Imam Abu Dawud (202 - 275H)
by Alimah Alisha Akaloo
In the name of Allah, The Beneficient, The Merciful.
Name, Genealogy and Lineage
Imam Abu Dawud Sulaiman ibn Ash`ath ibn Ishaq ibn Bashir ibn Shaddad ibn `Umar ibn `Imran al-Azdi Sajastani.
Year and Place of Birth
Imam Abu Dawud was born in Sajistan, a famous city in Khurasan in the year 202 A.H. He belonged to the Arab tribe, Azd. Even though he was born in Sajistan he spent the greater part of his life at Basrah which was the seat of Islamic learning in his time. Imam Abu Dawud also travelled for collecting hadith. Many times he visited Bagdad. He also went to Hijaz, Egypt, al-Jazirah, Nishapur, Syria and Isfahan.
Special Attributes
He was blessed with an exceptional mind. Imam Abu Dawud had to read a book only once to commit its entire contents to memory. He was well versed in the criticism of hadith and an expert in distinguishing the sound hadith from the weak and defective ones.
Only four persons are reported to have earned their names for the criticism of hadith. They are: Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawud and Imam Nasa'i. Imam Abu Dawud lived during the time when the Muslim world was full of eminent scholars. He had so much command over hadith, he was considered by many as Imam al-muhaddithin of his time.
Besides his expertise in hadith he was also a great jurist. He had keen insight in fiqh and ijtihad. He was a religious man. He led a pious and ascetic life. He devoted most of his time for worship, devotion and remembrance of Allah. He always kept away from men of rank, the company of sultans and courtiers.
It is stated that Imam Abu Dawud used to wear one of his sleeves wide and the other correctly sized. When he was asked for the reason of this oddity he replied, "To store notes on hadith. I consider widening the other sleeve unnecessarily as an extravagance". It is not clear to which school of thought he belonged. Some scholars say he was a Hanbali jurist, others regarded him as a Shafi'i jurist.
His Work
Imam Abu Dawud heard hadith from 300 persons who were his teachers. Some were: Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahawaiy, Abu Thaur, Yahya ibn Ma'in. For one to grasp his elevated status, he narrated hadith to the teachers of Imam Ahmad. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal also narrated one hadith from him. Among the students of Imam Abu Dawud are great personalities like:
Ibn Arabi, Abu `Isa al-Tirmidhi and Abu `Abdur-Rahman An Nasa'i.
They were transmitters of his famous work Sunan Abu Dawud. Imam Muslim was also one of his pupils. Imam Abu Dawud's works are:
Kitab Al Radd Ala' Ahl al Qadar
Kitab Al Masa'il
Musnad Malik
Kitab Al Marasil
Sunan Abu Dawud
Sunan Abu Dawud
His most famous of all his works is Sunan Abu Dawud. It contains 4800 traditions which were taken out from a collection of 500,000 hadith.
He completed its compilation at Bagdad in 241 A.H. He presented the completed compilation to his beloved teacher Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal who was greatly pleased at this collection.
Sunan Abu Dawud is an important collection of hadith: Most of the scholars have assigned it to third position among the six authentic books of hadith. It is only after the compilation of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
A few statements from scholars of hadith concerning Sunan Abu Dawud:
Al-Khattabi said:
Sunan Abu Dawud is an excellent book. No such parallel work has been produced so far in religious sciences. It has gained popularity amongst the people. It has a decisive position among various classes of scholars and jurists. All have benefited equally from it. The people of Iraq, Eygpt, Maghrib and most of the countries depended upon it.
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
Abu Dawud was an eminent doctor of hadith and an outstanding scholar. No one has compiled a book like his Sunan.
Ibn Kathir remarked:
Sunan Abu Dawud is considered to be a famous and popular work among scholars.
Imam Abu Dawud himself has stated:
From this book of mine four (4) hadith are sufficient for an intelligent and insightful person. They are:
Deeds are to be judged only by intentions.
Part of a man's good observance of Islam is that he leaves alone that which does not concern him.
None of you can be a believer unless you love for your brother that which you love for yourself.
The permitted (halal) is clear, and the forbidden (haram) is clear, between these two are doubtful matters. Whosoever abstains from these doubtful matters has saved his religion.
The traditions compiled in Sunan Abu Dawud were generally followed by companions, successors and their followers. It is a basic source of knowledge about the legal points of views held by Imam Malik, Sufyan Al-Thawri and Al-Awza'i. It serves as an arbiter for disagreement among jurists.
His Death
Imam Abu Dawud died on Friday 16th Shawwal 275 A.H. at the age of 72.
Thanks to Masjid al-Muttaqeen, Trinidad
Monday, June 20, 2011
Imam al-Bukhari
Imam Bukhari (194 - 265)
By: Shaykh al-Hadîth `Allâma Ghulâm Rasûl Sa`îdî
Translated by: `Allâmah Ishfaq Alam Qadri and M. Iqtidar
After the Sahâbah al-kirâm, Imâm al-Bukhârî ranks as the most eminent of those pious people who have conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam. The greatest evidence of this is the book of Ahâdîth an-Nabawî he compiled, commonly known as Sahîh al-Bukhârî. It is universally acknowledged as the most authentic book after the Holy Qur'ân. So long as their is one Muslim left on the Earth, the blessings of Imâm Bukhârî will have a place in his or her Îmân and Islâm. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.
His Early Years
Imâm al-muhaddithîn Hadrat Imâm Abû `Abdullâh Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl al-Bukhârî was born on the 13th of the Islâmic month of Shawwâl, 194AH, in the famous city of Bukhara, of the land "beyond the canal" - present day Uzbekistan -. The father of Imâm Bukhârî, Ismâ`îl ibn Ibrâhîm ibn Mughîrah al-Ja`fî, was a great muhaddith and ascetic from whom he inherited his characteristics of literary zeal and excellence. During infancy his father passed away and his mother took on the entire responsibility of bringing him up. Imâm Bukhârî became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allâh the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allâh accepted her invocation. One night, she visited Ibrâhîm `alayhis-salâm in a dream and was told, "Allâh has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imâm Bukhârî got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.
Primary Education and Interest in Hadîth
When Imâm Bukhârî reached the age of ten and after acquiring his elementary education, Almighty Allâh inserted the interest in the science of Ahadîth into his heart and he obtained admission in the Hadîth class of Bukhara. He obtained his educations after vigorous study. A year later, he had such a good retention of the text and chains of transmission of Ahâdîth, that sometimes teachers got their corrections from him. Imâm Bukhârî had been acquiring religious education with competance and swiftness and at the tender age of sixteen, he had completely learnt by heart the books of `Abdullâh ibn al-Mubârak, al-Wakî` and other learned companions of al-Imâm Abû Hanîfa radiyallâhu `anhum.
The Visit to the Haramayn and the Commencement of His Ahâdîth Compilation
At the age of eighteen, He visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother, Ahmad ibn Ismâ`îl. After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with the company of his mother, but Imâm Bukhârî stayed there for further education. Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, Qadâyâ as-Sahâbah wat-Tâbi`în. After this he went to Madînah al-munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asmâ` ar-rijâl (Names of men of transmission) called, Târîkh al-kabîr, while sitting by the tomb of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam during moonlight hours. Immediately after completing this, a series of imitations had begun. Muhammad ibn Yûsaf al-Furyâbî said that at the time he had copied Târîkh al-kabîr, Imâm Bukhârî did not yet have any facial hair.
Imâm Bukhârî travelled to cities far and wide for the transmission of Ahâdîth and had gained immense knowledge while sitting far from his own country for several years. He stated himself, "To seek knowledge, I travelled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at the Hijâz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithîn."
His Remarkable Memory
Imâm Bukhârî was a man with a very strong memory. When we look at his memory, it is as if his body from head to toe stored it. Seeing his memory, the memory of Abû Hurayrah radiyallâhu `anhu is rekindled in the hearts of Muslims. Hashid ibn Ismâ`îl states that in his childhood: "Imâm Bukhârî used to go with us to the Scholars of Basra to listen to Ahâdîth. All of us used to write Ahâdîth down, except Imâm Bukhârî. After sixteen days, we thought about it and we condemned Imâm Bukhârî saying that, 'you had wasted so many days work by not writing down Ahâdîth.' Imâm Bukhârî asked us to bring our notes to him. So we all brought our notes, upon which Imâm Bukhârî began to read Ahâdîth one by one from the top of his head until he narrated to us more than fifteen thousand! Hearing these, it seemed that Imâm Bukhârî was reteaching us all of the Ahâdîth we had noted."
Muhammad ibn Azhar Sajistânî says: "I used to go to Sulaymân ibn Harab accompanied by Imâm Bukhârî for listening to Ahâdîth. I used to write the Ahâdîth, but Imâm Bukhârî wouldn't. Somone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imâm Bukhârî note the Ahâdîth down?' I told him, 'if you missed any Hâdîth in writing, you could obtain it from the memory of Imâm Bukhârî.'"
Imâm Bukhârî's memory could be understood by knowing that if he glanced through a book, it would be committed to memory instantly. In his early period of acquiring knowledge, he memorised seventy thousand Ahâdîth and later in his life, this figure reached three hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were sahîh (rigorously authenticated) and two hundred thousand were not sahîh (hasan, da`îf, etc). Once he went to Balkh and the inhabitants desired that he should recite one Hadîth from each of his shaykhs. Then he orated from one thousand Shaykhs one thousand Ahâdîth.
Sulaymân ibn Mujâhid says: "One day I was present in the company of Muhammad ibn Salâm Baykandî. Muhammad ibn Salâm said, 'If you had come earlier, I would have shown you the child who has seventy thousand Ahâdîth in his memory.' Sulaymân stood up from his company and started looking for Imâm Bukhârî. Shortly he found him and asked, 'Are you the one who has committed seventy thousand Ahâdîth to memory?' Imâm Bukhârî replied, 'I have learnt more Ahâdîth than this by heart. I even know the place of birth, death and residence of most of those companions from whom the Ahâdîth are narrated."
His Extraordinary Intellect
Along with his extraordinary memory, he also had a very sharp intellect. He did not depend on pen and paper as much as he relied on his mind and memory. People examined the capabilities of Imâm Bukhâri in the science of Hadîth repeatedly but he always remained successful as a result of Allâh's gift of intellegence and superb memory.
Hâfiz Ahmad ibn `Adî describes: "When the people of Baghdad had learnt that Imâm Bukhârî was due to arrive there, the Muhaddithîn of Baghdad decided to test him by changing the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahâdîth. They joined the chain of one Hadîth with the text of another and attached the chain of this Hadîth with the text of the prior. Like this, they mixed up the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahâdîth and gave these to people who would test Imâm Bukhârî with these.
"When Imâm Bukhâri arrived at Baghdad, the people held a gathering in his honour, in which most of the Ulamâ, nobles and public were present. One person stood up according to the plan and asked a question regarding a Hadîth with its altered chain of transmission. Upon this, a second person stood up and recited in similar manner. Like this, the people completed the hundred Ahâdîth and awaited Imâm Bukhârî's reply. He said that he had not apprehended those Ahâdîth. When he saw that everyone had finished asking questions, he stood up and described the chain of transmission of the first Hadîth read and then gave its correct chain. Like this, he detailed the faulty chains on the Ahâdîth of all one hundred set up by the scholars. He had given the correct chains of transmission to every Hadîth. When he finished, the entire audience was full of praise and recognition of the superiority and greatness of Imâm Bukhârî."
Hâfiz Abul-Azhar relates: "Once four hundred Muhaddithîn had gathered in the city of Samarqand to test Imâm Bukhârî. They did this by mixing up the transmissions of Syria with the transmissions of Iraq and the transmissions of Iraq with the transmissions of Syria. Similarly, they inserted the transmissions of the Haram (Makkah) into the ones of Yemen and vice versa. They did this to Imâm Bukhâri for seven days, but could not mislead him in text or transmission a single time. He had comprehensive knowledge in the science of Hadîth - all of the routes of a Hadîth were in his eyes if one with many chains was found. So Imâm Bukhârî had a good view of all of them. In that age, no one had more command over the different ways of transmission than Imâm Bukhârî."
Yûsuf ibn Mûsâ Marûzî states: "I was sitting in the central mosque of Basra when I heard a voice saying, 'O seeker of knowledge, Imâm Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl has arrived. Whoever wants to receive Ahâdîth from him should present himself in his company.'" Marûzî says: "I saw a thin, weak young man near the pillar who was praying salât with extreme humbleness and humility and that was Imâm Bukhârî. As soon as the announcement was made, curious people from all directions began to gather around."
Glimpses of his private life
1. Self sufficiency:
The father of Imâm Bukhârî, Muhaddith Ismâ`îl ibn Ibrâhîm was enormously rich and Imâm Bukhârî had inherited a huge share of his wealth. He used to give his wealth on the basis of silent partnership (e.g. if a person is in possession of a shop, the profits are shared equally, but only one partner does all the work). Abû Sa`îd Bakr ibn Munîr states: "Once Abû Hafs sent some goods to Imâm Bukhârî and when traders learnt of this, they came and offered five thousand dirhams. He told them, 'Come in the evening.' A second group of traders came and offered ten thousand dirhams, but he told them, 'I have already made an agreement with someone else. Ido not want to change my intention for the sake of ten thousand dirhams.'"
2. Simplicity and humbleness:
From the point of view of his character, Imâm Bukhârî was a simple and hard working person. He would fulfill his own needs by himself. Despite having a lot of wealth and status, he always kept the minimum number of servants required and never indulged himself in this matter. Muhammad ibn Hâtim Warrâq, who was one of his main disciples, says: "Imâm Bukhârî was establishing an inn near the city of Bukhara and was placing the bricks with his own hands. I came forward and said 'Leave the laying of the bricks for this building to me.' But he replied, 'On the day of judgement, this act will be of benefit to me.'"
Warrâq goes on to say: "When we accompanied Imâm Bukhârî on a journey, he would gather us in one room and would stay by himself in a separate room. Once I saw Imâm Bukhârî get up between fifteen and twenty times during the night and every time, he lit the lamp with his own hands. He took some Ahâdîth out, marked them and then placed his head on his pillow and laid on his couch. I said to him, 'Why did you go through all this trouble during the night, when you could have woken me up [so that I could help you].' He replied, 'You are young and are in need of sound sleep and I did not want to disturb your sleep.'"
3. Generosity
Just as he was generous with this wealth, he was also greatly generous with his heart. Sometimes, he would give three thousand dirhams as a donation in one day. Warrâq says that Imâm Bukhârî's earnings were five hundred dirhams per month and he would spend all of it on his students.
4. Abstention (Zuhd)
Imâm Bukhârî kept himself away from all worldly desires and temptations. Sometimes, in his quest for knowledge, he passed his time eating dried grass (hay). Usually he would eat only two or three almonds in a whole day. Once he became ill and the doctors told him, "Your intestines have become dry because you have been eating dried leaves." It was at that moment that Imâm Bukhârî told the doctor that he had been eating dried leaves for forty years and during this span of time he never even touched any kind of curry.
5. Fear of Allâh
He was bestowed with the highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allâh very much inwardly and outwardly. He prevented himself from backbiting and suspicion and always respected the rights of others. Bakr ibn Munîr relates that Imâm Bukhârî said, "I am hopeful that when I meet my Lord, He will not take account of me because I never backbited."
Imâm Bukhârî was so vigilant in his worship, that he would pray Nawâfil and keep fasts in abundance. He would complete the recitation of the whole Qur'ân daily in the month of Ramadân and also recited ten chapters of the Holy Qur'ân deep in the night. He would complete the Holy Qur'ân in the Tarâwîh prayers and always reciting twenty verses in each rak`at. He was very courteous, tolerant and gentle. He never became angry if mistreated by other persons and prayed forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him. If he needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.
His Arrival in Nîshâpûr and the issue of the creation of the Qur'ân
In 250 AH, Imâm Bukhârî decided to go to Nîshâpûr. After hearing this news, a wave of happiness spread among its people. In those times, Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlî was the head of the literary kingdom of Nîshâpûr. He advised and led the inhabitants of the city to gather together for the welcoming of Imâm Bukhârî. A huge crowd went to the outskirts of the city to receive Imâm Bukhârî, with extreme magnificence and honour. Imâm Muslim ibn Hajjâj says that in all his life, he had never seen such a reception ever given to a scholar or even a ruler.
Imâm Bukhârî began to deliver lectures on Hadîth in Nîshâpûr. At every session, a huge crowd always packed the area to listen and many included people who had arrived specifically to learn the science of Hadîth. However, some unpleasant people were envious about the reputation and popularity of Imâm Bukhârî. These people set up Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlî to become his opponent. In this incident, Muhammad ibn Yahya considered the pronunciation of the Qur'ân as eternal and was firmly rooted with this concept.
Once, a man approached Imâm Bukhârî and asked him whether the Qur'ân was created (makhlûq) or not created (ghayr makhlûq). Imâm Bukhârî paused for a while. The man insisted on a reply, upon which he was told, "The Qur'ân are the words of Allâh and they are not created (ghayr makhlûq)." The man posed some more questions about the words of the Qur'ân, upon which Imâm Bukhârî said, "Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions."
[Comment by G.F. Haddad: The above is inaccurately translated. It should read: "Muhammad ibn
Yahya considered the *pronunciation* of the Qur'ân as eternal..." and "Imâm Bukhârî said, 'Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions.'"
The disagreement was only over the pronunciation (lafz) of the Qur'an, not the words of the Qur'an, although lafz also means "wording." Al-Dhuhli and other people close to the Hanbali madhhab considered that the pronunciation is uncreated just like the Qur'an itself. Others, like Bukhari and Muslim, also al-Karabisi the companion of al-Shafi`i and others considered the pronunciation created since it is part of one's acts and acts are certainly created. There was no disagreement that the words of the Qur'an are not created since they are what is meant when we say that the Qur'an is Allah's Speech.
What possibly reconciles the different views on this subject is that lafz is used by some to mean the revealed, uncreated words and contents of recitation, while others mean thereby the mere act of pronunciation, which is created; hence the extreme caution shown by some, such as Imam al-Bukhari, who fell short of saying: "Lafz is created" even though he used it in the second sense, since he said: "Lafz is an act of human beings, and our acts are created." This lexical ambiguity is a proof of sorts that the differences on this particular question were largely in terminology rather than essence. Added to this is a fundamental difference in method around the appropriateness of such dialectic (kalam), which poisoned the air with unnecessary condemnations on the part of Imam Ahmad's followers - and Allah knows best.]
After this, mass propaganda started against Imâm Bukhârî, which led to accusations that he believed the words of the Qur'ân to be created. When Dhuhlî heard these rumours, he disconnected his ties with Imâm Bukhârî and became his foe. He started warning people by announcing that they should not attend the lectures of Imâm Bukhârî. As a result, people refrained from sitting in his lectures, except Muslim ibn Hajjâj. At last, due to his disappointment, Imâm Bukhârî left the city of Nîshâpûr and returned to Bukhara.1
Banishment from his homeland
When the people of Bukhara learnt that Imâm Bukhârî was coming back to his homeland, they became extremely overjoyed and erected tents many miles outside the city to welcome him. They greeted him with splendour for his return. He established a school there where he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.
Even here, there were envious people who did not leave him alone. They met the governor of Bukhara, who was a representative of the Khilâfat `Abasiyya, Khâlid ibn Ahmad. They told him to call Imâm Bukhârî to his house and busy him with teaching his son. When the governor put this suggestion to Imâm Bukhârî, he was told, "I do not want to abuse knowledge and carry it to the footstep of the rulers. If anybody wants to learn, they should come to my school." The governor replied, by stating, "If my son was to attend your school, he should not sit with ordinary people. You would have to teach him separately." Imâm Bukhârî answered, "I cannot stop any person from hearing Ahâdîth." Upon hearing this, the governer of Bukhara became angry with him and got a fatwa (verdict) from the time wasting opportunist (ibn al-waqt) `Ulamâ against Imâm Bukhârî to banish him from the city.
Imâm Bukhârî was distressed at the thought of being banished from his homeland. Not even a month passed, before the Khalîf of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara, Khâlid ibn Ahmad adh-Dhuhlî. The governor was expelled from his palace in extreme disgrace and dishonour, being mounted on a she-ass and then thrown into prison, where he died in a space of a few days. Similarly, all the supporters of the governor also died in disgraceful ways.
His passing
After returning from Bukhara, Imâm Bukhârî decided to travel to Samarqand. He was still many miles from the city, when he heard that the people there had two veiws about him. So he decided to stay at a village along the way called "Kharteng". Here, he made the following invocation one night after the late-night prayer: "O Allâh, the Earth despite its grandeur is becoming narrow and is troubling me greatly. So take me back to You." After this invocation, he became ill. Meanwhile, the people of Samarqand sent a messenger to bring him there. Bukhârî got up and was ready to travel, but his strength gave way. He began to invoke Allâh at length, then he took to his bed and his soul passed away to his Lord - may Allâh have mercy on him. An indescribable amount of perspiration came out of him even after he consigned his life to the Creator of life. When this abated, he was shrouded. He died on the night of `Îd al-Fitr, the first night of Shawwâl in the year 256 AH. He had reached the age of 62 years, less twelve days. On this night, the sun of great knowledge, virtue and blessings had set, whose knowledge and actions had enlightened the hearts and minds of the great intellects and people of Samarqand, Bukhara, Baghdad and Nîshâpûr.
His acceptance by Allah's Messenger sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam
Imâm Bukhârî devoted his entire life, in the search for the way of life given by the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam, in acting upon his sayings and researching into this science. His each and every action was a fragment of the way of the Messenger. Warrâq stated: "In a dream, I once saw Imâm Bukhârî walking behind the Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam and his feet would fall exactly where the feet of the blessed Prophet had fallen."
