Among the notable persons who died in this year were:
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, Abū al-Futūḥ (1) al-Ṭūsī al-Ghazālī (2), the preacher and brother of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī. He was an eloquent exhorter, gifted in speech, asceticism, and graceful delivery (3), and he possessed many clever witticisms. On one occasion he preached in the residence of King Maḥmūd, who granted him one thousand dinars. When he came out, he found at the gate the vizier’s horse, its saddle overlaid with gold, together with its chains and ornaments, so he mounted it. When the vizier was informed, he said, “Leave him; do not reclaim the horse from me.” Thus al-Ghazālī kept it.
Another time he heard a water-wheel groaning, so he threw his cloak over it and it was torn completely to shreds.
Ibn al-Jawzī (4) said: “He did have witticisms, yet most of his speech was confused, filled with fabricated hadiths, frivolous stories, and unsound ideas.” He then quoted other reprehensible statements of his—Allah knows best—among them: that whenever something perplexed him he would see the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while awake, ask him about it, and be guided to the correct answer. He added: “He showed partisanship for Iblīs and offered excuses on his behalf,” and discoursed at great length about him. Ibn al-Jawzī further said, “He was accused of loving beardless youths and of professing mushāhada (direct mystical vision); Allah knows best how accurate that is.”
Ibn Khallikān (5) said: “He was an excellent preacher, handsome in appearance, endowed with karāmāt (miraculous graces) and subtle indications. Although he was a jurist, preaching attracted him and eventually dominated him. He lectured at the Niẓāmiyya in place of his brother when the latter adopted an ascetic life and relinquished the post. He abridged Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn in a single volume entitled Lubāb al-Iḥyāʾ and authored al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Baṣīra. He travelled through various lands and personally served the Ṣūfīs, inclining to seclusion and solitude.”
Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Wakīl (6), known as Ibn Barhān, Abū al-Fath, the Shāfiʿī jurist: