Dr Ati - Did you know some people believe Imam Bukhari and Ibn al Madini are higher in terms of authority than Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal ra? Ibn al Madini is not just anybody. So when Ibn al Madini praises Imam Shaybani, that holds more weight than any criticism from any hanbali. Also the fact that Imam Bukhari praises Ibn al Madini more than he praised anyone means that Ibn al Madini is mor than reliable, he is a senior authority on deen. Imam Bukhari is the author of the most saheeh book after the Quran. So suddenly his word doesnt count for anything? Do not forget - this is praise from one of the highest ranking muhadith to have graced this earth - and what are we discussing here?? imam shaybani's reliability in hadith. If i knew Arabic i would translate the sentence Imam Bukhari uses to describe Ibn al Madini. He hasnt used any sentence in any book to praise anyone more highly than what he used for Ibn al Madini.