The Classical Revival 127 etiquette, and refinement, and instilled in her the correct beliefs, and the etiquette of the Sufis as well as concepts of theology (kalimat al-tawhld). She had memorized the Qur’an and would spend her days and nights reciting it, and she had [scholarly and mystical] knowledge of the Qur’an ( 'dr if a bi’l-kitab). Her father convened a dhikr assembly for her, and he had her memorize the material [recited] in assemblies because of his high opinion of her. At that time [i.e., when she was young], he did not have a son, so all his attention was devoted to this daughter. She was born in the year 391. This was the same year in which he [i.e., her father] built the blessed madrasa. When she matured, he married her to Imam Zayn al-Islam after she had combined different types of virtues. She heard [badith] from Abu Nu’aym al-Isfaraylnl, al-Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-‘Alawi, al-Hakim Abl ‘Abd Allah al-Hafiz, ‘Abd Allah b. Yusuf, and Abu ‘All al-Rudhbari [who heard] from Ibn Dasa [who heard] from Abu Dawud al-Sijistanl. [She also heard] from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulaml and the second generation [of scholars] such as al-Shaykh Abu ‘Abd Allah b. Bakawayh. ' A fawd 'id collection [compilation of her selected narrations] was prepared for her and many texts were read to her. She was fully devoted ( baligba ) to worship and exerted herself in this regard. She spent her time immersed in ritual purity and prayer and had six boys and [an unspecified number of] girls, who were unrivaled in their age." She lived in pious submission for ninety years not concerned with what she had inherited from her father or her mother and did not involve herself in matters of this world. Zayn al-Islam [her husband] exerted effort in taking care of her worldly affairs. She died in the morning on Thursday the 13th day of Dhu’l-Qa‘da in the year 480. 61 Al-Farisl’s account provides fascinating glimpses into Fatima’s father’s role in her upbringing, her scholarly network, and her sectarian orientation within the intellectual culture of fourth/tenth- and fifth/eleventhcentury Nishapur. Later biographers such as al-Dhahabl draw primarily on al-Farisi, adding details that further clarify her reputation and activities. The value of al-Farisi’s description lies not just in its memorable portrait of Fatima. It is also a striking testament to the sea changes in the culture of the 58 It is unusual that al-Farisi provides the years of Fatima’s birth and death. His knowledge and inclusion of this material indicates not just his closeness to Fatima (who was his grandmother) but also her status within an established ‘ulama ’ network. 59 In al-Farisi’s organizational scheme, the “second generation” consists of scholars whose death dates fall between ca. 425 and 460. Biographical sources do not clearly state how many daughters Fatima had. Through his research into the scholarly families of Nishapur, Bulliet has counted five daughters of alQushayri. It is not clear how many of these are from his marriage to Fatima, although Bulliet surmises that Fatima was likely his only wife. See Bulliet, Patricians of Nishapur, 153. al-Sarlflnl, al-Muntakhab, 419-20. Her biography as it appears in al-Farisi’ s Siyaq reproduced by Richard Frye is slightly different from the version in al-Muntakhab.