in the mid-10th century Abu 'l-Fadl was from a low-class family. He was the son of a wheat merchant from
Qom, who served as a
kātib in
Khurasan and later attained the rank of
ʿamīd. In 933, he was the vizier of
Vushmgir. Abu 'l-Fadl's father was later taken captive by the
Samanids. He was assassinated at
Isfahan around 935. Abu 'l-Fadl is first mentioned in 940, when the Buyid ruler Rukn al-Dawla, who greatly favoured him, appointed him as his vizier. In 948, Abu 'l-Fadl served as the tutor of Rukn al-Dawla's son
'Adud al-Dawla. In c. 955, a son of Abu 'l-Fadl's father's former overlord,
Muhammad ibn Makan, marched towards the domains of Rukn al-Dawla, conquering the important cities of
Isfahan and
Ray. During the invasion, Abu 'l-Fadl tried to repel Muhammad army, but was defeated. However, in a second battle, with the aid of Adud al-Dawla, he managed to rout them, reconquer lost territory, and capture Muhammad. Around the same time, another Dailamite military officer named
Ruzbahan rebelled against Mu'izz al-Dawla, while Ruzbahan's brother Bullaka rebelled against Adud al-Dawla in
Shiraz. Abu 'l-Fadl, however, managed to suppress the rebellions. In the 960s, the prominent official
Ibn Miskawayh served Abu 'l-Fadl as his chief librarian in the library in Ray. In 966, Abu 'l-Fadl was wounded during an invasion by
ghazis from
Khorasan, who plundered much of
Jibal, and marched towards the great library of Ray, which was, however, saved by Ibn Miskawayh. Rukn al-Dawla managed to repel them. The next year, under the orders of Rukn al-Dawla, Abu 'l-Fadl conquered
Azerbaijan, and restored the
Sallarid Ibrahim I ibn Marzuban I as the ruler of the region. Abu 'l-Fadl urged Rukn al-Dawla to depose Ibrahim and impose direct Buyid control on the region. Rukn al-Dawla, however, declined to take up his advice. In 970, Abu 'l-Fadl was sent on an expedition against the
Kurdish ruler
Hasanwayh, but Abu 'l-Fadl died before he managed to deal with him. Abu 'l-Fadl was succeeded as vizier by his son Abu'l-Fath who managed to deal with Hasanwayh. == Work ==