Brief Biography
Little is known about the author of this treasured work, or even when it was written, except for the author's nickname of al-Bayquni. This is derived from information gleaned from his poetical work, where he mentions near the end of it, that he named the classical work, “al-Manzoomah al-Bayquniyah.” Beyond this association, scholars have mentioned his name as Taha or Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Futuh and that he probably lived around the year 1080AH.
In the realm of Islamic scholarship, an author's identity being unknown is not unheard of. In fact, a number of scholars have revealed little, or no details of their identity such as Ibn Ajroom or al-Qahtani. No doubt, this demonstrates their pure intentions in authoring works solely to gain the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala, rather than to gain fame and praise of other men.
Therefore, it can be said that the ambiguity associated with al-Bayquni's real name, only emphasizes the pure, untainted intentions the author had when he wrote this 34 line poetical masterpiece. Perhaps this is the reason it has gained acceptance far and wide, and generation after generation. This act should serve as a reminder to the readership and those who study this text, to keep their intentions pure, solely for the sake of Allah Ta’ala and not some worldly gain.
Arguably the most indispensable collection of Hadith related to the Prophet’s (salalahu alayhi wa salam) blessed biography. It was compiled by the eminent Muhaddith, Imam al-Tirmidhi less than 3 centuries after the passing away of the Prophet Mohammed (salalahu alayhi wa salam).
This is the fundamental primer in the Science of Mustalah al-Hadith (Hadith Classification) having been authored by arguably the foremost authority in Mustalah al-Hadith, the illustrious al-Hafidh Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaani (RA)
The Muwatta of Imam Malik is a collection of over 1900 Prophetic sayings (ahadith) as well as the legal standpoints of his companions (Sahabah), their students (Tabi'een) and practices of the Madinan People.