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Biography in Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya – t.b.d.
Biografi Abu Sulayman al-Darani ur al-Qusayri’s Risala, övers. Göran Ogén

t.b.d.

t.b.d.
 

Biografi ur al-Qusayri’s Risala

Biografi Abu Sulayman al-Darani ur Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya
Övers. Göran Ogén

12. Abū Sulaymān cAbd al-Rahmān bin cAtīya al-Dārānī(1)
1. [Han] kom från Dārān(2), en av byarna kring Damaskus, och dog år 215 (år 830 A.D.). Jag hörde Muhammad al-Husayn säga, att cAbd Allāh bin Muhammad al-Rāzī sagt, att han hört Ishaq bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Hassān säga, att han hört Ahmad bin Abū ‘l-Hawārī säga, att han hade hört Abū Sulaymān säga ‘Den som gör gott om dagen belönas om natten, och den som gör gott om natten belönas om dagen. Om någon uppriktigt försöker lämna ett begär, så avleder Gud det från hans hjärta. Gud den högste är alltför ädel för att plåga ett hjärta med ett begär, som man vill lämna för Hans skull!’.

2.Enlig samma berättarkedja [isnād] sade han också: »När Denna världen dväljes i ett hjärta förflyttar sig Den kommande världen bort från det.»

3. Jag hörde sufimästaren Abū cAbd al-Rahmān al-Sulamī {Gud förbarme sig över honom!} säga, att han hört al-Husayn bin Yahyā säga, att han hört Djacfar bin Muhammad bin Nusayr säga, att han hört al-Djunayd säga, att Abū Sulaymān ad-Dārānī hade sagt: »Ibland hamnar något folkligt talesätt i mitt hjärta [och ligger där] några dagar, men [sen] tar jag det till mig endast utifrån två välgrundade vittnen: Koranen och Profetens goda exempel [sunna].»

4. Abū Sulaymān sade: »Den yppersta handling en människa kan utföra är att motsätta sig själens trängtan [hawan].»

5. Han sade: »Varje ting har ett kännetecken, och tecknet på att man inte längre är väl mottagen (hos Gud) är att man slutat gråta.»

6. Han sade: »Det finns ingenting som inte anfrätes, och det som hjärtats ljus anfrätes av är en full mage.»

7. Han sade: »Allt som distraherar dig från Gud, såsom familj, pengar eller barn, är olycksbringande för dig.»

8. Abū Sulaymān sade: »En kall natt befann jag mig i bönenischen (i moskén) och kylan besvärade mig, så jag gömde ena handen från kylan medan den andra var utsträckt [i bön]. Sen somnade jag till och en röst ropade då till mig ‘Abū Sulaymān! Vi har i din hand lagt det den sträckt ut sig mot. Hade den andra också varit framme, hade vi även lagt i den!’. Då svor jag vid min själ att jag aldrig [mer] skulle be utan att båda mina händer skulle vara utsträckta, vare sig det rådde hetta eller kyla.»

9. Abū Sulaymān sade: »Jag somnade bort från min litania-bön [wird] en gång och se: då står jag där hos en av Paradisets skönheter [hawrā´] som säger till mig ‘Du sover, och jag är redo för dig sedan femhundra år i kvinnogemaken!’.»

10. cAbd Allāh bin Yūsuf al-Isbahānī sade, att Abū cAmr al-Djūlāstī sagt, att Muhammad bin Ismācīl sagt, att Ahmad bin Abū ‘l-Hawārī hade sagt: »Jag gick in till Abū Sulaymān en dag. Han satt och grät, så jag frågade honom ‘Vad är det som får dig att gråta?’, och han sade ‘Ahmad, varför skulle jag då inte gråta? När natten bryter in, när ögonen har slutits till sömn och varje älskare är ensam med sin älskade, när de som älskar Gud slagit slagit sig ned på sina bönemattor(3) och deras tårar strömmar ned på deras kinder och droppar ned i deras bönenischer [mahārīb] och Den ärorike [al-djalīl] {upphöjd och hög är Han!}, som övervakar [dem ]från ovan, [då] ropar ut “O du Gabriel! Framför mina ögon finns de som finner behag i Mitt ord [kalām-ī] och själsro i ihågkallandet av Mig [dhikr-ī]. Dem övervakar Jag i deras ensamheter, hör deras suckar och ser deras gråt. Varför ropar du inte, Gabriel, till dem ‘Varför denna gråt?’. Har ni sett en älskande plåga sin älskade? Hur skulle det passa sig att Jag straffar folk när natten faller på och de smickrar Mig? Jag svär vid Mig själv: Ja, när de kommer till Mig på Uppståndelsens Dag skall Jag avtäcka Mitt ädla ansikte för dem, så att de kan se på Mig och Jag på dem!”‘.»

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1) Död 215/830. Namnet på den by Abū Sulaymān kom ifrån har, förutom formen Dārān, även formerna Dārā och Dārayya, av vilka nisba-formen blir dārā´ī. Dessa varianter med motsvarande återges i Ansārīs kommentar (Al-Risāla al-qushayrīya, del I, p. 113).
Erik Hermelins översättning av kapitlet om Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī i cAttārs Tadhkiratu’l-awliyā´ finns att läsa i hans TAZKIRATÚL’L-AWLIYÁ – VÄNNERNAS MINNE, del II, pp. 25-40: Abū Sulaimān Dārā´ī. I cAttārs persiska text står det Dārayya med nisba-formen dārā´ī, och Erik Hermerlin skriver därför helt korrekt al-Dārā´ī i enlighet med sin persiska textförlaga (Tadkirat al-awliyā´, ed. R. Nicholson (1905-07), del I, s. 229. Richard Gramlich ger Abū Sulaymān nisba-formen “ad-Dārānī” trots att han föredrar Dārayya som ortnamn efter att ha listat varianterna ovan (Das Sendschreiben al-Qušayrīs…, s. 54, not nr. 79).

