Biography of the Copyist:

This copy is distinguished by having been penned by a learned jurist well versed in hadith, who was known for his asceticism and scrupulous piety. Ibn Hajar said: “He was an ascetic, a devout worshipper, and steadfastly obedient. He accepted nothing from anyone and ate only from the earnings of his own hand(1).” He also wrote: “He lived in seclusion at a mosque known as Masjid al-Qadam, outside Damascus. He used to teach children to recite, though he later stopped doing so. He would attend Friday prayers at the Umayyad Mosque, and after the prayer his commentary, al-Kawākib al-Darārī: Arranging the Musnad of Imam Ahmad According to the Chapters of al-Bukhārī, would be read to him.”

Concerning his lineage and upbringing, al-Hāfiz said: “He was Alī ibn al-Husayn ibn Urwah al-Mashriqī, then al-Dimashqī, the Hanbalī, Abū al-Hasan ibn Zuknūn. He was born before [7]60 AH. Early in his life he worked as a camel driver. He heard hadith from Yahyā ibn Yūsuf al-Rahbī and Yūsuf al-Sayrafī, and went on to excel.”

He died on Sunday, 12 Jumādā al-Ākhirah 837 AH, at his home in Masjid al-Qadam. The funeral prayer was performed over him there before noon, and he was buried there.

The Chain of Transmission of the Copy:

At the beginning of the copy, Ibn Urwah—may Allah have mercy on him—recorded his chain of transmission, saying:

“Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qādir transmitted to us the entirety of Ibn Abī al-Dunyā’s Book of Sincerity, as it was read to him while we listened. He said: The righteous female shaykh informed us