ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā, grandson of the Andalusian jurist Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Wislas al-Laythī of Córdoba, a leading Mālikī authority. He related the Muwaṭṭaʾ through his great-uncle ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā.

He likewise heard ḥadith from Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Lubābah, Aḥmad ibn Khālid al-Jabbāb, Aslam ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, his own father ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā, ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Bajjānī, and others.

He was appointed judge of the city of Bijjana and of Ilbīra by his brother, the qāḍī al-jamāʿa (chief justice), who later charged him with the jurisdiction of al-radd (cases of appellate review).

He lived to a great age, his fame spread far, and he enjoyed a uniquely elevated isnād for the Muwaṭṭaʾ, so students journeyed to him from every quarter.

From ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā he also transmitted the book of al-Layth ibn Saʿd, the Samāʿ of Ibn al-Qāsim, the “Ten” of Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā, the Tafsīr of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, and assorted pieces from the reports of other shaykhs.

Abū al-Walīd ibn al-Faraḍī said: “I frequented him to hear the Muwaṭṭaʾ in 366 AH; the sessions were held on Fridays and I completed my audition. Never did I witness in Córdoba an assembly more crowded than his for the Muwaṭṭaʾ—save for certain gatherings of Yaḥyā ibn Mālik. Even the Commander of the Faithful, al-Muʾayyad bi-Allāh, heard from him.”

I (the author) add: Those who narrated from him include Abū ʿUmar al-Ṭalamankī, the ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Fakhkhār, Khalaf ibn ʿĪsā al-Washqī, ʿUthmān ibn Aḥmad al-Qayshṭālī, Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥadhdhāʾ, Yūnus ibn Mughīth, and others.

He died on the eighth of Rajab, 367 AH, at an advanced age.