محمود النعال

Nasir al-Din Mahmud ibn 'Uthman al-Na'al of Baghdad, Hanbali jurist, preacher and ascetic; born at Baghdad in 523, he memorised al-Khiraqi's Mukhtasar, read under Abu'l-Fath ibn al-Manni, and accompanied Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir for a time and took his manners; he sat preaching in his ribat, which became a gathering for the poor, the devout and itinerant jurists — it was said there was more learning in his ribat than in all the madrasas — and among its residents were Shaykh Muwaffaq al-Din al-Maqdisi, the hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani, his brother al-Shaykh al-'Imad and the hafiz 'Abd al-Qadir al-Ruhawi. ²

Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Hanbali said they denounced wrong and poured out wine, and he was beaten more than once — hard in God's religion with daring and struggle — yet awe-inspiring, gentle, smiling, fasting perpetually, finishing the Qur'an every day and night, and eating only what his aunt spun. He died on Tuesday night, 10 Safar 609. ²