Shaykh al-Islam Abul Fadl Shihabuddin: Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Kinaani al-Shafi'ee commonly known as Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaani was born on the 22nd of Shabaan 773 AH in Egypt where he lived for most of his life. Both his parents who were originally from Asqalaan in Palestine died before he reached the age of five and he was raised by his stepmother’s brother Shaykh Zakiuddin al-Kharuwbi, who upon seeing his potential, took him to study in the local school were he memorized Surah Maryam on his first day. In this way, he continued his Islamic education and by the age of nine, he had memorized the Quran as well as several classical Islamic texts including Umdatul Ahkaam (a text we currently teach).

As with all great scholars, he decided to travel in pursuit of knowledge and traveled frequently and extensively throughout the Muslim World studying with eminent scholars in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Hijaaz.

Some of the most famous teachers that he studied with were:

(Hadith) Al Hafidh Zainuddin al-'Iraqi (725-806 AH)
(Fiqh) Sirajuddin Umar bin Raslaan al-Balqini (704-805 AH)
(Fiqh/Hadith) Sirajuddin Umar bin al-Mulaqin (723-804 AH)
(Arabic) Mohammed ibn Yaqub al-Ferouzabbadi) (729-817 AH)
(Bukhari) Afifuddin Abdullah ibn Mohammed al-Nashawi (705-790 AH)

Apart from his main pursuit of learning and teaching the Sacred Sciences, he was charged by the Egyptian Administration with numerous responsibilities that included being the Chief Justice at court and the Chief Lecturer for Friday sermons at Azhar University.

He was known for his extreme love for the Science of Hadith memorizing over 20,000 Hadith. His dedication in this field led him to earn numerous accolades from his contemporaries such as Ameerul Mumineef fil Hadeeth (Commander of the Faithful in Hadith) and al-Hujjah al-Hafidh al-Asr (The Proof and Memorizer of his era).

He continued in earnest treading the path of knowledge even past the age of sixty where he would teach as well as simultaneously author books for his students – one such work written by him on the road is Nukhbat al-Fikar.

Ultimately, he authored over 150 works, many voluminous and covering all spheres of knowledge including history, poetry, jurisprudence and Hadith. His magnum opus was the magnificent 18-volume Fath ul-Bari exegesis of Sahih al-Bukhari that is reported to have taken him over 25 years to complete.