Pious Predecessors — Al-Salaf Al-Ṣāliḥīn

ﷺ Prophet

The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ & His Noble Lineage

Before Hijrah — 11 AH / 570–632 CE

Foundation of All Knowledge Quraysh · Banū Hāshim

All chains of knowledge (isnād) lead back to the Prophet ﷺ — Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullāh ibn 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib, of the noble Quraysh tribe. Born in Makkah c. 570 CE, he received the final revelation at the age of 40, and through his blessed companions transmitted the Qur'ān, Sunnah, and sacred knowledge to all of humanity until the Day of Judgement.

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The Seal of Prophets

The Prophet Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullāh ﷺ

Born c. 570 CE in Makkah · Passed 11 AH / 632 CE in Madīnah · Khātam al-Nabiyyīn — the Seal of all Prophets. His noble lineage: Muḥammad → 'Abdullāh → 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib → Hāshim → 'Abd Manāf → Quṣayy → Kilāb → Murrah → Ka'b → Lu'ayy → Ghālib → Fihr (Quraysh) → Mālik → al-Naḍr → Kinānah → Khuzaymah → Mudrikah → Ilyās → Muḍar → Nizār → Ma'add → 'Adnān.

The Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs (Al-Khulafā' al-Rāshidūn)

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq

أبو بكر الصديق

d. 13 AH / 634 CE · 1st Caliph

Closest companion of the Prophet ﷺ, the truthful one (al-Ṣiddīq), and father-in-law of the Prophet. Led the Ummah after the Prophet's passing with wisdom and firmness. Suppressed the apostasy wars (Ridda) and initiated the compilation of the Qur'ān.

Ṣaḥābī Caliph

'Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

عمر بن الخطاب

d. 23 AH / 644 CE · 2nd Caliph

Al-Fārūq — the one who distinguishes truth from falsehood. Under his caliphate, vast territories embraced Islām including Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. Known for his uncompromising justice and piercing insight.

Ṣaḥābī Caliph

'Uthmān ibn 'Affān

عثمان بن عفان

d. 35 AH / 656 CE · 3rd Caliph

Dhū al-Nūrayn — possessor of two lights, having married two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ. Oversaw the standardisation and compilation of the muṣḥaf. A man of extraordinary generosity and modesty.

Ṣaḥābī Caliph

'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib

علي بن أبي طالب

d. 40 AH / 661 CE · 4th Caliph

The first youth to embrace Islām, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet ﷺ. Called the gate of the city of knowledge. A warrior, a jurist, and a man of unshakeable faith. Father of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn.

Ṣaḥābī Caliph

Ten Promised Paradise (Al-'Asharah al-Mubashsharūn)

Ṭalḥah ibn 'Ubaydullāh

طلحة بن عبيد الله

d. 36 AH

Known as "the generous" (al-Fayyāḍ). Shielded the Prophet ﷺ with his body at the Battle of Uḥud, sustaining severe wounds. One of the earliest converts to Islām.

Al-'Asharah

Al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwām

الزبير بن العوام

d. 36 AH

Nephew of the Prophet ﷺ and son of his aunt Ṣafiyyah. The first person to draw a sword in the cause of Islām. A fierce warrior and devoted companion.

Al-'Asharah

'Abd al-Raḥmān ibn 'Awf

عبد الرحمن بن عوف

d. 32 AH

One of the wealthiest companions, yet profoundly ascetic. Donated vast wealth for the sake of Allāh. Led the prayers when the Prophet ﷺ was late — a testament to his standing.

Al-'Asharah

Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ

سعد بن أبي وقاص

d. 55 AH

The first person to shed blood in the cause of Islām. A master archer. Led the Muslim conquest of Persia at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. Uncle of the Prophet ﷺ from his mother's side.

Al-'Asharah

Sa'īd ibn Zayd

سعيد بن زيد

d. 51 AH

Among the earliest converts. Brother-in-law of 'Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. Participated in all the major battles of early Islām.

Al-'Asharah

Abū 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ

أبو عبيدة بن الجراح

d. 18 AH / 639 CE

Called "the trustee of this Ummah" (Amīn al-Ummah) by the Prophet ﷺ. Commander of the Muslim armies in Syria. Died of the plague ('Amwās) in Jordan.

