—al-Qaysī, al-ʿĀmirī, the Egyptian, the jurist.

It is said that his given name was Miskīn, while “Ashhab” was his cognomen.

He was born in the year 140 AH.

He studied under Mālik ibn Anas, al-Layth ibn Saʿd, Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb, Sulaymān ibn Bilāl, Bakr ibn Muḍar, Dāwūd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-ʿAṭṭār, and several others.

Those who reported from him include: al-Ḥārith ibn Miskīn, Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā, Baḥr ibn Naṣr, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mawwāz, Suḥnūn ibn Saʿīd—the jurist of the Maghrib—ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb—the jurist of al-Andalus—Hārūn ibn Saʿīd al-Aylī, and others.

Al-Shāfiʿī’s statement about him suffices: “Egypt has produced no one more proficient in jurisprudence than Ashhab, were it not for a streak of impulsiveness in him.” (1)

Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: “He was a jurist of sound judgment and keen analysis. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam preferred him over Ibn al-Qāsim in matters of legal reasoning.” When this was mentioned to Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Lubābah of al-Andalus, he replied: “Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam said that only because he kept close company with Ashhab and derived more knowledge from him. In our view, Ibn al-Qāsim is the more learned in sales and other fields.” (2)

It was also said that Ashhab supervised the land tax of Egypt and possessed substantial wealth and numerous attendants.