He began the pursuit of sacred knowledge when he had reached the age of thirty; he therefore abandoned his craft and turned wholly to learning (1).

Nasir al-Marwazi relates that some jurists who used to attend al-Qaffal undertook a ḥisba-style censure of certain followers of the governor of Marw. The matter was reported to Sultan Maḥmud, who asked: “Does al-Qaffal take anything from our state treasury (diwan)?” The reply was, “No.” He then said, “Does he draw upon any religious endowments (awqaf)?” “No,” was the answer. The Sultan concluded, “Then their ḥisba on his behalf is permissible—let them be” (2).

Qadi Ḥusayn narrated from his teacher al-Qaffal that, on many occasions during his lessons, he would be overcome by weeping; then he would raise his head and say, “How heedless we are of what is intended for us!” (3)

As noted above, al-Qaffal studied under Abu Zayd, and his grave in Marw is visited to this day.

He died in Jumada al-Akhira of the year 417 AH, at the age of ninety. The chains of transmission he collected are relatively late, for he began attending hadith sessions in middle age and even earlier.

Those who also passed away that year include: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salama al-Sutayti (4), the man of letters who transmitted from Khaythama in Damascus; Abu al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Shawarib (5) al-Umawi, Chief Judge of Baghdad; ʿAbd Allah ibn Yahya al-Sukkari (6), a transmitter from al-Saffar; and the pre-eminent Qur’an reciter of the age.