The biography of any Islamic scholar is at once inclusive and reflective of the biographies of their teachers. The transfer of Islamic knowledge from teacher to student is meant to engender an experiential tawhid (Divine unicity) that reforms and transforms the student’s character and etiquette (akhlaq). In other words, the teacher is the means to illuminate the student’s heart (qalb) – its faculties of perception, emotion and will – and, consequently, his conduct with Allāh and His creation.