Book: Siyar A'lam An-Nubala by Ad-Dhahabi - سير أعلام النبلاء ـ الإمام الذهبي

Biographical Context

He was known for possessing a charismatic presence, an influential personality, the ambition of a demon, and the state of a sorcerer. Al-Zahir Baybars held him in high esteem, visiting him more than once a week, confiding in him his secrets, and taking him along on his journeys due to his complete trust in him [1].

Superstitions, delusions, and falsehoods became widespread, and the veneration of these deluded older men prevailed.

Birth of Al-Dhahabi

In this environment, the preserver and historian of Islam, Shams al-Din Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Qaymaz, was born in the year six hundred seventy-three (673 AH / 1274 CE). He was of Turkoman origin, from a Turkoman family affiliated with the Banu Taym.

Al-Dhahabi grew up in a scholarly and religious family; his father, Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn Shaykh Abdullah al-Turkumani, originally from Fariq which is one of the most famous cities in Diyarbakir, and then al-Dimashqi, Shihab al-Din al-Dhahabi, said in his "Great Book of Teachers" 1/75 - (76):

My father, may Allah reward him well, was born in the year six hundred forty-one (641 AH / 1243 CE) approximately and excelled in goldsmithing, having earned enough from it to free five slaves. He listened to al-Sahih in the year six hundred sixty-six (666 AH / 1267 CE) with al-Miqdad al-Qaysi and performed the pilgrimage in his later years. He would rise at night, and he passed away at the end of Jumada al-Awwal in the year six hundred ninety-seven (697 AH / March 15, 1298 CE) on a Friday night. The people prayed over him, led by the Chief Justice Ibn Jama'a.

His grandfather, Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn Abdullah al-Turkumani al-Fariqi then al-Dimashqi, was a carpenter. Al-Dhahabi mentioned him in "Great Book of Teachers" 1/(436):

An unlettered man with firm faith in Allah - may Allah forgive him. I heard Shaykh Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Attar say to me: Your grandfather al-Fakhr used to ask Allah to have him die on a Friday night, and Allah granted him that. I, meaning al-Dhahabi, witnessed his burial at the foot of Qasioun after Friday prayers in the year six hundred eighty-three (683 AH / 1284 CE). May Allah have mercy on him. He would often correct my pronunciation, saying: "Say jarrah bara, jarrah jawwa," and he frequently said: "O my Guide," which I did not understand. He died in his seventieth decade, and his father, al-Hajj Qaymaz, died in the year six hundred sixty-one (661 AH / 1263 CE) having become blind, elderly, and just beyond a hundred.

His Uncle

As for his uncle, who was one of his teachers mentioned in "Great Book of Teachers" 2/27 -