2) Dārān: formerna Dārā och Dārayya förekommer också (se not 1).

3) när de som älskar Gud slagit sig ned på sina bönemattor: ordagrant “när kärlekens folk sträckt ut sina fötter” [wa’ftarasha ahl al-mahabba aqdāmahum].

Biography in Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya – t.b.d
He was from Daran…

Maqam of Sulayman al-Darani in Dara near Damascus

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latest update: 2010-07-10
Photos: From [bmk/ziyarat] Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

Arabic poet. A creator of the panegyrical qasida in medieval Arabic poetry.
His work is a direct continuation of the ancient Arabic poetic tradition but reflects the beliefs of Islam and often echoes the style of the Koran. His famous verse polemic (naqa’id, or intiqad) with Jarir and other poets produced verse philippics (hajw) unsurpassed in medieval Arabic literature.

 

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From wiki

السلام عليك يا إمام الليث يا إمام مع الأئمة الأربة يا فقيه الأمة عامة وفقيه مصر خاصة يا إمام المحدثين رحمة الله وبركاته عليك
Peace be upon you O Imam Al-Layth, o Imam at the rank of the four Imams, o scholar of fiqh of the Ummah in general and of Egypt in particular, o Imam of the hadith narrators, may Allah have mercy on you bless you!

wiki

Al-Layth ibn Saʿd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Fahmī al-Qalqashandī (Arabic: الليث بن سعد بن عبد الرحمن الفهمي القلقشندي) was the chief representative, imam, and eponym of the Laythi school of Islamic Jurisprudence. He was regarded as the main representative of an Egyptian tradition of law. Imam al-Shafi’i used to say that he was more learned in fiqh than Imam Malik, however his students did not write down his teachings.

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mazaratmisr.org

When Imam al-Shafi’i came to Egypt and visited Imam al-Layth’s grave, he said, “Your eminence is from Allah O Imam! You attained four characteristics—knowledge, [good] deeds, asceticism, and generosity—no scholar has attained all four of them.”

It is confirmed that Imams al-Layth and Malik were contemporaries and that they both devoted themselves to studying hadiths and jurisprudence; they were almost equal in scholarship. They exchanged letters whose subject matter focused on hadiths, jurisprudence, and edicts. Malik’s letter to al-Layth on jurisprudence is well known and al-Layth replied with a longer letter. Imam Malik’s letter is the epitome of scholarly dialogue between two of the great jurists and scholars of the Islamic community.

The letter shows that these two great jurists considered the opinions of the people during the time of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, tantamount to consensus and must not be contended. Moreover, it demonstrates that it is not possible for those who come after them to change or alter what these Companions agreed upon.

wiki (1)
wiki (2)

Acknowledgement:
Photos taken by Bruce Allardice 2021-2022 (flickr)

Google map pictures

By Dr. G.F. Haddad

Sulayman ibn Khalaf ibn Sa`d or Sa`id or Sa`dun ibn Ayyub, al-Qadi Abu al-Walid al-Tujaybi al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi al-Baji al-Tamimi al-Dhahabi al-Maliki (403-474), “One of the imams of the Muslims,” the jurist and mutakallim, hadith master, man of letters, poet, “the skilled debater, author in many sciences, meticulous scholar, upon whose great rank in knowledge, and merit in religion there is agreement.” Born in Baja near Seville or – more probably according to al-Dhahabi – its namesake Baja near Qayrawan, he took hadith from Abu al-Isba` ibn Shakir, Muhammad ibn Isma`il [?], Abu Muhammad Makki ibn Abi Talib, al-Qadi Yunus ibn `Abd Allah ibn Mughith, Ibn al-Mutawwa`i, Ibn Muhriz, Ibn al-Warraq, Ibn `Amrus, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn `Abd al-Barr, al-Damighani, and others. Both al-Khatib and Ibn `Abd al-Barr, although his seniors, narrated from him. Among his students are his son Ahmad, Abu `Abd Allah al-Humaydi, `Ali ibn `Abd Allah al-Saqali, Ahmad ibn Ghazlun, Abu Bakr al-Turtushi, the two hadith masters Abu `Ali al-Jiyani al-Sadafi and Abu al-Qasim al-Ma`afiri, Ibn Abi Ja`far, al-Qadi Abu `Abd Allah Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn Bashir, and countless others.

Al-Baji worked at various times as a watchman and a goldsmith to support himself. He performed pilgrimage four times and lived austerely in the pursuit of knowledge: in Mecca for three years with Abu Dharr al-Harawi, then Baghdad for three, where he accompanied Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari and Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, then Mosul where he studied under Abu Ja`far al-Samnani and Ibn al-Baqillani. His wealth increased greatly after he returned to Andalusia and became its chief scholar and teacher. The Qadi Abu `Ali ibn Sakra said: “I never saw his like; nor anything like his appearance, his majesty, and the dignity of his gatherings. He is one of the imams of the Muslims.”

