Among those who transmitted ḥadith from him were the two scholars named Zakī—al-Barzālī and al-Mundhirī—together with Shihāb al-Qūṣī, Tāj al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAsākir, Kamāl al-Dīn al-ʿAdīmī and his son, the judge Abū al-Majd, al-Amīn Aḥmad ibn al-Ashtari, Kamāl Aḥmad ibn al-Naṣībī, Jamāl ibn al-Ṣābūnī, ʿIzz ʿUmar ibn al-Ustāḏh, Khuṭlabā and Sunqur—the two freedmen of Ibn al-Ustāḏh—ʿAlī ibn al-Sayf al-Taymī, Yaʿqūb ibn Faḍāʾil, Sitt al-Dār daughter of Majd al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya, and many others.

He taught and related traditions in Damascus, Egypt, Jerusalem, Aleppo, Harran, and Baghdad.

He also authored works on Arabic, medicine, and history, and was renowned for his sharp intellect and vast learning.

Jamāl al-Qifṭī mentioned him in his “History of the Grammarians,” but did not deal with him fairly, saying (1): “Muwaffaq, the grammarian and physician, nicknamed al-Maṭḥan (2), claimed mastery of grammar, linguistics, kalām, the ancient sciences, and medicine. When he entered Egypt and made these claims, the students flocked to him, but he fell short and they shunned him. Later he ingratiated himself with the two sons of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī al-Ḥajjāj the scribe, and they brought him to them. He was ugly in appearance and thin of build.”

Al-Qifṭī’s bias is obvious from these words, to the point that he even accused Muwaffaq of having little ghayrah (a sense of personal honor).

Al-Dubaythī (3) said: “He was dominated by the sciences of medicine and literature, and excelled in both.”

Ibn Nuqṭa (4) said: “He was good-natured, of pleasing conduct, and well-versed in grammar.”