al-Lalika'i

Abu al-Qasim Hibatullah ibn al-Hasan ibn Mansur al-Lalika'i at-Tabari (c. 360-418 AH / c. 971-1027 CE) was a Shafi'i hadith scholar and author of one of the most important early compilations on Sunni creed. He studied under major scholars of his era including al-Qadi Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (for theology), and numerous hadith masters in Baghdad and elsewhere. He served as a judge (qadi) and was a respected transmitter of hadith.

Al-Lalika'i's major work is Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (Explanation of the Foundations of the Belief of the People of the Sunnah and the Community), a large compilation of Quranic verses, hadiths, and statements of the Companions and Successors on matters of creed — including the divine attributes, the Quran, faith, predestination, and the status of the Companions. This work is one of the most comprehensive early compendia of Athari-Sunni doctrinal evidence and is frequently cited by later scholars as a primary reference.

He also authored a work on the grades of hadith transmitters (Tabaqat al-Fuqaha'). His methodology combined technical hadith scholarship with a concern for establishing the creedal positions of the early generations as definitive guides for later Muslims.

Al-Lalika'i passed away in Dinawar (modern Iran) in 418 AH. His Sharh Usul I'tiqad remains an essential reference for researchers into early Sunni theology and the history of Islamic creedal doctrine, providing extensive primary source documentation for the Athari position.