Zayn ad-Din al-Iraqi

Zayn ad-Din Abd ar-Rahim ibn al-Husayn al-Iraqi (725-806 AH / 1325-1404 CE) was one of the foremost hadith scholars of the eighth Islamic century and a leading authority in hadith sciences and authentication. Born in Cairo, he studied under the great scholars of Egypt and the Levant, including Siraj ad-Din al-Bulqini and others, and became recognized as the most learned hadith scholar of his generation.

Al-Iraqi's most celebrated work is al-Mughni an Haml al-Asfar fil-Asfar fi Takhrij ma fil-Ihya min al-Akhbar (Dispensing with Carrying Books on Journeys: Tracing the Hadith in the Ihya), in which he meticulously traced and graded every hadith cited by al-Ghazali in Ihya Ulum ad-Din. This massive work of hadith verification became an indispensable companion to the Ihya, allowing scholars to assess the reliability of its thousands of narrations. He also authored Alfiyyat al-Hadith (the Thousand-Line Poem on Hadith Sciences), a versification of Ibn as-Salah's Muqaddimah that became the most popular teaching poem on hadith terminology, and Tarh at-Tathrib fi Sharh at-Taqrib, a detailed hadith commentary.

Al-Iraqi trained the next generation of great hadith scholars, most notably his own son Wali ad-Din al-Iraqi and the great Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, who studied under him in his youth. He died in Cairo in 806 AH (1404 CE). His works on hadith authentication and terminology remain fundamental references in the field.