Named by al-Dhahabi "the master of knowers (Shaykh al-`ârifîn), the ascetic sufi (al-Suufî al-zâhid)... He has a firm foothold in the path." He related that when he was three years old he would wake up at night to watch his uncle Muhammad ibn al-Sawwar pray. He spent his early years with his uncle and Dhu al-Nun al-Misri whom he met during pilgrimage.
