He was born in Kufa and lived in Baghdad. Ali ibn Yaqteen was born in 742 in Kufa. Since his father, Yaqteen ibn Musa, was one of the supporters of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, he was placed under an arrest warrant by Marwan I. Therefore, he was forced to escape and hide, and Ali ibn Yaqteen’s mother took him and his brother, Ubayd, to Medina.
He compiled 3 books. Later on, he moved to Baghdad and started working as a spice seller. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate and emergence of Abbasid Caliphate, Ali ibn Yaqteen returned to Kufa and entered the Abbasid administration. He got promoted when Al-Hadi took over the reign.
He was even entrusted with the special Caliph ring and seal. In the long run, he became a minister of Harun al-Rashid. Many Hadiths have been narrated from him in The Four Books.
In 798 Ali ibn Yaqteen died in Baghdad while Musa al-Kadhim was imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid.
