and the principles of jurisprudence (usul), until he excelled (1). He said about him: 'Our shaykh Abu al-Fath was a righteous man, of good intention and instruction. There was blessing in his teaching; few who studied with him did not benefit, and many jurists emerged from among his students, some of whom became leaders. He was content with little, and sometimes satisfied himself with part of a piece of bread. He did not marry. I read the Qur'an to him, and he loved us, comforted our hearts, and showed joy when he heard our speech regarding the issues. When the Hafiz Abd al-Ghani ceased teaching due to his preoccupation with Hadith, he came to us and thought that the Hafiz had stopped because he was distressed (2).'

30 - Nafisah, also called Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Bazzazah al-Baghdadiyyah, who passed away in the year 563 AH (3). He heard from her in Baghdad (4).

31 - Abu al-Qasim Hibat Allah ibn al-Hasan ibn Hilal al-Daqqaq al-'Ijli al-Samarri, then al-Baghdadi, the scribe, an elder with a long life, whose narration was sound. He passed away in the year 562 AH (5). He heard from him in Baghdad (6), and he said of him: 'He is, I believe, the earliest of our shaykhs in terms of hearing (5).'

32 - Abu al-Qasim Yahya ibn Thabit ibn Bundar al-Dinawari al-Baghdadi al-Baqqal al-Wakil, the musnid (transmitter of hadith with chains of authority), who passed away in the year 566 AH (7). He heard from him in Baghdad (8).