A Brief Biography of the Author

1. Lineage
   He is Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam: Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Halīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Khiḍr ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Khiḍr ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Taymiyyah, originally from Ḥarrān and later of Damascus.

His teknonym: Abū al-ʿAbbās.

2. Birth and Upbringing
   He was born on Monday, the 10th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, 661 AH, in Ḥarrān. At the age of seven he moved with his father to Damascus, fleeing the Mongol raids. He was raised in a household steeped in knowledge, jurisprudence, and devotion: his father, forefathers, brothers, and many of his uncles were renowned scholars. Among them were his fourth-generation ancestor Muḥammad ibn al-Khiḍr, ʿAbd al-Halīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Taymiyyah, and ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Muḥammad ibn Taymiyyah. His nearer grandfather was ʿAbd al-Salām ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Taymiyyah—Majd al-Dīn Abū al-Barakāt—the author of such works as Al-Muntaqā from the Hadiths on Legal Rulings, Al-Muḥarrar in Fiqh, Al-Musawwada in Usul, and others. His father, ʿAbd al-Halīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Ḥarrānī, his brother ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, and various other relatives were likewise scholars.

In this nurturing scholarly environment he grew up. He began his quest for knowledge under his father and the scholars of Damascus, memorised the Qur’an while still young, and studied