Author’s Biography (1)

• His name and lineage:
  He is Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Hādī b. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. ʿAbd al-Hādī, al-Maqdisī, originally from Jamāʿīl, later of al-Ṣāliḥiyyah. His lineage is traced back to ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him.

• His birth:
  There is a slight difference of opinion regarding the year of his birth. One view is that he was born in Rajab 705 AH; another says 704 AH. The discrepancy is minimal.

• His upbringing:
  Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī was raised in Damascus, in a household known for learning and piety. His father was a scholar (2) and devoted special attention to his gifted son, in whom signs of keen intelligence and precocity appeared early on. At that time Damascus was brimming with accomplished scholars in every