al-Ḥuṣayn; Abū Ghalib ibn al-Bannāʾ; Aḥmad ibn Riḍwān; Abū al-ʿIzz ibn Kādish; the qadi of the Maristan; and several others in Baghdad, a city to which he travelled more than once.

Those who granted him ijāza were: Abū al-Ḥusayn ibn al-ʿAllāf and Ismāʿīl ibn al-Ḥasan al-Sanjabastī, a companion of Abū Bakr al-Ḥīrī. He continued writing until he learned from the ḥadith master Abū al-Qāsim ibn ʿAsākir, heard his sons, and benefited visiting students.

He made seven journeys to Baghdad and attended ḥadith sessions in the Two Sanctuaries.

Among those who transmitted from him were Abū Saʿd al-Samaʿānī, Ibn ʿAsākir, Ibn al-Jawzī, ʿAbd al-Ghanī, Ibn Qudāmah, Ibn al-Akhdar, ʿUmar ibn Jābir, Abū Ḥafṣ al-Suhrawardī, Abū al-Ḥasan ibn al-Muqayyar, and others.

Al-Samaʿānī writes of him: “A bright young man, pleasant in company and companionship, generous and affectionate; he observes the rights of his friends and sees to their needs. Most of what I heard in Isfahan was through his good offices. From morning until night he would accompany me from one shaykh to another—may Allah reward his effort—then he would send me the fascicles so I could copy them, and would write to inform me of scholars’ deaths. He compiled a section for me from his teachers and related it to me (1).”

Ibn al-Jawzī (2) said: “He was one of the memorising preachers, well-versed in ḥadith. He would extract reports and dictate them; I heard from him in Medina. He died in the desert while heading for the ḥajj, in Dhū al-Qaʿdah of the year 564 AH.”

Ibn al-Najjār said: “He wrote quickly and was known for memorisation, learning, reliability, righteousness, dignity, and piety. He composed many works on ḥadith, history, and biographical indexes.”