[2] Bin Diyaf was born into a prominent family from the Awlad ʿUn tribe from the Siliana region,[3] and his father being an important scribe for the ruling regime.

"He was soon promoted to the post of private (or secret) secretary, a position he held under successive beys until his retirement only a short time before his death.

[7] As part of his duties, Bin Diyaf also served as a mediator, e.g., to assist in resolving a dispute between two imams at the Zitouna Mosque.

[16] Despite his involvement in modernizing reforms, Bin Diyaf was personally familiar with, and adept at, the philosophy and practice of long-standing social and state traditions.

In his official position, he performed his duties in close proximity with the Bey and the conservative elite, with old distinguished families and with the Muslim ulama who followed "an elaborate code of politesse.

[21] Recently, this work's relatively short "Introduction" ("Muqaddima") has been translated into English by Princeton professor Leon Carl Brown.

Included are the careers of many ulama and others, holding such offices as: shadhid (witness), katib (clerk), qaid (judge), mufti (jurisconsult), and imam (prayer leader).

[27] Evident in the pages are his "mastery of the customary notions of bureaucratic practice in combination with his access to the inside story... and his undeniable perceptiveness and intelligence".

"[28]Bin Diyaf's description of dynasty politics and of the lives of officials "make the work a major reference source for the period.

"[29] His Risalah fi al'mar'a [Epistle on Women] was a response to a list of 23 questions posed by Léon Roches, then French Consul General in Tunis.

Written longhand in 1856, the thirty-page manuscript addresses the social role of women in Tunisia, their legal rights and duties, regarding family and conjugal relations: marriage, divorce, polygamy, public presence (veiling, seclusion, segregation, repudiation), household tasks and management, and lack of education.