He bore the nisba locative surname al-Khit'ai ("from Khitai"), suggesting an origin from the easternmost Muslim lands, possibly Mongol.
[1] He is the author of a historiographical work, known as Zubdat al-fikra fi ta'rīkh al-hijra ("quintessence of thought in Muslim history").
He was purchased from the prince of Mosul in c. 1260 and participated in several of Qalawun's campaigns during the reign of sultan Baibars (d. 1277).
In 1287, he was appointed governor of Al Karak, a post which he held until Qalawun's death in 1290.
A second work, Al-Tuhfa al-mulukiyya fi l-dawla al turkiyya, is based on the Zubda and covers only the Bahri period, 1250–1325.