Sources on the life of al-Kafif az-Zarhuni are rare; the most important is Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah, which mentions Mala'bat al-Kafif az-Zarhuni and refers to its author only by his laqab. Ibn Khaldun mentions that al-Kafif az-Zarhuni was visually impaired, which explains his laqab al-Kafif ( the blind). Muḥammad Bin Sharīfah, an expert on Mala'bat al-Kafif az-Zarhuni states that az-Zarhuni's name was Abdullah.