Jamāl al-Dīn Abū al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzī al-Qurashī, al-Bakrī, the Hanbalī.

Birth: He was born in Dhū al-Qaʿdah, in the year 580 (1) AH.

Teachers: He heard ḥadīth from his own father, from Yaḥyā ibn Bawsh, Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Salām, Dhākir ibn Kāmil, Ibn Kulayb, and several others.

Qur’anic studies: In Wāsiṭ he recited the Qur’an according to the ten canonical readings before Ibn al-Bāqillānī, in his father’s presence, when the latter had just been released from prison.

Transmitters: Among those who narrated from him were al-Dimyāṭī, al-Rashīd ibn Abī al-Qāsim, and a group of others.

Scholarly activity: He taught, issued legal opinions, engaged in disputation, presided over sessions of jurisprudence, and preached.

Standing and character: He was a foremost notable, possessed of great dignity, impressive bearing, commanding presence, and fluent expression. He was sent as an envoy to kings and attained the highest ranks. His manner was commendable and he was beloved by the populace. He remained attached to the Ustādārīyah bureau throughout the reign of al-Mustaʿṣim.

Al-Dimyāṭī relates: “I read to him his father’s book al-Wafāʾ fī Faḍāʾil al-Muṣṭafā; he then recited some of his own poetry to us and presented me with gold.”

Shams al-Dīn Ibn al-Fakhr said: “His eminence and intellect are so widely attested that they are transmitted by tawātur.” In the words of Sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil: “Everyone is in want of intellect—except Muḥyī al-Dīn; what he lacks is any lack of intellect!”

This was a tribute to his firm self-control, resolute determination, and inner strength. Remarkable incidents are told about him. On one occasion he passed the Post-Office Gate just as a shop in the market alley collapsed; the people screamed, and a beam came crashing down