Farbarî stated: "Once in a dream, I met the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam and he asked me, 'Where are you going?' I replied, 'To Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl [al-Bukhârî].' He then said, 'Go, and give him my salâm.'"
Just as the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam had happiness with Imâm Bukhârî during his lifetime, he was also pleased with him after his death. Concerning this, `Abd al-Wâhid ibn Âdam Awaysî stated: "I saw the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam in my sleep standing with a group of his Companions. I asked, 'O Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam, who are you waiting for?' He replied, 'For Bukhârî.' After a few days I heard the news of Imâm Bukhârî's passing away. He had died at the very moment that I saw the Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam in my dream."
The baraka of Bukhârî's maqam
3600 view of maqam of Imam Bukhari
The Janâzah prayer was performed over Imâm Bukhârî and his body was covered with soil. A beautiful musk smell exuded from the earth of his grave which lasted for several days. People from far and wide began to visit it in astonishment and also took handfuls of earth from his grave for blessings (tabarruk).
Abul-Fath as-Samarqandî relates: "two hundred years after the death of Imâm Bukhârî, a drought struck Samarqand. The people made the istisqâ' prayer and invocations but rain did not fall. A saintly man came to the judge (Qâdî) of the city and gave him some advice. He said: 'With the people of the city, go to the grave of Imâm Bukhârî and invoke Allâh the Exalted there to give you rain. Perhaps Allâh will accept our invocations and give us rain.' The judge of the city accepted this advice with delight and proceeded to go to the grave. The people followed him and upon arrival, he prayed for rain in front of them at the grave. People wept and also sought the intercession of the one who was in the grave. At that moment, clouds gathered and Allâh sent such heavy rain that those who were in Kharteng could not reach Samarqand for seven days because of the rain's abundance.
Conclusion
Imâm Bukhârî was not only a scholar, worshipper, a devotee and a prosperous man, but he always feared Allâh and shone with the love of the Messenger sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam. The virtuous outpourings he gave to the world during his life are still being given today and as the Muslim Ummah goes about its daily acts of worship, they realise how important the role played by Imâm Bukhârî was. He compiled and circulated the Ahâdîth of the Prophet wherever possible and Allâh spread his status to every corner of the world. It is a fact that as long as the traditions of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam (qîla and qâla) are mentioned in gatherings, lights and blessings will shower onto the grave of Imâm al-Bukhârî from the skies of the Most Merciful.
© Minhaj-ul-Qur'an Monthly Magazine, March 1995, pp. 30-37
By: Shaykh al-Hadîth `Allâma Ghulâm Rasûl Sa`îdî
Translated by: `Allâmah Ishfaq Alam Qadri and M. Iqtidar
After the Sahâbah al-kirâm, Imâm al-Bukhârî ranks as the most eminent of those pious people who have conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam. The greatest evidence of this is the book of Ahâdîth an-Nabawî he compiled, commonly known as Sahîh al-Bukhârî. It is universally acknowledged as the most authentic book after the Holy Qur'ân. So long as their is one Muslim left on the Earth, the blessings of Imâm Bukhârî will have a place in his or her Îmân and Islâm. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.
His Early Years
Imâm al-muhaddithîn Hadrat Imâm Abû `Abdullâh Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl al-Bukhârî was born on the 13th of the Islâmic month of Shawwâl, 194AH, in the famous city of Bukhara, of the land "beyond the canal" - present day Uzbekistan -. The father of Imâm Bukhârî, Ismâ`îl ibn Ibrâhîm ibn Mughîrah al-Ja`fî, was a great muhaddith and ascetic from whom he inherited his characteristics of literary zeal and excellence. During infancy his father passed away and his mother took on the entire responsibility of bringing him up. Imâm Bukhârî became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allâh the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allâh accepted her invocation. One night, she visited Ibrâhîm `alayhis-salâm in a dream and was told, "Allâh has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imâm Bukhârî got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.
Primary Education and Interest in Hadîth
When Imâm Bukhârî reached the age of ten and after acquiring his elementary education, Almighty Allâh inserted the interest in the science of Ahadîth into his heart and he obtained admission in the Hadîth class of Bukhara. He obtained his educations after vigorous study. A year later, he had such a good retention of the text and chains of transmission of Ahâdîth, that sometimes teachers got their corrections from him. Imâm Bukhârî had been acquiring religious education with competance and swiftness and at the tender age of sixteen, he had completely learnt by heart the books of `Abdullâh ibn al-Mubârak, al-Wakî` and other learned companions of al-Imâm Abû Hanîfa radiyallâhu `anhum.
The Visit to the Haramayn and the Commencement of His Ahâdîth Compilation
At the age of eighteen, He visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother, Ahmad ibn Ismâ`îl. After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with the company of his mother, but Imâm Bukhârî stayed there for further education. Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, Qadâyâ as-Sahâbah wat-Tâbi`în. After this he went to Madînah al-munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asmâ` ar-rijâl (Names of men of transmission) called, Târîkh al-kabîr, while sitting by the tomb of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam during moonlight hours. Immediately after completing this, a series of imitations had begun. Muhammad ibn Yûsaf al-Furyâbî said that at the time he had copied Târîkh al-kabîr, Imâm Bukhârî did not yet have any facial hair.
Imâm Bukhârî travelled to cities far and wide for the transmission of Ahâdîth and had gained immense knowledge while sitting far from his own country for several years. He stated himself, "To seek knowledge, I travelled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at the Hijâz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithîn."
His Remarkable Memory
Imâm Bukhârî was a man with a very strong memory. When we look at his memory, it is as if his body from head to toe stored it. Seeing his memory, the memory of Abû Hurayrah radiyallâhu `anhu is rekindled in the hearts of Muslims. Hashid ibn Ismâ`îl states that in his childhood: "Imâm Bukhârî used to go with us to the Scholars of Basra to listen to Ahâdîth. All of us used to write Ahâdîth down, except Imâm Bukhârî. After sixteen days, we thought about it and we condemned Imâm Bukhârî saying that, 'you had wasted so many days work by not writing down Ahâdîth.' Imâm Bukhârî asked us to bring our notes to him. So we all brought our notes, upon which Imâm Bukhârî began to read Ahâdîth one by one from the top of his head until he narrated to us more than fifteen thousand! Hearing these, it seemed that Imâm Bukhârî was reteaching us all of the Ahâdîth we had noted."
Muhammad ibn Azhar Sajistânî says: "I used to go to Sulaymân ibn Harab accompanied by Imâm Bukhârî for listening to Ahâdîth. I used to write the Ahâdîth, but Imâm Bukhârî wouldn't. Somone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imâm Bukhârî note the Ahâdîth down?' I told him, 'if you missed any Hâdîth in writing, you could obtain it from the memory of Imâm Bukhârî.'"
Imâm Bukhârî's memory could be understood by knowing that if he glanced through a book, it would be committed to memory instantly. In his early period of acquiring knowledge, he memorised seventy thousand Ahâdîth and later in his life, this figure reached three hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were sahîh (rigorously authenticated) and two hundred thousand were not sahîh (hasan, da`îf, etc). Once he went to Balkh and the inhabitants desired that he should recite one Hadîth from each of his shaykhs. Then he orated from one thousand Shaykhs one thousand Ahâdîth.
Sulaymân ibn Mujâhid says: "One day I was present in the company of Muhammad ibn Salâm Baykandî. Muhammad ibn Salâm said, 'If you had come earlier, I would have shown you the child who has seventy thousand Ahâdîth in his memory.' Sulaymân stood up from his company and started looking for Imâm Bukhârî. Shortly he found him and asked, 'Are you the one who has committed seventy thousand Ahâdîth to memory?' Imâm Bukhârî replied, 'I have learnt more Ahâdîth than this by heart. I even know the place of birth, death and residence of most of those companions from whom the Ahâdîth are narrated."
His Extraordinary Intellect
Along with his extraordinary memory, he also had a very sharp intellect. He did not depend on pen and paper as much as he relied on his mind and memory. People examined the capabilities of Imâm Bukhâri in the science of Hadîth repeatedly but he always remained successful as a result of Allâh's gift of intellegence and superb memory.
Hâfiz Ahmad ibn `Adî describes: "When the people of Baghdad had learnt that Imâm Bukhârî was due to arrive there, the Muhaddithîn of Baghdad decided to test him by changing the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahâdîth. They joined the chain of one Hadîth with the text of another and attached the chain of this Hadîth with the text of the prior. Like this, they mixed up the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahâdîth and gave these to people who would test Imâm Bukhârî with these.
"When Imâm Bukhâri arrived at Baghdad, the people held a gathering in his honour, in which most of the Ulamâ, nobles and public were present. One person stood up according to the plan and asked a question regarding a Hadîth with its altered chain of transmission. Upon this, a second person stood up and recited in similar manner. Like this, the people completed the hundred Ahâdîth and awaited Imâm Bukhârî's reply. He said that he had not apprehended those Ahâdîth. When he saw that everyone had finished asking questions, he stood up and described the chain of transmission of the first Hadîth read and then gave its correct chain. Like this, he detailed the faulty chains on the Ahâdîth of all one hundred set up by the scholars. He had given the correct chains of transmission to every Hadîth. When he finished, the entire audience was full of praise and recognition of the superiority and greatness of Imâm Bukhârî."
Hâfiz Abul-Azhar relates: "Once four hundred Muhaddithîn had gathered in the city of Samarqand to test Imâm Bukhârî. They did this by mixing up the transmissions of Syria with the transmissions of Iraq and the transmissions of Iraq with the transmissions of Syria. Similarly, they inserted the transmissions of the Haram (Makkah) into the ones of Yemen and vice versa. They did this to Imâm Bukhâri for seven days, but could not mislead him in text or transmission a single time. He had comprehensive knowledge in the science of Hadîth - all of the routes of a Hadîth were in his eyes if one with many chains was found. So Imâm Bukhârî had a good view of all of them. In that age, no one had more command over the different ways of transmission than Imâm Bukhârî."
Yûsuf ibn Mûsâ Marûzî states: "I was sitting in the central mosque of Basra when I heard a voice saying, 'O seeker of knowledge, Imâm Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl has arrived. Whoever wants to receive Ahâdîth from him should present himself in his company.'" Marûzî says: "I saw a thin, weak young man near the pillar who was praying salât with extreme humbleness and humility and that was Imâm Bukhârî. As soon as the announcement was made, curious people from all directions began to gather around."
Glimpses of his private life
1. Self sufficiency:
The father of Imâm Bukhârî, Muhaddith Ismâ`îl ibn Ibrâhîm was enormously rich and Imâm Bukhârî had inherited a huge share of his wealth. He used to give his wealth on the basis of silent partnership (e.g. if a person is in possession of a shop, the profits are shared equally, but only one partner does all the work). Abû Sa`îd Bakr ibn Munîr states: "Once Abû Hafs sent some goods to Imâm Bukhârî and when traders learnt of this, they came and offered five thousand dirhams. He told them, 'Come in the evening.' A second group of traders came and offered ten thousand dirhams, but he told them, 'I have already made an agreement with someone else. Ido not want to change my intention for the sake of ten thousand dirhams.'"
2. Simplicity and humbleness:
From the point of view of his character, Imâm Bukhârî was a simple and hard working person. He would fulfill his own needs by himself. Despite having a lot of wealth and status, he always kept the minimum number of servants required and never indulged himself in this matter. Muhammad ibn Hâtim Warrâq, who was one of his main disciples, says: "Imâm Bukhârî was establishing an inn near the city of Bukhara and was placing the bricks with his own hands. I came forward and said 'Leave the laying of the bricks for this building to me.' But he replied, 'On the day of judgement, this act will be of benefit to me.'"
Warrâq goes on to say: "When we accompanied Imâm Bukhârî on a journey, he would gather us in one room and would stay by himself in a separate room. Once I saw Imâm Bukhârî get up between fifteen and twenty times during the night and every time, he lit the lamp with his own hands. He took some Ahâdîth out, marked them and then placed his head on his pillow and laid on his couch. I said to him, 'Why did you go through all this trouble during the night, when you could have woken me up [so that I could help you].' He replied, 'You are young and are in need of sound sleep and I did not want to disturb your sleep.'"
3. Generosity
Just as he was generous with this wealth, he was also greatly generous with his heart. Sometimes, he would give three thousand dirhams as a donation in one day. Warrâq says that Imâm Bukhârî's earnings were five hundred dirhams per month and he would spend all of it on his students.
4. Abstention (Zuhd)
Imâm Bukhârî kept himself away from all worldly desires and temptations. Sometimes, in his quest for knowledge, he passed his time eating dried grass (hay). Usually he would eat only two or three almonds in a whole day. Once he became ill and the doctors told him, "Your intestines have become dry because you have been eating dried leaves." It was at that moment that Imâm Bukhârî told the doctor that he had been eating dried leaves for forty years and during this span of time he never even touched any kind of curry.
5. Fear of Allâh
He was bestowed with the highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allâh very much inwardly and outwardly. He prevented himself from backbiting and suspicion and always respected the rights of others. Bakr ibn Munîr relates that Imâm Bukhârî said, "I am hopeful that when I meet my Lord, He will not take account of me because I never backbited."
Imâm Bukhârî was so vigilant in his worship, that he would pray Nawâfil and keep fasts in abundance. He would complete the recitation of the whole Qur'ân daily in the month of Ramadân and also recited ten chapters of the Holy Qur'ân deep in the night. He would complete the Holy Qur'ân in the Tarâwîh prayers and always reciting twenty verses in each rak`at. He was very courteous, tolerant and gentle. He never became angry if mistreated by other persons and prayed forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him. If he needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.
His Arrival in Nîshâpûr and the issue of the creation of the Qur'ân
In 250 AH, Imâm Bukhârî decided to go to Nîshâpûr. After hearing this news, a wave of happiness spread among its people. In those times, Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlî was the head of the literary kingdom of Nîshâpûr. He advised and led the inhabitants of the city to gather together for the welcoming of Imâm Bukhârî. A huge crowd went to the outskirts of the city to receive Imâm Bukhârî, with extreme magnificence and honour. Imâm Muslim ibn Hajjâj says that in all his life, he had never seen such a reception ever given to a scholar or even a ruler.
Imâm Bukhârî began to deliver lectures on Hadîth in Nîshâpûr. At every session, a huge crowd always packed the area to listen and many included people who had arrived specifically to learn the science of Hadîth. However, some unpleasant people were envious about the reputation and popularity of Imâm Bukhârî. These people set up Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlî to become his opponent. In this incident, Muhammad ibn Yahya considered the pronunciation of the Qur'ân as eternal and was firmly rooted with this concept.
Once, a man approached Imâm Bukhârî and asked him whether the Qur'ân was created (makhlûq) or not created (ghayr makhlûq). Imâm Bukhârî paused for a while. The man insisted on a reply, upon which he was told, "The Qur'ân are the words of Allâh and they are not created (ghayr makhlûq)." The man posed some more questions about the words of the Qur'ân, upon which Imâm Bukhârî said, "Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions."
[Comment by G.F. Haddad: The above is inaccurately translated. It should read: "Muhammad ibn
Yahya considered the *pronunciation* of the Qur'ân as eternal..." and "Imâm Bukhârî said, 'Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions.'"
The disagreement was only over the pronunciation (lafz) of the Qur'an, not the words of the Qur'an, although lafz also means "wording." Al-Dhuhli and other people close to the Hanbali madhhab considered that the pronunciation is uncreated just like the Qur'an itself. Others, like Bukhari and Muslim, also al-Karabisi the companion of al-Shafi`i and others considered the pronunciation created since it is part of one's acts and acts are certainly created. There was no disagreement that the words of the Qur'an are not created since they are what is meant when we say that the Qur'an is Allah's Speech.
What possibly reconciles the different views on this subject is that lafz is used by some to mean the revealed, uncreated words and contents of recitation, while others mean thereby the mere act of pronunciation, which is created; hence the extreme caution shown by some, such as Imam al-Bukhari, who fell short of saying: "Lafz is created" even though he used it in the second sense, since he said: "Lafz is an act of human beings, and our acts are created." This lexical ambiguity is a proof of sorts that the differences on this particular question were largely in terminology rather than essence. Added to this is a fundamental difference in method around the appropriateness of such dialectic (kalam), which poisoned the air with unnecessary condemnations on the part of Imam Ahmad's followers - and Allah knows best.]
After this, mass propaganda started against Imâm Bukhârî, which led to accusations that he believed the words of the Qur'ân to be created. When Dhuhlî heard these rumours, he disconnected his ties with Imâm Bukhârî and became his foe. He started warning people by announcing that they should not attend the lectures of Imâm Bukhârî. As a result, people refrained from sitting in his lectures, except Muslim ibn Hajjâj. At last, due to his disappointment, Imâm Bukhârî left the city of Nîshâpûr and returned to Bukhara.1
Banishment from his homeland
When the people of Bukhara learnt that Imâm Bukhârî was coming back to his homeland, they became extremely overjoyed and erected tents many miles outside the city to welcome him. They greeted him with splendour for his return. He established a school there where he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.
Even here, there were envious people who did not leave him alone. They met the governor of Bukhara, who was a representative of the Khilâfat `Abasiyya, Khâlid ibn Ahmad. They told him to call Imâm Bukhârî to his house and busy him with teaching his son. When the governor put this suggestion to Imâm Bukhârî, he was told, "I do not want to abuse knowledge and carry it to the footstep of the rulers. If anybody wants to learn, they should come to my school." The governor replied, by stating, "If my son was to attend your school, he should not sit with ordinary people. You would have to teach him separately." Imâm Bukhârî answered, "I cannot stop any person from hearing Ahâdîth." Upon hearing this, the governer of Bukhara became angry with him and got a fatwa (verdict) from the time wasting opportunist (ibn al-waqt) `Ulamâ against Imâm Bukhârî to banish him from the city.
Imâm Bukhârî was distressed at the thought of being banished from his homeland. Not even a month passed, before the Khalîf of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara, Khâlid ibn Ahmad adh-Dhuhlî. The governor was expelled from his palace in extreme disgrace and dishonour, being mounted on a she-ass and then thrown into prison, where he died in a space of a few days. Similarly, all the supporters of the governor also died in disgraceful ways.
His passing
After returning from Bukhara, Imâm Bukhârî decided to travel to Samarqand. He was still many miles from the city, when he heard that the people there had two veiws about him. So he decided to stay at a village along the way called "Kharteng". Here, he made the following invocation one night after the late-night prayer: "O Allâh, the Earth despite its grandeur is becoming narrow and is troubling me greatly. So take me back to You." After this invocation, he became ill. Meanwhile, the people of Samarqand sent a messenger to bring him there. Bukhârî got up and was ready to travel, but his strength gave way. He began to invoke Allâh at length, then he took to his bed and his soul passed away to his Lord - may Allâh have mercy on him. An indescribable amount of perspiration came out of him even after he consigned his life to the Creator of life. When this abated, he was shrouded. He died on the night of `Îd al-Fitr, the first night of Shawwâl in the year 256 AH. He had reached the age of 62 years, less twelve days. On this night, the sun of great knowledge, virtue and blessings had set, whose knowledge and actions had enlightened the hearts and minds of the great intellects and people of Samarqand, Bukhara, Baghdad and Nîshâpûr.
His acceptance by Allah's Messenger sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam
Imâm Bukhârî devoted his entire life, in the search for the way of life given by the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam, in acting upon his sayings and researching into this science. His each and every action was a fragment of the way of the Messenger. Warrâq stated: "In a dream, I once saw Imâm Bukhârî walking behind the Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam and his feet would fall exactly where the feet of the blessed Prophet had fallen."
Farbarî stated: "Once in a dream, I met the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam and he asked me, 'Where are you going?' I replied, 'To Muhammad ibn Ismâ`îl [al-Bukhârî].' He then said, 'Go, and give him my salâm.'"
Just as the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam had happiness with Imâm Bukhârî during his lifetime, he was also pleased with him after his death. Concerning this, `Abd al-Wâhid ibn Âdam Awaysî stated: "I saw the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam in my sleep standing with a group of his Companions. I asked, 'O Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam, who are you waiting for?' He replied, 'For Bukhârî.' After a few days I heard the news of Imâm Bukhârî's passing away. He had died at the very moment that I saw the Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam in my dream."
The baraka of Bukhârî's maqam
3600 view of maqam of Imam Bukhari
The Janâzah prayer was performed over Imâm Bukhârî and his body was covered with soil. A beautiful musk smell exuded from the earth of his grave which lasted for several days. People from far and wide began to visit it in astonishment and also took handfuls of earth from his grave for blessings (tabarruk).
Abul-Fath as-Samarqandî relates: "two hundred years after the death of Imâm Bukhârî, a drought struck Samarqand. The people made the istisqâ' prayer and invocations but rain did not fall. A saintly man came to the judge (Qâdî) of the city and gave him some advice. He said: 'With the people of the city, go to the grave of Imâm Bukhârî and invoke Allâh the Exalted there to give you rain. Perhaps Allâh will accept our invocations and give us rain.' The judge of the city accepted this advice with delight and proceeded to go to the grave. The people followed him and upon arrival, he prayed for rain in front of them at the grave. People wept and also sought the intercession of the one who was in the grave. At that moment, clouds gathered and Allâh sent such heavy rain that those who were in Kharteng could not reach Samarqand for seven days because of the rain's abundance.
Conclusion
Imâm Bukhârî was not only a scholar, worshipper, a devotee and a prosperous man, but he always feared Allâh and shone with the love of the Messenger sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam. The virtuous outpourings he gave to the world during his life are still being given today and as the Muslim Ummah goes about its daily acts of worship, they realise how important the role played by Imâm Bukhârî was. He compiled and circulated the Ahâdîth of the Prophet wherever possible and Allâh spread his status to every corner of the world. It is a fact that as long as the traditions of the Holy Prophet sallallâhu `alayhi wa sallam (qîla and qâla) are mentioned in gatherings, lights and blessings will shower onto the grave of Imâm al-Bukhârî from the skies of the Most Merciful.
