He also said: In 634 AH he came to Baghdad, took up residence at the Niẓāmiyya College, and lectured on al-Sunan al-Kabīr (1) as well as al-Gharīb by al-Khattābī. He was one of the distinguished imams, versed in every branch of learning, possessed of a penetrating intellect and a meticulous eye for meaning. He authored several works, both in verse and in prose… and went on to add:

He is an ascetic, scrupulous, and much given to worship—poor, detached, dignified in his restraint, mixing little with people, watchful over his time, of pleasant character, generous and courteous. In his craft I have not seen his like. He recited to me these lines of his own:

Whoever longs for safety has no way
but to follow the Chosen One in what he brought.
That is the straight path; all other paths
are roads of error, misguidance, and ruin.
So follow the Book of Allah and the sound Sunnah reports—
if you adopt them, that alone is guidance.
And leave off asking “why?” and “how?” for such questions
open a door that draws the clear-sighted into blindness.
Religion is what the Messenger said, along with his Companions,
those who followed them, and whoever treads their path.

Ibn al-Hājib said: “I asked al-Ḍiyāʾ about al-Mursī, and he replied, ‘A jurist-debater and grammarian from the People of the Sunnah; he travelled with us, and we saw nothing from him but good.’”

Abū Shāmah (2) said: “He was multi-disciplinary and exacting, performed the ḥajj many times, lived moderately, and amassed a large library of books. He found wide acceptance in the lands.”

Yāqūt (3) said: “He is one of the men of letters of our time. He critiqued al-Mufaṣṣal by al-Zamakhsharī, noting seventy points, and in passion he is ʿUdhri, ʿĀmiri—”