Abu Naim al-Isfahani, author of the book Hilayat al-Awliyya, is a Muslim scholar and historian, about whom Taj al-Din al-Subki said: “He is the son of the ascetic Sheikh Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Banna, one of the sheikhs of Sufism, and one of the scholars for whom God combined the high level of narration with the high level of study, and his father gave him permission from a number of sheikhs of the age, from whom he was unique in the world”