Hasan b. ʿAlī b. Isḥāq. His kunyah was Abū ʿAlī. He served as vizier to Sultan Alp Arslan and his son Malikshāh for twenty-nine years. He was among the virtuous and distinguished viziers. He was born in the year 408 AH in the city of Tus. His grandfather was among the men of Maḥmūd b. Sebüktegin. He was a landowner (dīkhān). He directed his son Nizām al-Mulk to pursue knowledge. At the age of eleven, he had him recite the Qurʾān. He engaged him in learning. He taught him qirāʾāt (Qurʾānic readings) and Shāfiʿī jurisprudence (fiqh). He had him listen to ḥadīth. He ensured he studied lexicography, Arabic literature, and grammar (naḥw). His zeal was high. After learning a bit of these sciences, his rank rose. Eventually, he served as vizier to Alp Arslan and then to his son Malikshāh. He served as vizier for a total of twenty-nine years without ever being dismissed during this period. He established Nizāmiyya madrasas in Baghdad, Nishapur, and other cities. His assembly was filled to overflowing with jurists and scholars. He spent most of his day with them. When told, "These keep you from many of your affairs," he replied:
"These are the beauties of this world and the Hereafter. Even if I placed them above my head, I would still not have done enough for them."
When Abū'l-Qāsim al-Kushayrī and Abū'l-Maʿālī al-Juwaynī came to him, he would rise and seat them beside his own throne. When Abū ʿAlī al-Fārandī came, he would stand out of respect, seat him in his own place, then sit opposite him. When reproached for this behavior, he responded:
"When those two come to me, they say 'you, you.' They flatter me and I see myself as a great person. They attribute to me virtues I do not possess. Because of their words, the hidden pride in the human nafs increases in me. But when Abū ʿAlī al-Fārandī comes to me, he reminds me of my faults and injustices. I feel hurt. My nafs is humbled. I turn back from many of the evils I have done."
Nizām al-Mulk was careful to perform prayers on time. After the adhan was called, nothing would prevent him from praying. He regularly fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. He had ongoing endowments (waqf) and alms (ṣadaqah) spent on good causes. He showed great respect to the ṣūfīs. When criticized for this, he said: Once, while serving a ruler, a man came to me and said:
"How long will you continue to serve one whom the dogs will eat tomorrow? Serve those who will benefit you. Do not serve one whom the dogs will eat tomorrow."
I did not understand what the man meant. But that ruler drank wine and became drunk that evening. He went out of the palace at night. He had dogs that attacked strangers. Because they did not recognize him, the dogs tore him apart. In the morning, I saw that the dogs had eaten him. I seek people like that sheikh who warned me."
He listened to ḥadīth in various places in Baghdad and other cities. He used to say: "I know I am not qualified to transmit, but I want to be connected to the caravan of those who transmit the ḥadīth of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Once Nizām al-Mulk said: One night I saw Iblīs in a dream. I said: "Woe to you! Allah created you. He commanded you verbally to prostrate to Him, but you did not obey. Yet I prostrate to Him many times daily, though He has not commanded me verbally to do so." After I said this, Iblīs recited this poem:
"For one not worthy of union, all ihsān (spiritual excellence) is sin."
Caliph al-Muqtaḍī once seated him before him and said: "O Ḥasan! As much as the believers are pleased with you, may Allah be pleased with you to that extent."
By saying this, al-Muqtaḍī wished to express his great satisfaction with him. Nizām al-Mulk owned thousands of Turkish slaves. He had many sons. Five of his sons served as viziers. Among them, Aḥmad served as vizier to Sultan Malikshāh's son Muḥammad and to Caliph al-Mustarshid Billāh.
Nizām al-Mulk set out with the sultan from Isfahan to Baghdad at the beginning of Ramadan that year. On the tenth day of Ramadan, while passing near a village close to Nihāvend, he was riding a mule and going side by side with the sultan. He said to the sultan: "In the time of ʿUmar, a group of ṣaḥāba were killed here. Blessed is the one who was with them."
After ifṭār, a child came as if seeking help and said he had a matter to discuss. When he reached Nizām al-Mulk, he stabbed him in the heart with a knife and fled. While fleeing, he tripped on the tent ropes and fell. He was caught and killed. An hour later, Nizām al-Mulk died. When the sultan came to visit him, Nizām al-Mulk passed away. It was said that the sultan had arranged this assassination, but the sultan himself lived only thirty-five days after. There is a lesson in this for those with understanding.
The sultan had decided to remove the caliph from Baghdad, but he did not live to carry out this decision.
The people of Baghdad were greatly saddened upon hearing of Nizām al-Mulk's death. Viziers and leaders sat in mourning for three days. Poets composed elegies for him. One of the poets who lamented him was Muqātil b. ʿAtīyah. In his elegy, Muqātil said:
"Vizier Nizām al-Mulk was a unique pearl.
The Merciful fashioned him into a mold of honor.
He passed away. He was precious. Time did not appreciate his worth.
He returned him again to his mother-of-pearl."
Many poets praised him. Even Ibn Ukayl, Ibn Jawzī, and others wrote panegyrics for him. May Allah have mercy on him.