After al-Baji came to Andalusia he went to Majorca where he defeated Ibn Hazm in debate according to Ibn Bassam. Ibn Hazm reportedly said: “If the Malikis had only `Abd al-Wahhab [ibn `Ali ibn Nasr al-Baghdadi] and al-Baji, it would suffice them.”

Among al-Baji’s books: Al-Tasdid ila Ma`rifa al-Tawhid, Sunan al-Minhaj, Tartib al-Hajj, Ihkam al-Fusul fi Ahkam al-Usul, al-Ta`dil wa al-Tajrih li man Kharraja `anhu al-Bukhari fi al-Sahih, Sharh al-Muwatta’ in two versions: al-Istifa’ and its abridgment al-Muntaqa – named by the author of Shajara al-Nur “the best book ever written in Malik’s school” – al-Imla’ – a shorter version of the latter – Mukhtasar al-Mukhtasar fi Masa’il al-Mudawwana, and Sunan al-Salihin. In al-Muntaqa he states, in explanation of the hadith of Allah’s descent to the nearest heaven in the last third of the night:[1]

The Prophet’s — Allah bless and greet him — saying that our Exalted Lord descends every night to the nearest heaven is to inform us that supplication at that particular time is answered, petitioners are given what they request, and those who ask for forgiveness are forgiven. It warns us as to the great merit of that time and strongly encourages us to make abundant supplication, petition, and contrition at that time. It was narrated from the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — in similar terms that Allah Almighty and Exalted said: “If My servant comes near Me one hand-span I come near him one cubit. If he comes near Me one cubit I come near him an arm’s length. If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.”[2] He did not mean by this hadith a coming-near in terms of distance, for such is impossible and inexistent. All he meant was the servant’s coming-near in terms of good works, and Allah’s coming-near in terms of answer and acceptance. In the same sense one says “So-and-so is near So-and-so,” and they say of the leader “He is near his people” if he helps them a lot and welcomes them. This is well-known in the language of the Arabs.[3]

In his book Tahqiq al-Madhhab, he replies to those who attacked him for representing that the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — could write on the literal basis of the hadith of al-Bara’: “Allah’s Messenger — Allah bless and greet him — took the treaty – he did not excel at writing – and wrote…”[4]

t.b.d.
 

Sources:
Makhluf, Shajara al-Nur p. 120-121 #341; Ibn Farhun, al-Dibaj p. 198-200 #240; al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ 14:59-65 #4347 and Tadhkira al-Huffaz 3:1178-1183 #1027.

Notes:
[1] Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Malik, and al-Darimi. It is narrated from twenty-three Companions, as stated by al-Kattani in Nazm al-Mutanathir.

[2] Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Bukhari and Muslim: “I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he mentions Me in Himself I mention him in Myself. If he mentions Me in a gathering, I mention him in a better gathering. If he comes near Me one hand-span (shibran) I come near him one cubit (dhira`an). If he comes near Me one cubit I come near him an arm’s length (ba`an). If he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.” [3] Al-Baji, al-Muntaqa (1:357). [4] See the documentation and discussion of this hadith in the post titled “Unlettered.”

© as-Sunna Foundation of America

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latest update:
Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

Sahabi, buried in Maqbara Bab Saghir in Damascus
 

Freed slave of sayyiduna Abu Bakr, mu’adhdhin of the Prophet (s). He came to Sham as a mujahid during the caliphate of Sayyidina `Umar and stayed there until he died.

After the passing of the Prophet (s), he never gave the adhan again – except once: in the Umawi mosque.

He narrated 44 hadith from the Prophet (s).

t.b.d.
 

Burial Place

Sayyiduna Bilal is buried in the Bab Saghrir cemetry of Damascus – may Allah perfume his grave.

click to enlarge pictures

Damas Cultural Society © 2007

A great hero before and after Islam. He was present when the Muslims opened Damascus under Khalid ibn al-Walid (in 14 H) and died there. (Zsh)

His full name: is
Dhiraar bin Al-Azwar bin Malik ibn Aws bin Jadhimah bin Rabia bin Malik bin Sha’labah bin Asad bin Khuzaymah bin Mudrikah bin Ilyas bin Mudar Bin Nizar bin Adnan al-Asadi
ضرار بن الأزور وهو مالك بن أوس بن جذيمة بن ربيعة بن مالك بن ثعلبة بن أسد بن دودان بن أسد بن خزيمة بن مدركة بن إلياس بن مضر بن نزار بن معد بن عدنان، الأسدي

Born sometime in the seventh century, Dhiraar was born to one of the Bani Assad chieftains, Malik bin Aws. His lineage can be traced to Malik, son of Aws, son of Jadhimah, son of Rabia, son of Malik, son of Sha’labah, son of Asad, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Ilyas, son of Muda, son of Nizar, son of Adnan al-Asadi. His family were among the first converts to Islam. After the Battle of the Trench, he was sent with Tulayha bin Khuwailid to their kinsmen, the Bani Assad, to urge them to embrace Islam.[4] He was known to his tribe as al-Azwar.

His death is disputed.
Martyred in the battle of Ajnadayn 14 H., or in the plague in 18. H.
Buried oug´tside Bab Sharqi, Damascus (disputed)

He also has a Mosque/maqam in Jordan.

