al-Fakhr al-Ba'labakki

Al-Fakhr al-Balabakki, the jurist, muhaddith and ascetic; he read Qur'an under his uncle the qadi of Baalbek, memorised 'Ulum al-hadith and reviewed it from memory upon its author the hafiz Ibn al-Salah, and kept company with Shaykh al-Yunini, Ibrahim al-Bata'ihi and al-Nawawi — al-Yunini loved him and preferred him over his own sons. ¹

Ever-smiling, he kept the last third of the night in standing, fasted the white days, six of Shawwal, ten of Dhu'l-Hijja and Muharram without fail; he told his son in health, "I shall live the lifespan of Imam Ahmad — though far apart are he and I" — and it was as he said. ¹