He was a man of letters, a jurist (faqīh), a devout worshipper (ʿābid), and a memorizer of the Qur'an (ḥāfiẓ). He traveled to various places in order to study the science of hadith. He was a student of Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn. He transmitted beneficial knowledge from him regarding jarḥ and taʿdīl (the evaluation and criticism of narrators) as well as other subjects. He also studied with Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī, and Khalaf b. Hishām al-Bezzār. He learned the science of lexicography (lughat) from Ibn ʿArabī. He was a trustworthy (thiqa) transmitter. He was a great and reliable figure.
Among the renowned personalities who passed away in this year is also Muḥammad b. Qāsim.