Keywords: Battle at Ajnadayn, The Naked Warrior

References: ZaSh, wiki
Photo f hismaqam in Damascus: yanabi.com
Damas Cultural Society © 2007

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More:
[gfh] Dirar b. al-Azwar al-Kindi, Khawla’s brother
buried in Bab Sharqi, Mahallat al-Jazma’

Dhūl-Nūn Abū l-Fayḍ Thawbān b. Ibrāhīm al-Miṣrī (Arabic: ذو النون المصري; d. Giza, in 245/859 or 248/862).

Dhul-Nun al-Misri is considered among the most prominent saints of early Sufism and holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as Junayd Baghdadi and Bayazid Bastami. He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria.

Sahl al-Tustari was one of Dhul-Nun al-Misri’s students.

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Sayyiduna Dhul Nun al-Misri passed away in Giza, Egypt. We could not locate his grave there.
He has various maqams in other places.

At the western side of Bab Saghir, steps from Ibn Qayyim’s grave
– t.b.d.

He was one of the Companions of the Prophet (s), whose form Jibril (s) would adopt when he appeared as a person, and who carried the Prophet’s letter to the Roman emperor.
 

Buried in the graveyard of Mezzah

Ziarat al-Sham

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latest update: 2009-03-22
Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

The famous historian and greatest hadith scholar of his time. He travelled and heard hadith from over 1000 narrators. Authored several encyclopedic works, among them Tarikh Dimashq.
 

By Dr. G.F. Haddad

`Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah ibn `Abd Allah, Thiqat al-Din, Abu al-Qasim, known as Ibn `Asakir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari (499-571), the imam of hadith masters in his time and historian of Damascus.

Ibn al-Najjar said: “He is the imam of hadith scholars in his time and the chief leader in memorization, meticulous verification, thorough knowledge in the sciences of hadith, trustworthiness, nobility, and excellence in writing and beautiful recitation. He is the seal of this science.”

Born in a family imbued with knowledge, he began his scholarly training at the age of six, attending the fiqh gatherings of his older brother Sa’in al-Din Hibat Allah ibn al-Hasan (d. 563) and learned Arabic and grammar at the hand of his maternal grandfather Abu al-Mufaddal al-Qurashi. Two of his uncles and one of his brothers were successively in charge of the head judgeship in Damascus, Abu al-Ma`ali Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn `Ali al-Qurashi (d. 537), Abu al-Makarim Sultan ibn Yahya (d. 530), and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan.

By the time Ibn `Asakir reached puberty he already possessed hadith certifications from the scholars of Damascus, Baghdad, and Khurasan. At age twenty, after his father died, he travelled around the Islamic world in pursuit of hadith narrations and performed pilgrimage, returning to Damascus and travelling again on and off between 519 and 533, “alone but for the Godwariness he took as his companion,” hearing hadith from 1,300 male shaykhs and 80-odd female shaykhas in Baghdad, Mecca, Madina, Asbahan, Naysabur, Marw, Tibriz, Mihana, Bayhaq, Khusrujird, Bistam, Herat, Azerbaijan, Kufa, Hamadhan, Ray, Zanjan, Bushanj, Sarkhas, Simnan, Jarbadhqan, Mawsil and elsewhere.

After 533 he sat teaching hadith in a corner of the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, then in the Dar al-Sunna school (subsequenty renamed Dar al-Hadith) built for him by al-Malik al-`Adil Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zanki. He shunned all kinds of material possessions and turned down the office of head preacher, concentrating on teaching, writing, and worshipping. His most famous student was the sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, who attended his funeral behind the imam al-Qutb al-Naysaburi.

Ibn `Asakir was buried at the Bab al-Saghir cemetary, next to his father, near the grave of the Caliph Mu`awiya ibn Abi Sufyan.

Ibn `Asakir authored over a hundred books and epistles and narrated under five hundred hadith lessons. Among his larger works:

1. Tarikh Dimasqh in eighty volumes.1 Ibn Khallikan said that it contains, like al-Tabari’s Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, several books that can be read independently.
2. Al-Muwafaqat `ala Shuyukh al-A’imma al-Thiqat in seventy-two volumes.
3. `Awali Malik ibn Anas and its Dhayl in fifty volumes.
4. Ghara’ib Malik in ten volumes.
5. Al-Mu`jam listing only the names of his shaykhs, in twelve volumes.
6. Manaqib al-Shubban in fifteen volumes.
7. Books of “Immense Merits”: Fada’il Ashab al-Hadith in eleven volumes, Fadl al-Jumu`a, Fadl Quraysh, Fada’il al-Siddiq, Fada’il Makka, Fada’il al-Madina, Fada’il Bayt al-Muqaddas, Fada’il `Ashura’, Fada’il al-Muharram, Fada’il Sha`ban.
8. Al-Ishraf `ala Ma`rifa al-Atraf.
9. Akhbar al-Awza`i.
10. Al-Musalsalat.
11. Al-Suba`iyyat in seven volumes, listing narrations with chains containing only seven narrators up to the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him –.
12. Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari Fima Nusiba ila Abi al-Hasan al-Ash`ari, a defense of al-Ash`ari and his school which he divided into the following sections:
    a) Genealogy of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari
    b) Prophetic hadiths that pertain to him
    c) Al-Ash`ari’s renown for knowledge
    d) His renown for piety and worship
    e) His struggle against innovations and their proponents
    f) Dreams that indicate his high standing
    g) Five generations of his students [2] h) Those who attacked al-Ash`ari and his students

    He concluded the book with the following lines of poetry:I have chosen a doctrine that in no way resembles innovation But which successors faithfully took from predecessors. Those who are impartial declare my doctrine sound While those who criticize it have abandoned impartiality.

