Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani (d. 1449) was a medieval polymath--an innovative religious commentator, a historian and biographer, a judge on the highest court in Cairo, an author of spiritual poetry, and a trader from a powerful family of spice merchants. His masterpiece is a twelve-volume commentary on prophetic traditions called Fath al-Bari (The Divine Aid to Victory), parts of which he incorporated into Merits of the Plague.
Joel Blecher (editor/translator) is an associate professor of history at The George Washington University and the author of Said the Prophet of God: Hadith Commentary across a Millennium as well as numerous articles. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Library of Congress.
Mairaj Syed (editor/translator) is an associate professor of religious studies and the director of the medieval and early modern studies program at the University of California, Davis, and the author of Coercion and Responsibility in Islam. He has received many awards for his research, including a Fulbright Scholarship.