Who was more حافظ (possessing a vast and accurate memory) and more knowledgeable regarding ḥadīth and narrators: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah or Abū Dāwūd, the author of the Sunan?
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Abu Dawud al-Sijistani are both leading scholars (muhaddithin), memorizers (huffaz), and jurists (fuqaha). It is not possible to prefer one over the other because there is no statement from scholars concerning this, and because preferring one scholar over another is a difficult path that should not be delved into except in cases of extreme necessity and by someone qualified to do so. The Salaf refrained from preferring one Imam over another, as narrated from Abu Hanifa and Ibn al-Mubarak, due to the dangers and harms this entails, which can lead to fanaticism and speaking ill of scholars. We advise the questioner to focus on acquiring beneficial knowledge and to refrain from occupying themselves with preferring one great scholar over another.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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