He narrated most frequently from Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Talaʿiʿi, and also from Abu ʿAli al-Ghassani, Abu al-Hasan al-ʿAbsi (1), Khazim ibn Muhammad, Khalaf ibn Mudir, and Khalaf ibn al-Nakhkhas the preacher.
He studied Qur’an recitation with ʿIsa ibn Khayra. In jurisprudence he sat with ʿAbd al-Samad ibn Abi al-Fath and Abu al-Walid ibn Rushd, and he presented the Mustakhraja (2) to Aṣbagh ibn Muhammad (3). Abu al-Muṭarrif al-Shaʿbi, Abu Dawud ibn Najah, and a group of other scholars granted him ijazah.
He was a leading authority in the Māliki school—muhaddith, ḥāfiẓ, critic, accomplished reader, ever ready, prolific in composition, and deeply learned—yet his command of Arabic grammar was modest, his appearance shabby, and he showed a certain light-heartedness—may Allah have mercy on him.
Those who transmitted from him include Abu al-Qasim ibn Bashkuwal—who said (4): “He outstripped the scholars of his time in memorizing fiqh, hadith, biographical evaluation, and history”—Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Fakhar, Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Fihri, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Shaquri (5), Abu Muhammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah al-Hajari, and many others.