Imam al-Bayhaqi أبو بكر أحمد بن الحسين بن علي البيهقي

Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Bayhaqi rahimahullah (384-458 AH / 994-1066 CE) was the preeminent Shafi'i hadith master of Khurasan in his era, a direct student of al-Hakim al-Nisaburi. Al-Dhahabi praised him as 'Shaykh of Islam' and described him as 'unequalled in his age' (wahid zamanih). He was a central figure in consolidating Ash'ari-Shafi'i theology with the hadith tradition, grounding his theological conclusions in scriptural evidence rather than purely rational argument. His al-Sunan al-Kubra stands as one of the largest hadith compilations in Sunni Islam. His Shu'ab al-Iman is the standard Sunni manual on the branches of faith. His al-Asma' wa al-Sifat is a foundational reference in the Sunni discussion of the divine attributes. His al-I'tiqad wa al-Hidaya ila Sabil al-Rashad is a systematic exposition of Ash'ari creed structured chapter by chapter on Qur'an and authenticated hadith. He also authored important works in Shafi'i jurisprudence.