Who is Al-Daraqutni, what are his most important works, and in what era did he live?

Al-Daraqutni was one of the oceans of knowledge and imams of the world. He reached the pinnacle of memorization and knowledge of the defects (علل) of hadith and its narrators. He had advanced knowledge in recitations (qira'at) and their methods, and he participated in fiqh, maghazi (prophet's campaigns), and the history of people. He heard from the people of his city and traveled to Al-Sham and Egypt, and a great many people took from him, including Al-Hafiz Abu Abdullah Al-Hakim. He was the first to compile works on recitations in the current format. He lived in the fourth century AH during the Abbasid Caliphate and passed away in the year 385 AH at the age of 79.