© Minhaj-ul-Qur'an Monthly Magazine, March 1995, pp. 30-37
Imam al-Dhahabi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn `Abd Allah, Shams al-Din Abu `Abd Allah al-Turkmani al-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i (673-748), the imam, Shaykh al-Islam, head of hadith masters, perspicuous critic and expert examiner of the hadith, encyclopedic historian and biographer, and foremost authority in the canonical readings of the Qur'an. Born in Damascus where his family lived from the time of his grandfather `Uthman, he sometimes identified himself as Ibn al-Dhahabi - son of the goldsmith - in reference to his father's profession. He began his study of hadith at age eighteen, travelling from Damascus to Ba`labak, Hims, Hama, Aleppo, Tripoli, Nabulus, al-Ramla, Cairo, Iskandariyya, al-Qudus, Hijaz, and elsewhere to thirty different locations, after which he returned to Damascus where he taught and authored many works and achieved world renown. He lost his sight two years before he died, leaving three children: his eldest daughter Amat al-`Aziz and his two sons `Abd Allah and Abu Hurayra `Abd al-Rahman. The latter taught the hadith masters Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi1 and Ibn Hajar, to whom he transmitted several works authored or narrated by his father.
Among al-Dhahabi's most notable teachers in hadith and fiqh:
1. Ibn al-Zahiri, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah al-Halabi.
2. Al-Abarquhi, Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Misri (d. 701), from which al-Dhahabi received the Suhrawardi Sufi path.2 He said in his last illness while he was in Mecca: "I will die in this illness because the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- promised me that I would die in Mecca."3
3. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Daqiq al-`Id whom he identified in his youth as Abu al-Fath al-Qushayri, later as as Ibn Wahb.4 When al-Dhahabi first came before Ibn Daqiq al-`Id to study hadith the latter quizzed him: "Who is Abu Muhammad al-Hilali?" Al-Dhahabi correctly answered: "Sufyan ibn `Uyayna."
4. Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati, `Abd al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf, the foremost Egyptian authority on hadith in his time.
5. "Qadi al-Qudat, the Paragon of Islam, the standard-bearer of the Sunna, my shaykh" Jamal al-Din Abu al-Ma`ali Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Ansari al-Zamalkani al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i (d. 727).5 He replaced Safi al-Din al-Hindi as chief prosecutor in the Damascus trial of Ibn Taymiyya against whom he subsequently wrote a refutation on divorce, and another refutation on the Visitation to the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.
Among the praises of hadith scholars about al-Dhahabi:
1. His student Ibn al-Subki said:
Our time was graced with four hadith masters: al-Mizzi, al-Birzali, al-Dhahabi, and my father the Shaykh and Imam [Taqi al-Din al-Subki].7 As for our shaykh Abu `Abd Allah, he is an ocean without peer, a treasure and refuge in time of difficulty, the imam of the living on record, the gold of our time in spirit and letter, the shaykh of narrator-discreditation and narrator-commendation (al-jarh wa al-ta`dil)... and the one who trained us in this science and brought us out into the scholarly throng - may Allah reward him greatly!
3. Another student of his, Salah al-Din al-Safadi, said:
I read before him many of his works and did not find in him the rigidity (jumud) of hadith scholars nor the denseness (kawdana) of transmitters. Rather, he is highly perspicuous and proficient in the sayings of the scholars and the schools of the imams of the Salaf and authorities in doctrine. What most pleased me is the care he shows, in his works, not to mention a hadith except he states whether it suffers from any weakness in its content or chain of transmission or one of its narrators. I did not see others show the same care in what they cite.8
4. The "Commander of the Believers in Hadith" (Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith), Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said of him: "He was the most prolific of the scholars of his time. People yearned to obtain his books, travelling to him for that purpose and circulating them through reading, copying, and audition."9 "He is among those who have total mastery in the field of narrator-criticism."10
5. Al-Sakhawi said: "To understand the loftiness of his rank it is enough to know that our shaykh's [Ibn Hajar] supplication, upon drinking Zamzam water, was that Allah make him reach al-Dhahabi's rank in the hadith sciences."11
6. Al-Suyuti said: "Hadith scholars today depend on four figures in the field of narrator-criticism and other related fields: al-Mizzi, al-Dhahabi, al-`Iraqi, and Ibn Hajar."12
7. Al-Shawkani said: "All his books are well-received and sought after.... Historians, from his time onwards, generally depend on him. None has gathered up as much as he in this science."13
8. Ibn al-Subki also criticized al-Dhahabi's anti-Ash`arism and Hanbali leanings in doctrine, calling him one of the greatest propagators of anthropomorphism.14 Elsewhere he states: "Our shaykh al-Dhahabi - may Allah have mercy on him - with all his learning and piety, displays an excessive bias against Ahl al-Sunna; it is not permitted to follow him in this opinion.... Nor is it permissible to rely on our shaykh al-Dhahabi whenever he commends a Hanbali or blames an Ash`ari."15
8. Al-Suyuti also marked his distate for al-Dhahabi's aspersions against early and late Sufi authorities as noted further below. Among the worst examples of al-Dhahabi's bias against Sufis are his aspersions against Abu Yazid al-Bistami and al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala'.16
Among al-Dhahabi's works:17
1. Tarikh al-Islam, the largest biographical encyclopedia in Islam. Ibn Hajar received it from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.18
2. Al-`Ibar bi Akhbar Man `Abar, a condensed biographical history with emphasis on scholars.
3. Duwal al-Islam, a condensed biographical history with emphasis on political figures and events.
4. Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' ("Lives of the Elite of the Nobility"), a unique encyclopedia of biographical history, shorter than Tarikh al-Islam but often containing new material. Al-Dhahabi's method in these works is comprehensive yet concise, showing meticulous scholarship and analysis of both transmission chains and content as well as a preoccupation with doctrine on what he considered the principles of the Salaf. On the topic of travelling to visit the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- he marks his dissent with his contemporary, Ibn Taymiyya, by writing:
Al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn `Ali relates that he saw a man standing in front of the house which contains the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, invoking Allah's blessings upon him, whereupon he said to the man: Do not do that, for Allah's Messenger said: "Do not make (the visit to) my grave an anniversary festival (`id), nor turn your houses into graves. Invoke blessings upon me wherever you are, for your invocation reaches me." This narration is missing the Companion-link (mursal) and what al-Hasan adduces in his fatwa is worthless as a proof, because one who stands before the blessed Chamber (hujra) in all humility and submission, invoking blessings upon his Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- - O how blessed that one is! For he has made his visitation excellent, and beautified it with humbleness and love, and he has performed more worship than the one who invoked blessings on the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- from his own land or in his prayer. The reason is that the one who performs visitation has both the reward of visiting him and that of invoking blessings upon him; while those who invoke blessings upon him from all over the world only have the reward of invoking blessings upon him; and upon whomever invokes blessings once, Allah sends ten blessings.
But the person who visits the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- and does not observe decorum in his visitation, or prostrates to the grave, or does something outside the Law, such a person has done both good and bad. He must be taught gently. Allah is forgiving and merciful. By Allah! The Muslim is not moved to distraction and lamentation and kissing the walls and weeping much, except because he is a lover of Allah and of His Prophet. His love is the standard and the distinguishing mark between the people of Paradise and the people of Hellfire. The visit to his grave is among the best of the acts by which one draws near to Allah.
As for travelling to visit the graves of Prophets and saints, even if we should concede that there is no authorization for it due to the general sense of the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- saying: "Mounts are not saddled except to go to three mosques," nevertheless saddling the mounts to go visit the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is intrinsic to saddling them to go visit his mosque - which is sanctioned by the Law without contest - for there is no access to his Chamber except after entering his mosque. Therefore let his visitor begin by greeting the mosque, then turn to greet the master of the mosque. May Allah grant us this, and also to you. Amin!"19
5. Tadhkira al-Huffaz ("The Memorial of the Hadith Masters"), without peer in Islamic literature, a chronological history of the biography-layers of the hadith masters beginning with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and ending with al-Dhahabi's own time. Each entry contains, in addition to biographical data, a hadith transmitted to al-Dhahabi through a chain containing the entry's subject. Ibn Hajar received it from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.20 Al-Suyuti condensed and updated it in Tabaqat al-Huffaz, followed by others.21
6. Al-Mu`in fi Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin, a compendium of hadith scholars.
7. Tabaqat al-Qurra' ("Biography-Layers of the Qur'anic Scholars").
8. Tadhhib Tahdhib al-Kamal, an abridgment of al-Mizzi's 35-volume compendium of historical biographies for hadith narrators cited in the Six Books of hadith. [The two Sahihs and the Four Sunan]
9. Al-Kashif fi Ma`rifa Man Lahu Riwaya fi al-Kutub al-Sitta, an abridgment of the Tadhhib.
10. Al-Mujarrad fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al-Sitta, an abridgment of the Kashif.
11. Mizan al-I`tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal, an authoritative manual of weak narrators abridging and improving upon Ibn `Adi's al-Kamil fi al-Du`afa', the first work of its kind. Al-`Iraqi improved upon it in Dhayl al-Mizan, then his student Ibn Hajar in Lisan al-Mizan, then more recently al-`Awni in Dhayl Lisan al-Mizan. Al-Dhahabi's distinctive anti-Sufi and anti-Ash`ari mark can be observed in many entries of the Mizan, notably that of the early Sufi mutakallim al-Harith al-Muhasibi in which he quotes the aspersions of the hadith master Abu Zur`a then exclaims:
And where are the likes of al-Harith al-Muhasibi! How then if Abu Zur`a saw the books of later Sufis such as the Qut al-Qulub of Abu Talib [al-Makki], and where are the likes of the Qut? How then if he saw Bahjat al-Asrar of Abu Jahdam, and Haqa'iq al-Tafsir of al-Sulami, he would jump to the ceiling! How then if he saw the books of Abu Hamid al-Tusi [Imam al-Ghazzali]....? the Ghunya of shaykh `Abd al-Qadir [al-Gilani]... the Fusus al-Hikam and Futuhat al-Makiyya [of Ibn `Arabi]?22
Imam al-Suyuti responded to al-Dhahabi's above insinuations in the following words:
Do not let al-Dhahabi's mumblings deceive you, for he went so far as to mumble against Imam Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Khatib [al-Razi] and against one who is greater than the Imam, namely, Abu Talib al-Makki the author of Qut al-Qulub, and against one who is greater than Abu Talib, namely, Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari, whose fame has filled the firmaments! And al-Dhahabi's books are filled with that: al-Mizan, al-Tarikh, and Siyar al-Nubala'. Are you going to accept his words against their likes? Never, by Allah! His word is not accepted concerning them. Rather, we respect their right over us and render it to them in full.23
12. Al-Mughni fi al-Du`afa', an abridgment of the Mizan.
13. Al-Ruwat al-Thiqat al-Mutakallim Fihim Bima La Yujibu Raddahum ("The Trustworthy Narrators Whose Reliability Was Investigated For Matters Which Do Not Justify Their Rejection"). In it he states:
I have included in my book [Mizan al-I`tidal] a great number of trustworthy narrators whom Bukhari and Muslim or others relied upon. I cited them only due to the fact that they had been cited in previous manuals of narrator-discreditation. Not that I saw any weakness in them whatsoever, but I wanted only to make a note that they had been cited. Time and again I still encounter the name of a firmly established, trustworthy narrator about whom some question was raised without consequence for his status. If we were to open wide the door of a certain type of internecine criticism, we would be bringing into it droves of Companions, Successors, and Imams of the Religion. For some of the Companions declared others disbelievers because of some interpretation on the latter's part.24 May Allah be well-pleased with all of them and forgive them! They were not immune to sin, nor do their divergences and internecine fighting for causes which normally result in discreditation, provide a precedent in principle for us. Nor did the Khawarij's declaration of apostasy against the Companions affect the reliability of the latter as narrators in the least. On the contrary, the pronouncements of the Khawarij and Shi`a against the Companions became a discreditation for the critics themselves.25 Consider, then, the immense wisdom of your Lord! We ask Allah to grant us safety.
Likewise, much of the criticism of contemporaries against one another must be sealed up and not reported. I shall now expand on this and say what the criterion is between the accepted and the rejected type of discreditation.
As for the Companions, their case is sealed up no matter what took place between them. Our belief and practice is that they are all utterly upright (`udul).26
As for the Successors, one can hardly find a deliberate liar among them although some of them commit mistakes and errors. Whoever has rare mistakes is nevertheless accepted as an authority. Likewise those considered mines of knowledge even if their mistakes are many, although the imams disagree whether the latter category are considered proofs....
As for those whose mistakes and singularities (ghara'ib) are abundant, their narrations do not carry probative weight. This type is hardly found among the early Successors, but more in succeeding generations.
Among the students of the Successors are found deliberate liars and those with abundant mistakes and disarray. Consequently, their narrations were discarded.27
14. Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq aw Salih al-Hadith ("Narrators Whose Reliability Was Questioned Whereas They Are Reliable or Passable").28
15. Dhikr Man Yu`tamad Qawluhu fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil ("Those Whose Evaluations Are Relied Upon in Narrator-Criticism").
16. Mukhtasar Sunan al-Bayhaqi.
17. Mukhtasar Kitab al-Wahm wa al-Iham li Ibn al-Qattan.
18. Al-Tajrid fi Asma' al-Sahaba, a dictionary of the Companions.
19. Mukhtasar al-Mustadrak li al-Hakim, a critical abridgment of al-Hakim's Mustadrak.
20. Mukhtasar Tarikh Naysabur li al-Hakim, an abridgment of al-Hakim's biographical history of the scholars of Naysabur.
21. Al-Muntaqa Min Tarikh Khwarizm li Ibn Arslan, an epitome of the first volume of an eight-volume history of Khwarizm by a contemporary of Ibn `Asakir.
22. Mu`jam al-Shuyukh in a large version entitled al-Kabir and a smaller one entitled al-Saghir or al-Latif. These Mu`jams are a fascinating chronicle of al-Dhahabi's shaykhs through meetings or correspondence. The Kabir contains biographies of about 1,300 of his shaykhs.29 In the entry devoted to Ahmad ibn `Abd al-Mun`im al-Qazwini, al-Dhahabi writes the following lines:
Ahmad ibn al-Mun`im related to us... [with his chain of transmission] from Ibn `Umar that the latter disliked to touch the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- grave. I say: He disliked it because he considered it disrespect. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about touching the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- grave and kissing it and he saw nothing wrong with it. His son `Abd Allah related this from him. If it is asked: "Why did the Companions not do this?" We reply: "Because they saw him with their very eyes when he was alive, enjoyed his presence directly, kissed his very hand, nearly fought each other over the remnants of his ablution water, shared his purified hair on the day of the greater Pilgrimage, and even if he spat it would virtually not fall except in someone's hand so that he could pass it over his face. Since we have not had the tremendous fortune of sharing in this, we throw ourselves on his grave as a mark of commitment, reverence, and acceptance, even to kiss it. Do you not see what Thabit al-Bunani did when he kissed the hand of Anas ibn Malik and placed it on his face saying: "This is the hand that touched the hand of Allah's Messenger"? Muslims are not moved to these matters except by their excessive love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, as they are ordered to love Allah and the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- more than their own lives, their children, all human beings, their property, and Paradise and its maidens. There are even some believers that love Abu Bakr and `Umar more than themselves...
Do you not you see that the Companions, in the excess of their love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, asked him: "Should we not prostrate to you?" and he replied no, and if he had allowed them, they would have prostrated to him as a mark of utter veneration and respect, not as a mark of worship, just as the brothers of the Prophet Yusuf prostrated to him. Similarly the prostration of the Muslim to the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is for the intention of magnification and reverence. One is not to be accused of disbelief because of it whatsoever (la yukaffaru aslan), but he is being disobedient [to the Prophet's injunction to the Companions]. Let him, therefore, be informed that this is forbidden. It is likewise in the case of one who prays towards the grave."30
Do you not you see that the Companions, in the excess of their love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, asked him: "Should we not prostrate to you?" and he replied no, and if he had allowed them, they would have prostrated to him as a mark of utter veneration and respect, not as a mark of worship, just as the brothers of the Prophet Yusuf prostrated to him. Similarly the prostration of the Muslim to the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is for the intention of magnification and reverence. One is not to be accused of disbelief because of it whatsoever (la yukaffaru aslan), but he is being disobedient [to the Prophet's injunction to the Companions]. Let him, therefore, be informed that this is forbidden. It is likewise in the case of one who prays towards the grave."30
23. Al-Mu`jam al-Mukhtass bi Muhaddithi al-`Asr, listing only his shaykhs in hadith and containing a unique autobiographical entry:
Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman... the teacher of Qur'an and hadith scholar and author of this compendium. Born in the year 73. Abu Zakariyya ibn al-Sayrafi gave him a certification [in narration] as well as Ibn Abi al-Khayr, al-Qutb ibn `Asrun, al-Qasim al-Irbili, and a number of others. In Damascus he heard hadith from `Umar ibn al-Qawwas, in Ba`labak from al-Taj ibn `Alwan, in Cairo from al-Dimyati, in al-Qarafa from al-Abarquhi, in al-Thaghr from al-Gharrafi, in Mecca from al-Tawzari, in Aleppo from Sunqur al-Zayni, and in Nabulus from al-`Imad ibn Badran. He compiled works which are said to be beneficial. The congregation of scholars grace him with compliments but he knows himself better, being well aware of his shortcomings in knowledge and deeds. Reliance is upon Allah. There is no change nor power except with Him. If the fact that I have faith is granted, then I cry victory!31
Ibn Hajar received all three Mu`jams from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.32
24. Al-Amsar Dhawat al-Athar ("Cities Rich in Historical Relics"), which begins with the description of Madina al-Munawwara.
25. Mukhtasar al-Muhalla li Ibn Hazm, an abridgment of Ibn Hazm's fiqh manual.
26. Naba' al-Dajjal, a monograph on the hadiths and reports that mention the Anti-Christ.
27. Al-Kaba'ir ("The Enormities"), his most widely circulating book. He defines an enormity as any sin entailing either a threat of punishment in the hereafter explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an or hadith, a prescribed legal penalty (hadd), or a curse by Allah or His Messenger -- Allah bless and greet him --.
28. Bayan Zaghl al-`Ilm wa al-Talab in which al-Dhahabi states: "Ibn Taymiyya was considered by his enemies to be a wicked Anti-Christ and disbeliever, while great numbers of the wise and the elite considered him an eminent, brilliant, and scholarly innovator (mubtadi` fadil muhaqqiq bari`)."33
29. An epistle entitled al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya written when al-Dhahabi was around fifty-five years of age and addressed to Ibn Taymiyya towards the end of his life. In this brief but scathing epistle the author distances himself from his contemporary and admonishes him without naming him, calling him "an eloquent polemicist who neither rests nor sleeps."34 A "Salafi" apologist recently cast doubt on the authenticity of al-Dhahabi's authorship of this epistle, also claiming that, even if al-Dhahabi wrote it, then it is directed to someone other than Ibn Taymiyya.35 However, both Salah al-Din al-Munajjid and Dr. Bashshar `Awwad Ma`ruf declared that there was no doubt al-Dhahabi wrote it towards the end of his life and addressed Ibn Taymiyya.36 Ibn Hajar voiced no doubt as to the authenticity of this epistle as attributed to al-Dhahabi,37 nor al-Sakhawi who calls it "a glorious statement of doctrine."38 In particular the Nasiha contains the following prophetic description of Taymiyya-followers in our time:
"Oh the disappointment of him who follows you! For he is exposed to corruption in basic beliefs and to dissolution. Particularly if he is short of learning and religion, a self-indulgent idler who does well for you by fighting on your behalf with his hand and tongue, while he is actually your enemy in his being and heart. What are your followers but hidebound do-nothings of little intelligence, common liars with dull minds, silent outlanders strong in guile, or dryly righteous without understanding? If you do not believe it, just look at them and honestly assess them."39
30. Al-Dinar Min Hadith al-Mashayikh al-Kibar, a brief compendium of narrations al-Dhahabi heard from aged shaykhs, in pursuit of shorter transmission chains.
31. Fadl Aya al-Kursi,
32. Al-Musalsal bi al-Awwaliyya, all three of which Ibn Hajar heard from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.40
33. Al-`Uluw li al-`Ali al-Ghaffar ("The Exaltation of the All-High and Most-Forgiving"), a book written under Ibn Taymiyya's influence - as stated by al-Kawthari in his Maqalat - when al-Dhahabi was twenty-five and which he later disavowed as related by its copyist the hadith master Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi (d. 842):
Its author stated - as Allah is His witness - in his own hand-writing as I read it in the margin of the original manuscript written in the year 698:
"This book contains narrations against the unreliability of which I am cautioning the reader, and the statements of a number of people who spoke in outlandish terms. Neither do I subscribe to their terms, nor do I imitate them. May Allah forgive them! Nor will I ever consider myself bound by such terms. This is my belief, and I know that Allah – "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him" (42:11)!"41
Al-Dhahabi nevertheless commits several blunders in al-`Uluw, despite its small size, because of his evident search for evidence that supports the conception of Allah's literal height so dear to his teacher. The most glaring of those mistakes are the inaccurate referencing of several narrations to al-Bukhari or Muslim or both when in fact they are not narrated by them. For example:
1) He cites the hadith of `Imran ibn Husayn from the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- with the wording: "Allah was on the Throne (kana Allah `ala al-`arsh), and He was before everything, and He wrote on the Tablet everything that shall ever be." Then he says: "This is a sound hadith, al-Bukhari narrates it in several places."42 However, none of the versions al-Bukhari narrates in several places of his Sahih contains the words "Allah was on the Throne," by which al-Dhahabi purports to support the anthropomorphist perspective of his book. Nor is this wording found in any authentic hadith in the first place, nor is it found in any book of hadith, whether authentic or forged.43
2) He cites a hadith whereby Ibn `Abbas explains the verses "the heaven that He built, He raised the height thereof and ordered it" (79:28) to mean: "He created the earth two days before the heaven, then He turned to the heaven and ordered them in two other days, then He descended to the earth (thumma nazala ila al-ard) and spread it, its spreading meaning that He brought forth from it water and pasture." Then al-Dhahabi said: "al-Bukhari narrated it from Yusuf ibn `Adi [twice], once with part of its chain."44 However, nowhere in his Sahih does al-Bukhari mention the phrase "then He descended to the earth" upon which al-Dhahabi depends so as to include it as evidence for literal height. That phrase is only found in two very weak narrations outside al-Bukhari, one by al-Tabarani, the other by Abu al-Shaykh.45 The sound narration found in al-Bukhari states that Ibn `Abbas said: "He created the earth in two days, then He created the heaven, then He turned to the heaven and ordered them in two other days, then He spread the earth, its spreading meaning that He brought forth from it water and pasture."