Al-'Asharah

Mothers of the Believers (Ummahāt al-Mu'minīn)

'Ā'ishah bint Abī Bakr

عائشة بنت أبي بكر

d. 58 AH · Mother of the Believers

One of the greatest scholars of the Ummah. Narrated thousands of ḥadīths. The Companions would refer to her in matters of Islamic law. Called "the most knowledgeable person regarding the Sunnah." Half the religion of the private life.

Ṣaḥābiyyah Muḥaddithah

Khadījah bint Khuwaylid

خديجة بنت خويلد

d. 3 BH / 619 CE · First Wife

The first person to accept Islām. She comforted the Prophet ﷺ at the moment of the first revelation. A successful and respected businesswoman. The Prophet ﷺ described her as the best of the women of her time.

Ṣaḥābiyyah First Muslim

Umm Salamah

أم سلمة

d. c. 62 AH

One of the most knowledgeable of the Mothers of the Believers. Narrated hundreds of ḥadīths. Known for her wisdom, counsel, and deep piety. Lived the longest among the wives of the Prophet ﷺ.

Ṣaḥābiyyah Muḥaddithah

I AH 1–100

First Century of Hijrah

Al-Ṣaḥābah & Early Al-Tābi'ūn — 1–100 AH / 622–718 CE

Blessed Generation Major Companions · Great Followers

The age of the blessed Companions (Ṣaḥābah) and the first generation of their Followers (Tābi'ūn). The Qur'ān is memorised and transmitted by thousands. The great cities of Islamic learning — Madīnah, Makkah, Kūfah, Baṣrah — emerge as centres of knowledge. The foundations of Fiqh, Tafsīr, and Ḥadīth are established.

Major Companions & Scholars of the First Century

'Abdullāh ibn 'Abbās

عبد الله بن عباس

d. 68 AH · Cousin of the Prophet ﷺ

The interpreter of the Qur'ān (Ḥabr al-Ummah — the Ocean of the Ummah). The Prophet ﷺ prayed: "O Allāh, grant him understanding of the Dīn." Father of Qur'ānic commentary. Over 1,660 ḥadīths attributed to him.

Ṣaḥābī Mufassir

'Abdullāh ibn Mas'ūd

عبد الله بن مسعود

d. 32 AH · Kūfah

Among the earliest to embrace Islām. The first to recite Qur'ān aloud in Makkah. Personal servant of the Prophet ﷺ. Grandfather of Ḥanafī jurisprudence and the Kūfan school.

Ṣaḥābī Faqīh

Abū Hurayrah

أبو هريرة

d. 57–59 AH · Madīnah

The greatest narrator of ḥadīth — over 5,374 narrations attributed to him. Embraced Islām in 7 AH and devoted himself entirely to the company of the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ prayed for his memory.

Ṣaḥābī Muḥaddith

Anas ibn Mālik

أنس بن مالك

d. 93 AH · Baṣrah

Personal servant of the Prophet ﷺ for ten years. Narrated over 2,000 ḥadīths. Lived to approximately 100 years of age, the last of the great Companions to die in Baṣrah.

Ṣaḥābī Muḥaddith

Notable Tābi'ūn (Followers) of the First Century

Sa'īd ibn al-Musayyib

سعيد بن المسيب

d. 94 AH · Madīnah

Imām of the Tābi'ūn. The greatest jurist of Madīnah after the Companions. Studied under 'Umar, 'Uthmān, 'Alī, Abū Hurayrah, and others. Called the inheritor of the scholarship of 'Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.

Tābi'ī Faqīh

'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr

عروة بن الزبير

d. 94 AH · Madīnah

Son of al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwām and nephew of 'Ā'ishah. One of the seven great jurists of Madīnah. A pioneer of the sīrah (prophetic biography) tradition and a key transmitter of 'Ā'ishah's knowledge.

