knowledge and worship, of admirable character, and with scant interest in worldly gain. He died on the tenth of Rajab, in the year 620 AH, and hardly anyone failed to attend his funeral.

Abu Shama (1) said: Someone who was present at his passing (2) told me, “He performed the noon prayer, kept asking about the time for the afternoon prayer, performed ablution, then—while seated—recited the testimony of faith, saying, ‘I am pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad as Prophet. May Allah prompt me with the right argument, pardon my slip, and have mercy on my loneliness.’ (3) Then he said, ‘And peace be upon you,’ so we knew that the angels had arrived. He thereupon toppled over, dead. Fakhr ibn al-Maliki and his nephew Taj al-Din washed his body (4). His illness had been dysentery. His brother Zayn al-Umanaʾ led the funeral prayer—and who could even reach his bier? (5)”

ʿUmar ibn al-Hajib said: “He was one of the foremost imams—indeed, unrivaled in merit and stature—the shaykh of the Shafiʿis. Ascetic, reliable, tireless in worship, quick to tears, of fine manners and deep humility, almost free of partisanship, he followed the path of those endowed with certitude. Most of his time he spent in his cell within the congregational mosque, spreading knowledge. He shunned all affectation. Offices were offered to him (6) but he declined them. Born in Rajab, he lived seventy years. The numbers at his funeral defied calculation. He taught in Mecca, Damascus, and Jerusalem, authored several works, and we heard hadith from him.”