[4] Detailed accounts of his life are lacking, however, it is known that he worked as a home decorator before beginning book illumination and eventually moving to calligraphy.

The only surviving Qur'an bearing his name is the famed copy at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, a gift of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I (1470–1512).

[6] Ibn al-Bawwāb was recognized as a master in his own time; his school of calligraphy lasted until Baghdad fell to the Mongols more than two centuries after his death.

Representing a transition from Kufic or semi-Kufic Qur'ans transcribed on parchment or vellum, the Chester Beatty manuscript is written fully in rounded, cursive script on paper.

Given Ibn al-Bawwab's background, it is not surprising to find that the illumination was done by calligrapher himself, indicated in some sections by the use of a reed pen rather than a brush as well as the same ink used for the text.

Whereas previous calligraphers had used symmetrical spacing in the Bismala, Ibn al-Bawwab here relies upon asymmetry, extending one letter to create a large gap between words, drawing the reader's eyes across the page and clearly demarcating a new section.