In his youth he worked as a tailor and was passionately devoted to the pursuit of virtue. His parents, however, kept urging him to stick to earning a livelihood. Jaʿfar ibn Ḥarb therefore took him under his care and, each month, sent his mother twenty dirhams in lieu of the income her son would otherwise have earned. (1)
He soon distinguished himself in dialectical theology, and Caliph al-Muʿtaṣim remained greatly impressed by him. The caliph brought him close, granted him lavish stipends, and whenever he debated, al-Muʿtaṣim would listen attentively while everyone present fell silent. Then the caliph would glance at the assembly and declare, “Who could turn away from such eloquence and clarity?!” He would also say, “Muhammad! Present this doctrine to the retainers; whoever refuses, inform me of him so that I may make an example of him.” (2)
Al-Nadīm lists several of his writings, among them: Refutation of the Book of Ḥusayn al-Najjār; Refutation of Those Who Denied the Createdness of the Quran; and The Superiority of ʿAlī.
He espoused Shiʿite views. He died in 240 AH. When Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā Barghūth received news of his death, he prostrated in gratitude, and he himself passed away a few months later.
Among his pupils was the distinguished scholar:
- Abū Sahl ʿAbbād ibn Salmān al-Baṣrī * — a Muʿtazilite and one of the disciples of Hishām al-Fuwaṭī. He departed from the Muʿtazila on several issues of his own devising.