He passed away on Friday, the thirteenth of Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 506 AH, and I—still a child at the time—attended his funeral in the congregational mosque (1).
al-Muʿammar [ibn ʿAlī] ibn al-Muʿammar, Abū Saʿd ibn Abī ʿUmāmah, the preacher (2)(3)(4):
He was articulate, eloquent, witty, and sharp-minded, though inclined to levity. His exhortations were memorable, and his written letters enjoyed a favorable reception. He died in Rabiʿ al-Awwal of this same year (5) and was buried at Bāb Ḥarb (6).
Abū ʿAlī al-Maghribī (7):
A devout ascetic and worshipper who could subsist on the barest fare. Later, however, he took an interest in the science of alchemy; he was consequently taken to the Caliphal Palace, and nothing further was heard of him thereafter (8).
Nuzhah, paternal grandmother of the Caliph al-Mustazhir billah (9):
She was a dignified black woman of generous spirit. She died on Friday, the second of Shawwāl in this year (10).
(1) This entry is omitted in manuscript A.
(2) The text enclosed in brackets is essential; it appears in the biographical sources of al-Bishār.
(3) In manuscript A it reads “Abu Sa‘īd ibn Abī ‘Ināyah,” a scribal error. In the printed edition it appears as “Abu Sa‘d ibn Abī ‘Ammār.”
(4) His biography is found in al-Muntaẓam (vol. 9, p. 173), Ibn al-Athīr’s al-Kāmil (vol. 8, p. 265), Tārīkh al-Islām (vol. 11, p. 83), al-‘Abr (vol. 4, p. 11), the supplement to Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila (vol. 1, pp. 107–110), and al-Manhaj al-Aḥmad (vol. 2, p. 224).
(5) In the printed edition, the text between the brackets reads “minhā.”
(6) Bāb Ḥarb is one of Baghdad’s cemeteries adjacent to the Ḥarbiyya quarter. Prominent scholars such as Ahmad ibn Ḥanbal and al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī are buried there (Mu‘jam al-Buldān, s.v. “Bāb Ḥarb–al-Ḥarbiyya”).
(7) His account appears in al-Muntaẓam (vol. 9, p. 171) and in al-Kāmil of Ibn al-Athīr (vol. 8, p. 265).
(8) This term is not present in manuscript B or in the printed edition.
(9) In manuscripts A and B, the subsequent phrase reads “al-Muttaqī li-Amr Allāh.”
(10) In the printed edition and in some copies—apparently from a single exemplar—the biography of Abū Sa‘īd ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn Muḥammad al-Sam‘ānī (author of al-Ansāb) is inserted here. However, there is no justification for this placement: Abū Sa‘d died in 562 AH and is recorded by some as dying in 563 AH, where the author intended to include his entry. It is evident that this is a copyist’s interpolation. Ibn Kathīr would have noted this—had he believed him dead at this point, he would not have recorded him later. Moreover, Ibn Kathīr typically arranges entries alphabetically within the same year, concluding it with the biography of Nuzhatat umm walid al-khalīfa, as observed. Also, this year corresponds to Abū Sa‘d al-Sam‘ānī’s birth, not his death. For these reasons, we have removed this entry from here. (al-Bishār)