13. Yawm al-Mazid in three volumes.
14. Bayan al-Wahm wa al-Takhlit fi Hadith al-Atit (“The Exposition of Error and Confusion in the Narration of the [Throne’s] Groaning”).[3]
15. Arba`un Hadithan fi al-Jihad.
16. Arba`un Hadithan `an Arba`ina Shaykhan min Arba`ina Madina.

 

Ibn `Asakir defined hadith in the following verse of poetry:

It explains the Book, and the Prophet only spoke on behalf of His Lord.

Ibn `Asakir’s son, Baha’ al-Din al-Qasim ibn `Ali, said:

My father was assiduous in congregational prayer and recitation of the Qur’an. He used to recite it once a week, concluding it on the day of Jum`a, and once a day in Ramadan at which time he entered seclusion (i`tikaf) at the Eastern minaret. He performed many supererogatory prayers, devotions, and invocations. He would spend the nights before the two `ids awake in prayer and supplications. He used to take account of himself for every passing moment.

Ibn al-Subki relates that the hadith master al-Mundhiri asked his shaykh Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn al-Mufaddal al-Maqdisi: “Which of these four contemporary hadith masters is the greatest?” He said: “Name them.” Al-Mundhiri said: “Ibn `Asakir and Ibn Nasir?” He replied: “Ibn `Asakir.” Al-Mundhiri went on: “Ibn `Asakir and Abu al-`Ala’ [al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hamadhani]?” He said: “Ibn `Asakir.” Al-Mundhiri went on: “Ibn `Asakir and al-Silafi?” Al-Maqdisi said: “Al-Silafi (is) our shaykh. Al-Silafi (is) our shaykh.”[4]

Ibn Sasra narrated: “I used to rehearse with him the names of the masters he had met. One day I said to him: ‘I believe that our master never saw anyone like himself?’ He replied: ‘Do not say that. Allah said: {Therefore justify not yourselves} (53:32).’ I replied: ‘He also said: {Therefore of the bounty of your Lord be your discourse} (93:11).’ He replied: ‘In that case yes, if someone were to say that my eyes never saw my like, he would be correct.'” Al-Khatib Abu al-Fadl ibn Abi Nasr al-Tusi said: “We do not know anyone who truly deserves the title of hadith master in our time other than him.” Al-Dhahabi said: “I do not believe that Ibn `Asakir ever met anyone of his level in his entire life.” Ibn al-Subki added: “Nor anyone near his level.”

Main sources: al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ 15:254-262 #5129; Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra 7:215-223 #918.

Notes:
[1] Dar al-Fikr in Damascus has published seventy of them to date in mid-1999.
[2] Translated at www.sunnah.org/aqida/tabyin_kadhib.htm
[3] See section entitled The “Groaning of the Throne” (p. 248).
[4] This could mean either that he considered al-Silafi the greater master, or that he implicitly admitted Ibn `Asakir’s superiority but expressed it in terms of the student’s requisite adab with his teacher. Ibn al-Subki noted that Ibn al-Sam`ani was superior to all of them except Ibn `Asakir, but that he was in far-off Merv, whereas the rest were in or near Egypt and Sham.

Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.

copyright As-Sunna Foundation of America

t.b.d.
 

تاريخ مدينة دمشق
Online database

 

Buried in Bab Saghir in an enclosure opposite the entrance to the burial place of Sayyiduna Mu`awiya (radyaAllah ‘anhu).

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latest update:
Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

The Greatest Imam Abu Hanifa

By Dr. G.F. Haddad

Al-Nu`man ibn Thabit al-Taymi, al-Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150), called “The Imam” by Abu Dawud, and “The Imam, one of those who have reached the sky” by Ibn Hajar, he is known in the Islamic world as “The Greatest Imam” (al-imâm al-a`zam) and his school has the largest number of followers among the four schools of Ahl al-Sunna. He is the first of the four mujtahid imams and the only Successor (tâbi`i) among them, having seen the Companions Anas ibn Malik, `Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, Sahl ibn Sa`d al-Sa`idi, Abu al-Tufayl, and `Amir ibn Wathila.

Abu Hanifa is the first in Islam to organize the writing of fiqh under sub-headings embracing the whole of the Law, beginning with purity (tahara) followed by prayer (sala), an order which was retained by all subsequent scholars such as Malik, Shafi`i, Abu Dawud, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and others. All these and their followers are indebted to him and give him a share of their reward because he was the first to open that road for them, according to the hadith of the Prophet: “He who starts something good in Islam has its reward and the reward of those who practice it until the Day of Judgement, without lessening in the least the reward of those who practice it. The one who starts something bad in Islam will incur its punishment and the punishment of all those who practice it until the Day of Judgement without lessening their punishment in the least.” Al-Shafi`i referred to this when he said: “People are all the children of Abu Hanifa in fiqh, of Ibn Ishaq in history, of Malik in hadith, and of Muqatil in tafsîr.”

Al-Khatib narrated from Abu Hanifa’s student Abu Nu`aym that the latter said: “Muslims should make du`a to Allah on behalf of Abu Hanifa in their prayers, because the Sunan and the fiqh were preserved for them through him. Al-Dhahabi wrote one volume on the life of each of the other three great Imams and said: “The account of Abu Hanifa’s life requires two volumes.” His son Hammad said as he washed his father’s body for burial: “May Allah have mercy on you! You have exhausted whoever tries to catch up with you.”