Tābi'ī Faqīh

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī

الحسن البصري

d. 110 AH · Baṣrah

The greatest preacher and ascetic of the Tābi'ūn. Born in Madīnah, raised in the household of Umm Salamah. His admonitions on piety and the hereafter remain among the most moving in Islamic literature.

Tābi'ī Zāhid

'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azīz

عمر بن عبد العزيز

d. 101 AH · Umayyad Caliph

The Fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph. Known for his asceticism, justice, and revival of the Sunnah. Widely recognised as the first Mujaddid of the Islamic centuries. Redirected state wealth to the poor.

Tābi'ī Mujaddid

II AH 101–200

Second Century of Hijrah

Tābi' al-Tābi'īn & the Great Imāms — 101–200 AH / 718–815 CE

Blessed Generation The Four Madhhabs Founded

The age of the great legal Imāms — Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfi'ī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal begin their work. The sciences of Ḥadīth criticism, Fiqh, and 'Aqīdah are systematised. This century includes the third blessed generation (Tābi' al-Tābi'īn) and the scholars who inherited directly from them.

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Mujaddid of the 2nd Century AH

Imām al-Shāfi'ī — Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfi'ī (d. 204 AH)

Many scholars consider al-Shāfi'ī the Mujaddid of his era. He unified Ḥadīth and Fiqh in unprecedented ways, authored al-Risālah (the first work of Uṣūl al-Fiqh), and established the principles of Islamic jurisprudence as an independent discipline.

The Four Great Imāms

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah

أبو حنيفة النعمان

d. 150 AH · Kūfah & Baghdād

Al-Nu'mān ibn Thābit. The Great Imām (al-Imām al-A'ẓam). Founder of the Ḥanafī school — the most widely followed madhhab today. Known for his mastery of analogical reasoning (qiyās) and independent juristic judgment (ra'y). A silk merchant who became the greatest jurist of Iraq.

Imām Ḥanafī

Imām Mālik ibn Anas

مالك بن أنس

d. 179 AH · Madīnah

Imām Dār al-Hijrah — Imām of the City of the Prophet ﷺ. Author of al-Muwaṭṭa', the earliest surviving ḥadīth and legal compendium. Grounded his law in the living practice of the people of Madīnah ('amal ahl al-Madīnah). Suffered flogging for his legal opinions yet never retracted them.

Imām Mālikī

Imām al-Shāfi'ī

محمد بن إدريس الشافعي

d. 204 AH · Cairo

The reviver of the Sunnah. Studied under Mālik in Madīnah and Muḥammad al-Shaybānī in Baghdād. His al-Risālah founded the science of Uṣūl al-Fiqh. A poet, horseman, and towering intellectual. Of Qurayshī lineage, from the same clan as the Prophet ﷺ.

Imām Mujaddid

Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal

أحمد بن حنبل

d. 241 AH · Baghdād

Imām Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā'ah. Compiled the Musnad — over 27,000 ḥadīths. Endured flogging and imprisonment during the Mu'tazilī Miḥnah (inquisition) over the createdness of the Qur'ān, emerging with extraordinary steadfastness and becoming a symbol of Sunnī orthodoxy.

Imām Ḥanbalī

Other Major Scholars of the Second Century

Sufyān al-Thawrī

سفيان الثوري

d. 161 AH · Baṣrah

Amīr al-Mu'minīn in ḥadīth of his era. One of the most prolific ḥadīth scholars and an ascetic of the highest order. Founded his own school of law (now extinct) that rivalled the four surviving madhhabs.

Muḥaddith Faqīh

Ibn al-Mubārak

عبد الله بن المبارك

d. 181 AH · Khurāsān

The scholar, the ascetic, the warrior. Combined deep knowledge of ḥadīth with military campaigns at the frontiers of Islām. Praised by Imām Aḥmad as a man who gathered all good in himself. Author of Kitāb al-Zuhd.

Muḥaddith Mujāhid

Yaḥyā ibn Sa'īd al-Qaṭṭān

يحيى بن سعيد القطان

d. 198 AH · Baṣrah

The pioneer of the science of narrator criticism (al-jarḥ wa al-ta'dīl). His meticulous evaluation of ḥadīth transmitters laid the foundation for all subsequent criticism. Teacher of Imām Aḥmad and Yaḥyā ibn Ma'īn.

