The issuance of fatwas in Córdoba revolved around him and around Ibn ʿAttāb (1), and there was a spirit of rivalry between the two. Muḥammad ibn ʿAttāb was ordinarily placed ahead of Ibn al-Qaṭṭān because of his seniority and the breadth of his expertise, whereas Ibn al-Qaṭṭān surpassed him in eloquence, prodigious memory, and the excellence with which he set out legal discussions (2).
He studied jurisprudence under Abū Muḥammad ibn Daḥḥūn (3), Ibn Ḥūbayl (4), and Ibn al-Shiqqāq (5), and he auditioned ḥadith from Yūnus ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Qāḍī.
Ibn Ḥayyān said: “Ibn al-Qaṭṭān had the most comprehensive memorization of the Mudawwana and the Mustakhraja, and he was the keenest of his contemporaries regarding the routes to fatwa and juristic opinion. He repudiated what is reprehensible and detested idle entertainments. His father was a friend of Allah, counted among the ascetics.
“The jurists of Córdoba studied under Abū ʿUmar; among them were Ibn Mālik (6), Ibn al-Ṭallāʿ, Ibn Dahmīn (7), and Ibn Rizq (8).
“He passed away in Dhū al-Qaʿda, in the year 460 AH.”
(1) Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Atab al-Andalusi; his full biography appears below under no. 152.
(2) See al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 1/181 and Tartib al-Madarik 4/813.
(3) He died in 431 AH. For his life, consult Tartib al-Madarik 4/729 and al-Sila 1/267.
(4) He is Abu Bakr Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Tujibi, known as Ibn Hubayl (with an aspirated ḥa). In al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab the name is misread as Jubayl (with a jim). He died in 409 AH; see Tartib al-Madarik 4/726, Jadwat al-Muqtabis p. 270, Bughyat al-Multamis p. 319, and al-Sila 1/315-316.
(5) He is Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Sa id, known as Ibn al-Shaqqaq; d. 426 AH. See Tartib al-Madarik 4/729 and al-Sila 1/266-267.
(6) He is Abu Marwan Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Malik, d. 460 AH; see Tartib al-Madarik 4/813-814.
(7) The name appears as Hamdayn in al-Dibaj, as Hamdis in Shajarat al-Nur, and as Dahun in Tartib al-Madarik.
(8) He is Abu Ja far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rizq al-Qurbi; his biography will appear under no. 292. In al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 1/181 the patronymic Rizq is misprinted as Zarq (zayn then ra).