In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon the leader of the messengers, as well as upon his family and all his Companions.

To continue: This monumental volume we now present to readers ranks among the finest biographical works that have reached us from the classical heritage in terms of organization, refinement, verification, precision, scope, and comprehensiveness. It demonstrates the author’s—may Allah have mercy on him—vast acquaintance with all previous writings on the subject, his full awareness of the circumstances of those he profiles and of everything said about them, and his exceptional ability to sift through reports, scrutinize them, critique them, and clarify their standing.

What distinguishes it from other books in its field is that it is the first comprehensive biographical dictionary in our tradition: it surveys every period prior to the author’s own time and includes select luminaries from the entire Muslim world, from its easternmost to its westernmost lands. He did not limit himself to any single category; rather, his entries span every stratum of society—caliphs and kings, princes and ministers, judges and Quran reciters, hadith scholars and jurists, men of letters and linguists, grammarians and poets, ascetics, philosophers, and theologians. Yet he gave precedence to the hadith scholars over all others, for he held them in the highest regard and was deeply devoted to them.