Abu Said Faraj was born in 1248, a son of Ismail ibn Nasr, brother of Muhammad, the founder of the Nasrid dynasty of Granada. The Sultan had appointed Ismail as governor of Málaga, a post that he held until his death in 1257. Upon Ismail's death, Muhammad brought his nine-year old nephew Abu Said to his court in Granada, and left Málaga under the governorship of Abu Muhammad ibn Ashqilula, a member of the Banu Ashqilula family—then allies of the Nasrids—who was also Muhammad's nephew.[2]