Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami أحمد بن محمد بن علي بن حجر الهيتمي

Imam Shihab al-Din Ahmad b. Muhammad Ibn Hajar al-Haytami rahimahullah (909-974 AH / 1504-1567 CE) was the dominant Shafii authority of the tenth Hijri century, based in Makka where he exercised the office of mufti. Born in Egypt, he studied at al-Azhar before eventually settling in Makka, where his reputation as a jurist, hadith scholar, and muftī attracted students from across the Islamic world. His most celebrated work is Tuhfat al-Muhtaj bi-Sharh al-Minhaj, a ten-volume commentary on al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin, recognized as one of the four canonical late-Shafii commentaries alongside the works of al-Ramli, al-Khatib al-Shirbini, and al-Damiri. His al-Sawaiq al-Muhriqa is a major Sunni polemical defense of the honor of the Companions and the positions of Ahl al-Sunna. Among his other works: al-Manhaj al-Qawim, his commentary on al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya; al-Minah al-Makkiyya, his commentary on al-Busiri's Hamziyya ode in praise of the Prophet ﷺ; al-Jawhar al-Munazzam fi Ziyarat al-Qabr al-Mukarram, on the jurisprudence and spirituality of visiting the Prophet's grave ﷺ; and al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya, a three-volume collection of legal responsa.