Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kulaynī ar-Rāzī (Persian: محمد بن یعقوب بن اسحاق کلینی رازی; Arabic: أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن يَعْقُوب ٱبْن إِسْحَاق ٱلْكُلَيْنِيّ ٱلرَّازِيّ; c. 250 AH/864 CE – 329 AH/941 CE)[1] was a Persian[2] Shia hadith collector.
[3] Al-Kulayni was born in Kulayn, a village or small town situated near Rey, Iran.
He is claimed to have greatly benefited from al-Mahdi's divine knowledge by interacting with him through the Imam's Deputies.
[6] He travelled to Baghdad for this reason and lived there for twenty years, engaged in teaching and pursuing academic work, until he died in 329 AH/941 CE.
He is considered the foremost Shia compiler of hadith and was the author of Kitab al-Kafi.