al-Ḥasan ibn Furak al-Asbahani.

He heard the Musnad of Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi from ʿAbd Allah ibn Jaʿfar ibn Faris, and he also studied with Ibn Khurrazadh al-Ahwazi. Among those who transmitted from him were Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, Abu Bakr ibn Khalaf, and others. He composed a large number of works (1).

ʿAbd al-Ghafir says in Sīyāq al-Tarīkh: “The professor Abu Bakr—his grave is in al-Hirah, and people make supplication there for rain.”

The judge Ibn Khallikan (2) writes about him: “Abu Bakr was a scholar of uṣūl, a refined man of letters, a grammarian, and a preacher. He taught for a time in Iraq, then traveled to Rayy. The innovators—namely the Karramiyyah—maligned him, so the people of Nishapur invited him. He arrived there, and they built a school and a house for him. His blessing spread among the students of jurisprudence, and his writings came to nearly one hundred volumes. He was then summoned to the city of Ghazna, where he held debates and was very forceful in refuting Ibn Karram. After that he returned to Nishapur, but on the road he was poisoned and died near Bust. His body was carried to Nishapur. His shrine in al-Hirah is visited, and prayers offered there are answered.”