Abu Tahir Ibn al-Allaf al-Muqri'

Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Muqri', known as Ibn al-Allaf, was a Baghdadi hadith transmitter and preacher of the fifth century AH and the third link in the chain of Ahmad ibn Hanbal's Fada'il al-Sahaba ¹.

Ibn al-Allaf read the book to Abu Bakr al-Qati'i on Saturday 16 Jumada al-Akhira 368 AH ². It was later read back to him, while he listened, in Dhu al-Qa'da 436, by Abu al-Husayn al-Mubarak ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Sayrafi ². The title page states that Abu al-Husayn's transmission from the beginning of the book to the end of the merits of Ali is from Ibn al-Allaf, from Ibn Malik al-Qati'i ³.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi said: I wrote from him; he was truthful, discreet, of evident dignity, of good bearing and fine conduct ¹. He lived on Darb al-Diwan near Abu al-Qasim ibn Bishran, held a preaching session in the Mahdi mosque, and later took a teaching circle in the Mansur mosque in Baghdad ¹.

He died on the eve of Friday 24 Rabi' al-Akhir 442 AH, and Ibn al-Imad says much the same ¹. The editor's sources for his biography are Tarikh Baghdad and Shadharat al-Dhahab ¹.