Abu Talib Muhammad ibn Ali al-Makki (Arabic: أبو طالب المكي; died 386 AH/996 AD in Baghdad),[1][2] was a hadith scholar, Shafi'i jurist, and Sufi mystic.
[1] Abu Sa’id ibn al-Arabi (d. 341 AH/952-3 AD), a student of the sober Sufi Mystic, Junayd of Baghdad, was one of Al-Makki's early traditionalist teachers.
[1] Al-Makki moved to Basra in 341 AH, and continued his studies alongside various Sufis before seeking permanent refuge in Baghdad.
Al-Makki's focused attack on this form of knowledge was likely influenced by the careerism of religious specialities that accompanied Islam's expansion.
[1] Al-Ghazali used this book as a source for some of the chapters of his magnum opus Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences).