—the one who, in his day in Baghdad, was universally acclaimed for his asceticism, scrupulousness, frequent recitation, and mastery of jurisprudence and hadith. He had recited the Qur’an under Abū Ḥafṣ al-Kattānī and studied the variant readings, yet he never granted an isnād to anyone who read those readings with him.

Hibat Allāh ibn al-Mujallī states in The Merits of al-Qazwīnī: “He was, so to speak, a point of unanimous agreement in righteousness, one of those toward whom hearts incline.” He then told me, “Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Amīn related:

‘I transcribed a number of sessions that he dictated in his mosque. Whenever a section of any book fell into his hands, he would fashion from it an entire session narrated from a single shaykh, saying, “The ḥadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is not to be rejected.” (1)

Most of his source manuscripts were in his own handwriting.’

I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabʿūn al-Qayrawānī say, “Al-Qazwīnī is reliable and firmly grounded; I have never met anyone more intelligent than he.”

It is said that Abū al-Ḥasan compiled scholia from Abū al-Qāsim al-Dārakī and possessed grammatical notes from Ibn Jinnī. I heard Abū al-ʿAbbās the tutor and others remark, “Al-Qazwīnī once heard a ewe glorifying Allah, exalted is He.”

Hibat Allāh ibn Aḥmad the scribe told me that he visited Ibn al-Qazwīnī’s grave, opened a khatma (a complete Qur’an recitation) there, and sought a favorable omen for the shaykh. The very first verse that appeared was: “highly distinguished in this world and the Hereafter, and among those brought near [to Allah]” (2) (Āl ʿImrān 3:45).

Chief Judge al-Māwardī related: “I once prayed behind Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qazwīnī and noticed that he was wearing a clean, embroidered shirt. I thought to myself, ‘What place has embroidery in asceticism?’ When he concluded the prayer he said, ‘Glory be to Allah! Embroidery does not nullify the ruling of asceticism.’ (3)”

Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-Qazzāz said: “There was an ascetic in Baghdad who lived very austerely, and he was told that Ibn al-Qazwīnī ate choice food and wore fine garments, so he exclaimed, ‘Glory be to…’