Ibn Khallikān (1) quoted a selection of his verses and spoke highly of his poetic skill; Allah knows best his true condition.
Muhammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muhammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah (2) ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn al-Muhtadī billah (3), Abū al-Ḥusayn, better known as Ibn al-Gharīq (4).
He was born in 370 AH. He studied with al-Daraqutni, being the last person on earth to transmit from him, and with Ibn Shāhīn, from whom he alone narrated, as well as many others.
He was trustworthy and devout, given to abundant prayer and fasting, so he was called “the monk of the Banū Hāshim.” Endowed with vast learning and sound judgment, he recited the Quran frequently and was tender-hearted. Students travelled to him from distant lands. Later his hearing grew weak, so he himself would read aloud to the people, and he lost one of his eyes. He first preached at the age of sixteen and gave testimony before the judges. [In 406 AH he appeared before the magistrates; in 409 AH he assumed judicial office; he served as preacher in the Manṣūr Mosque and the Ruṣāfa Mosque for seventy-six years and held the judgeship] for fifty-six years. He died on the last day of Dhu al-Qaʿda this year, having passed ninety. The day of his funeral drew great crowds, and people saw favourable dreams concerning him.
[Then came the year 466 AH.]
In Ṣafar the caliph held a public audience, [seated before him was his grandson, the prince ʿUddat al-Dīn Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allah (5)], who was eighteen years old at the time [and of striking beauty; the emirs and notables were present]. The caliph himself fastened the banner of Sultan Malik-Shah with his own hand [the crowds were immense that day, and people congratulated one another on their safety]; it was a memorable occasion.
[Account of the flooding of Baghdad in this year] In Jumādā al-Ākhira a torrential rain fell, followed by a powerful flood. The Tigris rose until it submerged a large part of Baghdad, even reaching the caliphal palace. The slave-girls came out bare-headed [their faces uncovered] and made their way to the western bank, while the caliph fled from his audience chamber but could find no route to take, so some of the attendants carried him to the Tāj,