All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds; and peace and blessings be on our master Muhammad, and his family and companions.

Great people achieve greatness because they adopt the qualities and character-traits of the greatest man ever: our Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). One such example – at least for me – is my dear and beloved Shaykh Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (hafizahullah).

Along with understanding the life style of the great scholars of the past, to understand their physical appearance and description is also important, it allows the reader to envisage them whilst reading their works.

When reading ḥadīth, names like “‘AbdAllah bin ‘AbdarRahman” etc. are usually what we read and find normal, but then we may encounter titles like “Ghundar” or “Masrūq” and “Ābil Laḥm” and wonder, what a strange and abnormal-sounding-like name?