al-Raḥīm, ʿAbd al-Munʿim, Zāhir al-Shahhāmī, his brother Wajīh, Muḥammad ibn al-Faḍl al-Farāwī, ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Shāh, ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn Muḥammad al-Khawārī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Baḥīrī, his grandson Abū al-Asʿad Hibat al-Raḥmān, and others.

His father died while he was still a child, so he was placed under the tutelage of the man of letters Abū al-Qāsim al-Yamanī (1), with whom he studied adab. Qushayrī owned a small estate in Ustuwā (2) that was heavily burdened with land-tax; he therefore learnt a measure of arithmetic and did a little clerical work. Later he left his village for Nishapur, and by chance attended the gathering of Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq. There he was caught in his net: his worldly aspirations shrank, for he had gone out in search of a sumptuous qaba but found instead the coarse ʿabā. Abū ʿAlī showed him favour and advised him to seek knowledge. He therefore joined the study-circle of al-Ṭūsī, composed his Taʿliqa, and excelled. He then moved to Ibn Fūrak, advanced in kalām, kept close company with Abū Isḥāq as well, and studied the works of Ibn al-Bāqillānī. When his father-in-law Abū ʿAlī passed away, he began to frequent al-Sulamī, associated with him, copied al-Mansūb, and became the spiritual master of Khurasan in the Sufi path. He remained devoted to spiritual exertions, and disciples were trained at his hands (3).

In conduct and exhortation he was without equal; his expression was delicate, his character gracious, and he dived deep for meanings. He authored Towards the Hearts, The Subtleties of the Allusions (4), The Jewels, The Legal Rulings on Audition, The Springs of Answers on Various Questions, The Book of Intimate Supplication, and other works.