[6] He was the pre-eminent figure of the Asakir dynasty, whose family members occupied the most prominent positions as judges and scholars of the Shafi'i school of the Sunni law in Damascus for almost two centuries.
Born in Damascus, during the reign of atabeg Toghtekin, he started his religious education at the age of six years old, attending with his father and older brother to the learning centres of several renowned Damascene scholars.
[9] The massive knowledge that he had gained, especially in hadith, law, and scriptural exegesis, earned him the title of Ḥāfiẓ (great memorizer), and he became the most learned and renowned scholar of his era.
Nur al-Din's political and religious plans had two ideas first, to unite both Syria and Egypt under the banner of Sunni Islam and to eradicate the Fatamid Shi'i dynasty; second on organizing an effective military campaign against the crusaders.
Nur al-Din found Ibn Asakir as the perfect scholar who could help him achieve his plans: an ardent defender of Sunni Islam, in particular the Ash'ari school.
Ibn Asakir shunned all types of material goods and refused the office of head preacher, only to strictly focus on writing, teaching, and worshipping.
The following lines of poetry were included in his book's conclusion:[16] Ibn Asakir, the Imam of the hadith scholars and historians died in 24 January 571/1176 at the age of 71 and was buried at the Bab al-Saghir cemetery, next to his father and near to the grave of the Caliph Mu`awiya.
[13] His was a tumultuous time: centuries of Shia reign had not long ended in central Syria, rival warlords sought dominate the capital Damascus, and Crusaders had conquered Jerusalem.
Seeking the unification of Syria and Egypt, and the revival of Sunni Islam in both regions, Ibn ‘Asakir served successive Muslim rulers, including Nur al-Din and Saladin, and produced propaganda against both the Christian invaders and the Shia's.
His memory captured even the slightest detail, his precision and combined the new and the old, his command put him on par with those who came before him if not exceeding them, and his breadth of knowledge was so enriching that everyone else was as a beggar compared to him.