He studied Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim with Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zughbayyah.
He also heard from Abū al-Qāsim ibn Ward and Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Mawhib; he met (1) Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Mughīth—encountering him in Córdoba—as well as Abū al-Qāsim ibn Baqī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Makkī, and Abū Jaʿfar al-Biṭrawjī, from whom he obtained a lofty chain for Sunan al-Nasāʾī; he likewise heard from Abū Bakr Ibn al-ʿArabī and Abū al-Ḥasan Shurayḥ. He recited the seven canonical readings to him, and in 534 AH he read Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī with him. He dedicated himself to ḥadīth and excelled therein.

Al-Abbār (2) said: “He was the very embodiment of scrupulousness, righteousness, and integrity. He held the Friday pulpit of Almería, was invited to take up the judiciary but refused, and when the enemy took control he moved to Murcia. When hardship befell him he went on to Fez and then to Ceuta, where he occupied the teaching chair; his fame spread far and wide, people travelled to him, and he was summoned by the Sultan in Marrakesh so that the ruler might take knowledge from him. He remained there for a time and then returned. A distinguished scholar (3) narrated to us about him; I heard Abū al-Rabīʿ ibn Sālim say:

“A drought coincided with the time of his death. When his bier was set down, the people sought Allah’s favour through him, and they were granted rain; for a whole week, everyone who visited his grave did so trudging through mud.”

He continued: “He was the foremost of the devout, the sure foundation of the reliable and truthful. Piety was his lifelong companion. He acquired a vast store of knowledge and imparted it to others (4). Our shaykh Ibn Ḥubaysh would often say, ‘Almería has produced none better than he.’ For some time (5) he used to foretell that he would die in