Abu Hanifa was scrupulously pious and refused Ibn Hubayra’s offer of a judgeship even when the latter had him whipped. Like al-Bukhari and al-Shafi`i, he used to make 60 complete recitations (khatma) of Qur’an every Ramadan: one in the day, one in the night, besides his teaching and other duties. Ibrahim ibn Rustum al-Marwazi said: “Four are the Imams that recited the entire Qur’an in a single rak`a: `Uthman ibn `Affan, Tamim al-Dari, Sa`id ibn Jubayr, and Abu Hanifa.” Ibn al-Mubarak said: “Abu Hanifa for a long time would pray all five prayers with a single ablution.”

Al-Suyuti relates in Tabyid al-Sahifa that a certain visitor came to observe Abu Hanifa and saw him all day long in the mosque, teaching relentlessly, answering every question from both the scholars and the common people, not stopping except to pray, then standing at home in prayer when people were asleep, hardly ever eating or sleeping, and yet the most handsome and gracious of people, always alert and never tired, day after day for a long time, so that in the end the visitor said: “I became convinced that this was not an ordinary matter, but wilâya (Friendship with Allah).”

Al-Shafi`i said: “Knowledge revolves around three men: Malik, al-Layth, and Ibn `Uyayna.” Al-Dhahabi commented: “Rather, it revolves also around al-Awza`i, al-Thawri, Ma`mar, Abu Hanifa, Shu`ba, and the two Hammads [ibn Zayd and ibn Salama].”

Sufyan al-Thawri praised Abu Hanifa when he said: “We were in front of Abu Hanifa like small birds in front of the falcon,” and Sufyan stood up for him when Abu Hanifa visited him after his brother’s death, and he said: “This man holds a high rank in knowledge, and if I did not stand up for his science I would stand up for his age, and if not for his age then for his Godwariness (wara`), and if not for his Godwariness then for his jurisprudence (fiqh).” Ibn al-Mubarak praised Abu Hanifa and called him a sign of Allah. Both Ibn al-Mubarak and Sufyan al-Thawri said: “Abu Hanifa was in his time the most knowledgeable of all people on earth.” Ibn Hajar also related that Ibn al-Mubarak said: “If Allah had not rescued me with Abu Hanifa and Sufyan [al-Thawri] I would have been like the rest of the common people.” Dhahabi relates it as: “I would have been an innovator.”

An example of Abu Hanifa’s perspicuity in inferring legal rulings from source-texts is his reading of the following hadith:

The Prophet said: “Your life in comparison to the lifetime of past nations is like the period between the time of the mid-afternoon prayer (‘asr) and sunset. Your example and the example of the Jews and Christians is that of a man who employed laborers and said to them: ‘Who will work for me until mid-day for one qirât (a unit of measure, part of a dinar) each?’ The Jews worked until mid-day for one qirât each. Then the man said: ‘Who will work for me from mid-day until the ‘asr prayer for one qirât each?’ The Christians worked from mid-day until the ‘asr prayer for one qirât each. Then the man said: ‘Who will work for me from the `asr prayer until the maghrib prayer for two qirât each?’ And that, in truth, is all of you. In truth, you have double the wages. The Jews and the Christians became angry and said: ‘We did more labor but took less wages.’ But Allah said: ‘Have I wronged you in any of your rights?’ They replied no. Then He said: ‘This is My Blessing which I give to whom I wish.’”

It was deduced from the phrase “We did more labor” that the time of mid-day to `asr must always be longer than that between `asr and maghrib. This is confirmed by authentic reports whereby:

The Prophet hastened to pray zuhr and delayed praying `asr.

The Prophet said: “May Allah have mercy on someone who prays four rak`as before `asr.

`Ali delayed praying `asr until shortly before the sun changed, and he reprimanded the mu’adhdhin who was hurrying him with the words: “He is trying to teach us the Sunna!”

Ibrahim al-Nakha`i said: “Those that came before you used to hasten more than you to pray zuhr and delay more than you in praying `asr.” Al-Tahanawi said: “Those that came before you” are the Companions.

Ibn Mas`ud delayed praying `asr.

Sufyan al-Thawri, Abu Hanifa, and his two companions Muhammad ibn a-Hasan and Abu Yusuf therefore considered it better to lengthen the time between zuhr and `asr by delaying the latter prayer as long as the sun did not begin to redden, while the majority of the authorities considered that praying `asr early is better, on the basis of other sound evidence to that effect.

Like every Friend of Allah, Abu Hanifa had his enemies. `Abdan said that he heard Ibn al-Mubarak say: “If you hear them mention Abu Hanifa derogatively then they are mentioning me derogatively. In truth I fear for them Allah’s displeasure.” Authentically related from Bishr al-Hafi is the statement: “No-one criticizes Abu Hanifa except an envier or an ignoramus.” Hamid ibn Adam al-Marwazi said: I heard Ibn al-Mubarak say: “I never saw anyone more fearful of Allah than Abu Hanifa, even on trial under the whip and through money and property.” Abu Mu`awiya al-Darir said: “Love of Abu Hanifa is part of the Sunna.”

Abū Hanīfa’s Foresight

by GF Haddad
PDF from http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/AbuHanifasForesight.pdf

t.b.d.
 

