(1) Abu Ahmad Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Sulaymān al-Asbahānī, known as al-‘Asal, was one of the leading imams in the science of ḥadīth and a prolific author. His works include al-Ma‘rifa (on the Sunnah), al-Ru’ya, al-‘Aẓama, and al-Musnad arranged by subject, among others. He served as a qāḍī in Isfahan. He was born in 269 AH and died in 349 AH. See: Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ by al-Dhahabī, vol. 3: 886–888; Shadhārāt al-Dhahab by Ibn al-‘Imād, vol. 2: 380–381; Hidayat al-‘Ārifīn by al-Baghdādī, vol. 2: 43; Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifīn by al-Khaṭṭāb, vol. 8: 226. (2) Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Ājrī al-Baghdādī was an imam, muḥaddith, and Shāfi‘ī jurist. Among his numerous writings are Kitāb al-Sharī‘a fī al-Sunnah, al-Arba‘īn Ḥadīthan, and al-Taṣdīq bi- al-Naẓar ilā Allāh fī al-Ākhira wa-mā ‘addahu Allāh li-Awliyā’ih. He resided in Mecca and died there in 360 AH. See: Tarīkh Baghdād by al-Baghdādī, vol. 2: 243; Wafayāt al-A‘yān by Ibn Khallikān, vol. 4: 292; Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ by al-Dhahabī, vol. 3: 936; Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfi‘iyya by al-Subkī, vol. 3: 149; History of the Arab Heritage by Fu’ād Sezgin, vol. 1, pt. 1: 389–392. (3) Abu al-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar ibn Aḥmad ibn Mahdī al-Baghdādī al-Daraqutnī was a celebrated ḥāfiẓ and author of the Sunan. He undertook extensive scholarly travels and studied under the foremost scholars of his era. In addition to the Sunan, he composed several works, notably Kitāb al-Ṣifāt and a treatise on all scriptural texts in the Book of Allāh and the ḥadīths pertaining to the vision of the Creator. He died in Baghdad in 385 AH. For further details on these and other works by this imam and their locations, see: Tarīkh al-Turāth al-‘Arabī (Sezgin), ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān wa-al-Ḥadīth, vol. 1, pt. 1: 418–424. Also: Tarīkh Baghdād by al-Baghdādī, vol. 12: 34–40; Wafayāt al-A‘yān by Ibn Khallikān, vol. 3: 297–299; Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ by al-Dhahabī, vol. 3: 991–995; Shadhārāt al-Dhahab by Ibn al-‘Imād, vol. 3: 116–117. (4) Abu ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Mundhir al-‘Abdī was one of the foremost memorizers of ḥadīth, who died still in pursuit of knowledge, and is counted among the trustworthy narrators. He authored numerous works, including …