‘Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Qari, more popularly known as Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari, was an ascetic, hadith scholar, jurist, theologian, and author of what has been hailed as the most comprehensive Arabic commentary on the Mishkat al-Masabih, entitled Mirqat al-Mafatih. He is also famous for his commentary on Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, called Minah al-Rawd al-Azhar (Gifts of the Blooming Gardens). Qari was born in Herat, Afghanistan, where he received his primary years of Islamic education. Thereafter, he traveled to Makka, where he studied under numerous scholars, including Shaykh Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki and Qutb al-Din al-Hanafi. He was called Al-Qari, “The Reciter,” because of his mastery of the science of Qur’anic recitation. Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari remained in Makka, where he taught until his death in 1014/1606. His written works include a two-volume commentary on Qadi ‘Iyad’s Al-Shifa’ (The Cure); a two-volume commentary on Imam Ghazali’s abridgment of the Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), entitled ‘Ayn al-’Ilm wa Zayn al-Hilm (The Spring of Knowledge and the Adornment of Understanding); and a book of prophetic invocations, Al-Hizb al-A’zam (The Supreme Daily Dhikr).