He was the slave of Muḥammad b. Ṭughāj al-Iḥshīdī.
After the death of Muḥammad b. Ṭughāj, since his son was very young, Ihshid Kāfūr took over the governorship of Egypt and Damascus in his stead, and administered these regions in the name of Sayf al-Dawla and the rulers who succeeded him.
The following inscription was written upon the grave of Muḥammad b. Ṭughāj al-Iḥshīdī:
"Look at the course of these days, see what it has done. It has destroyed so many of the living. He himself has also perished. In the days of his reign, the worlds laughed. When they vanished, all wept and lamented."