nor was he dark-skinned, and his hair was neither tightly curled nor completely straight. Allah commissioned him as a Prophet at the age of forty; he remained in Mecca for ten years; and Allah caused him to pass away at the age of sixty. Altogether, there were not twenty white hairs in his head and beard ﷺ (1).
And his son:
275 – Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Bājī, Abū al-Qāsim*
The eminent scholar Abū al-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān al-Bājī. He settled in Zaragoza, narrated copiously from his father, and succeeded him in his study circle (2). He also transmitted from Ḥātim ibn Muḥammad, Ibn Ḥayyān, Muḥammad ibn ʿAttāb, and Muʿāwiyah al-ʿUqaylī.
He excelled in legal theory and speculative theology; his books testify to his skill and acumen, and he authored a creed (3).
Ibn Bashkuwāl (4) said: “A number of people informed us about him and described him as distinguished and dignified.”
(1) The hadith is found in the Muwattaʾ, 1/919, at the very beginning of the section on the Prophet’s description. Through the same chain it is reported by al-Bukhari (no. 3548) in the Book of Merits, chapter “The Prophet’s Description,” and by Muslim (no. 2347) in the Book of Virtues, chapter “The Prophet’s Description.”
The adjective al-amhq denotes an intensely white colour devoid of any reddish hue; it is not gleaming, but rather the dull white of plaster and similar materials.
As for hair, al-judah means that it is neither tightly curled nor fully loose, while al-sabuṭah describes a texture midway between the two.
(*) Principal sources: al-Sila 1/71; Bughyat al-Multamis, 180–181; Sifat Jazirat al-Andalus, 36–37; al-Wafi 6/404; al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 1/183; Kashf al-Zunun, 836; Idah al-Maknun 1/550; Shajarat al-Nur 1/121.
(2) Al-Sila, 1/71.
(3) Al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat records the title as “al-Aqidah fi-l-Madhahib al-Sadidah.” Al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 1/183 also lists among his works: “al-Burhan ‘ala anna Awwal al-Wajibat al-Iman,” “Miʿyar al-Nazar,” and “Sirr al-Nazar.”
(4) Al-Sila, 1/71.