Sagacity of Imam Abu Hanifah

A man by the name of Ad-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Kharji, who rebelled during the time of the Ummayyads, entered the mosque in Kufa and told Imam Abu Hanifa, “Repent!”
“From what?” asked Abu Hanifa.
He answered, “From your having permitted arbitration.”
“Will you kill me or debate with me?” asked the Imam.
“I will debate with you.”
“And if we disagree on anything in the debate, who will decide between us?”
“I will accept whomever you wish.”
“Sit and judge between us if we disagree,” Abu Hanifa said to one of ad-Dahhak’s companions.
“Are you content for this one to decide between us?” asked Abu Hanifa to ad-Dahhak.
“Yes”
“You have allowed arbitration, so desist.”

[source: The Four Imams: Their Lives, Works, and their Schools of Thought, Muhammad Abu Zahra’s book.]

Main sources:
al-Khatib, Tarikh Baghdad 13:324-356;
al-Dhahabi, Manaqib Abi Hanifa 22-36 and Tabaqat al-Huffaz 1:168;
Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 10:450;
Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya 10:114;
al-Suyuti, Tabyid al-Sahifa p. 94-95;
al-Haytami, al-Khayrat al-Hisan.

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Tabi´i, faqih and muhaddith of Sham

Al-Awza`i

By Dr. G.F. Haddad

`Abd al-Rahman ibn `Amr ibn Yuhmad Abu `Amr al-Awza`i (88-158), Shaykh al-Islam, the Wise Scholar of the People of Sham, one of the mujtahid imams of the Salaf along with the Four Imams, Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Tabari, Dawud al-Zahiri and others, the first – with Ibn Jurayj and Abu Hanifa – to compile the Sunna of the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — and the Companions under fiqh subheadings. Born orphaned and poor in Ba`labak and raised in al-Kark in the Bekaa valley, he came to live in the area known as – and populated by – “the variegated tribes” (al-Awza`) in Damascus then moved to Beirut where he remained garrisoned until his death, his fame having spread to the entire Islamic world of his time. One of those who combined assiduous worship with science and the affirmation of truth, he is considered a Proof in himself (hujja) as a narrator, known for his superlative understanding of the Law, great erudition, and piety. Al-Shafi`i said: “I never saw a man whose fiqh resembled his hadith more than al-Awza`i.”1

He narrated from a host of Tabi`in, among them `Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, Abu Ja`far al-Baqir, `Amr ibn Shu`ayb, Makhul – whom he surpassed in knowledge, – Qatada, Rabi`a ibn Yazid al-Qasir, Bilal ibn Sa`d, al-Zuhri, Yahya ibn Abi Kathir – his first shaykh,- `Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, `Ata’ al-Khurasani, `Ikrima, `Alqama, Ibn al-Munkadir, al-Walid ibn Hisham, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Nafi` – Ibn `Umar’s freedman – and many others. From him narrated his two shaykhs al-Zuhri and Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, Shu`ba, al-Thawri, Malik, Sa`id ibn `Abd al-`Aziz, Isma`il ibn `Ayyash, Baqiyya, Yahya al-Qattan, and many others.

Al-`Abbas ibn al-Walid said: I never saw my father admire anything in the world as much as he admired al-Awza`i. He used to exclaim about him: “Glory to You! You do what You wish.” O my son! Kings are powerless to discipline themselves and their own children the way that al-Awza`i disciplined himself. I never in my life heard him say an excellent word except the listener was bound to observe that it applied to him. Nor did I ever see him laugh without restraint. Whenever he addressed the subject of our return to our Maker, I would say to myself: I wonder, is there one heart in this gathering that is not weeping?

Al-Hiql said: “Al-Awza`i gave replies covering about seventy thousand issues.” `Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi said: “The People (al-nas) in their time were four: Hammad ibn Zayd in al-Basra, al-Thawri in al-Kufa, Malik in al-Hijaz, and al-Awza`i in al-Sham.”2 Isma`il ibn `Ayyash said: “I heard people say, in the year 140, that in our day the wise scholar of the Umma is al-Awza`i.” When the latter came to Mecca, Sufyan al-Thawri walked ahead of him shouting: “Open the way for the Shaykh!” Malik compared the two saying: “One of them [Sufyan] is more knowledgeable than the other, but is not fit to be the Imam [i.e. the Caliph], while the other [al-Awza`i] is.” This was also the opinion of al-Fazari, `Ali ibn Bakkar, and Ibn al-Mubarak.

He was fearless in telling the truth to princes. After massacring the Banu Umayya, the harsh king `Abd Allah ibn `Ali – al-Saffah’s uncle – summoned him and asked him in front of his court: “What is your opinion of what we have done?” Al-Awza`i related: “I thought to myself and decided to tell him the truth, bracing for certain death. I narrated to him the hadith: `Actions are only according to intentions.’3 He said: `What do you say about our killing the people of that dynasty?’ I narrated to him the hadith: `Killing a Muslim is forbidden except in three cases: adultery after marriage, apostasy after Islam, and unlawful manslaughter.’4 He continued: `Tell me about the caliphate, is it not our inheritance as stipulated by the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him?’ I replied: `Had this been the case, `Ali – Allah be well-pleased with him – would have never left anyone come before him.’ He said: `But what do we say about the treasury of the Banu Umayya?’ I replied: `If they were licit to them, they are illicit to you, and if they were illicit to them, they are even more illicit to you.'”

