**Brief:** Hafiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisi (541 - 600 AH, 59 years) الحافظ عبد الغني المقدسي was born in from Jerusalem. He was a Hanbali scholar and famous Muhaddith. He authored al-Kamal (hadith biographies) and Umdah al-\`Aḥkām (Hanbali fiqh primer). He was persecuted for his creed and was loyally accompanied by his son till his death. # Snapshot Hafiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisi (541 - 600 AH, 59 years) الحافظ عبد الغني المقدسي was a prominent Ḥanbali scholar of hadith and jurisprudence born in Jerusalem. He began his journeys in pursuit of Islamic knowledge in his twenties, initially journeying to Baghdad. His journeys led him to Mosul, Damascus and Alexandria. When in Damascus he would attend the same hadith lessons as the famous Muslim King Nūr al-Dīn Zengī, who was impressed by his memory and noticed his absence one he had journeyed on to Alexandria. It is interesting to note that though Nūr al-Dīn Zengī was a follower of the Hanafi madhab and Hafidh ‘Abd al-Ghani was a Hanbali their paths crossed in the study circles of hadith and he was well regarded by the Nūr al-Dīn Zengi. He was the first person to give the biographies of the narrators of hadith of the al-Ṣiḥaḥ al-Sittah (The Six Authentic) books of hadith. This compendium of biographies is called al-Kamāl fī al-\`Asmā\` al-Rijāl. He began it with the biographies of the Ten Promised Paradise, the other Companions in a roughly alphabetical format and continued in this fashion until he reached the Shaykhs of the compilers of the al-Ṣiḥaḥ al-Sittah a total of around 6700 narrators. The last narrator mentioned is a lady called \`Umm Yunus bint Shaddād a narrator whose name is found in the hadith collection of \`Abū Dawūd.  The book was later refined by the Shafi scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi (d. 742 AH). Al-Mizzi called this book  “”Tahdhib (Refinement) al-Kamal fi Asma’ al-Rijal””. al-Mizzi was the father-in-law of the famous Ibn Kathir (774 AH) and was criticised for his association with Ibn Taymiyyah in his later life (d. 728 AH). The mnemonic SAINTS can be used to memorise the names of the six collections: (S)ahih al-Bukhari, (A)bu Dawud, (I)bn Majah, (N)asā\`ī, (T)irmidhi, (S)ahih Muslim]. al-Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī authored other well known works such as ‘Umdah al-\`Aḥkām, a collection of 430 hadith, grouped under chapter headings of fiqh, it gathers hadith that have been collected by both Bukhari and Muslim and includes brief explanations of words used in the hadith. His durūs (lessons) were widely attended and his exhortations left many people in tears and he was highly regarded by both the learned and common man. Unfortunately his unrivalled memory and breathtaking depth of knowledge on the narrators of hadith and connection with the public soon attracted rival scholars to cross his path. His views on the Attributes of Allah, which aligned with the early generations of Muslims, caused a conflict with opposing Ash’arī scholars of Damascus and Alexandria accused him of heresy and disbelief. They petitioned the rulers to expel him from Damascus and then Egypt to the furthest corner of the Islamic realm, Morocco. At one point some offered a five thousand dinar reward for his assassination. He lived his last days worried about attacks but did not recant from his scholarly position regarding the Attributes of Allah. Eventually the ruler of Egypt decided to expel him to Morocco but death intervened before the order was carried out. After a sixteen day illness ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisi passed away. On his death bed he was asked by his son, Abū Mūsā, whether he was pleased with him, to which he replied, ‘Yes.’ Abū Mūsā had been at his father’s side during all this travels and tribulations. The son then asked his father what he hoped for. al-Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī mentioned that he wished for three things: 1. the Mercy of Allah, 2. His Paradise and 3. to be able to see Allah’s Face.