3) He refers a hadith to al-Bukhari and Muslim thus: "It is narrated in the two Sahihs that the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- supplicated Allah on behalf of a group of people saying: `May the pious eat from your food, may those who fast break their fast in your house, may the angels invoke blessings upon you, and may Allah mention you among those who are with Him.'"46 However, nowhere in the two Sahihs is the phrase "may Allah mention you among those who are with Him" found. It is a measure of al-Albani's overall unreliability that he caught only one out of these three mistakes, confirming al-Dhahabi on (1) and (2) but correcting him on (3).47
Al-Dhahabi defined knowledge in Islam (al-`ilm) as "Not the profusion of narration, but a light which Allah casts into the heart. Its condition is followership (ittiba`) and the flight away from egotism (hawa) and innovation."48
At the mention of al-Harawi al-Ansari's Sufi manual Manazil al-Sa'irin in the Siyar al-Dhahabi exclaims:
How beautiful was the tasawwuf of the Companions and Successors! They did not probe those phantasms and whisperings of the mind but worshipped Allah, humbling themselves and relying upon Him, in great awe and fear of Him, fiercely combating His enemies, hastening to obey Him, staying away from idle speech. Allah guides whomever He wills to the straight path.49
Main sources
Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra 9:100-106 #1306; Sa`d, Safahat fi Tarjima al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi.
NOTES
1As stated by al-Sakhawi in al-Daw' al-Lami` (8:103).
2 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' [SAN] (17:118-119 #6084, 16:300-302 #5655).
3Al-Dhahabi, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir (1:37).
4Cf. al-`Uluw (Abu al-Fath) and al-Muqiza (Ibn Wahb).
5Al-Dhahabi, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir (2:244).
6Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya (14:131-132); Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kamina (4:193); Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (9:191).
7Of al-Mizzi and al-Dhahabi Ibn al-Subki also said: "Neither of them knew anything about the rational sciences (al-`aqliyyat)" i.e. kalam and debate. Cited by al-Sakhawi in al-I`lan (p. 75).
8Al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat (2:163).
9Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kamina (3:426-427).
10Ibn Hajar, Sharh al-Nukhba (p. 136).
11Al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 76).
12Al-Suyuti, Tabaqat al-Huffaz (p. 518).
13Al-Shawkani, al-Badr al-Tali` (p. 627).
14In Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (3:352-354, 8:88-89, 9:103). For example, an odd report brought up by Ibn Abi Ya`la, then exhibited by al-Dhahabi - despite its unreliability - depicts a fawning Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari enumerating before the Hanbali scholar Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari his refutations of the Mu`tazila and defense of Ahl al-Sunna in order to win his approval, to which the Hanbali coolly responds: "We only know what Ahmad ibn Hanbal said." [In Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:18) with a chain of unknown narrators.] Al-Dhahabi cites this report at the opening of his biographical notice on al-Barbahari in the Siyar directly following the extremely brief notice on Imam al-Ash`ari without questioning it in the least. [In the Siyar (11:543) without chain.] Another blatant lapse in this regard is al-Dhahabi's mention of a report whereby Zahir ibn Ahmad, peeking into his teacher's house through a hole, observed al-Ash`ari urinating then went in, after which he saw him proceed to pray without ablution. This report is narrated through a chain missing all but three narrators, one of them the peeping Tom and the other two arch-enemies of the Ash`ari school. [Narrated from Zahir ibn Ahmad in the Siyar (12:504) with a chain containing Yahya ibn `Ammar al-Shaybani and his student `Abd Allah al-Harawi al-Ansari. Of the first al-Dhahabi said in the Siyar (13:310 #3932): "His zeal against innovators and the Jahmiyya pushed him to trespass the way of the Salaf"; while the second was repeatedly jailed then expelled from Herat for inciting violence against students of the Ash`ari school.] Yet al-Dhahabi goes on to say: "Perhaps he forgot to make ablution," implicitly declaring this story authentic when it is evidently unreliable. Al-Shawkani in al-Badr al-Tali` (p. 627-628) and Shaykh `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda in his edition of Ibn al-Subki's Qa`ida fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil defend al-Dhahabi from these charges but neither addresses the issue of anthropomorphism. Ibn al-Subki also criticizes al-Dhahabi's neglect of Hanafi scholars in his historical reference works such as the Siyar and Tarikh al-Islam. Al-Shawkani's reply that al-Dhahabi concentrated on hadith scholars somewhat explains this neglect, but does not excuse the omission of the likes of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. Abu Ghudda also disputes Ibn al-Subki's claim that al-Dhahabi shows bias against Sufis by quoting his praise of Sufis in countless places of his works. It is evident that al-Dhahabi marks his disapproval of anything that deviates inexcusably, in his view, from the Sunna, even in the lives and words of the Sufis of the Salaf, not to mention later figures. This has led his student Ibn al-Subki, al-Suyuti, al-Lucknawi and others, to lay the charge of disrespect at his door despite their admiration, and Allah knows best.
15Ibn al-Subki, Qa`ida (p. 32-37, 59-60), Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra [TSK] (2:13-16). Cf. Al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 75).
16Al-Dhahabi, SAN (11:14-15 #2434).
17For a complete list see the biographical entries on al-Dhahabi in Ibn al-Subki's Tabaqat, Ibn Hajar's Durar, al-Suyuti's Tabaqat, Ma`ruf's al-Dhahabi, and Sa`d's Safahat.
18Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 400 #1773).
19Al-Dhahabi, Siyar (Arna'ut ed. 4:484-485). Shaykh Shu`ayb Arna'ut comments: "The author meant by this excursus to refute his shaykh, Ibn Taymiyya."
20Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 400 #1774).
21 Tadhkira al-Huffaz. 4 vols. in 2. Ed. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Mu'allimi. A fifth volume, titled Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, consists in al-Husayni's Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, Muhammad ibn Fahd al-Makki's Lahz al-Alhaz bi Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, and al-Suyuti's Dhayl Tabaqat al-Huffaz. Ed. Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi and Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, n.d. Reprint of the 1968 Hyderabad edition.
22Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (1:430 #1606).
23Al-Suyuti, Qam` al-Mu`arid bi Nusra Ibn al-Farid ("The Taming of the Objector With the Vindication of Ibn al-Farid") in his Maqamat (2:917-918) and as quoted by Imam al-Lucknawi in al-Raf` wa al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil (p. 319-320)
24One is hard put to find an example of a Companion declaring another Companion a disbeliever.
25Of the same type of self-damning criticism in our time are the pronouncements of `Abd Allah al-Harari and his Habashi or Ahbash sect against the Companions in his book al-Dalil al-Shar`i `ala Ithbat `Isyan Man Qatalahum `Ali Min Sahabi aw Tabi`i ("The Legal Proof For Affirming the Sin of Whoever `Ali Fought Against Among the Companions and Successors"), not to mention their attacks against contemporary Sunni figures such as Dr. Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti, Dr. Muhammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki, Shaykh Muhammad Rajab Dib, and our shaykh Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi.
26This is the position of Ahl al-Sunna including the Imams of the Four Schools of Law and the two doctrinal schools, those of hadith, and those of tasawwuf. Whoever differs from the position stated by al-Dhahabi is considered to deviate from Sunni doctrine in this respect as indicated by `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz (see p. 671).
27Quoted in Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (9:111-112).
28Sa`d in Safahat (p. 22) pointed out that Dr. Awwad's concatenation in al-Dhahabi (p. 192-193 #90) of this and the previous entry into a single work entitled Dhikr Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq ("Narrators Whose Reliability Was Questioned Whereas They are Reliable") was an error on his part.
29A number of entries devoted to al-Dhahabi's Sufi shaykhs of hadith were translated in the volume on tasawwuf of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's "Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine."
30Al-Dhahabi, Mujam al-Shuyukh (1:73 #58).
31Al-Mu`jam al-Mukhtass fo 30a, as cited by Sa`d in Safahat (p. 18-19).
32Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 194-195 #795-797).
33Cited in al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 78).
34Al-Dhahabi, al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya, in the margin of his Bayan Zaghl al-`Ilm wa al-Talab, ed. al-Kawthari (Damascus: Qudsi, 1928-1929); also in Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, Siratuhu wa Akhbaruhu `Inda al-Mu'arrikhin, ed. Salah al-Din al-Munajjid (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-`Arabi, 1976) p. 11-14.
35Muhammad al-Shaybani, al-Tawdih al-Jali fi al-Radd `ala al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya al-Manhula `ala al-Imam al-Dhahabi (al-Kuwait: Markaz al-Makhtutat wa al-Turath, 1993). This type of revisionist scholarship is reminiscent of the story-teller who was caught by Imam Ahmad saying: "Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us..." whereupon the unfazed fibber replied: "I meant another Ahmad ibn Hanbal, not you!"
36Cf. Bashshar `Awwad Ma`ruf, al-Dhahabi (p. 146). Two extant manuscripts of the Nasiha are kept, one in Cairo at the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (#B18823) copied by Ibn Qadi Shuhba and one in Damascus at the Zahiriyya library (#1347).
37In al-Durar al-Kamina (1:166).
38In al-I`lan wa al-Tawbikh (p. 77=54).
39See http://ds.dial.pipex.com/masud/ISLAM/misc/dhahabi.htm for a full translation of the Nasiha.
40Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 111 #389; p. 162 #609).
41Cited and photo-reproduced at the beginning of Shaykh Hasan `Ali al-Saqqaf's edition of al-Dhahabi's `Uluw (p. 3-4).
42Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (239-240 #112) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 98 #40).
43On the hadith of `Imran ibn Husayn see our post "Allah Is Now As He Ever Was."
44Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (p. 216 #77) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 94 #26).
45Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (10:245-246) with a chain containing Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajjaj al-Misri, who Ibn `Adi said was accused of lying, as stated by al-Dhahabi himself in Mizan al-I`tidal (1:133 #538); Abu al-Shaykh, al-`Azama (3:1039) with a chain containing al-`Ala' ibn Hilal ibn `Umar al-Bahili who is very weak as stated in Arna'ut and Ma`ruf's al-Tahrir (3:132 #5259) and accused by some of forgery as stated by al-Dhahabi himself in al-Mizan (3:106 #5748) and in al-Tahrir.
46Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (p. 335 #225) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 123 #84).
47 See Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 98 #40, p. 94 #26, and p. 123 #84).
48 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (10:642).
49 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (14:42).
Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.
Among al-Dhahabi's most notable teachers in hadith and fiqh:
1. Ibn al-Zahiri, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah al-Halabi.
2. Al-Abarquhi, Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Misri (d. 701), from which al-Dhahabi received the Suhrawardi Sufi path.2 He said in his last illness while he was in Mecca: "I will die in this illness because the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- promised me that I would die in Mecca."3
3. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Daqiq al-`Id whom he identified in his youth as Abu al-Fath al-Qushayri, later as as Ibn Wahb.4 When al-Dhahabi first came before Ibn Daqiq al-`Id to study hadith the latter quizzed him: "Who is Abu Muhammad al-Hilali?" Al-Dhahabi correctly answered: "Sufyan ibn `Uyayna."
4. Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati, `Abd al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf, the foremost Egyptian authority on hadith in his time.
5. "Qadi al-Qudat, the Paragon of Islam, the standard-bearer of the Sunna, my shaykh" Jamal al-Din Abu al-Ma`ali Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Ansari al-Zamalkani al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i (d. 727).5 He replaced Safi al-Din al-Hindi as chief prosecutor in the Damascus trial of Ibn Taymiyya against whom he subsequently wrote a refutation on divorce, and another refutation on the Visitation to the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.
Among the praises of hadith scholars about al-Dhahabi:
1. His student Ibn al-Subki said:
Our time was graced with four hadith masters: al-Mizzi, al-Birzali, al-Dhahabi, and my father the Shaykh and Imam [Taqi al-Din al-Subki].7 As for our shaykh Abu `Abd Allah, he is an ocean without peer, a treasure and refuge in time of difficulty, the imam of the living on record, the gold of our time in spirit and letter, the shaykh of narrator-discreditation and narrator-commendation (al-jarh wa al-ta`dil)... and the one who trained us in this science and brought us out into the scholarly throng - may Allah reward him greatly!
3. Another student of his, Salah al-Din al-Safadi, said:
I read before him many of his works and did not find in him the rigidity (jumud) of hadith scholars nor the denseness (kawdana) of transmitters. Rather, he is highly perspicuous and proficient in the sayings of the scholars and the schools of the imams of the Salaf and authorities in doctrine. What most pleased me is the care he shows, in his works, not to mention a hadith except he states whether it suffers from any weakness in its content or chain of transmission or one of its narrators. I did not see others show the same care in what they cite.8
4. The "Commander of the Believers in Hadith" (Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith), Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said of him: "He was the most prolific of the scholars of his time. People yearned to obtain his books, travelling to him for that purpose and circulating them through reading, copying, and audition."9 "He is among those who have total mastery in the field of narrator-criticism."10
5. Al-Sakhawi said: "To understand the loftiness of his rank it is enough to know that our shaykh's [Ibn Hajar] supplication, upon drinking Zamzam water, was that Allah make him reach al-Dhahabi's rank in the hadith sciences."11
6. Al-Suyuti said: "Hadith scholars today depend on four figures in the field of narrator-criticism and other related fields: al-Mizzi, al-Dhahabi, al-`Iraqi, and Ibn Hajar."12
7. Al-Shawkani said: "All his books are well-received and sought after.... Historians, from his time onwards, generally depend on him. None has gathered up as much as he in this science."13
8. Ibn al-Subki also criticized al-Dhahabi's anti-Ash`arism and Hanbali leanings in doctrine, calling him one of the greatest propagators of anthropomorphism.14 Elsewhere he states: "Our shaykh al-Dhahabi - may Allah have mercy on him - with all his learning and piety, displays an excessive bias against Ahl al-Sunna; it is not permitted to follow him in this opinion.... Nor is it permissible to rely on our shaykh al-Dhahabi whenever he commends a Hanbali or blames an Ash`ari."15
8. Al-Suyuti also marked his distate for al-Dhahabi's aspersions against early and late Sufi authorities as noted further below. Among the worst examples of al-Dhahabi's bias against Sufis are his aspersions against Abu Yazid al-Bistami and al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala'.16
Among al-Dhahabi's works:17
1. Tarikh al-Islam, the largest biographical encyclopedia in Islam. Ibn Hajar received it from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.18
2. Al-`Ibar bi Akhbar Man `Abar, a condensed biographical history with emphasis on scholars.
3. Duwal al-Islam, a condensed biographical history with emphasis on political figures and events.
4. Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' ("Lives of the Elite of the Nobility"), a unique encyclopedia of biographical history, shorter than Tarikh al-Islam but often containing new material. Al-Dhahabi's method in these works is comprehensive yet concise, showing meticulous scholarship and analysis of both transmission chains and content as well as a preoccupation with doctrine on what he considered the principles of the Salaf. On the topic of travelling to visit the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- he marks his dissent with his contemporary, Ibn Taymiyya, by writing:
Al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn `Ali relates that he saw a man standing in front of the house which contains the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, invoking Allah's blessings upon him, whereupon he said to the man: Do not do that, for Allah's Messenger said: "Do not make (the visit to) my grave an anniversary festival (`id), nor turn your houses into graves. Invoke blessings upon me wherever you are, for your invocation reaches me." This narration is missing the Companion-link (mursal) and what al-Hasan adduces in his fatwa is worthless as a proof, because one who stands before the blessed Chamber (hujra) in all humility and submission, invoking blessings upon his Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- - O how blessed that one is! For he has made his visitation excellent, and beautified it with humbleness and love, and he has performed more worship than the one who invoked blessings on the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- from his own land or in his prayer. The reason is that the one who performs visitation has both the reward of visiting him and that of invoking blessings upon him; while those who invoke blessings upon him from all over the world only have the reward of invoking blessings upon him; and upon whomever invokes blessings once, Allah sends ten blessings.
But the person who visits the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- and does not observe decorum in his visitation, or prostrates to the grave, or does something outside the Law, such a person has done both good and bad. He must be taught gently. Allah is forgiving and merciful. By Allah! The Muslim is not moved to distraction and lamentation and kissing the walls and weeping much, except because he is a lover of Allah and of His Prophet. His love is the standard and the distinguishing mark between the people of Paradise and the people of Hellfire. The visit to his grave is among the best of the acts by which one draws near to Allah.
As for travelling to visit the graves of Prophets and saints, even if we should concede that there is no authorization for it due to the general sense of the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- saying: "Mounts are not saddled except to go to three mosques," nevertheless saddling the mounts to go visit the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is intrinsic to saddling them to go visit his mosque - which is sanctioned by the Law without contest - for there is no access to his Chamber except after entering his mosque. Therefore let his visitor begin by greeting the mosque, then turn to greet the master of the mosque. May Allah grant us this, and also to you. Amin!"19
5. Tadhkira al-Huffaz ("The Memorial of the Hadith Masters"), without peer in Islamic literature, a chronological history of the biography-layers of the hadith masters beginning with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and ending with al-Dhahabi's own time. Each entry contains, in addition to biographical data, a hadith transmitted to al-Dhahabi through a chain containing the entry's subject. Ibn Hajar received it from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.20 Al-Suyuti condensed and updated it in Tabaqat al-Huffaz, followed by others.21
6. Al-Mu`in fi Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin, a compendium of hadith scholars.
7. Tabaqat al-Qurra' ("Biography-Layers of the Qur'anic Scholars").
8. Tadhhib Tahdhib al-Kamal, an abridgment of al-Mizzi's 35-volume compendium of historical biographies for hadith narrators cited in the Six Books of hadith. [The two Sahihs and the Four Sunan]
9. Al-Kashif fi Ma`rifa Man Lahu Riwaya fi al-Kutub al-Sitta, an abridgment of the Tadhhib.
10. Al-Mujarrad fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al-Sitta, an abridgment of the Kashif.
11. Mizan al-I`tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal, an authoritative manual of weak narrators abridging and improving upon Ibn `Adi's al-Kamil fi al-Du`afa', the first work of its kind. Al-`Iraqi improved upon it in Dhayl al-Mizan, then his student Ibn Hajar in Lisan al-Mizan, then more recently al-`Awni in Dhayl Lisan al-Mizan. Al-Dhahabi's distinctive anti-Sufi and anti-Ash`ari mark can be observed in many entries of the Mizan, notably that of the early Sufi mutakallim al-Harith al-Muhasibi in which he quotes the aspersions of the hadith master Abu Zur`a then exclaims:
And where are the likes of al-Harith al-Muhasibi! How then if Abu Zur`a saw the books of later Sufis such as the Qut al-Qulub of Abu Talib [al-Makki], and where are the likes of the Qut? How then if he saw Bahjat al-Asrar of Abu Jahdam, and Haqa'iq al-Tafsir of al-Sulami, he would jump to the ceiling! How then if he saw the books of Abu Hamid al-Tusi [Imam al-Ghazzali]....? the Ghunya of shaykh `Abd al-Qadir [al-Gilani]... the Fusus al-Hikam and Futuhat al-Makiyya [of Ibn `Arabi]?22
Imam al-Suyuti responded to al-Dhahabi's above insinuations in the following words:
Do not let al-Dhahabi's mumblings deceive you, for he went so far as to mumble against Imam Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Khatib [al-Razi] and against one who is greater than the Imam, namely, Abu Talib al-Makki the author of Qut al-Qulub, and against one who is greater than Abu Talib, namely, Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari, whose fame has filled the firmaments! And al-Dhahabi's books are filled with that: al-Mizan, al-Tarikh, and Siyar al-Nubala'. Are you going to accept his words against their likes? Never, by Allah! His word is not accepted concerning them. Rather, we respect their right over us and render it to them in full.23
12. Al-Mughni fi al-Du`afa', an abridgment of the Mizan.
13. Al-Ruwat al-Thiqat al-Mutakallim Fihim Bima La Yujibu Raddahum ("The Trustworthy Narrators Whose Reliability Was Investigated For Matters Which Do Not Justify Their Rejection"). In it he states:
I have included in my book [Mizan al-I`tidal] a great number of trustworthy narrators whom Bukhari and Muslim or others relied upon. I cited them only due to the fact that they had been cited in previous manuals of narrator-discreditation. Not that I saw any weakness in them whatsoever, but I wanted only to make a note that they had been cited. Time and again I still encounter the name of a firmly established, trustworthy narrator about whom some question was raised without consequence for his status. If we were to open wide the door of a certain type of internecine criticism, we would be bringing into it droves of Companions, Successors, and Imams of the Religion. For some of the Companions declared others disbelievers because of some interpretation on the latter's part.24 May Allah be well-pleased with all of them and forgive them! They were not immune to sin, nor do their divergences and internecine fighting for causes which normally result in discreditation, provide a precedent in principle for us. Nor did the Khawarij's declaration of apostasy against the Companions affect the reliability of the latter as narrators in the least. On the contrary, the pronouncements of the Khawarij and Shi`a against the Companions became a discreditation for the critics themselves.25 Consider, then, the immense wisdom of your Lord! We ask Allah to grant us safety.
