Biography of Author:
He is the sheikh, al-Haafidh, Taqiyy ad-Deen: Aboo Muhammad ‘Abdul-Ghaniyy bin ‘Abdil-Waahid bin ‘Alee bin Surur al-Maqdisi. He was born in Palestine, in the year 541H and passed away at the age of sixty-nine (600H). He came from a family of knowledgeable Hanbali scholars. He migrated to Damascus with his family when he was seven years old. He studied under numerous scholars of Damascus. He also travelled to various places in search of Islamic knowledge. When he was seventeen years old, he travelled with his cousin, Muwaffaq ad-Deen ibn Qudaamah, to Baghdaad in order to seek knowledge. He stayed there for four years before returning to Damascus. In addition, he travelled to Alexendaria (Egypt) twice to study under al-Haafidh as-Silafee. He married his cousin, Raabi’ah, who was the daughter of Ahmad ibn Qudaamah. He had three sons. 

Aboo Ishaaq Ibraaheem al-Haafidh said, concerning him: “Hadeeth spread in Ash-Shaam only because of al-Haafidh ‘Abdul-Ghaniyy. Every Shaykh I met to question him about who his first Shaykh was, the response I would get was: Al-Haafidh ‘Abdul-Ghaniyy”. Ad-Diaa’ said: “He was the Ameer al-Mu’mineen in hadeeth.”

Additional Reading Material:
- A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence by Dr Saalih Al Fawzaan
- Fiqh us-Sunnah, by Sayyid Sabiq
- Fiqh Made Easy, by Sheikh Saalih As Sadlaan

Progression:
Having studied this course, you should consider studying the following:
- Hanafi Fiqh: Mukhtasar al Quduri
- Manhaj as Salikeen
- Umdatul Ahkaam (Purification)
- Hanbali Fiqh: Umdatul Fiqh (Purification)
- Umdatul Ahkaam (Salaah)
- Hanbali Fiqh: Umdatul Fiqh (Salah)
- The Fiqh of Ramadhan
- The Fiqh of Hajj
- The Fiqh of Food and Clothing
- The Fiqh of Inheritance
- Fiqh Pertaining to Women
- The Fiqh of Menstruation
- Umdatul Ahkaam (Mariage & Divorce)
- The Fiqh of Marriage, Family and Divorce
- Usool ul Fiqh
- Qawaid Fiqhiyyah
- The Niqaab and Hijaab