He was the mufti of those lands in his day.

He passed away in 551 AH. ⦗1⦘
Others say he died in 553. ⦗2⦘

He is the author of the line:
“To a libertine I spent the night reproaching—yet he deemed my censure nothing but idle sport,”
after which he quoted the rest of the well-known verses. ⦗3⦘

214 – ʿAlī ibn Mahdī al-Zabīdī

His father, a villager from Zabīd and one of the righteous, raised ʿAlī in an atmosphere of renunciation. ʿAlī performed the pilgrimage, met the scholars, acquired knowledge, then took to preaching and censuring the soldiers.

He was eloquent, good-looking, tall, olive-skinned, pleasant-voiced, possessed of a vast store of memorized material; a practicing Sufi, yet malicious at heart and exceedingly astute. He would speak about people’s passing thoughts, thereby captivating the crowd, delivering sermons while weeping aloud.

ʿUmārah al-Yamanī recounts: “I kept his company for a year, abandoned my study of jurisprudence, and devoted myself to worship. My father then returned me to the madrasah, so I would visit him once a month. When his business grew out of hand, I left him.”

From 530 AH onward he continued preaching and striking fear into the villages, travelling to the Ḥajj on a swift camel, and permission was granted him