The Peak of Eloquence · Hadith 2217 (#Passage #576)

إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ لَمْ يَجْرُوا فِي حَلبةٍ تُعْرَفُ الْغَايَةُ عِنْدَ قَصَبَتِهَا فَإِنْ كَانَ وَلَا بُدَّ فَالْمَلِكُ الضِّلِّيلُ.

The whole group of them did not proceed on the same lines in such a way that we can know the height of their glory; but if it has to be done then it is the “al-Mālik aḍ-ḍillīl” (the mislead king).

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).