He would leave his house by night and return by night, never sitting in any fixed place where people might come looking for him; rather (1) he would withdraw to abandoned mosques and to spots unknown to most. His worship and devotion were abundant, his vigilance and fear of Allah constant, and he remained so until the time of his illness and death. He was born on 11 Muharram 666 AH in Harran. He studied under [Ibn] Abī (2) al-Yusr, al-Jamāl ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Baghdadi, Ibn al-Sayrafi, Shaykh Shams al-Din, Ibn al-Bukhari, and many others. He taught and narrated the major hadith collections.

Shaykh Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Zamlakani was asked about him and said: “He is outstanding in numerous disciplines—jurisprudence, grammar, and legal theory; ever engaged in good works and the teaching of knowledge; exemplary in worship (3); firm in his religion; excellent in legal insight; possessing a thorough (4) mastery of his school; eloquent in debate (5); clear-minded and sharp in understanding.”