Likewise, much of the criticism of contemporaries against one another must be sealed up and not reported. I shall now expand on this and say what the criterion is between the accepted and the rejected type of discreditation.
As for the Companions, their case is sealed up no matter what took place between them. Our belief and practice is that they are all utterly upright (`udul).26
As for the Successors, one can hardly find a deliberate liar among them although some of them commit mistakes and errors. Whoever has rare mistakes is nevertheless accepted as an authority. Likewise those considered mines of knowledge even if their mistakes are many, although the imams disagree whether the latter category are considered proofs....
As for those whose mistakes and singularities (ghara'ib) are abundant, their narrations do not carry probative weight. This type is hardly found among the early Successors, but more in succeeding generations.
Among the students of the Successors are found deliberate liars and those with abundant mistakes and disarray. Consequently, their narrations were discarded.27
14. Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq aw Salih al-Hadith ("Narrators Whose Reliability Was Questioned Whereas They Are Reliable or Passable").28
15. Dhikr Man Yu`tamad Qawluhu fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil ("Those Whose Evaluations Are Relied Upon in Narrator-Criticism").
16. Mukhtasar Sunan al-Bayhaqi.
17. Mukhtasar Kitab al-Wahm wa al-Iham li Ibn al-Qattan.
18. Al-Tajrid fi Asma' al-Sahaba, a dictionary of the Companions.
19. Mukhtasar al-Mustadrak li al-Hakim, a critical abridgment of al-Hakim's Mustadrak.
20. Mukhtasar Tarikh Naysabur li al-Hakim, an abridgment of al-Hakim's biographical history of the scholars of Naysabur.
21. Al-Muntaqa Min Tarikh Khwarizm li Ibn Arslan, an epitome of the first volume of an eight-volume history of Khwarizm by a contemporary of Ibn `Asakir.
22. Mu`jam al-Shuyukh in a large version entitled al-Kabir and a smaller one entitled al-Saghir or al-Latif. These Mu`jams are a fascinating chronicle of al-Dhahabi's shaykhs through meetings or correspondence. The Kabir contains biographies of about 1,300 of his shaykhs.29 In the entry devoted to Ahmad ibn `Abd al-Mun`im al-Qazwini, al-Dhahabi writes the following lines:
Ahmad ibn al-Mun`im related to us... [with his chain of transmission] from Ibn `Umar that the latter disliked to touch the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- grave. I say: He disliked it because he considered it disrespect. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about touching the Prophet's -- Allah bless and greet him -- grave and kissing it and he saw nothing wrong with it. His son `Abd Allah related this from him. If it is asked: "Why did the Companions not do this?" We reply: "Because they saw him with their very eyes when he was alive, enjoyed his presence directly, kissed his very hand, nearly fought each other over the remnants of his ablution water, shared his purified hair on the day of the greater Pilgrimage, and even if he spat it would virtually not fall except in someone's hand so that he could pass it over his face. Since we have not had the tremendous fortune of sharing in this, we throw ourselves on his grave as a mark of commitment, reverence, and acceptance, even to kiss it. Do you not see what Thabit al-Bunani did when he kissed the hand of Anas ibn Malik and placed it on his face saying: "This is the hand that touched the hand of Allah's Messenger"? Muslims are not moved to these matters except by their excessive love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, as they are ordered to love Allah and the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- more than their own lives, their children, all human beings, their property, and Paradise and its maidens. There are even some believers that love Abu Bakr and `Umar more than themselves...
Do you not you see that the Companions, in the excess of their love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, asked him: "Should we not prostrate to you?" and he replied no, and if he had allowed them, they would have prostrated to him as a mark of utter veneration and respect, not as a mark of worship, just as the brothers of the Prophet Yusuf prostrated to him. Similarly the prostration of the Muslim to the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is for the intention of magnification and reverence. One is not to be accused of disbelief because of it whatsoever (la yukaffaru aslan), but he is being disobedient [to the Prophet's injunction to the Companions]. Let him, therefore, be informed that this is forbidden. It is likewise in the case of one who prays towards the grave."30
Do you not you see that the Companions, in the excess of their love for the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --, asked him: "Should we not prostrate to you?" and he replied no, and if he had allowed them, they would have prostrated to him as a mark of utter veneration and respect, not as a mark of worship, just as the brothers of the Prophet Yusuf prostrated to him. Similarly the prostration of the Muslim to the grave of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- is for the intention of magnification and reverence. One is not to be accused of disbelief because of it whatsoever (la yukaffaru aslan), but he is being disobedient [to the Prophet's injunction to the Companions]. Let him, therefore, be informed that this is forbidden. It is likewise in the case of one who prays towards the grave."30
23. Al-Mu`jam al-Mukhtass bi Muhaddithi al-`Asr, listing only his shaykhs in hadith and containing a unique autobiographical entry:
Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman... the teacher of Qur'an and hadith scholar and author of this compendium. Born in the year 73. Abu Zakariyya ibn al-Sayrafi gave him a certification [in narration] as well as Ibn Abi al-Khayr, al-Qutb ibn `Asrun, al-Qasim al-Irbili, and a number of others. In Damascus he heard hadith from `Umar ibn al-Qawwas, in Ba`labak from al-Taj ibn `Alwan, in Cairo from al-Dimyati, in al-Qarafa from al-Abarquhi, in al-Thaghr from al-Gharrafi, in Mecca from al-Tawzari, in Aleppo from Sunqur al-Zayni, and in Nabulus from al-`Imad ibn Badran. He compiled works which are said to be beneficial. The congregation of scholars grace him with compliments but he knows himself better, being well aware of his shortcomings in knowledge and deeds. Reliance is upon Allah. There is no change nor power except with Him. If the fact that I have faith is granted, then I cry victory!31
Ibn Hajar received all three Mu`jams from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.32
24. Al-Amsar Dhawat al-Athar ("Cities Rich in Historical Relics"), which begins with the description of Madina al-Munawwara.
25. Mukhtasar al-Muhalla li Ibn Hazm, an abridgment of Ibn Hazm's fiqh manual.
26. Naba' al-Dajjal, a monograph on the hadiths and reports that mention the Anti-Christ.
27. Al-Kaba'ir ("The Enormities"), his most widely circulating book. He defines an enormity as any sin entailing either a threat of punishment in the hereafter explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an or hadith, a prescribed legal penalty (hadd), or a curse by Allah or His Messenger -- Allah bless and greet him --.
28. Bayan Zaghl al-`Ilm wa al-Talab in which al-Dhahabi states: "Ibn Taymiyya was considered by his enemies to be a wicked Anti-Christ and disbeliever, while great numbers of the wise and the elite considered him an eminent, brilliant, and scholarly innovator (mubtadi` fadil muhaqqiq bari`)."33
29. An epistle entitled al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya written when al-Dhahabi was around fifty-five years of age and addressed to Ibn Taymiyya towards the end of his life. In this brief but scathing epistle the author distances himself from his contemporary and admonishes him without naming him, calling him "an eloquent polemicist who neither rests nor sleeps."34 A "Salafi" apologist recently cast doubt on the authenticity of al-Dhahabi's authorship of this epistle, also claiming that, even if al-Dhahabi wrote it, then it is directed to someone other than Ibn Taymiyya.35 However, both Salah al-Din al-Munajjid and Dr. Bashshar `Awwad Ma`ruf declared that there was no doubt al-Dhahabi wrote it towards the end of his life and addressed Ibn Taymiyya.36 Ibn Hajar voiced no doubt as to the authenticity of this epistle as attributed to al-Dhahabi,37 nor al-Sakhawi who calls it "a glorious statement of doctrine."38 In particular the Nasiha contains the following prophetic description of Taymiyya-followers in our time:
"Oh the disappointment of him who follows you! For he is exposed to corruption in basic beliefs and to dissolution. Particularly if he is short of learning and religion, a self-indulgent idler who does well for you by fighting on your behalf with his hand and tongue, while he is actually your enemy in his being and heart. What are your followers but hidebound do-nothings of little intelligence, common liars with dull minds, silent outlanders strong in guile, or dryly righteous without understanding? If you do not believe it, just look at them and honestly assess them."39
30. Al-Dinar Min Hadith al-Mashayikh al-Kibar, a brief compendium of narrations al-Dhahabi heard from aged shaykhs, in pursuit of shorter transmission chains.
31. Fadl Aya al-Kursi,
32. Al-Musalsal bi al-Awwaliyya, all three of which Ibn Hajar heard from Abu Hurayra ibn al-Dhahabi.40
33. Al-`Uluw li al-`Ali al-Ghaffar ("The Exaltation of the All-High and Most-Forgiving"), a book written under Ibn Taymiyya's influence - as stated by al-Kawthari in his Maqalat - when al-Dhahabi was twenty-five and which he later disavowed as related by its copyist the hadith master Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi (d. 842):
Its author stated - as Allah is His witness - in his own hand-writing as I read it in the margin of the original manuscript written in the year 698:
"This book contains narrations against the unreliability of which I am cautioning the reader, and the statements of a number of people who spoke in outlandish terms. Neither do I subscribe to their terms, nor do I imitate them. May Allah forgive them! Nor will I ever consider myself bound by such terms. This is my belief, and I know that Allah – "There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him" (42:11)!"41
Al-Dhahabi nevertheless commits several blunders in al-`Uluw, despite its small size, because of his evident search for evidence that supports the conception of Allah's literal height so dear to his teacher. The most glaring of those mistakes are the inaccurate referencing of several narrations to al-Bukhari or Muslim or both when in fact they are not narrated by them. For example:
1) He cites the hadith of `Imran ibn Husayn from the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- with the wording: "Allah was on the Throne (kana Allah `ala al-`arsh), and He was before everything, and He wrote on the Tablet everything that shall ever be." Then he says: "This is a sound hadith, al-Bukhari narrates it in several places."42 However, none of the versions al-Bukhari narrates in several places of his Sahih contains the words "Allah was on the Throne," by which al-Dhahabi purports to support the anthropomorphist perspective of his book. Nor is this wording found in any authentic hadith in the first place, nor is it found in any book of hadith, whether authentic or forged.43
2) He cites a hadith whereby Ibn `Abbas explains the verses "the heaven that He built, He raised the height thereof and ordered it" (79:28) to mean: "He created the earth two days before the heaven, then He turned to the heaven and ordered them in two other days, then He descended to the earth (thumma nazala ila al-ard) and spread it, its spreading meaning that He brought forth from it water and pasture." Then al-Dhahabi said: "al-Bukhari narrated it from Yusuf ibn `Adi [twice], once with part of its chain."44 However, nowhere in his Sahih does al-Bukhari mention the phrase "then He descended to the earth" upon which al-Dhahabi depends so as to include it as evidence for literal height. That phrase is only found in two very weak narrations outside al-Bukhari, one by al-Tabarani, the other by Abu al-Shaykh.45 The sound narration found in al-Bukhari states that Ibn `Abbas said: "He created the earth in two days, then He created the heaven, then He turned to the heaven and ordered them in two other days, then He spread the earth, its spreading meaning that He brought forth from it water and pasture."
3) He refers a hadith to al-Bukhari and Muslim thus: "It is narrated in the two Sahihs that the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- supplicated Allah on behalf of a group of people saying: `May the pious eat from your food, may those who fast break their fast in your house, may the angels invoke blessings upon you, and may Allah mention you among those who are with Him.'"46 However, nowhere in the two Sahihs is the phrase "may Allah mention you among those who are with Him" found. It is a measure of al-Albani's overall unreliability that he caught only one out of these three mistakes, confirming al-Dhahabi on (1) and (2) but correcting him on (3).47
Al-Dhahabi defined knowledge in Islam (al-`ilm) as "Not the profusion of narration, but a light which Allah casts into the heart. Its condition is followership (ittiba`) and the flight away from egotism (hawa) and innovation."48
At the mention of al-Harawi al-Ansari's Sufi manual Manazil al-Sa'irin in the Siyar al-Dhahabi exclaims:
How beautiful was the tasawwuf of the Companions and Successors! They did not probe those phantasms and whisperings of the mind but worshipped Allah, humbling themselves and relying upon Him, in great awe and fear of Him, fiercely combating His enemies, hastening to obey Him, staying away from idle speech. Allah guides whomever He wills to the straight path.49
Main sources
Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra 9:100-106 #1306; Sa`d, Safahat fi Tarjima al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi.
NOTES
1As stated by al-Sakhawi in al-Daw' al-Lami` (8:103).
2 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' [SAN] (17:118-119 #6084, 16:300-302 #5655).
3Al-Dhahabi, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir (1:37).
4Cf. al-`Uluw (Abu al-Fath) and al-Muqiza (Ibn Wahb).
5Al-Dhahabi, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir (2:244).
6Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya (14:131-132); Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kamina (4:193); Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (9:191).
7Of al-Mizzi and al-Dhahabi Ibn al-Subki also said: "Neither of them knew anything about the rational sciences (al-`aqliyyat)" i.e. kalam and debate. Cited by al-Sakhawi in al-I`lan (p. 75).
8Al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat (2:163).
9Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-Kamina (3:426-427).
10Ibn Hajar, Sharh al-Nukhba (p. 136).
11Al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 76).
12Al-Suyuti, Tabaqat al-Huffaz (p. 518).
13Al-Shawkani, al-Badr al-Tali` (p. 627).
14In Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (3:352-354, 8:88-89, 9:103). For example, an odd report brought up by Ibn Abi Ya`la, then exhibited by al-Dhahabi - despite its unreliability - depicts a fawning Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari enumerating before the Hanbali scholar Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari his refutations of the Mu`tazila and defense of Ahl al-Sunna in order to win his approval, to which the Hanbali coolly responds: "We only know what Ahmad ibn Hanbal said." [In Tabaqat al-Hanabila (2:18) with a chain of unknown narrators.] Al-Dhahabi cites this report at the opening of his biographical notice on al-Barbahari in the Siyar directly following the extremely brief notice on Imam al-Ash`ari without questioning it in the least. [In the Siyar (11:543) without chain.] Another blatant lapse in this regard is al-Dhahabi's mention of a report whereby Zahir ibn Ahmad, peeking into his teacher's house through a hole, observed al-Ash`ari urinating then went in, after which he saw him proceed to pray without ablution. This report is narrated through a chain missing all but three narrators, one of them the peeping Tom and the other two arch-enemies of the Ash`ari school. [Narrated from Zahir ibn Ahmad in the Siyar (12:504) with a chain containing Yahya ibn `Ammar al-Shaybani and his student `Abd Allah al-Harawi al-Ansari. Of the first al-Dhahabi said in the Siyar (13:310 #3932): "His zeal against innovators and the Jahmiyya pushed him to trespass the way of the Salaf"; while the second was repeatedly jailed then expelled from Herat for inciting violence against students of the Ash`ari school.] Yet al-Dhahabi goes on to say: "Perhaps he forgot to make ablution," implicitly declaring this story authentic when it is evidently unreliable. Al-Shawkani in al-Badr al-Tali` (p. 627-628) and Shaykh `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda in his edition of Ibn al-Subki's Qa`ida fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil defend al-Dhahabi from these charges but neither addresses the issue of anthropomorphism. Ibn al-Subki also criticizes al-Dhahabi's neglect of Hanafi scholars in his historical reference works such as the Siyar and Tarikh al-Islam. Al-Shawkani's reply that al-Dhahabi concentrated on hadith scholars somewhat explains this neglect, but does not excuse the omission of the likes of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. Abu Ghudda also disputes Ibn al-Subki's claim that al-Dhahabi shows bias against Sufis by quoting his praise of Sufis in countless places of his works. It is evident that al-Dhahabi marks his disapproval of anything that deviates inexcusably, in his view, from the Sunna, even in the lives and words of the Sufis of the Salaf, not to mention later figures. This has led his student Ibn al-Subki, al-Suyuti, al-Lucknawi and others, to lay the charge of disrespect at his door despite their admiration, and Allah knows best.
15Ibn al-Subki, Qa`ida (p. 32-37, 59-60), Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra [TSK] (2:13-16). Cf. Al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 75).
16Al-Dhahabi, SAN (11:14-15 #2434).
17For a complete list see the biographical entries on al-Dhahabi in Ibn al-Subki's Tabaqat, Ibn Hajar's Durar, al-Suyuti's Tabaqat, Ma`ruf's al-Dhahabi, and Sa`d's Safahat.
18Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 400 #1773).
19Al-Dhahabi, Siyar (Arna'ut ed. 4:484-485). Shaykh Shu`ayb Arna'ut comments: "The author meant by this excursus to refute his shaykh, Ibn Taymiyya."
20Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 400 #1774).
21 Tadhkira al-Huffaz. 4 vols. in 2. Ed. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Mu'allimi. A fifth volume, titled Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, consists in al-Husayni's Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, Muhammad ibn Fahd al-Makki's Lahz al-Alhaz bi Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, and al-Suyuti's Dhayl Tabaqat al-Huffaz. Ed. Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi and Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, n.d. Reprint of the 1968 Hyderabad edition.
22Al-Dhahabi, Mizan (1:430 #1606).
23Al-Suyuti, Qam` al-Mu`arid bi Nusra Ibn al-Farid ("The Taming of the Objector With the Vindication of Ibn al-Farid") in his Maqamat (2:917-918) and as quoted by Imam al-Lucknawi in al-Raf` wa al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil (p. 319-320)
24One is hard put to find an example of a Companion declaring another Companion a disbeliever.
25Of the same type of self-damning criticism in our time are the pronouncements of `Abd Allah al-Harari and his Habashi or Ahbash sect against the Companions in his book al-Dalil al-Shar`i `ala Ithbat `Isyan Man Qatalahum `Ali Min Sahabi aw Tabi`i ("The Legal Proof For Affirming the Sin of Whoever `Ali Fought Against Among the Companions and Successors"), not to mention their attacks against contemporary Sunni figures such as Dr. Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti, Dr. Muhammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki, Shaykh Muhammad Rajab Dib, and our shaykh Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi.
26This is the position of Ahl al-Sunna including the Imams of the Four Schools of Law and the two doctrinal schools, those of hadith, and those of tasawwuf. Whoever differs from the position stated by al-Dhahabi is considered to deviate from Sunni doctrine in this respect as indicated by `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz (see p. 671).
27Quoted in Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra (9:111-112).
28Sa`d in Safahat (p. 22) pointed out that Dr. Awwad's concatenation in al-Dhahabi (p. 192-193 #90) of this and the previous entry into a single work entitled Dhikr Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq ("Narrators Whose Reliability Was Questioned Whereas They are Reliable") was an error on his part.
29A number of entries devoted to al-Dhahabi's Sufi shaykhs of hadith were translated in the volume on tasawwuf of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's "Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine."
30Al-Dhahabi, Mujam al-Shuyukh (1:73 #58).
31Al-Mu`jam al-Mukhtass fo 30a, as cited by Sa`d in Safahat (p. 18-19).
32Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 194-195 #795-797).
33Cited in al-Sakhawi, al-I`lan (p. 78).
34Al-Dhahabi, al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya, in the margin of his Bayan Zaghl al-`Ilm wa al-Talab, ed. al-Kawthari (Damascus: Qudsi, 1928-1929); also in Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, Siratuhu wa Akhbaruhu `Inda al-Mu'arrikhin, ed. Salah al-Din al-Munajjid (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-`Arabi, 1976) p. 11-14.
35Muhammad al-Shaybani, al-Tawdih al-Jali fi al-Radd `ala al-Nasiha al-Dhahabiyya al-Manhula `ala al-Imam al-Dhahabi (al-Kuwait: Markaz al-Makhtutat wa al-Turath, 1993). This type of revisionist scholarship is reminiscent of the story-teller who was caught by Imam Ahmad saying: "Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us..." whereupon the unfazed fibber replied: "I meant another Ahmad ibn Hanbal, not you!"
36Cf. Bashshar `Awwad Ma`ruf, al-Dhahabi (p. 146). Two extant manuscripts of the Nasiha are kept, one in Cairo at the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (#B18823) copied by Ibn Qadi Shuhba and one in Damascus at the Zahiriyya library (#1347).
37In al-Durar al-Kamina (1:166).
38In al-I`lan wa al-Tawbikh (p. 77=54).
39See http://ds.dial.pipex.com/masud/ISLAM/misc/dhahabi.htm for a full translation of the Nasiha.
40Ibn Hajar, al-Mu`jam (p. 111 #389; p. 162 #609).
41Cited and photo-reproduced at the beginning of Shaykh Hasan `Ali al-Saqqaf's edition of al-Dhahabi's `Uluw (p. 3-4).
42Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (239-240 #112) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 98 #40).
43On the hadith of `Imran ibn Husayn see our post "Allah Is Now As He Ever Was."
44Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (p. 216 #77) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 94 #26).
45Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (10:245-246) with a chain containing Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajjaj al-Misri, who Ibn `Adi said was accused of lying, as stated by al-Dhahabi himself in Mizan al-I`tidal (1:133 #538); Abu al-Shaykh, al-`Azama (3:1039) with a chain containing al-`Ala' ibn Hilal ibn `Umar al-Bahili who is very weak as stated in Arna'ut and Ma`ruf's al-Tahrir (3:132 #5259) and accused by some of forgery as stated by al-Dhahabi himself in al-Mizan (3:106 #5748) and in al-Tahrir.
46Al-Dhahabi, al-`Uluw (p. 335 #225) and Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 123 #84).
47 See Mukhtasar al-`Uluw (p. 98 #40, p. 94 #26, and p. 123 #84).
48 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (10:642).
49 Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (14:42).
Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.
