in Nishapur; he later came to Baghdad, where he preached, won the wholehearted approval of its people, and accumulated both wealth and books.

Ibn (1) al-Jawzi said: “He was the first to set me on the path of preaching. While I was still young I spoke in his presence, and after he left I addressed the people myself.”

Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, Abū ʿAbd Allah al-ʿUthmānī al-Dībājī (2)—known in Baghdad as al-Maqdisī—studied jurisprudence, adhered to the Ashʿarī creed, and preached to the people of Baghdad.

Ibn [al-Jawzi] (3) said: I heard him recite in his session:

[from the khafīf meter]
Leave my eyes(4); surely I have the right to weep—
my sins have left me without a sound heart.
The palms of transgression have worn my spirit thin,
and gray hairs have proclaimed my death in a clear announcement.
Whenever I say, “The wound of my heart is healed,”
my heart returns, gashed anew by sin.
True triumph and lasting bliss are for the servant
who comes to the Gathering safe and at rest.

Muḥammad (5) ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Khalaf, Abū Khāzim (6) ibn Abī Yaʿlā ibn al-Farrāʾ, the jurist—son of a jurist—was born in 457 AH, heard ḥadīth, and was counted among the righteous, ascetic men of jurisprudence. He died in Ṣafar of that same year.

Abū Muḥammad (7) ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn Abī Bakr ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥamdīs al-Azdī, the celebrated Sicilian poet: Ibn Khallikān (8) cites many of his elegant verses, among them (9) his words (10):

[from the sarīʿ meter]