Muḥaddith Nāqid

III AH 201–300

Third Century of Hijrah

The Golden Age of Ḥadīth — 201–300 AH / 815–912 CE

Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ The Six Books Compiled

The century of the great Ḥadīth scholars — al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasā'ī, and Ibn Mājah compile the six major ḥadīth collections (Kutub al-Sittah). The sciences of rijāl criticism, 'ilal al-ḥadīth, and ṭabaqāt reach their apex. Baghdād is the intellectual capital of the world.

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Mujaddid of the 3rd Century AH

Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH) — or Imām al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH)

Scholars differ on whether Ibn Ḥanbal or al-Bukhārī holds this honour. Ibn Ḥanbal's steadfastness during the Miḥnah preserved the Sunnah from distortion. Al-Bukhārī's Ṣaḥīḥ is the most rigorously authenticated book after the Qur'ān.

The Compilers of the Six Books (Kutub al-Sittah)

Imām al-Bukhārī

محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري

d. 256 AH · Samarqand

Amīr al-Mu'minīn in ḥadīth. His al-Jāmi' al-Ṣaḥīḥ contains 7,275 ḥadīths selected from 600,000. He is reported to have performed ghusl and prayed two rak'ahs before including each ḥadīth. Born in Bukhārā, Khurāsān.

Muḥaddith

Imām Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj

مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري

d. 261 AH · Nīsābūr

His Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim is ranked alongside al-Bukhārī's. Selected ~4,000 ḥadīths from 300,000. His organisation by chapter and his isnād grouping are masterful scholarly innovations.

Muḥaddith

Imām Abū Dāwūd

سليمان بن الأشعث السجستاني

d. 275 AH · Baṣrah

His Sunan Abī Dāwūd — 5,274 ḥadīths selected from 500,000 — is the foremost collection for Islamic legal practice (aḥkām). He wrote to Imām Aḥmad about it and received his endorsement.

Muḥaddith

Imām al-Tirmidhī

محمد بن عيسى الترمذي

d. 279 AH · Khurāsān

Student of al-Bukhārī. His al-Jāmi' al-Kabīr (Sunan al-Tirmidhī) is unique in grading every ḥadīth and surveying the opinions of jurists — making it invaluable for Fiqh. Also authored al-Shamā'il.

Muḥaddith

Imām al-Nasā'ī

أحمد بن شعيب النسائي

d. 303 AH · Palestine / Makkah

His al-Sunan al-Kubrā and its abridgement al-Mujtabā are noted for the finest isnāds of the six books. Died after being beaten in Damascus for his praise of 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib.

Muḥaddith

Ibn Mājah al-Qazwīnī

محمد بن يزيد بن ماجة القزويني

d. 273 AH · Qazwīn, Iran

His Sunan Ibn Mājah completes the six canonical collections. Contains 4,341 ḥadīths, including some found nowhere else. Also authored a history (tārīkh) and a Tafsīr.

Muḥaddith

Other Major Scholars of the Third Century

Yaḥyā ibn Ma'īn

يحيى بن معين

d. 233 AH · Madīnah

The father of the science of ḥadīth criticism. Evaluated tens of thousands of narrators. Said to have written a million ḥadīths by hand. His critical judgements on narrators remain authoritative today.

Muḥaddith Nāqid

'Alī ibn al-Madīnī

علي بن المديني

d. 234 AH · Baṣrah

Al-Bukhārī's greatest teacher. The foremost authority on the 'ilal (hidden defects) of ḥadīth. Al-Bukhārī said: "I never belittled myself in front of anyone except in front of 'Alī ibn al-Madīnī."

Muḥaddith Nāqid

Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh

إسحاق بن راهويه

d. 238 AH · Nīsābūr

Peer of Imām Aḥmad in knowledge and status. Teacher of al-Bukhārī and Muslim. Among the first to compile a musnad (ḥadīth collection organised by Companion). Al-Bukhārī said: "Isḥāq inspired me."

