He journeyed far and wide, amassing knowledge; he shared in every field of merit and narrated abundantly throughout the lands of Fars.

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥākim heard ḥadith from him and said: “He stands in the foremost rank in the science of the qirāʾāt (Qur’anic readings); he is a ḥāfiẓ of ḥadith and a tireless traveller. He visited us during the lifetime of al-Aṣamm and then returned in the year 353 AH (1).”

Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Ṣalāḥ mentioned Abū ʿAlī ibn al-Layth briefly in his Tabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah, saying: “He is the father of Layth and Abū Bakr (2).”

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Qaṣṣār likewise recorded him in Tabaqāt Ahl Shīrāz, praising him at length and adding: “Among his companions were the ḥadith masters Zayd ibn ʿUmar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā, and Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.”

He further stated: “He passed away eighteen days into Shaʿbān of the year 405 AH (3).”

I (the author) add: his son Muḥammad—whose kunyah was Abū Bakr—died in 428 AH. He narrated from Abū Bakr ibn al-Muqriʾ. Another view places his death in 447 AH, which requires verification (4).

The ḥadith master Yaḥyā ibn Mandah relates that, despite his seniority, the ḥadith master Abū al-Shaykh transmitted a ḥadith from Abū ʿAlī ibn al-Layth. This is therefore an instance of a teacher narrating from one of his own pupils.

123 – Ibn Fuṭays, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Qurṭubī *
The imam, erudite scholar, ḥadith master, polymath, communal judge, Abū al-Muṭarrif.