Al-Awza`i did not rise from his place of morning prayer until sunrise, and the sun did not pass the zenith except he was seen standing in prayer. Al-Walid ibn Mazyad said: “No-one surpassed him in intensity of worship.”Among his sayings:

* Marwan al-Tatari said that al-Awza`i said: “Whoever stands in prayer at night at length, Allah shall make the station of the Day of Resurrection easy for him.”

* Al-Walid ibn Muslim and `Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak related that al-Awza`i said: “This science was noble, men would transmit it to one another, but when it spread to books, those other than its rightful custodians became involved with it.”5

* “Whoever holds on to the rare and unusual positions of the scholars has left Islam.” This is similar to Ibn `Abd al-Salam’s saying: “There is no good in one who over-maneuvers (yatahayyal) so as to impose his doctrine despite its weakness and the fact that his evidence is far removed from the truth – whether he interprets the Sunna, or the Consensus, or the Book – standing on bases that are neither right nor true, through corrupt figurative interpretations and rare responses.”6

* “The Book stands in greater need to the Sunna than the Sunna to the Book.” Ibn `Abd al-Barr said: “That is because the Sunna expounds the meaning of the Book (and not vice versa).”7

* Al-Walid ibn Mazyad said that al-Awza`i, asked about humility (khushu`) in prayer, replied: “Downcast gaze, lowering the wing of submission, and softness of heart which is sorrow and dread.” He also said: “I saw al-Awza`i, he was like a blind man due to his humility.”

* Al-Walid heard al-Awza`i define the naïve (al-ablah) as “he who is in blind ignorance of evil but acutely discerning of goodness.”

* “Whoever remembers death much, a little suffices him for livelihood; and whoever realizes that his utterances are counted as deeds, his speech becomes spare.”

* `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad narrated from al-Hasan ibn `Abd al-`Aziz from `Amr ibn Abi Salama al-Tinnisi that al-Awza`i said: “I saw myself as if carried up by two angels who camped me in front of the Lord of Power and Might. He said to me: `Are you my servant `Abd al-Rahman who commands good deeds?’ I replied: `By Your Power and Might! You know best.’ Then they descended again and brought me back where I first was.”

Among al-Awza`i’s notable rulings is that the thigh is part of a man’s legal nakedness in the mosque, but not in the bath.8

Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami said: “I saw al-Awza`i, he was of above-average build, slim, somewhat swarthy, and he used henna.” He used to wear a round turban without a hanging extremity (`adhaba). Al-Dhahabi said: “In addition to his brilliance in the science and his foremost rank in works, he was also a master in the art of writing letters.” Four communities attended his funeral in Beirut: the Muslims carried his bier, followed by the Jews, the Christians, and the Copts. Yazid ibn Madh`ur said: “I saw al-Awza`i in my sleep and asked him: `Show me a level by which to draw near to Allah.’ He replied: `I did not see a level higher than that of the wise scholars of knowledge (al-`ulama’), and, after it, that of the grief-stricken (al-mahzunin).'” SAN 7:86-104 #1049.
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1 A reference to al-Awza`i’s faithful application of his knowledge in his life.

2 This is a notable example of the use of al-nas to mean the major ulamas.

3 Narrated from `Umar by Bukhari and Muslim.

4 Narrated from Ibn Mas`ud by Bukhari, Muslim, and in the Four Sunan; from `Uthman by al-Tirmidhi (hasan), al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, al-Hakim (4:350), al-Shafi`i in his Musnad, al-Bazzar in his Musnad; and from `A’isha by Abu Dawud. See al-Bayhaqi’s Kitab al-Murtadd in Ma`rifa al-Sunan (12:237-258).

5 This statement refers to the books which are passed on for circulation as in modern times, not to those used by the early narrators as mnemonic records when narrating. It is established that early hadith narrators did not narrate except from record, as demonstrated by M.M. Azami and others. ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “I never saw my father narrate except from a book, save less than a hundred hadiths.” In al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ (9:457). The best source on the proof-texts for this fact is al-Khatib al-Baghdadi’s book Taqyid al-‘Ilm (“The Tethering of Knowledge”). This title is taken from Anas’s saying: “Tether knowledge with writing” (qayyidu al-‘ilma bi al-kitab). Anas also said: “We would not consider as knowledge the knowledge of those who did not write down their knowledge.” Taqyid (p. 96-97). See also al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi’s chapter entitled “Writing is the means to tether knowledge and preserve it from oblivion” in his Nawadir al-Usul (p. 39-41).

6 Ibn `Abd al-Salam, Al-Qawa`id al-Sughra (p. 144).

7 Narrated by al-Darimi and others and cited by Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (2:1193-1194 #2351). and al-Shatibi in al-Muwafaqat (Salafiyya ed. 1343 4:10).

8 The rulings of the Four Schools agree that the definition of “nakedness” (`awra) for a man is all that is above the knees and below the navel front and back whether in public or private. Among the proofs for this is the Prophet’s — Allah bless and greet him — saying: “The [man’s] thigh is nakedness.” Narrated from Jarhad al-Aslami, `Ali, and Muhammad ibn Jahsh – with three sound chains according to al-Arna’ut – by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Malik, al-Hakim (4:180-181), Abu Ya`la in his Musnad (#331), al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (4:401-406 #1697, #1699, #1700, #1704), al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunna (9:21-22), Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (4:609-611), and others. Al-Tahawi said in Sharh Ma`ani al-Athar (1:474): “Mass-narrated, sound reports from the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — have reached us that the thigh is nakedness.” Al-Kattani cited it in Nazm al-Mutanathir.

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