Muḥaddith Faqīh

IV AH 301–400

Fourth Century of Hijrah

The End of the Salaf Era — 301–400 AH / 912–1009 CE

Last of the Salaf Final boundary of Al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ

The classical definition of Al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ extends to the end of the 4th century AH. Great scholars of this era include al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Dāraquṭnī, and al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī. The encyclopaedic tradition of Islamic scholarship reaches new heights.

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Mujaddid of the 4th Century AH

Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311 AH) — Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq

Called "the Imām of Imāms" (Imām al-A'immah) for his comprehensive mastery of ḥadīth, fiqh, and 'aqīdah. His Ṣaḥīḥ is one of the most stringent ḥadīth collections ever compiled.

Major Scholars of the Fourth Century

Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī

محمد بن جرير الطبري

d. 310 AH · Baghdād

The supreme authority in Qur'ānic exegesis. His Tafsīr (Jāmi' al-Bayān) fills 30 volumes. His Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk is the foundational history of the Muslim world. Offered a teaching position at age seven due to his extraordinary intelligence.

Mufassir Muḥaddith

Ibn Khuzaymah

ابن خزيمة

d. 311 AH · Nīsābūr

Called "Imām al-A'immah." His Ṣaḥīḥ is considered the most stringent of all ḥadīth collections after the two Ṣaḥīḥs. A student of Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh and teacher of Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Ḥākim.

Muḥaddith Mujaddid

Ibn Abī Ḥātim al-Rāzī

عبد الرحمن بن أبي حاتم الرازي

d. 327 AH · Rayy

Son of the great critic Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī. His al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta'dīl (9 volumes) is the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of ḥadīth narrator biography. Also authored a major Tafsīr.

Muḥaddith Nāqid

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ash'arī

أبو الحسن الأشعري

d. 324 AH · Baghdād

Returned to the path of Ahl al-Sunnah after his Mu'tazilī period under al-Jubbā'ī. Founded the Ash'arī school of rational theology, which became the majority creedal framework in much of the Islamic world.

Mutakallim

Ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī

ابن حبان البستي

d. 354 AH · Bust, Afghanistan

Student of Ibn Khuzaymah. Author of al-Ṣaḥīḥ (al-Taqāsīm wa al-Anwā') and al-Ḍu'afā'. Known for his unique classification system. Also a judge (qāḍī) in Samarqand.

Muḥaddith

Imām al-Dāraquṭnī

علي بن عمر الدارقطني

d. 385 AH · Baghdād

The unrivalled critic of ḥadīth in his era. His Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī is a treasury of legal ḥadīths. His 'Ilal (hidden defects of ḥadīth) runs to 11 volumes and is a monument of ḥadīth sciences.

Muḥaddith Nāqid

Al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī

الحاكم النيسابوري

d. 405 AH · Nīsābūr

Author of al-Mustadrak 'alā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn — a collection of ḥadīths he considered met the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim. Also authored Ma'rifat 'Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, a foundational work on ḥadīth sciences.

Muḥaddith

V–VII 401–700 AH

Fifth to Seventh Centuries

Classical Synthesis — 401–700 AH / 1009–1299 CE

Post-Salaf Imāms Al-Ghazālī · Ibn Rushd · Ibn al-Jawzī · Al-Nawawī

The post-Salaf classical era produces towering polymaths. Al-Ghazālī revives the sciences of the Dīn. Ibn Rushd bridges Islām and philosophy. The Crusades test the Ummah. Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī recaptures Jerusalem (583 AH). Al-Nawawī produces the works most recited by Muslims today. The Mongol sack of Baghdād (656 AH) shatters the Abbasid Caliphate.

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Mujaddid of the 5th Century AH

Imām al-Ghazālī — Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 505 AH)

Ḥujjat al-Islām — Proof of Islām. His Iḥyā' 'Ulūm al-Dīn (Revival of the Religious Sciences) is among the most widely read Islamic works of all time. Overcame his own spiritual crisis to guide millions.

