He was appointed as the commander of the Khorasan armies by Emir Nūḥ al-Samānī. He could not recover from an illness he contracted and died that year. According to another report, he drank alcohol continuously for days and died because of it.
After him, the command of the army was assigned to Abū ʿAlī al-Muḥtāj az-Zū-jācī. This person is the author of the grammar book entitled al-Jumal. His kunyah is Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Isḥāq. He was a grammarian and lexicographer. Originally, he was from Baghdad. Later, he settled in Damascus. He is the author of the very beneficial grammar book al-Jumal. He wrote this book in Mecca. After writing each chapter of the book, he would circumambulate the Kaʿbah and pray for people to benefit from this book. He first learned the science of grammar from Muḥammad b. ʿAbbās al-Yazīdī, then from Abū Bakr b. Dūrayd and Ibn al-ʿAnbarī. He died in Damascus in the month of Rajab in the year 337 AH. There are various reports that he died in 339 or 340 AH. Another report states that he died in Tiberias. Many commentaries have been written on the book al-Jumal, the best and most comprehensive of which is that written by Ibn Usfur. Allah knows best.