and knowledgeable in jarḥ and taʿdīl (the discrediting and accreditation of narrators), attentive to the dates of birth and death, surpassing the scholars of his age in that field and in memorising the names of narrators—especially those of the later generations whom he himself had met. He wrote copiously, and his handwriting was unmatched for accuracy and precision. Alongside this he possessed encyclopaedic mastery of literature and was famed for eloquence: peerless in drafting formal letters, gifted in verse, an articulate, persuasive orator, clear-thinking, with a smooth and well-structured delivery. He always appeared with dignified bearing and elegant dress, and he was the spokesman for the kings in their gatherings, explaining from the pulpit at public assemblies whatever message they wished to convey.

He served as preacher of Valencia on a number of occasions, and he produced beneficial works in many fields. He composed Al-Iktifā fī Maghāzī al-Muṣṭafā wa al-Thalāthah al-Khulafāʾ in four volumes; a substantial, though unfinished, book on the Companions and Followers; Miṣbāḥ al-Ẓulam, similar in style to al-Shihāb; Akhbār al-Bukhārī; Al-Arbaʿīn; and other works besides. Students used to travel to him in order to study under him.

He (1) said: “I benefited from him in hadith immensely, and I took a great deal from him.”

I say: Those who transmitted from him include Ibn al-Abbar, the judge Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn al-Ghammaz (2), and a group of shaykhs whose names I do not know.

I have seen an authorisation (ijāzah) he received, written at length by al-Kamāl ibn Shādhī al-Fāḍilī. In it he listed his teachers and what he had taken from them, among them: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Maghāwar—who narrated to him from Abū ʿAlī ibn Sukkara; from Alexandria, Abū al-Ṭāhir ibn ʿAwf al-Zuhri granted him authorisation; and so did the judge Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ḥaḍramī.