This dynasty was founded by his grandfather, Ibn Rustam, in Tahert, During Aflah's time, Ibadi Islam still enjoyed considerable popularity in central Maghreb, southern Ifriqiya, and Tripolitania.
[1] Aflah made significant contributions to improving agricultural infrastructure by constructing farm buildings and expanding irrigation systems extensively.
Through flexible diplomacy and generosity, he successfully asserted authority over the nomadic tribes in the region, consolidating his power, During that time, relations with the Umayyads of Cordoba were also favorable.
According to S. Ibn Yaqub, dates its construction to the end of the 9th century, because the two mosques in the region, Tagūmīn and Täwarghit, the latter of which has disappeared, were no longer sufficient to accommodate the population, and he confirms that Täjdīt was indeed built at the behest of the Rustamid State.
According to him, the madrasa developed as soon as the mosque was created, and there used to be structures around the place of worship to accommodate lessons and to house students and professors, which would still be evidenced by mounds of earth around the area.
His son, Abu-l-Yaqdan, who allegedly gathered Kharijite leaders from the East in Mecca during his pilgrimage, was captured there and later transferred to and imprisoned in Baghdad until the death of Al-Mutawakkil.
Qadi Sahnun expelled the Kharijites from his mosque in Kairouan, while Imam Aflah ordered the burning and razed an entire city named Al 'Abbasiyya by the Aghlabids in 853.
He had the opportunity to meet Abū Ghānim al-Khurāsānī, the author of the first known Ibadi canonical compilation called Mudawwana.
In line with the Rustamids' reputation as the "house of knowledge" (bayt al-ʿilm), Aflah al-Wahhāb was considered a mufti and theologian, even gathering three study circles (halaqa) around him before reaching puberty.
He is credited with a short didactic poem celebrating the pursuit of religious knowledge, titled "Qaṣīda fī faḍl al-ʿilm wa-l-mutaʿallim", but it is never mentioned in medieval literature.
A seeker of knowledge spends his nights engaged, and a worshipper dedicates a year to God diligently.