Imam Muslim
The full name of Imam Muslim is Abul Husain Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj Al-Qushairi An-Naisaburi. He belonged to the Qushair tribe of the Arabs, an offshoot of the great clan of Rabi`ah. He was born in Nishapur in AH 202/817 CE or AH 206/821 CE. His parents were religiously minded persons and as such he was brought up in a pious atmosphere. This left such an indelible impression on his mind that he spent the whole of his life as a God-fearing person and always adhered to the path of righteousness. He was in fact a righteous man of high caliber. His excellent moral character can be well judged from the simple fact that he never indulged in backbiting, a very common human failing.
Imam Muslim traveled widely to collect traditions in Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, where he attended the lectures of some of the prominent traditionists of his time such as Ishaq ibn Rahwaih, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, `Ubaidullah Al-Qawariri, Qutaibah ibn Sa`id, `Abdullah ibn Maslamah, Harmalah ibn Yahya, and others.
Having finished his studies, he settled down at Nishapur. There he came into contact with Imam Al-Bukhari and was so much impressed by his vast knowledge of Hadith and his deep insight into it that he kept himself attached to him up to the end of Al-Bukhari’s life. He was an ardent admirer of another great teacher of Hadith, Muhammad ibn Yahya Adh-Dhuhali and attended his lectures regularly. But when the difference of opinion between Muhammad ibn Yahya and Imam Al-Bukhari, on the issue of the creation of the Qur’an, sharpened into hostility, Imam Muslim sided with Imam Al-Bukhari and abandoned Muhammad ibn Yahya altogether. He was thus a true disciple of Imam Al-Bukhari.
Imam Muslim wrote many books and treatises on Hadith, but the most important of his works is the collection entitled Al-Jami` As-Sahih. Some Hadith commentators are of the opinion that in certain respects it is the best and most authentic work on the subject. Imam Muslim took great pains in collecting 300,000 hadiths, and then after a thorough examination of them retained only 4,000, the genuineness of which is fully established.(1)
He prefixed to his compilation a very illuminating introduction, in which he specified some of the principles that he followed in the choice of his material.
Imam Muslim has to his credit many other valuable contributions to different branches of Hadith literature, and most of them retain their eminence even to the present day. Amongst these Kitab Al-Musnad Al-Kabir `ala Ar-Rijal, Al-Jami` Al-Kabir, Kitab Al-Asma’ wal-Kuna, and Kitab Al-`Ilal are very important.
His Methods of Classification and Annotation
After the Qur’an, Bukhari’s Sahih is the most reliable book of Islamic Shari`ah. Muslim’s Sahih comes next to it. However, in certain respects the latter is considered superior to the former. Imam Muslim strictly observed many principles of the science of Hadith that were slightly ignored by his great teacher Imam Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on both of them). Imam Muslim considered only such hadiths to be genuine and authentic as had been transmitted to him by an unbroken chain of reliable authorities and were in perfect harmony with what had been related by other narrators whose trustworthiness was unanimously accepted and who were free from all defects.
Moreover, Imam Al-Bukhari, while describing the chain of narrators, sometimes mentioned their kunyahs (epithets) and sometimes gave their names. This was particularly true in case of the narrators of Syria. This created confusion, which Imam Muslim avoided.
Imam Muslim took particular care in recording the exact words of the narrators and pointed out even the minutest difference in the wording of their reports.
Imam Muslim also constantly kept in view the difference between the two well-known modes of narration, haddathana (“he narrated to us”) and akhbarana (“he informed us”). He is of the opinion that the first mode is used only when the teacher is narrating the hadith and the student is listening to it, while the second mode of expression implies that the student is reading the hadith before the teacher. This reflects his utmost care in the transmission of a hadith.
Imam Muslim took great pains in connecting the chain of narrators. He recorded only hadiths that at least two reliable tabi`in (successors) had heard from two Companions, and this principle was observed throughout the subsequent chain of narrators.
His Students
Imam Muslim had a very wide circle of students who learned Hadith from him. Some of them occupy a very prominent position in Islamic history, for example, Abu Hatim Ar-Razi, Musa ibn Harun, Ahmad ibn Salamah, Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr ibn Khuthaimah, Abu ‘Awanah, and Al-Hafiz Adh-Dhahabi.
His Death
Imam Muslim lived for 55 years in this world. He spent most of this short lifespan learning, compiling, teaching, and transmitting Hadith. He always remained absorbed in this single pursuit, and nothing could distract his attention from this pious task. He died in AH 261/875 CE and was buried in the suburbs of Nishapur.
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(1) It is essential to remove one of the serious misgivings under which so many Orientalists and Westernized Muslim scholars are laboring. When they are told that Imam Muslim selected 4,000 hadiths out of a total collection of 300,000, they think that since quite a large number of hadiths were unreliable, they were therefore rejected. They then jump to the conclusion that the whole stock of Hadith is spurious and should be rejected outright. This betrays utter ignorance of the critics, even about the elementary knowledge of hadith. Matn (text) is not the basis on which the number of hadiths is calculated. Hadiths are counted on the chain of transmission. Thus when we say that Imam Muslim collected 300,000 hadiths and included only 4,000 in his compilation, it does not imply that he rejected the rest of the whole lot of the Prophet’s sayings as being unreliable. What this means is that the words and deeds of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were transmitted to Imam Muslim through so many chains of transmission, out of which he selected 4,000 chains as most authentic and narrated the text on their authority. A text (matn) that is transmitted through one hundred isnads is in Hadith literature treated as one hundred traditions. For example, the text of the first hadith in Al-Bukhari (The Actions Are Based on Intention) is counted as a selection of one out of 700 hadiths since it has been transmitted through such a large number of isnads.
Imam Muslim traveled widely to collect traditions in Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, where he attended the lectures of some of the prominent traditionists of his time such as Ishaq ibn Rahwaih, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, `Ubaidullah Al-Qawariri, Qutaibah ibn Sa`id, `Abdullah ibn Maslamah, Harmalah ibn Yahya, and others.
Having finished his studies, he settled down at Nishapur. There he came into contact with Imam Al-Bukhari and was so much impressed by his vast knowledge of Hadith and his deep insight into it that he kept himself attached to him up to the end of Al-Bukhari’s life. He was an ardent admirer of another great teacher of Hadith, Muhammad ibn Yahya Adh-Dhuhali and attended his lectures regularly. But when the difference of opinion between Muhammad ibn Yahya and Imam Al-Bukhari, on the issue of the creation of the Qur’an, sharpened into hostility, Imam Muslim sided with Imam Al-Bukhari and abandoned Muhammad ibn Yahya altogether. He was thus a true disciple of Imam Al-Bukhari.
Imam Muslim wrote many books and treatises on Hadith, but the most important of his works is the collection entitled Al-Jami` As-Sahih. Some Hadith commentators are of the opinion that in certain respects it is the best and most authentic work on the subject. Imam Muslim took great pains in collecting 300,000 hadiths, and then after a thorough examination of them retained only 4,000, the genuineness of which is fully established.(1)
He prefixed to his compilation a very illuminating introduction, in which he specified some of the principles that he followed in the choice of his material.
Imam Muslim has to his credit many other valuable contributions to different branches of Hadith literature, and most of them retain their eminence even to the present day. Amongst these Kitab Al-Musnad Al-Kabir `ala Ar-Rijal, Al-Jami` Al-Kabir, Kitab Al-Asma’ wal-Kuna, and Kitab Al-`Ilal are very important.
His Methods of Classification and Annotation
After the Qur’an, Bukhari’s Sahih is the most reliable book of Islamic Shari`ah. Muslim’s Sahih comes next to it. However, in certain respects the latter is considered superior to the former. Imam Muslim strictly observed many principles of the science of Hadith that were slightly ignored by his great teacher Imam Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on both of them). Imam Muslim considered only such hadiths to be genuine and authentic as had been transmitted to him by an unbroken chain of reliable authorities and were in perfect harmony with what had been related by other narrators whose trustworthiness was unanimously accepted and who were free from all defects.
Moreover, Imam Al-Bukhari, while describing the chain of narrators, sometimes mentioned their kunyahs (epithets) and sometimes gave their names. This was particularly true in case of the narrators of Syria. This created confusion, which Imam Muslim avoided.
Imam Muslim took particular care in recording the exact words of the narrators and pointed out even the minutest difference in the wording of their reports.
Imam Muslim also constantly kept in view the difference between the two well-known modes of narration, haddathana (“he narrated to us”) and akhbarana (“he informed us”). He is of the opinion that the first mode is used only when the teacher is narrating the hadith and the student is listening to it, while the second mode of expression implies that the student is reading the hadith before the teacher. This reflects his utmost care in the transmission of a hadith.
Imam Muslim took great pains in connecting the chain of narrators. He recorded only hadiths that at least two reliable tabi`in (successors) had heard from two Companions, and this principle was observed throughout the subsequent chain of narrators.
His Students
Imam Muslim had a very wide circle of students who learned Hadith from him. Some of them occupy a very prominent position in Islamic history, for example, Abu Hatim Ar-Razi, Musa ibn Harun, Ahmad ibn Salamah, Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi, Abu Bakr ibn Khuthaimah, Abu ‘Awanah, and Al-Hafiz Adh-Dhahabi.
His Death
Imam Muslim lived for 55 years in this world. He spent most of this short lifespan learning, compiling, teaching, and transmitting Hadith. He always remained absorbed in this single pursuit, and nothing could distract his attention from this pious task. He died in AH 261/875 CE and was buried in the suburbs of Nishapur.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) It is essential to remove one of the serious misgivings under which so many Orientalists and Westernized Muslim scholars are laboring. When they are told that Imam Muslim selected 4,000 hadiths out of a total collection of 300,000, they think that since quite a large number of hadiths were unreliable, they were therefore rejected. They then jump to the conclusion that the whole stock of Hadith is spurious and should be rejected outright. This betrays utter ignorance of the critics, even about the elementary knowledge of hadith. Matn (text) is not the basis on which the number of hadiths is calculated. Hadiths are counted on the chain of transmission. Thus when we say that Imam Muslim collected 300,000 hadiths and included only 4,000 in his compilation, it does not imply that he rejected the rest of the whole lot of the Prophet’s sayings as being unreliable. What this means is that the words and deeds of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were transmitted to Imam Muslim through so many chains of transmission, out of which he selected 4,000 chains as most authentic and narrated the text on their authority. A text (matn) that is transmitted through one hundred isnads is in Hadith literature treated as one hundred traditions. For example, the text of the first hadith in Al-Bukhari (The Actions Are Based on Intention) is counted as a selection of one out of 700 hadiths since it has been transmitted through such a large number of isnads.
Imam al-Tirmidhi
Imam Tirmidhi (209 - 279 H)
Imam Tirmidhi was born in the year 209 A.H. during the reign of the Abbasid Khalifa Ma'mun al-Rashid. The Abbasid Caliphate, despite its brilliant contributions to Islam, brought along with it many thorny problems. Greek Philosophy had a free flow into the Islamic world. This was fully sanctioned by the government until eventually it declared the Mu'tazila school of thought as the state religion. Anyone who opposed the Mu'tazila school of thought would be opposing the state. With the influence of Greek philosophy infiltrating within the people, many Muslims began attempting to reconcile between reason and revelation. As a result they deviated themselves and misled many innocent weak Muslims away from Allah and His Prophet (s). Many scholars of Islam had come to the fore in order to defend the Shari`ah. Forgeries and interpolations in Hadith by rulers who wished to fulfil their personal motives was common. In the first century `Umar bin Abdul `Aziz (r) initiated a movement for the compilation of the holy hadith of the the Prophet (s) as there was a fear of it being lost. Eventually this gigantic task was undertaken by six towering scholars of Islam. One of them was Imam Abu `Isa Muhammed ibn `Isa Tirmidhi
Having grown up in an environment of learning, together with possessing many great qualities naturally drove Imam Tirmidhi to dedicate his life totally towards the field of Hadith. He obtained his basic knowledge at home and later travelled to far off lands in search of this great science. He studied Hadith under great personalities such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim and Imam Abu Dawud. In some narrations Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are his students as well.
Once Imam Bukhari mentioned to him "I have benefited more from you than you have benefitted from me." Musa ibn `Alaq once said: "When Imam Bukhari passed away, he left no one in Khurasan who compared with Abu `Isa Tirmidhi in knowledge, memory, piety and abstinence." According to `Abdullah ibn Muhammed Al-Ansari, Imam Tirmidhi's Al-Jami` is more beneficial than the works of Bukhari and Muslim since their compilations can only be understood by a very deep sighted scholar whereas Al-Jami` can be understood by both the scholar and the layman.
Imam Tirmidhi said that he compiled this book and presented it to the learned of Hijaz, Iraq and Khurasan and they were pleased with it. Who ever has this book in his home, it is as though he has the Prophet (s) speaking to him there.
His remarkable memory:
Imam Tirmidhi had an exceptionally remarkable memory. If he heard something once he never forgot it. Once on his way to Makkah, Imam Tirmidhi met a scholar of hadith (muhaddith) from whom he had previously copied two chapters of hadith. Thinking that he had the notes with him he asked the scholar if he would allow him to read out these two chapters so that he could correct any errors. After realizing that he did not have those notes with him he took a blank piece of paper and read out the entire two parts from memory. When the muhaddith realized what he was doing he rebuked Imam Tirmidhi saying: "Have you no shame, why are you wasting my time." Imam Tirmidhi assured him that he had committed all the ahadith to memory. The scholar was not convinced, even though Imam Tirmidhi had recited all the hadith from memory. Imam Tirmidhi requested him to recite to him some other hadith. The scholar recited forty ahadith which Imam Tirmidhi thenrepeated without making a single error, thus showing his remarkable power of committing hadith to memory.
Another incident has been recorded by Hakim ul-Ummat in his Al-Misk-us-Zaki, depicting the profound memory of Imam Tirmidhi. He writes:
Imam Tirmidhi had lost his sight towards the latter portion of his life. Once whilst on a journey, at a certain point he bowed his head. When asked as to why he did this, he replied: "Is there not a tree here whose branches hang over in such a manner that it harms those who are passing by." They answered in the negative. He was quite shocked when he heard this as he distinctly remembered there being a tree and was worried as to whether his memory was failing him or not. He stopped the caravan immediately and asked his companions to enquire from the locals whether a tree had existed there or not. "If it is established that no tree existed then I will stop narrating the Hadith of the Prophet (s) due to my weak memory." On inquiry it was shown to them that a tree had previously existed over there but due to it being a hindrance to travelers it was removed.
Imam Tirmidhi had a large number of students from all over the world. The most famous amongst them were Haysam ibn Kulaib, Abul Abbaas and Muhammed ibn Ahmed Shah Abdul `Aziz describes Imam Tirmidhi in the following words: "His memory was unique and his piety and fear of Allah ta'la was of a very high caliber. He would cry so much out of the fear of Allah, that towards the end of his life he lost his sight."
According to Ibn Taymiyya and Shah Waliullah, Imam Timidhi was an independent Jurist (Mujtahid). Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri is of the opinion that he was a Shafi`i.
In the year 279 A.H. in a village called Bawag at the age of 70 , Imam Tirmidhi left this temporary abode for the everlasting life of the hereafter. May Allah swt fill his grave with light. The enormity of his sacrifices and the extent to which he served the religion can never be fully comprehended.
Many books of hadith were compiled before Imam Tirmidhi decided to compile his Al-Jami`. Dawud Tayalisi and Ahmed ibn Hanbal had compiled books consisting of both authentic and weak hadith. Later Imam Bukhari compiled his Sahih and omitted all weak narrations from it. His main objective was to derive masa'il / laws from the relevant hadith. Later Imam Muslim compiled his book with a primary focus on the isnad (different chain of narrators). Imam Nasa'i's aim was to mention the discrepancies of the hadith whilst Abu Dawud prepared a book which became the basis for the fuqaha. Imam Tirmidhi had combined the styles of Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i by mentioning the discrepancies regarding the narrators and also making his compilation a basis for the jurists.
The Special characteristics of al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi
1. It is a Sunan and a Jami`.
2. Only 83 hadith are repeated.
3. Imam Tirmidhi omits the major portion of the hadith and only mentions that part which is relevant to the heading. (title)
4. After mentioning a hadith he classifies it narration (whether it is authentic or weak, etc.)
5. He specifies the narrators names, e.g. if the narrators kunya (honorific name) was mentioned, he would then mention his proper name and vice versa.
6. One hadith in Tirmidhi is a thulaathiyaat i.e. the transmitters of the hadith betwen Imam Tirmidhi and the Prophet (s) are only three.
7. Every hadith in Tirmidhi al-Jami` is "ma'mul bihi" (practised upon by the jurists.)
8. He explains the different madhahib together with their proofs.
9. He gives an explanation to all difficult ahadith.
10. His book has been set out in an excellent sequence, hence to look for a hadith is very easy.
11. There is no fabricated hadith in the entire book.
The conditions of Imam Tirmidhi in the selection of hadith
According to the commentators of Al-Jami Imam Tirmidhi maintained the following conditions throughout the compilation of his book.
1. He never narrated hadith from those who fabricated hadith. 2. Allama Tahir Muqaddisi mentions that al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhicontains four types of hadith:
[1] Those ahadith that conform with the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim.
[2] Those ahadith that conform with the conditions of Abu Dawud and Nasa'i.
[3] Those ahadith that have certain discrepancies either in the sanad or matan.
[4] Those weak hadith that some fuqaha have relied on.
3. Imam Tirmidhi accepts a hadith which is narrated with the word "a'n" provided both the narrators are contemporaries. 4. After mentioning a weak hadith, he explains the state of its weakness. 5. A mursal hadith is accepted by Imam Tirmidhi when it is supported by a chain of narrators which is not broken.
The status of al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi among the six authentic books of hadith. al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi has been categorized as fifth amongst the six most authentic books of hadith. According to the most preferred opinion, Bukhari enjoys the highest status, followed by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nasai, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah respectively. Haji Khalifa in al-Kashf al-Dhunoon has categorised Tirmidhi in third position. Al-Dhahabi has written that Tirmidhi in actual fact should be holding the third position, but due to him bringing weak narrators like Kalbi and Masloob its status has dropped. However, looking at the manner in which he set out his book it seems that Haji Khalifa's opinion is best.
Some of the commentaries of Tirmidhi
{1.} 'A'ridat-ul-Ahwazi
An Arabic compilation of Qadi Abu Bakr ibn `Arabi (r) in 7 volumes.
{2} Qut-ul Mughtazi
Compiled by Jalal ad-Din Suyuti (r).
{3} Tuhfat-ul Ahwadhi
Written by Sheikh Abdur Rahmaan Mubaarakpuri in 10 volumes. He is very critical against the Ahnaaf.
The Terminology of Imam Tirmidhi
The classification of hadith was firmly established by Ali ibn Madini (r) and later by his student Imam Bukhari (r). However Imam Tirmidhi was the first Imam to base his book on these classifications.
Imam Tirmidhi classifies most of the Ahadith and mentions its reliability. Altogether Imam Tirmidhi uses nine different terms.
1.) sahih: That hadith wherein each reporter must be trustworthy, he must have the power of retention and the sanad of the hadith must go back to Nabi (sallallahu alyhi wasallam) without any interruption, it must agree with those of other reliable reporters and there should be no hidden defect in the matan or the sanad. N.B. Imam Tirmidhi does not consider it a prerequisite that a sahih Hadith must have several chains of narrators.
2.) hasan: That hadith which does not contain a reporter accused of lying, it is not shaaz and the hadith has been reported through more than one sanad.
3.) da`eef: Such a hadith wherein the narrators are not trustworthy, or they don't posses the ability of retaining, or there is a break in the chain of narrators, or the hadith is shaaz or mu'alall.
4.) gharib: According to Imam Tirmidhi a hadith is classified gharib for one of the following reasons..
(a) it is narrated from one chain only.
(b) there is some addition in the text.
(c) it is narrated through various chains of transmitters but having within one of its chains an addition in the sanad.
5.) hasan gharib: These two can be combined. i.e. hasan refers to the uprighteousness of the narrators whilst gharib implies that he is alone in transmitting the hadith.
6.) sahih gharib: This term implies that the hadith is authentic but there is only one sanad.
7.) hasan sahih gharib: This hadith is hasan since it has several chains of transmitters, it is sahih as the chains are all authentic and it is gharib in the words that Imam Tirmidhi narrated.
8.) hasan sahih: This term has caused much confusion amongst the Muhadditheen since hasan is lower in rank than sahih. While sahih indicates to the excellent retention power of a narrator, hasan indicates to a deficiency in this regard hence it seems that both are opposites and is not possible to reconcile. The mutaqaddimeen have given many explanations to this :
[1] Ibn Hajar (r) has mentioned that the word "aw" is omitted hence the hadith will be either hasan or sahih. [2] Ibn Salah is of the opinion that when a hadith is reported with two sanads, one should be considered as hasan and the other as sahih. [3] Ibn Kathir says that Imam Tirmidhi has made up a new term which implies the hadith to be higher than hasan but lower than sahih. [4] Ibn Daqiq ul `Eid is of this opinion that sahih and hasan are not opposites. Rather they belong to the same category. However hasan will be considered as inferior to sahih hence they both can be combined. This opinion has been given most preference by the Muhadditheen.
CONCLUSION
By the third century A.H. a number of collections on hadith were compiled. Imam Tirmidhi was one of those scholars who contributed greatly towards this field of hadith. In this modern age the world at large is deeply indebted to Imam Tirmidhi for his compilation of hadith. May Allah swt make it possible for all of us to benefit tremendously from this priceless collection of hadith.