Imām al-Ghazālī

أبو حامد الغزالي

d. 505 AH / 1111 CE · Ṭūs, Khurāsān

Ḥujjat al-Islām. His Iḥyā' 'Ulūm al-Dīn (Revival of the Religious Sciences) is among the most widely read Islamic works of all time. Overcame his own spiritual crisis to guide millions. Also authored Tahāfut al-Falāsifah and al-Mustaṣfā.

Mujaddid Ṣūfī

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr

ابن عبد البر القرطبي

d. 463 AH / 1071 CE · Córdoba

The greatest Mālikī scholar of al-Andalus. His al-Tamhīd and al-Istidhkār are towering commentaries on al-Muwaṭṭa'. His al-Istī'āb fī Ma'rifat al-Aṣḥāb is a foundational encyclopaedia of the Companions.

Mālikī Muḥaddith

Ibn al-Jawzī

عبد الرحمن بن الجوزي

d. 597 AH / 1201 CE · Baghdād

The most prolific author in Islamic history — over 700 works. Spanning ḥadīth, tafsīr, fiqh, history, and spirituality. His sermons drew audiences of tens of thousands in Baghdād.

Ḥanbalī

Imām al-Nawawī

يحيى بن شرف النووي

d. 676 AH / 1277 CE · Nawa, Syria

Author of the Forty Ḥadīths (al-Arba'ūn al-Nawawiyyah), Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, and Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. One of the most prolific and precise scholars of the Shāfi'ī school. Died aged only 45.

Shāfi'ī Muḥaddith

Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisī

ابن قدامة المقدسي

d. 620 AH / 1223 CE · Damascus

Author of al-Mughnī — the encyclopaedic masterwork of Ḥanbalī jurisprudence. A refugee from Jerusalem after the Crusader invasion, he settled in Damascus and produced works that remain authoritative today.

Ḥanbalī

Ibn Ḥazm al-Andalusī

ابن حزم الأندلسي

d. 456 AH / 1064 CE · Niebla, Spain

The most original and controversial thinker of al-Andalus. Champion of the Ẓāhirī (literalist) school. His al-Muḥallā is a monumental work of comparative fiqh. Also authored al-Fiṣal in comparative religion.

Ẓāhirī Faqīh

VIII 701–800 AH

Eighth Century of Hijrah

Ibn Taymiyyah & Ibn Kathīr — 701–800 AH / 1299–1397 CE

Reform & Revival Ibn Taymiyyah · Al-Dhahabī · Ibn Kathīr · Ibn al-Qayyim

The 8th century witnesses one of history's greatest Islamic scholars — Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah — alongside his student Ibn al-Qayyim and the encyclopaedic historian-critic al-Dhahabī. Their works fundamentally shape Islamic scholarship until today. Ibn Taymiyyah faced imprisonment multiple times for his principled stands and died in the Damascus Citadel with a pen in his hand.

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Mujaddid of the 8th Century AH

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah — Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)

Born in Ḥarrān, imprisoned in Cairo, Alexandria, and Damascus. His Majmū' al-Fatāwā (37 volumes) and al-'Aqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah are cornerstones of Sunnī scholarship. He died imprisoned in the Damascus Citadel, his pen his only weapon.

Ibn Taymiyyah

تقي الدين ابن تيمية

d. 728 AH / 1328 CE · Damascus Citadel

Shaykh al-Islām. Encyclopaedic mastery of all Islamic sciences. Led the resistance against Mongol invasion. Died imprisoned after a lifetime of scholarly service. Over 700 works attributed to him.

Ḥanbalī Mujaddid

Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

ابن قيم الجوزية

d. 751 AH / 1350 CE · Damascus

Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr. The greatest student of Ibn Taymiyyah. His Madārij al-Sālikīn, Zād al-Ma'ād, and I'lām al-Muwaqqi'īn are indispensable classics of Islamic spirituality and law.

Ḥanbalī

Imām al-Dhahabī

شمس الدين الذهبي

d. 748 AH / 1348 CE · Damascus

The greatest historian of scholars. His Siyar A'lām al-Nubalā' (25 volumes) biographies over 5,000 scholars. His Mīzān al-I'tidāl evaluates thousands of ḥadīth narrators. A student of Ibn Taymiyyah.

