Abu Talib al Makki

Abu Talib al-Makki, Muhammad ibn 'Ali (d. 386 AH/996 AD in Baghdad). A hadith scholar, Shafi'i jurist and a Sufi Mystic, set down the foundation of Sufi practices and author of the book Qut al-qulub fi mu'amalat al-mahbub wa wasf tariq al-murid ila maqam al-tawhid (The nourishment of hearts in dealing with the Beloved and the description of the seeker's way to the station of declaring oneness). Al-Ghazali used this book as a source for some of the chapters of his magnum opus ihya' 'ulum al-din' (Revival of Islamic Knowledge).