Imam Tirmidhi was born in the year 209 A.H. during the reign of the Abbasid Khalifa Ma'mun al-Rashid. The Abbasid Caliphate, despite its brilliant contributions to Islam, brought along with it many thorny problems. Greek Philosophy had a free flow into the Islamic world. This was fully sanctioned by the government until eventually it declared the Mu'tazila school of thought as the state religion. Anyone who opposed the Mu'tazila school of thought would be opposing the state. With the influence of Greek philosophy infiltrating within the people, many Muslims began attempting to reconcile between reason and revelation. As a result they deviated themselves and misled many innocent weak Muslims away from Allah and His Prophet (s). Many scholars of Islam had come to the fore in order to defend the Shari`ah. Forgeries and interpolations in Hadith by rulers who wished to fulfil their personal motives was common. In the first century `Umar bin Abdul `Aziz (r) initiated a movement for the compilation of the holy hadith of the the Prophet (s) as there was a fear of it being lost. Eventually this gigantic task was undertaken by six towering scholars of Islam. One of them was Imam Abu `Isa Muhammed ibn `Isa Tirmidhi
Having grown up in an environment of learning, together with possessing many great qualities naturally drove Imam Tirmidhi to dedicate his life totally towards the field of Hadith. He obtained his basic knowledge at home and later travelled to far off lands in search of this great science. He studied Hadith under great personalities such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim and Imam Abu Dawud. In some narrations Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are his students as well.
Once Imam Bukhari mentioned to him "I have benefited more from you than you have benefitted from me." Musa ibn `Alaq once said: "When Imam Bukhari passed away, he left no one in Khurasan who compared with Abu `Isa Tirmidhi in knowledge, memory, piety and abstinence." According to `Abdullah ibn Muhammed Al-Ansari, Imam Tirmidhi's Al-Jami` is more beneficial than the works of Bukhari and Muslim since their compilations can only be understood by a very deep sighted scholar whereas Al-Jami` can be understood by both the scholar and the layman.
Imam Tirmidhi said that he compiled this book and presented it to the learned of Hijaz, Iraq and Khurasan and they were pleased with it. Who ever has this book in his home, it is as though he has the Prophet (s) speaking to him there.
His remarkable memory:
Imam Tirmidhi had an exceptionally remarkable memory. If he heard something once he never forgot it. Once on his way to Makkah, Imam Tirmidhi met a scholar of hadith (muhaddith) from whom he had previously copied two chapters of hadith. Thinking that he had the notes with him he asked the scholar if he would allow him to read out these two chapters so that he could correct any errors. After realizing that he did not have those notes with him he took a blank piece of paper and read out the entire two parts from memory. When the muhaddith realized what he was doing he rebuked Imam Tirmidhi saying: "Have you no shame, why are you wasting my time." Imam Tirmidhi assured him that he had committed all the ahadith to memory. The scholar was not convinced, even though Imam Tirmidhi had recited all the hadith from memory. Imam Tirmidhi requested him to recite to him some other hadith. The scholar recited forty ahadith which Imam Tirmidhi thenrepeated without making a single error, thus showing his remarkable power of committing hadith to memory.
Another incident has been recorded by Hakim ul-Ummat in his Al-Misk-us-Zaki, depicting the profound memory of Imam Tirmidhi. He writes:
Imam Tirmidhi had lost his sight towards the latter portion of his life. Once whilst on a journey, at a certain point he bowed his head. When asked as to why he did this, he replied: "Is there not a tree here whose branches hang over in such a manner that it harms those who are passing by." They answered in the negative. He was quite shocked when he heard this as he distinctly remembered there being a tree and was worried as to whether his memory was failing him or not. He stopped the caravan immediately and asked his companions to enquire from the locals whether a tree had existed there or not. "If it is established that no tree existed then I will stop narrating the Hadith of the Prophet (s) due to my weak memory." On inquiry it was shown to them that a tree had previously existed over there but due to it being a hindrance to travelers it was removed.
Imam Tirmidhi had a large number of students from all over the world. The most famous amongst them were Haysam ibn Kulaib, Abul Abbaas and Muhammed ibn Ahmed Shah Abdul `Aziz describes Imam Tirmidhi in the following words: "His memory was unique and his piety and fear of Allah ta'la was of a very high caliber. He would cry so much out of the fear of Allah, that towards the end of his life he lost his sight."
According to Ibn Taymiyya and Shah Waliullah, Imam Timidhi was an independent Jurist (Mujtahid). Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri is of the opinion that he was a Shafi`i.
In the year 279 A.H. in a village called Bawag at the age of 70 , Imam Tirmidhi left this temporary abode for the everlasting life of the hereafter. May Allah swt fill his grave with light. The enormity of his sacrifices and the extent to which he served the religion can never be fully comprehended.
Many books of hadith were compiled before Imam Tirmidhi decided to compile his Al-Jami`. Dawud Tayalisi and Ahmed ibn Hanbal had compiled books consisting of both authentic and weak hadith. Later Imam Bukhari compiled his Sahih and omitted all weak narrations from it. His main objective was to derive masa'il / laws from the relevant hadith. Later Imam Muslim compiled his book with a primary focus on the isnad (different chain of narrators). Imam Nasa'i's aim was to mention the discrepancies of the hadith whilst Abu Dawud prepared a book which became the basis for the fuqaha. Imam Tirmidhi had combined the styles of Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i by mentioning the discrepancies regarding the narrators and also making his compilation a basis for the jurists.
The Special characteristics of al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi
1. It is a Sunan and a Jami`.
2. Only 83 hadith are repeated.
3. Imam Tirmidhi omits the major portion of the hadith and only mentions that part which is relevant to the heading. (title)
4. After mentioning a hadith he classifies it narration (whether it is authentic or weak, etc.)
5. He specifies the narrators names, e.g. if the narrators kunya (honorific name) was mentioned, he would then mention his proper name and vice versa.
6. One hadith in Tirmidhi is a thulaathiyaat i.e. the transmitters of the hadith betwen Imam Tirmidhi and the Prophet (s) are only three.
7. Every hadith in Tirmidhi al-Jami` is "ma'mul bihi" (practised upon by the jurists.)
8. He explains the different madhahib together with their proofs.
9. He gives an explanation to all difficult ahadith.
10. His book has been set out in an excellent sequence, hence to look for a hadith is very easy.
11. There is no fabricated hadith in the entire book.
The conditions of Imam Tirmidhi in the selection of hadith
According to the commentators of Al-Jami Imam Tirmidhi maintained the following conditions throughout the compilation of his book.
1. He never narrated hadith from those who fabricated hadith. 2. Allama Tahir Muqaddisi mentions that al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhicontains four types of hadith:
[1] Those ahadith that conform with the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim.
[2] Those ahadith that conform with the conditions of Abu Dawud and Nasa'i.
[3] Those ahadith that have certain discrepancies either in the sanad or matan.
[4] Those weak hadith that some fuqaha have relied on.
3. Imam Tirmidhi accepts a hadith which is narrated with the word "a'n" provided both the narrators are contemporaries. 4. After mentioning a weak hadith, he explains the state of its weakness. 5. A mursal hadith is accepted by Imam Tirmidhi when it is supported by a chain of narrators which is not broken.
The status of al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi among the six authentic books of hadith. al-Jami` ut-Tirmidhi has been categorized as fifth amongst the six most authentic books of hadith. According to the most preferred opinion, Bukhari enjoys the highest status, followed by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nasai, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah respectively. Haji Khalifa in al-Kashf al-Dhunoon has categorised Tirmidhi in third position. Al-Dhahabi has written that Tirmidhi in actual fact should be holding the third position, but due to him bringing weak narrators like Kalbi and Masloob its status has dropped. However, looking at the manner in which he set out his book it seems that Haji Khalifa's opinion is best.
Some of the commentaries of Tirmidhi
{1.} 'A'ridat-ul-Ahwazi
An Arabic compilation of Qadi Abu Bakr ibn `Arabi (r) in 7 volumes.
{2} Qut-ul Mughtazi
Compiled by Jalal ad-Din Suyuti (r).
{3} Tuhfat-ul Ahwadhi
Written by Sheikh Abdur Rahmaan Mubaarakpuri in 10 volumes. He is very critical against the Ahnaaf.
The Terminology of Imam Tirmidhi
The classification of hadith was firmly established by Ali ibn Madini (r) and later by his student Imam Bukhari (r). However Imam Tirmidhi was the first Imam to base his book on these classifications.
Imam Tirmidhi classifies most of the Ahadith and mentions its reliability. Altogether Imam Tirmidhi uses nine different terms.
1.) sahih: That hadith wherein each reporter must be trustworthy, he must have the power of retention and the sanad of the hadith must go back to Nabi (sallallahu alyhi wasallam) without any interruption, it must agree with those of other reliable reporters and there should be no hidden defect in the matan or the sanad. N.B. Imam Tirmidhi does not consider it a prerequisite that a sahih Hadith must have several chains of narrators.
2.) hasan: That hadith which does not contain a reporter accused of lying, it is not shaaz and the hadith has been reported through more than one sanad.
3.) da`eef: Such a hadith wherein the narrators are not trustworthy, or they don't posses the ability of retaining, or there is a break in the chain of narrators, or the hadith is shaaz or mu'alall.
4.) gharib: According to Imam Tirmidhi a hadith is classified gharib for one of the following reasons..
(a) it is narrated from one chain only.
(b) there is some addition in the text.
(c) it is narrated through various chains of transmitters but having within one of its chains an addition in the sanad.
5.) hasan gharib: These two can be combined. i.e. hasan refers to the uprighteousness of the narrators whilst gharib implies that he is alone in transmitting the hadith.
6.) sahih gharib: This term implies that the hadith is authentic but there is only one sanad.
7.) hasan sahih gharib: This hadith is hasan since it has several chains of transmitters, it is sahih as the chains are all authentic and it is gharib in the words that Imam Tirmidhi narrated.
8.) hasan sahih: This term has caused much confusion amongst the Muhadditheen since hasan is lower in rank than sahih. While sahih indicates to the excellent retention power of a narrator, hasan indicates to a deficiency in this regard hence it seems that both are opposites and is not possible to reconcile. The mutaqaddimeen have given many explanations to this :
[1] Ibn Hajar (r) has mentioned that the word "aw" is omitted hence the hadith will be either hasan or sahih. [2] Ibn Salah is of the opinion that when a hadith is reported with two sanads, one should be considered as hasan and the other as sahih. [3] Ibn Kathir says that Imam Tirmidhi has made up a new term which implies the hadith to be higher than hasan but lower than sahih. [4] Ibn Daqiq ul `Eid is of this opinion that sahih and hasan are not opposites. Rather they belong to the same category. However hasan will be considered as inferior to sahih hence they both can be combined. This opinion has been given most preference by the Muhadditheen.
CONCLUSION
By the third century A.H. a number of collections on hadith were compiled. Imam Tirmidhi was one of those scholars who contributed greatly towards this field of hadith. In this modern age the world at large is deeply indebted to Imam Tirmidhi for his compilation of hadith. May Allah swt make it possible for all of us to benefit tremendously from this priceless collection of hadith.
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, Abu `Abd Allah al-Dhuhli al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi (d. 241). Al-Dhahabi says of him: "The true Shaykh of Islam and leader of the Muslims in his time, the hadith master and proof of the Religion. He took hadith from Hushaym, Ibrahim ibn Sa`d, Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, `Abbad ibn `Abbad, Yahya ibn Abi Za’ida, and their layer. From him narrated al-Bukhari [two hadiths in the Sahih], Muslim [22], Abu Dawud [254], Abu Zur`a, Mutayyan, `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and a huge array of scholars. His father was a soldier û one of those who called to Islam û and he died young." Al-Dhahabi continues:
`Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said: "I heard Abu Zur`a [al-Razi] say: ‘Your father had memorized a million hadiths, which I rehearsed with him according to topic.’"
Hanbal said: "I heard Abu `Abd Allah say: ‘I memorized everything which I heard from Hushaym when he was alive.’"
Ibrahim al-Harbi said: "I held Ahmad as one for whom Allah had gathered up the combined knowledge of the first and the last."
Harmala said: "I heard al-Shafi`i say: ‘I left Baghdad and did not leave behind me anyone more virtuous (afdal), more learned (a`lam), more knowledgeable (afqah) than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.’"
`Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Truly, Allah reinforced this Religion with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the day of the Great Apostasy (al-Ridda), and He reinforced it with Ahmad ibn Hanbal the day of the Inquisition (al-Mihna)."
Abu `Ubayd said: "The Science at its peak is in the custody of four men, of whom Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the most knowledgeable."
Ibn Ma`in said, as related by `Abbas [al-Duri]: "They meant for me to be like Ahmad, but û by Allah! û I shall never in my life compare to him."
Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Taharani said: "I heard Abu Thawr say: ‘Ahmad is more learned û or knowledgeable û than al-Thawri.’"
Al-Dhahabi concludes: "Al-Bayhaqi wrote Abu `Abd Allah’s biography (sîra) in one volume, so did Ibn al-Jawzi, and also Shaykh al-Islam [`Abd Allah al-Harawi] al-Ansari in a brief volume. He passed on to Allah’s good pleasure on the day of Jum`a, the twelfth of Rabi` al-Awwal in the year 241, at the age of seventy-seven. I have two of his short-chained narrations (`awâlîh), and a licence (ijâza) for the entire Musnad." Al-Dhahabi’s chapter on Imam Ahmad in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ counts no less than 113 pages.
One of the misunderstandings prevalent among the "Salafis" who misrepresent Imam Ahmad’s school today is his position regarding kalâm or dialectic theology. It is known that he was uncompromisingly opposed to kalâm as a method, even if used as a means to defend the truth, preferring to stick to the plain narration of textual proofs and abandoning all recourse to dialectical or rational ones. Ibn al-Jawzi relates his saying: "Do not sit with the people of kalâm, even if they defend the Sunna." This attitude is at the root of his disavowal of al-Muhasibi. It also explains the disaffection of later Hanbalis towards Imam al-Ash`ari and his school, despite his subsequent standing as the Imam of Sunni Muslims par excellence. The reasons for this rift are now obsolete although the rift has amplified beyond all recognizable shape, as it is evident, in retrospect, that opposition to Ash`aris, for various reasons, came out of a major misunderstanding of their actual contributions within the Community, whether as individuals or as a whole.
There are several general reasons why the Hanbali-mutakallim rift should be considered artificial and obsolete. First, kalâm in its original form was an innovation in Islam (bid`a) against which there was unanimous opposition among Ahl al-Sunna. The first to use kalâm were true innovators opposed to the Sunna, and in the language of the early scholars kalâm was synonymous with the doctrines of the Qadariyya, Murji’a, Jahmiyya, Jabriyya, Rawâfid, and Mu`tazila and their multifarious sub-sects. This is shown by the examples Ibn Qutayba gives of kalâm and mutakallimûn in his book Mukhtalif al-Hadith, none of which belongs to Ahl al-Sunna. Similarly the adherents of kalâm brought up in the speech of al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Rahuyah, Imam al-Shafi`i and the rest of the pre-Hanbali scholars of hadith are the innovators of the above-mentioned sects, not those who later opposed them using the same methods of reasoning. The latter cannot be put in the same category. Therefore the early blames of kalâm cannot be applied to them in the same breath with the innovators.
Second, there is difference of opinion among the Salaf on the possible use of kalâm to defend the Sunna, notwithstanding Imam Ahmad’s position quoted above. One reason why they disallowed it is wara`: because of extreme scrupulousness against learning and practicing a discipline initiated by the enemies of the Sunna. Thus they considered kalâm reprehensible but not forbidden, as is clear from their statements. For example, Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that al-Shafi`i said: "If I wanted to publish books refuting every single opponent [of the Sunna] I could easily do so, but kalâm is not for me, and I dislike that anything of it be attributed to me." This shows that al-Shafi`i left the door open for others to enter a field which he abstained from entering out of strict Godwariness.
Third, kalâm is a difficult, delicate science which demands a mind above the norm. The imams forbade it as a sadd al-dharî`a or pre-empting measure. They rightly foresaw that unless one possessed an adequate capacity to practice it, one was courting disaster. This was the case with Ahmad’s student Abu Talib, and other early Hanbalis who misinterpreted Ahmad’s doctrinal positions as Bukhari himself stated. Bukhari, Ahmad, and others of the Salaf thus experienced first hand that one who played with kalâm could easily lapse into heresy, innovation, or disbelief. This was made abundantly clear in Imam Malik’s answer to the man who asked how Allah established Himself over the Throne: "The establishment is known, the ‘how’ is inconceivable, and to ask about it is an innovation!" Malik’s answer is the essence of kalâm at the same time as it warns against the misuse of kalâm, as observed by the late Dr. Abu al-Wafa’ al-Taftazani. Malik’s reasoning is echoed by al-Shafi`i’s advice to his student al-Muzani: "Take proofs from creation in order to know about the Creator, and do not burden yourself with the knowledge of what your mind did not reach." Similarly, Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Abi Hatim admitted their technical ignorance of the science of kalâm, at the same time acknowledging its possible good use by qualified experts. As for Ibn Qutayba, he regretted his kalâm days and preferred to steer completely clear of it.
In conclusion, any careful reader of Islamic intellectual history can see that if the Ash`ari scholars of kalâm had not engaged and defeated the various theological and philosophical sects on their own terrain, the silence of Ahl al-Sunna might well have sealed their defeat at the hands of their opponents. This was indicated by Taj al-Din al-Subki who spoke of the obligatoriness of kalâm in certain specific circumstances, as opposed to its superfluousness in other times. "The use of kalâm in case of necessity is a legal obligation (wajib), and to keep silence about kalâm in case other than necessity is a sunna."
The biographical notice on Imam Ahmad in the Reliance of the Traveller reads: "Out of piety, Imam Ahmad never gave a formal legal opinion (fatwa) while Shafi`i was in Iraq, and when he later formulated his school of jurisprudence, he mainly drew on explicit texts from the [Qur’an], hadith, and scholarly consensus, with relatively little expansion from analogical reasoning (qiyâs). He was probably the most learned in the sciences of hadith of the four great Imams of Sacred Law, and his students included many of the foremost scholars of hadith. Abu Dawud said of him: ‘Ahmad’s gatherings were gatherings of the afterlife: nothing of this world was mentioned. Never once did I hear him mention this-worldly things.’ ... He never once missed praying in the night, and used to recite the entire [Qur’an] daily. He said, ‘I saw the Lord of Power in my sleep, and said, "O Lord, what is the best act through which those near to You draw nearer?" and He answered, "Through [reciting] (sic) My word, O Ahmad." I asked, "With understanding, or without?" and He answered, "With understanding and without."’. . . Ahmad was imprisoned and tortured for twenty-eight months under the Abbasid caliph al-Mu`tasim in an effort to force him to publicly espouse the [Mu`tazila] position that the Holy [Qur’an] was created, but the Imam bore up unflinchingly under the persecution and refused to renounce the belief of Ahl al-Sunna that the [Qur’an] is the uncreated word of Allah, after which Allah delivered and vindicated him. When Ahmad died in 241/855, he was accompanied to his resting place by a funeral procession of eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women, marking the departure of the last of the four great mujtahid Imams of Islam."
Ibn al-Jawzi narrates from Bilal al-Khawass that the latter met al-Khidr and asked him: "What do you say of al-Shafi`i?" He said: "One of the Pillar-Saints (Awtâd)." "Ahmad ibn Hanbal?" "He is a Siddîq."
`Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said: "I heard Abu Zur`a [al-Razi] say: ‘Your father had memorized a million hadiths, which I rehearsed with him according to topic.’"
Hanbal said: "I heard Abu `Abd Allah say: ‘I memorized everything which I heard from Hushaym when he was alive.’"
Ibrahim al-Harbi said: "I held Ahmad as one for whom Allah had gathered up the combined knowledge of the first and the last."
Harmala said: "I heard al-Shafi`i say: ‘I left Baghdad and did not leave behind me anyone more virtuous (afdal), more learned (a`lam), more knowledgeable (afqah) than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.’"
`Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Truly, Allah reinforced this Religion with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the day of the Great Apostasy (al-Ridda), and He reinforced it with Ahmad ibn Hanbal the day of the Inquisition (al-Mihna)."
Abu `Ubayd said: "The Science at its peak is in the custody of four men, of whom Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the most knowledgeable."
Ibn Ma`in said, as related by `Abbas [al-Duri]: "They meant for me to be like Ahmad, but û by Allah! û I shall never in my life compare to him."
Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Taharani said: "I heard Abu Thawr say: ‘Ahmad is more learned û or knowledgeable û than al-Thawri.’"
Al-Dhahabi concludes: "Al-Bayhaqi wrote Abu `Abd Allah’s biography (sîra) in one volume, so did Ibn al-Jawzi, and also Shaykh al-Islam [`Abd Allah al-Harawi] al-Ansari in a brief volume. He passed on to Allah’s good pleasure on the day of Jum`a, the twelfth of Rabi` al-Awwal in the year 241, at the age of seventy-seven. I have two of his short-chained narrations (`awâlîh), and a licence (ijâza) for the entire Musnad." Al-Dhahabi’s chapter on Imam Ahmad in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ counts no less than 113 pages.
One of the misunderstandings prevalent among the "Salafis" who misrepresent Imam Ahmad’s school today is his position regarding kalâm or dialectic theology. It is known that he was uncompromisingly opposed to kalâm as a method, even if used as a means to defend the truth, preferring to stick to the plain narration of textual proofs and abandoning all recourse to dialectical or rational ones. Ibn al-Jawzi relates his saying: "Do not sit with the people of kalâm, even if they defend the Sunna." This attitude is at the root of his disavowal of al-Muhasibi. It also explains the disaffection of later Hanbalis towards Imam al-Ash`ari and his school, despite his subsequent standing as the Imam of Sunni Muslims par excellence. The reasons for this rift are now obsolete although the rift has amplified beyond all recognizable shape, as it is evident, in retrospect, that opposition to Ash`aris, for various reasons, came out of a major misunderstanding of their actual contributions within the Community, whether as individuals or as a whole.
