132. Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam Al-Qushayri, on the other hand, pursued theological training through close association with Ibn Furak and al-Isfaraylni. His biographers note that he was deeply engaged with the theological disputes between the Ash‘aris and their opponents in Nishapur, a commitment that led to his brief imprisonment and his migration with his family first to Baghdad and then some years later to Tus to escape persecution. Al-Qushayri also obtained systematic legal training, another area where Fatima’s exposure was either comparatively limited or not noted by her biographers. Indeed, one of al-Qushayrl’s noted accomplishments was the harmonizing of Sufi doctrines with Shafi‘i-‘Ash‘arI ones as attested in his Risala. At the end of his career, al-Qushayrl was hailed as a unique, exemplary leader for Shafi‘I-Ash‘ari-Sufls everywhere. Al-Subkl, among his most admiring biographers, lavishly praises him, saying [He is] one of the leaders of [all] Muslims with respect to his knowledge and his deeds, and a pillar of the community in terms of his actions and his sayings. An imam of imams , one who lights the darkness of the wayward; he is someone who sets an example with respect to the surma, and the ways of Hellfire and Heaven become clear through his works. He is the shay kb of shaykhs and the teacher of the whole congregation, the one who is foremost in our group (muqaddam al-ta’ifa), and one who brings together many different types of knowledge. A final difference between the profiles of Fatima and al-Qushayrl is that the latter influenced the course of prevailing theological and sectarian discussions by authoring his own works of tafsir, theology, and Sufi doctrines and practices. If Fatima composed any works of her own, they are not noted by her biographers. Nevertheless, given her religious learning and exposure, it is difficult to imagine that Fatima was withdrawn from the theological and sectarian controversies that so profoundly affected her family’s fortunes. While it is difficult to read the silence of her biographers on this matter, we can extrapolate that her involvement in such debates was not a matter to be extolled as was her hadith transmission. In addition to the strong focus on hadith learning, adherence to a personal ethic of asceticism is also a prominent feature of Fatima’s biographies, and she flourished in an atmosphere strongly influenced by Sufism. Bulliet’s research on Nishapur has shed light on the rapid growth of Sufism, among those who were Shafi‘I in their legal affiliation and Ash ‘an in their theological outlook. Al-SulamI was among the betterknown scholars of this group of SufI-Shafi‘I-Ash‘aris in Nishapur. 74 al-Subki, Tabaqat, 5:153. 75 al Sarilim, al-Muntakhab, 419-20. See also Bulliet, Patricians, 43.