They would eat from his food, and his original residence was in Qasiyun, so he would sometimes return to the mountain after Isha.
Al-Dhahabi mentioned that al-Muwaffaq continued for some time to sit after Friday prayers for debate, and the jurists would gather around him. He would teach until the day had risen high, and from after Dhuhr until Maghrib, without ever growing weary; they would listen to him, and he would also teach grammar. Scarcely did anyone see him without loving him. Ibn Rajab added: He might even read to them after Maghrib while he was having dinner.
Al-Safadi said: He was the unique scholar of his time, an Imam in the science of differences (khilaf), shares of inheritance (fara'id), principles of jurisprudence (usul), jurisprudence (fiqh), grammar, arithmetic, planetary motion, and the lunar mansions. People studied under him for a long time using 'al-Khiraqi' and 'al-Hidayah,' then the 'Mukhtasar al-Hidayah' which he authored later, and they studied his other compilations under him.
Shaykh al-Muwaffaq was extremely patient in the face of harm, and he would never debate anyone without smiling. It is said that he debated Ibn Fadlan al-Shafi'i, who was proverbial for his debating skills, and he silenced him.
Al-Dhahabi reported from al-Diya' al-Maqdisi: I heard the Mufti Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ma'ali ibn Ghunayma say: 'I do not know anyone in our time who reached the level of Ijtihad except for al-Muwaffaq.'
As for his physical characteristics, he was, may Allah have mercy on him, of perfect stature, fair-complexioned, with a radiant face, deep black eyes—as if light were emanating from his face due to its beauty—broad-foreheaded, long-bearded, straight-nosed, with joined eyebrows, a small head, delicate hands and feet, a slender body, and he enjoyed full use of his senses.
He was intelligent and handled matters well. It was narrated that he used to keep a small pouch in his turban containing sand, which he used to dry the ink of the fatwas, authorizations, and other documents he wrote for people. One night, it happened that his turban was snatched from him. He said to the snatcher: 'O brother, take the pouch from the turban and return the turban so I can cover my head, and you are fully pardoned for what is in the pouch.' The thief thought it was silver and perceived it to be heavy, so he took it and returned the turban, which was small and old. He found taking the pouch to be far better than the turban, so the Shaykh retrieved his turban through this clever approach.
Diya' al-Din al-Maqdisi said: I heard al-Baha' describing him as courageous, saying: 'He would advance toward the enemy, and he was wounded in his palm, and he would shoot at the enemy.'