There are several general reasons why the Hanbali-mutakallim rift should be considered artificial and obsolete. First, kalâm in its original form was an innovation in Islam (bid`a) against which there was unanimous opposition among Ahl al-Sunna. The first to use kalâm were true innovators opposed to the Sunna, and in the language of the early scholars kalâm was synonymous with the doctrines of the Qadariyya, Murji’a, Jahmiyya, Jabriyya, Rawâfid, and Mu`tazila and their multifarious sub-sects. This is shown by the examples Ibn Qutayba gives of kalâm and mutakallimûn in his book Mukhtalif al-Hadith, none of which belongs to Ahl al-Sunna. Similarly the adherents of kalâm brought up in the speech of al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Rahuyah, Imam al-Shafi`i and the rest of the pre-Hanbali scholars of hadith are the innovators of the above-mentioned sects, not those who later opposed them using the same methods of reasoning. The latter cannot be put in the same category. Therefore the early blames of kalâm cannot be applied to them in the same breath with the innovators.
Second, there is difference of opinion among the Salaf on the possible use of kalâm to defend the Sunna, notwithstanding Imam Ahmad’s position quoted above. One reason why they disallowed it is wara`: because of extreme scrupulousness against learning and practicing a discipline initiated by the enemies of the Sunna. Thus they considered kalâm reprehensible but not forbidden, as is clear from their statements. For example, Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that al-Shafi`i said: "If I wanted to publish books refuting every single opponent [of the Sunna] I could easily do so, but kalâm is not for me, and I dislike that anything of it be attributed to me." This shows that al-Shafi`i left the door open for others to enter a field which he abstained from entering out of strict Godwariness.
Third, kalâm is a difficult, delicate science which demands a mind above the norm. The imams forbade it as a sadd al-dharî`a or pre-empting measure. They rightly foresaw that unless one possessed an adequate capacity to practice it, one was courting disaster. This was the case with Ahmad’s student Abu Talib, and other early Hanbalis who misinterpreted Ahmad’s doctrinal positions as Bukhari himself stated. Bukhari, Ahmad, and others of the Salaf thus experienced first hand that one who played with kalâm could easily lapse into heresy, innovation, or disbelief. This was made abundantly clear in Imam Malik’s answer to the man who asked how Allah established Himself over the Throne: "The establishment is known, the ‘how’ is inconceivable, and to ask about it is an innovation!" Malik’s answer is the essence of kalâm at the same time as it warns against the misuse of kalâm, as observed by the late Dr. Abu al-Wafa’ al-Taftazani. Malik’s reasoning is echoed by al-Shafi`i’s advice to his student al-Muzani: "Take proofs from creation in order to know about the Creator, and do not burden yourself with the knowledge of what your mind did not reach." Similarly, Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Abi Hatim admitted their technical ignorance of the science of kalâm, at the same time acknowledging its possible good use by qualified experts. As for Ibn Qutayba, he regretted his kalâm days and preferred to steer completely clear of it.
In conclusion, any careful reader of Islamic intellectual history can see that if the Ash`ari scholars of kalâm had not engaged and defeated the various theological and philosophical sects on their own terrain, the silence of Ahl al-Sunna might well have sealed their defeat at the hands of their opponents. This was indicated by Taj al-Din al-Subki who spoke of the obligatoriness of kalâm in certain specific circumstances, as opposed to its superfluousness in other times. "The use of kalâm in case of necessity is a legal obligation (wajib), and to keep silence about kalâm in case other than necessity is a sunna."
The biographical notice on Imam Ahmad in the Reliance of the Traveller reads: "Out of piety, Imam Ahmad never gave a formal legal opinion (fatwa) while Shafi`i was in Iraq, and when he later formulated his school of jurisprudence, he mainly drew on explicit texts from the [Qur’an], hadith, and scholarly consensus, with relatively little expansion from analogical reasoning (qiyâs). He was probably the most learned in the sciences of hadith of the four great Imams of Sacred Law, and his students included many of the foremost scholars of hadith. Abu Dawud said of him: ‘Ahmad’s gatherings were gatherings of the afterlife: nothing of this world was mentioned. Never once did I hear him mention this-worldly things.’ ... He never once missed praying in the night, and used to recite the entire [Qur’an] daily. He said, ‘I saw the Lord of Power in my sleep, and said, "O Lord, what is the best act through which those near to You draw nearer?" and He answered, "Through [reciting] (sic) My word, O Ahmad." I asked, "With understanding, or without?" and He answered, "With understanding and without."’. . . Ahmad was imprisoned and tortured for twenty-eight months under the Abbasid caliph al-Mu`tasim in an effort to force him to publicly espouse the [Mu`tazila] position that the Holy [Qur’an] was created, but the Imam bore up unflinchingly under the persecution and refused to renounce the belief of Ahl al-Sunna that the [Qur’an] is the uncreated word of Allah, after which Allah delivered and vindicated him. When Ahmad died in 241/855, he was accompanied to his resting place by a funeral procession of eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women, marking the departure of the last of the four great mujtahid Imams of Islam."
Ibn al-Jawzi narrates from Bilal al-Khawass that the latter met al-Khidr and asked him: "What do you say of al-Shafi`i?" He said: "One of the Pillar-Saints (Awtâd)." "Ahmad ibn Hanbal?" "He is a Siddîq."
Imam al-Bayhaqi
Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn `Abd Allah ibn Musa, Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi al-Naysaburi al-Khusrawjirdi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari (384-458), “the jurisprudent imam, hadith master, authority in the foundations of doctrine (usuli), scrupulous and devoted ascetic, defender of the School both in its foundations and its branches, one of the mountains of Islamic knowledge.” He is known in the books of the scholars of Naysabur and his direct students as “al-faqih Ahmad.” He took fiqh from the imam Abu al-Fath Nasir ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Qurashi al-`Umari al-Marwazi al-Shafi`i al-Naysaburi (d. 444) among others.
Al-Bayhaqi belongs to the the third generation of Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari’s students and took kalam from the two Ash`ari imams Ibn Furak and Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi. His oldest shaykh was the imam and hadith scholar of Khurasan al-Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Dawud al-`Alawi al-Hasani al-Naysaburi al-Hasib (d. 401), who was also the shaykh of the hadith master al-Hakim al-Naysaburi. Al-Bayhaqi’s other shaykhs in hadith include the latter, whose foremost pupil he was; the hadith master Abu `Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Rudhabari al-Tusi (d. 403); the Ash`ari imam in the foundations of doctrine Abu Bakr ibn Furak (d. 406); the imam, jurist, philologist, and hadith master of khurasan Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmish al-Ziyadi al-Shafi`i al-Naysaburi (d. 410); the Sufi master, Ash`ari imam, hadith master, and author of Tabat al-Sufiyya Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad, Abu `Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi al-Sulami (d. 411); Muhammad bin Hibat Allah al-Lalika’i’s teacher, Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Qattan al-Baghdadi (d. 415); and the Ash`ari imam, jurist, and hereseiologist Abu Mansur `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi al-Shafi`i (d. 429).
It is noteworthy that neither al-Tirmidhi’s Sunan, nor al-Nasa’i’s, nor Ibn Majah’s were transmitted to al-Bayhaqi, as stated by al-Dhahabi and others. Al-Dhahabi said, “His sphere in hadith is not large, but Allah blessed him in his narrations for the excellence of his method in them and his sagacity and expertise in the subject-matters and narrators.”
His Ascetiscm
Al-Bayhaqi lived frugally in the manner of the pious scholars. He began fasting perpetually thirty years before his death. Perpetual fast (sawm al-dahr) is the practice of several of the Companions and Salaf such as Ibn `Umar, `Uthman, Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi`i, al-Tustari, al-Qurashi al-Zuhri, and others such as al-Nawawi. Ibn Hibban devoted a chapter of his Sahih to the subject in which he said, commenting the hadith of the Prophet (s): “Whoever fasts all his life has neither fasted nor broken his fast”:
He means: whoever fasts all his life including the days in which one was forbidden to fast, such as the days of tashriq and the two `Ids. By the words: ‘he has neither fasted nor broken his fast’ he means that he did not in fact fast all his life in order to reap reward for it. For he did not omit [the fasting of] the days in which he was forbidden to fast. That is why the Prophet (s) said, ‘Whoever fasts all his life, the Fire shall straiten him for this much,’ and he counted ninety on his fingers, meaning the days of his life which he was forbidden to fast. It does not apply to the person who fasts all his life – being strong enough to do so – without the prohibited days.
Imam al-Nawawi said on the topic:
Ibn `Umar fasted permanently, i.e. except the days of `Id and tashriq. This perpetual fast is his way and the way of his father, `Umar ibn al-Khattab, `A’isha, Abu Talha and others of the Salaf as well as al-Shafi`i and other scholars. Their position is that perpetual fasting is not disliked (makruh).
His work
Ibn Qudama states something similar in al-Mughni and adds that the same view is related from Ahmad and Malik, and that after the Prophet’s (s) death Abu Talha fasted permanently for forty years, among other Companions. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in al-Khayrat al-Hisan similarly relates that Abu Hanifa was never seen eating except at night.
The works of al-Bayhaqi count among the treasures of Islamic knowledge for their meticulousness, reliability, and near-perfection in the estimation of the scholars. Among those which have been published are the following:
Al-Sunan al-Kubra (“The Major Work of the Prophet’s (s) Sunna”) in about ten large volumes, concerning which Ibn al-Subki waid: “No such book was ever compiled in the science with respect to classification, arrangement, and elegance,.”
Ma`arifa al-Sunan wa al-Athar (“The Knowledge of Sunnas and Reports”) in about twenty volumes, which lists the textual evidence of Shafi`i school under fiqh sub-headings. Ibn al-Subki said: “No Shafi`i jurist can do without it.” While his father said,: “He meant by the title: Al-Shafi`i’s Knowledge of the Sunnas and Reports.”
Bayan Khata Man Akhta`a `Ala al-Shafi`i (The Exposition of the Error of Those who have Attributed Error to al-Sahfi`i). This book complements the Sunan and the Ma`rifa in the presentation of the textual evidence of the Shafi`i school.
Al-Mabsut (The Expanded [Reference Book]), on Shafi`i Law.
Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (The Divine Names and Attributes), concerning which Ibn al-Subki said: “I do not know anything which compares with it.”
Al-I`tiqad `ala Madhhab al-Salaf Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a (Islamic Doctrines According to the School of the Predecessors Which is the School of the People of the Prophet’s (S) Way and Congretgatoin of His Companions) in about forty brief chapters.
Dala’il al-Nubuwwa (The Signs of Prophethood) in about seven volumes, the foremost large ook exclusively devoted to the person of the Prophet (s), as al-Qadi `Iyad’s al-Shifa’ fi Ma`rif Huquq al-Mustafa (The Healing concerning Knowledge of the Elect Prophet’s Rights) is the foremost condensed book on this noble subject.
Shu`ab al-Iman (The Brances of Belief) in about fourteen volumes, in which al-Bayhaqi provides an exhaustive textual commentary on the hadith of the Prophet (s) whereby, “Belief has seventy-odd branches.”
Al-Da`awat al-Kabir (The Major Book of Supplications) in two volumes, which arranges the narrations related to the subject by circumstance, like al-Nawawi’s al-Adhkar and al-Jazari’s similar book.
Al-Zuhd al-Kabir (The Major Book of Asceticism), which arranges the relevant narrations fo the Companions and early Sufis by subject-heading.
Al-Arb`un al-Sughra (The minor Colleciont of Forty Hadith), which is devoted to the purification of the self and the acquisition of high manners.
Al-Khilafiyyat (The Divergences [between al-Shafi`i and Abu Hanifa) of which Ibn al-Subki said: “No-one preceded him in writing a book of this kind, nor followed him in writing its like. It is an independent method in hadith science which is appreciated only by experts in both fiqh and hadith. It is precious for the texts it contains.
Fada’il al-Awqat (Times of Particular Merit [for worship]).
Manaqib al-Shafi`i (The Immense Merits of al-Shafi`i) in two volumes, which al-Nawawi said was the most reliable book on the merits of the Imam. Ibn al-Subki said: “Of al-I`tiqad, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, Shu’ab al-Iman, Manaqib al-Shafi`i, and al-Da`awat al-Kabir, I swear that none of them has any peer.”
Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad (The The Immense Merits of Imam Ahmad).
Tarikh Hukama al-Islam (History of the Rulers of Islam), Etc.
The Ash`ari school
Ibn al-Subki relates that al-Bayhaqi considered the Prophet’s (s) references to Abu Musa al-Ash`ari’s people to include Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari and his school. Al-Bayhaqi said:
The Prophet (s) pointed to Abu Musa al-Ash`ari in relation to the verse: “Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him” (5:54) saying: “They are that man’s people,” due to the tremendous merit and noble rank attributed by this hadith to the imam Abu al-Hasan al-Asha`ri. For he is part of Abu Musa’s people and one of his children who have received knowledge and were granted discernment, and he was singled out for strengthening the Sunna and repressing innovation by producing clear proofs and dispelling doubts. It is most likely that the Prophet (s) named Abu Musa’s people a people beloved by Allah because he knew the soundness of their religion and the strength of their belief. Therefore, whoever leans towards them in the sciences of the foundations of Religion and follows their position in disowning tashbih while adhering to the Book and the Sunna, is one of their number.
Al-Bayhaqi is the last of those who comprehensively compiled the textual evidence of the Shafi`i school including the hadith, the positions of the Imam and his immediate companions. Imam al-Haramayn said: “There is no Shafi`i except he owes a hurge debt to al-Shafi`i, except al-Bayhaqi, to who al-Shafi`i owes a huge for his works which imposed al-Shafi`i’s school and his sayings.” Al-Dhahabi comments: “Abu al-Ma`ali is right! It is as he said, and if al-Bayhaqi had wanted to found a school of Law for himself he woul dhave been able to do so, due to the vastness of his sciences and his thorough knowledge fo juridical differences.” Among al-Shafi`i’s legal positions reported by al-Bayhaqi is the following in his book Fafa’il al-Awqat:
Al-Bayhaqi belongs to the the third generation of Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari’s students and took kalam from the two Ash`ari imams Ibn Furak and Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi. His oldest shaykh was the imam and hadith scholar of Khurasan al-Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Dawud al-`Alawi al-Hasani al-Naysaburi al-Hasib (d. 401), who was also the shaykh of the hadith master al-Hakim al-Naysaburi. Al-Bayhaqi’s other shaykhs in hadith include the latter, whose foremost pupil he was; the hadith master Abu `Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Rudhabari al-Tusi (d. 403); the Ash`ari imam in the foundations of doctrine Abu Bakr ibn Furak (d. 406); the imam, jurist, philologist, and hadith master of khurasan Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmish al-Ziyadi al-Shafi`i al-Naysaburi (d. 410); the Sufi master, Ash`ari imam, hadith master, and author of Tabat al-Sufiyya Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad, Abu `Abd al-Rahman al-Azdi al-Sulami (d. 411); Muhammad bin Hibat Allah al-Lalika’i’s teacher, Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Qattan al-Baghdadi (d. 415); and the Ash`ari imam, jurist, and hereseiologist Abu Mansur `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi al-Shafi`i (d. 429).
It is noteworthy that neither al-Tirmidhi’s Sunan, nor al-Nasa’i’s, nor Ibn Majah’s were transmitted to al-Bayhaqi, as stated by al-Dhahabi and others. Al-Dhahabi said, “His sphere in hadith is not large, but Allah blessed him in his narrations for the excellence of his method in them and his sagacity and expertise in the subject-matters and narrators.”
His Ascetiscm
Al-Bayhaqi lived frugally in the manner of the pious scholars. He began fasting perpetually thirty years before his death. Perpetual fast (sawm al-dahr) is the practice of several of the Companions and Salaf such as Ibn `Umar, `Uthman, Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi`i, al-Tustari, al-Qurashi al-Zuhri, and others such as al-Nawawi. Ibn Hibban devoted a chapter of his Sahih to the subject in which he said, commenting the hadith of the Prophet (s): “Whoever fasts all his life has neither fasted nor broken his fast”:
He means: whoever fasts all his life including the days in which one was forbidden to fast, such as the days of tashriq and the two `Ids. By the words: ‘he has neither fasted nor broken his fast’ he means that he did not in fact fast all his life in order to reap reward for it. For he did not omit [the fasting of] the days in which he was forbidden to fast. That is why the Prophet (s) said, ‘Whoever fasts all his life, the Fire shall straiten him for this much,’ and he counted ninety on his fingers, meaning the days of his life which he was forbidden to fast. It does not apply to the person who fasts all his life – being strong enough to do so – without the prohibited days.
Imam al-Nawawi said on the topic:
Ibn `Umar fasted permanently, i.e. except the days of `Id and tashriq. This perpetual fast is his way and the way of his father, `Umar ibn al-Khattab, `A’isha, Abu Talha and others of the Salaf as well as al-Shafi`i and other scholars. Their position is that perpetual fasting is not disliked (makruh).
His work
Ibn Qudama states something similar in al-Mughni and adds that the same view is related from Ahmad and Malik, and that after the Prophet’s (s) death Abu Talha fasted permanently for forty years, among other Companions. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in al-Khayrat al-Hisan similarly relates that Abu Hanifa was never seen eating except at night.
The works of al-Bayhaqi count among the treasures of Islamic knowledge for their meticulousness, reliability, and near-perfection in the estimation of the scholars. Among those which have been published are the following:
Al-Sunan al-Kubra (“The Major Work of the Prophet’s (s) Sunna”) in about ten large volumes, concerning which Ibn al-Subki waid: “No such book was ever compiled in the science with respect to classification, arrangement, and elegance,.”
Ma`arifa al-Sunan wa al-Athar (“The Knowledge of Sunnas and Reports”) in about twenty volumes, which lists the textual evidence of Shafi`i school under fiqh sub-headings. Ibn al-Subki said: “No Shafi`i jurist can do without it.” While his father said,: “He meant by the title: Al-Shafi`i’s Knowledge of the Sunnas and Reports.”
Bayan Khata Man Akhta`a `Ala al-Shafi`i (The Exposition of the Error of Those who have Attributed Error to al-Sahfi`i). This book complements the Sunan and the Ma`rifa in the presentation of the textual evidence of the Shafi`i school.
Al-Mabsut (The Expanded [Reference Book]), on Shafi`i Law.
Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat (The Divine Names and Attributes), concerning which Ibn al-Subki said: “I do not know anything which compares with it.”
Al-I`tiqad `ala Madhhab al-Salaf Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a (Islamic Doctrines According to the School of the Predecessors Which is the School of the People of the Prophet’s (S) Way and Congretgatoin of His Companions) in about forty brief chapters.
Dala’il al-Nubuwwa (The Signs of Prophethood) in about seven volumes, the foremost large ook exclusively devoted to the person of the Prophet (s), as al-Qadi `Iyad’s al-Shifa’ fi Ma`rif Huquq al-Mustafa (The Healing concerning Knowledge of the Elect Prophet’s Rights) is the foremost condensed book on this noble subject.
Shu`ab al-Iman (The Brances of Belief) in about fourteen volumes, in which al-Bayhaqi provides an exhaustive textual commentary on the hadith of the Prophet (s) whereby, “Belief has seventy-odd branches.”
Al-Da`awat al-Kabir (The Major Book of Supplications) in two volumes, which arranges the narrations related to the subject by circumstance, like al-Nawawi’s al-Adhkar and al-Jazari’s similar book.
Al-Zuhd al-Kabir (The Major Book of Asceticism), which arranges the relevant narrations fo the Companions and early Sufis by subject-heading.
Al-Arb`un al-Sughra (The minor Colleciont of Forty Hadith), which is devoted to the purification of the self and the acquisition of high manners.
Al-Khilafiyyat (The Divergences [between al-Shafi`i and Abu Hanifa) of which Ibn al-Subki said: “No-one preceded him in writing a book of this kind, nor followed him in writing its like. It is an independent method in hadith science which is appreciated only by experts in both fiqh and hadith. It is precious for the texts it contains.
Fada’il al-Awqat (Times of Particular Merit [for worship]).
Manaqib al-Shafi`i (The Immense Merits of al-Shafi`i) in two volumes, which al-Nawawi said was the most reliable book on the merits of the Imam. Ibn al-Subki said: “Of al-I`tiqad, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, Shu’ab al-Iman, Manaqib al-Shafi`i, and al-Da`awat al-Kabir, I swear that none of them has any peer.”
Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad (The The Immense Merits of Imam Ahmad).
Tarikh Hukama al-Islam (History of the Rulers of Islam), Etc.
The Ash`ari school
Ibn al-Subki relates that al-Bayhaqi considered the Prophet’s (s) references to Abu Musa al-Ash`ari’s people to include Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari and his school. Al-Bayhaqi said:
The Prophet (s) pointed to Abu Musa al-Ash`ari in relation to the verse: “Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him” (5:54) saying: “They are that man’s people,” due to the tremendous merit and noble rank attributed by this hadith to the imam Abu al-Hasan al-Asha`ri. For he is part of Abu Musa’s people and one of his children who have received knowledge and were granted discernment, and he was singled out for strengthening the Sunna and repressing innovation by producing clear proofs and dispelling doubts. It is most likely that the Prophet (s) named Abu Musa’s people a people beloved by Allah because he knew the soundness of their religion and the strength of their belief. Therefore, whoever leans towards them in the sciences of the foundations of Religion and follows their position in disowning tashbih while adhering to the Book and the Sunna, is one of their number.
Al-Bayhaqi is the last of those who comprehensively compiled the textual evidence of the Shafi`i school including the hadith, the positions of the Imam and his immediate companions. Imam al-Haramayn said: “There is no Shafi`i except he owes a hurge debt to al-Shafi`i, except al-Bayhaqi, to who al-Shafi`i owes a huge for his works which imposed al-Shafi`i’s school and his sayings.” Al-Dhahabi comments: “Abu al-Ma`ali is right! It is as he said, and if al-Bayhaqi had wanted to found a school of Law for himself he woul dhave been able to do so, due to the vastness of his sciences and his thorough knowledge fo juridical differences.” Among al-Shafi`i’s legal positions reported by al-Bayhaqi is the following in his book Fafa’il al-Awqat:
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