Muḥaddith

Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī

إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير

d. 774 AH / 1373 CE · Damascus

Student of Ibn Taymiyyah. His Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-'Aẓīm and al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah (a comprehensive history of the world from creation to his time) are among the most widely read Islamic texts today.

Mufassir

Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī

عبد الرحمن بن أحمد ابن رجب

d. 795 AH / 1393 CE · Damascus

Zayn al-Dīn — Adornment of the Religion. Shaykh of the Ḥanbalī school in Damascus. His Jāmi' al-'Ulūm wa al-Ḥikam is the finest commentary on al-Nawawī's Forty Ḥadīths. Known for his extraordinary piety and withdrawal from worldly affairs.

Ḥanbalī Muḥaddith

Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī

تاج الدين السبكي

d. 771 AH / 1370 CE · Damascus

Son of Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī. Chief judge of Damascus and Cairo. His Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfi'iyyah al-Kubrā is the foundational biographical encyclopaedia of Shāfi'ī scholars. His Jam' al-Jawāmi' remained the preeminent Shāfi'ī uṣūl text for centuries.

Shāfi'ī Qāḍī

Imām al-Zarkashī

بدر الدين الزركشي

d. 794 AH / 1392 CE · Cairo

Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullāh. His al-Burhān fī 'Ulūm al-Qur'ān is one of the earliest and most comprehensive encyclopaedias of the Qur'ānic sciences. Studied ḥadīth under Ibn Kathīr in Damascus. His al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ covers Uṣūl al-Fiqh exhaustively.

Shāfi'ī Mufassir

Ibn Ḥajar al-'Asqalānī (born this century)

أحمد بن علي بن حجر العسقلاني

b. 773 AH / 1372 CE · d. 852 AH / 1449 CE · Cairo

Born in this century, his greatest works belong to the 9th. Amīr al-Mu'minīn in ḥadīth of his era. Memorised the Qur'ān by age 9, orphaned before 5. His Fatḥ al-Bārī — 13-volume commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī — took 25 years to complete.

Muḥaddith Mujaddid

IX–XV 801–1445 AH

Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries

Ibn Ḥajar · Al-Suyūṭī · Ibn 'Āshūr · Present Day — 801–1445 AH / 1397 CE–Present

Later Scholars Continuing the Chain to Our Time

From Ibn Ḥajar al-'Asqalānī's Fatḥ al-Bārī to the great reformers of the 18th century (Muḥammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb, Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī), to the 20th-century scholars who navigated modernity — the chain of sacred knowledge continues unbroken to our day through recognisable isnāds linking every contemporary scholar back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Ibn Ḥajar al-'Asqalānī

أحمد بن علي بن حجر العسقلاني

d. 852 AH / 1449 CE · Cairo

Amīr al-Mu'minīn in ḥadīth of his era. His Fatḥ al-Bārī — a 13-volume commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī — is the most celebrated work of ḥadīth scholarship. Also authored Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb and al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥābah.

Muḥaddith Mujaddid

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī

جلال الدين السيوطي

d. 911 AH / 1505 CE · Cairo

Authored over 600 works spanning all Islamic sciences. Claimed the status of mujaddid for the 9th century. His al-Itqān fī 'Ulūm al-Qur'ān and Tadrīb al-Rāwī remain indispensable references.

Polymath Mujaddid

Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī

شاه ولي الله الدهلوي

d. 1176 AH / 1762 CE · Delhi

The greatest reformer of the Indian subcontinent. Translated the Qur'ān into Persian. His Ḥujjat Allāh al-Bālighah sought to unify the four madhhabs through rational principles. Revived Ḥadīth scholarship in India.

Mujaddid

Modern Scholars (20th–21st c.)

علماء العصر الحديث

1300s–1445 AH / 1880s–Present

The chain continues: Ibn Bāz, al-Albānī, Ibn 'Uthaymīn, al-Būṭī, Ḥabīb 'Alī al-Jifrī, and hundreds more — all connected by unbroken chains to the Prophet ﷺ.

Contemporary

Al-Salaf Al-Ṣāliḥīn

The Ṭabaqāt — Generations of Excellence