He was older than his brother. He was born in 458 AH. He acquired a large body of transmissions through the dictation sessions of Ibn al-Khadibah (1). He studied under Abu Muhammad al-Sarifini, Abd al-Samad ibn al-Ma’mun, Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Naqqur, Abu Mansur al-Ukbari—known as al-Nadim—and others who followed them. Among those who transmitted from him were Ibn ʿAsakir, al-Samʿani, Ibn al-Jawzi, Abu al-Yaman al-Kindī, and many others.
Al-Samʿani said: “He was upright, an excellent Qur’an instructor, devout, and earned his livelihood by the labor of his own hands. He received a vast amount through the dictation of Ibn al-Khadibah in the study circle of ʿAfif al-Qa’imi (2).”
Abu al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi (3) said: “I recited the Qur’an to him. He died in Dhu al-Hijjah, 537 AH.”
His brother:
- Abu Muhammad ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAli ibn Ahmad
The shaykh, the imam, the erudite scholar, the Qur’an reciter of Iraq, the master of the grammarians, Abu Muhammad