Al-Ḥaṭṭāb al-Ru‘aynī’s full name is Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan, the prolific Maliki. He was born in the year 902 AH in the sacred city of Mecca and passed away in 954 AH in Ṭarābulus al-Gharb (Tripoli, Libya).
His family was renowned for its knowledge, piety, and righteousness, with his father, Abū Muḥammad, being a great scholar himself. His father studied under eminent scholars such as Shams al-Dīn al-Sakhāwī, Aḥmad Zarrūq, al-Sanhūrī, and others.
Abū ʿAbdillāh completed his memorization of the Qurʾān at the tender age of seven and continued studying under his father and other prominent scholars for many decades, mastering works in Ḥadīth, Mālikī Fiqh, and other Islamic sciences. He authored several books in various sciences, such as Qurrat al-ʿAyn bi Sharḥ Waraqāt Imām al-Ḥaramayn (on Uṣūl al-Fiqh, or legal theory) and Mawāhib al-Jalīl (a commentary on Khalīl’s famous primer in the Mālikī school of thought).
Al-Ḥaṭṭāb displayed exceptional scholarship in both these works, which became cornerstone references for Mālikīs in their respective fields.