Usool I`tiqad Ahl-Assunnah” (3/526).
(9) Narrated by Abu Uthman As-Sabuni in “Aqeedah As-Salaf Ashab Al-Hadeeth” (p.194) with two different chains; It was narrated from As-Sabuni by Abul Qasim Al-Asbahani in “Al-Hujjah fi Bayan Al-Mahajjah” through As-Sabuni’s son, Abu Bakr. It was also narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in “Al-Asma wa Sifat” (2/376-377) with another chain.
(10) Sunan At-Tirmidhi (2/41)
(11) Sunan At-Tirmidhi (4/318)
(12) “Sharh Usool I`tiqad Ahl Assunnah” by Lalaka’i (3/527), he said: “Abdur Rahman (bin Abi Hatim) mentioned it (in “Ar-Rad ala al-Jahmiyyah”) saying: I found in my father’s book: Nu`aym bin Hammad said: … “.
(14) He is Az-Zubair bin Ahmad bin Sulaiman Az-Zubairi Al-Basri, he was one of the scholar of fiqh of the Shafi`i madhhab, he was trustworthy. (Tarikh Baghdad by al-Khateeb 9/492)
(15) “Ash-Shari`ah” by al-Ajurri (3/1155), and al-Ajurri was one of the students of Abu Abdillah Az-Zubairi.
(16) “I`tiqad Ahl Assunnah” by Abu Bakr al-Isma`ili.
(17) “Aqidat AsSalaf was Ashab alHadith” by As-Sabuni (p.192), he said: “I read in the letter of Shaikh Abu Bakr al-isma`ili to the people of Jilan: ...” and he mentioned what was quoted.
(18) “Al-Hujjah fi Bayan al-Mahajjah” by Abul Qasim Isma`il Al-Asbahani (1/231-244).
(19) Tafsir al-Quran by As-Sam`ani (2/51)
(20) Narrated by As-Sabuni in “Aqidah Assalaf” (p. 233-234) tahqiq: Al-Judai`; and (p.63) tahqiq: Abu al-Yameen al-Mansuri.
(21) “Sharh usool I`tiqad Ahl Assunnah” by Al-Lalaka’i (3/530-531); and narrated by Abu Nu`aym al-Asbahani in “Hilyat al-Awliya ” (9/8); also in “Siyar A`lam Nubala” by Adh-Dhahabi (9/196), and “Tarikh al-islam” also by him (13/284)
(22) “Ar-Rad `ala Al-Jahmiyyah” by Ad-Darimi (p.79)
(23) “Kitab At-Tawheed” by Ibn Khuzaimah (2/289-290)
(24) “At-Tamheed” by Ibn Abd Al-Barr al-Maliki (7/137)
(25) “Al-Hajjah fi Bayan al-Mahajjah” by Isma`il al-Asbahani (1/288-289)
(26) Narrated by Ibn Battah in “Al-Ibanah al-Kubrah”.
(27) “At-Tanbeeh war-Rad `ala Ahl Al-Ahwa wal-Bida` “ by Al-Malti, chapter on sects.
(28) “Ar-Rad ala al-Jahmiyyah” by Ad-Darimi (p.76)
(29) “al-`Ayn” by Al-Faraheedi (1/159)
(30) “Al-Qamoos al-Muheet” by Al-Fayruz Abadi (p.1034)
(31) “Al-Muhakam wal-Muheet Al-A`dham” by Ibn Seedah (1/205)
(32) He is a different Tirmidhi than the author of As-Sunan. Al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi said about Abu Ja`far At-Tirmidhi: “He was Trustworthy, from the people of knowledge, virtue, and zuhd from dunya … and there was no Shafi`I in Iraq more leading than him, nor more God-fearing then him. (Tarikh Baghdad 2/233); and Ad-Daraqutni said about him: Trustworthy (Thiqa ma’moon) and devout. (“Su’alat Al-Hakim Li-AdDaraqutni p.149)
(33) “Tarikh madinat As-Salam” (i.e Tarikh Baghdad) by Al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi (2/234), and its narrators are trustworthy.
(34) “Al Asma wa Sifat” by Al-Bayhaqi (2/305)

Source: http://as-salaf.com/article.php?aid=102&lang=en