He enrolled in a kuttab to learn the Quran, memorized it while in his youth. He attended Al Quaraouiyine University and a few other schools in Fes, benefiting from the tutelage of some of the greatest scholars of his time. His intelligence manifested itself from an early age; he began teaching while still a young man, and he preached from city to city—from Fes to Rabat to Salé, passing through Zerhoun, Meknes, and other Moroccan cities.