8 - The memorizer, the distinguished scholar, the proof, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Hujr ibn Iyas ibn Muqatil ibn Mukhadish ibn Mushamrij al-Sa'di al-Marwazi. His grandfather Mushamrij ibn Khalid had the honor of companionship [with the Prophet]. He was born in the year one hundred and fifty-four [AH]. He traveled widely in pursuit of knowledge to various regions. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa'i narrated from him. Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Hamzah said: He used to reside in Baghdad, then he moved to Marw and settled in the village of Zarzam. He was a virtuous man and a memorizer. Al-Nasa'i declared him trustworthy, saying: "Trustworthy, reliable, a memorizer." Abu Bakr al-Khatib said: "He was truthful, precise, and a memorizer." The memorizer Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Hamdun ibn Sanjan al-Marwazi said: I heard Ali ibn Hujr say: "I departed from Iraq when I was thirty-three years old, and I said: If I were to live another thirty-three years, I would narrate some of the knowledge I had gathered. And I have since lived thirty-three more years, and another thirty-three after that, and I now wish for what I used to wish for at the time of my departure from Iraq." Imam al-Dhahabi commented: "This is approximate, for the man did not reach ninety-nine years of age." Al-Dhahabi said: Ali ibn Hujr was among the vessels of knowledge; over one hundred and seventy scholars narrated from him in the Two Holy Sanctuaries, Iraq, Syria, the Jazirah, and Khurasan. He authored beneficial works, including "Ahkam al-Qur'an." He died on Wednesday, the middle of Jumada al-Ula, in the year two hundred and forty-four [AH]. The number of hadiths al-Tirmidhi narrated from him in "al-Jami'" is one hundred and seventy-two.