Shaykh al-Islam al-Yunini

Muhammad al-Yunini, the great hafiz of Baalbek; he donned the Sufi cloak from Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Bata'ihi on the authority of Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir, was raised by Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Yunini and studied fiqh under Shaykh al-Muwaffaq; he kept repeating the Jami' bayn al-Sahihayn and most of Ahmad's Musnad, and attained a degree of reverence none other reached — kings kissed his hand and presented his stirrup. ²

His son Musa Qutb al-Din the historian said: my father memorised the Jami' bayn al-Sahihayn and most of the Musnad, memorised Sahih Muslim in four months, Surat al-An'am in a single day and a third of al-Hariri's Maqamat in part of a day, and could retain over seventy hadiths in one sitting; the hafiz 'Umar ibn al-Hajib said his age never saw his equal in completeness, joining the Law and the Truth; he held that miracles should not be displayed — "as God obliged the prophets to show their proofs, He obliged the saints to conceal their gifts." ²