Mansūr b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Jabbār b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Abū Muzaffar al-Samʿānī. He was a ḥadīth ḥāfiẓ (memorizer of ḥadīth). He was from the city of Merv. Initially, he studied the fiqh of the Abū Ḥanīfa madhhab. Later, he converted to the Shāfiʿī madhhab. He learned Shāfiʿī fiqh from Abū ʿĪshāq and Ibn Sabbāgh. He possessed knowledge in many sciences. He authored a tafsīr (Qur'anic exegesis). He also composed a work on ḥadīth entitled Kitāb al-Intiṣār. Among his works are al-Burhān wa al-Qawāṭiʿ fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh and al-Istilām. He preached in the city of Nisābūr. He used to say:
“I have forgotten everything I memorized.”
When asked about the attributes of the Exalted Allah, he replied:
“Hold fast to the religion with a faith like that of old women and schoolchildren.”
When asked about the istiwāʾ (establishment) of Allah over the ʿArsh al-ʿAla (the Highest Throne), he responded:
“You have come to me to learn the secret of Suʿdā.
Yet I am stingy in explaining the secret of Suʿdā.
You will see me as stingy in this matter.
Indeed, Suʿdā is the desire and wish of the hopeful.
She has attained both chastity and a smiling, beautiful face.”
Abū Muzaffar passed away in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of this year. He was buried in the cemetery of Merv. May Allah have mercy on him and on us as well. Ameen.