Abū ʿAlī al-Fārmadī, al-Faḍl b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī (407–477/1016–1084) was a prominent Sufi and preacher from Ṭūs. He was called al-Fārmadī on account of his place of birth, Fārmad, a village in the vicinity of Ṭūs (al-Samʿānī, 10/124; Yāqūt, 3/839).

Abū ʿAlī began his education as a child in Ṭūs (al-Ṣarīfīnī, 628) and travelled to Nīsābūr as a young man where he continued his education in the madrasa of al-Sarrājīn. It was at precisely this time that Abū Saʿīd b. Abī al-Khayr (d. 440/1049), arrived at Nīsābūr. Abū ʿAlī made his acquaintance and benefited both fr…