Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sunni muslim scholar and historian”. Today it says “widely considered an important authority in hadith”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the October 6, 2023 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in October 6, 2023
Muslim scholar and historian (1002–1071) For other people named al-Baghdadi, see Baghdadi . Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī , commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ( ) or "the lecturer from Baghdad " (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar known for being one of the foremost leading hadith scholars and historians at his time. He is widely considered an important authority in hadith, fiqh and history. The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon (Islamic History and Civilization) . Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia · Volume 1 . Anthropomorphism in Islam - The Challenge of Traditionalism (700-1350) . Notes On Entering Deen Completely Islam as its followers know it .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1170585398.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Thabit ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Shafi`i , commonly known as al-Khatib al-Baghdadi ( ) or the lecturer from Baghdad , (1002-1071 CE) ( 392 AH - 463 AH ) was a Sunni Muslim scholar and historian .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 330318151.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Thabit ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Shafi`i , commonly known as al-Khatib al-Baghdadi ( ) or "the lecturer from Baghdad " (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and historian . Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition) .The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (Islamic History and Civilization) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668018288.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sunni Muslim scholar and historian Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shafī`ī , commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ( ) or "the lecturer from Baghdad " (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and historian . Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960880997.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Muslim scholar and historian (1002–1071) For other people named al-Baghdadi, see Baghdadi . Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī , commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ( Arabic : الخطيب البغدادي ) or "the lecturer from Baghdad " (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar known for being one of the foremost hadith scholars and historians of his time. He is widely considered an important authority in hadith, fiqh and history. The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon (Islamic History and Civilization) . Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia · Volume 1 . Anthropomorphism in Islam - The Challenge of Traditionalism (700-1350) . Notes On Entering Deen Completely: Islam as its followers know it .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1286019753. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sunni muslim scholar and historian”. Today it says “widely considered an important authority in hadith”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
sunni muslim scholar and historian
Now
widely considered an important authority in hadith
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
