Locations: Damascus

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!”‘.»

---

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

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

Buried in the graveyard of Mezzah

Ziarat al-Sham

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

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 muhaddith” – All scholars and shaikhs of Syria accepted him as their teacher, and those living in Damascus used to attend his daily lessons. He had a photographic memory. Knew by heart all the hadeeths of Bukhaari, Muslim, and the remainder of the six most famous books of Hadeeth, including the biography of all narrators of all chains of every hadeeth, their dates of birth and decease, and their status of authenticity. Also, he used to explain the Qur’aan by heart from al Baydaawi’s Tafseer (explanation of the Qur’aan). His ijaazah was especially besought by Hadeeth scholars for being the closest one of his age to the Prophet Salla’l Laahu `Alaihi Wa Sallam (counting the number of men in the chain). Doctors and engineers who attended his classes used to say: We exhausted our life learning our profession, and he knows it more than us. He was also instrumental in the organization of the revolution against the French occupation.

One of the great scholars, Badruddin Al-Hasani (who was a master of hadith), from the city of Damascus, who died in this age, at every ‘Eid, he would go out, and he would give his students charity from his own pocket, and there were places, particularly in the colonialism era, where there were a lot of women that were impoverished and forced into prostitution to support themselves, and he would tell his student to give those prostitutes charity, and he would say to them, “Tell them that Badruddin Al-Hasani asked you to make du’ah (supplication) for him.” And those women would weep when they heard that: “Who are we to make du’ah for Badruddin Al-Hasani?.” There were people who repented because of that act.

The following are quoted from Al Durar Al Lu’lu’iyyah by Shaikh Mahmood al Rankoosi (pp. 9, 13, 28) who was his special student for the last twelve years of his life:
“He knew Saheeh Muslim and Bukhaari by heart, including individual chains of narrators and their biographies. It is not improbable that he also knew by heart their commentaries from “Fath Al Baari”, al `Ayni and al Nawawi.

Egypt’s Mufti Shaikh Muhammad Bakheet said: “If he was with us in Egypt, (out of respect) scholars would carry him over their shoulders.”

Shaikh Muhammad al Qaayaati said:”He is among the rarities of this age… We were present one night when he was reciting Saheeh Al Bukhaari. He recited more than one hour, discussing topics and explaining Hadeeth by heart.”

The great Hadeeth scholar Abdu’l Waasi` al Yamaani said: “I have heard teachers and preachers in numerous countries but I have never seen anybody similar to him concerning his expertise in all Sciences.”

A scholar from India said in a long biography: “He is the Qutb -pivot, pillar- of our time and the Mujaddid -renovator of religion- of our age.”

Shaikhu’l Islam in Istanbul, Musa Kaazim Afandi said: “He is the Qutb of the Muslim world.”

Al Sayyid al Kabeer al Kittaani al Maghribi said: “There has been no one comparable to him since five hundred years.”

Experts in engineering and mathematics would often attend his lessons and concede his superiority in these sciences saying: “We spent all our life learning but did not reach his level.”

هو الشريف الشيخ ولي الله تعالى محمد بدر الدين ابن الشيخ يوسف الحسني المغربي الاصل الدمشقي محدث الديار الشامية. ولد بدمشق سنة 1267 هـ = 1850 وأخذ علومه عن والده وخاله الشيخ صالح الكزبري وغيرهما ثم رحل إلى مصر فأخذ عن جملة من علمائها. عرف بالزهد والورع والذكر اشغل وقته بالتدريس والعبادة والتأليف، توفي بدمشق سنة 1354 هـ = 1935.

 

Buried outside the Maqbara Bab Saghir. A modern mosque with an institute is erected next to his grave. With him is buried his son Sheikh Yusuf al-Hasani (d. 1279 H), who succeded him as a head of Dar al-Hadith.

– Al-Muhaddith
– Depending on Allah, Zaytuna Institute Paper
– Dar al-Hadith
– Hanbali Text Society
– Damas Cultural Society 2006

`Umar (d. 1237) |
| Muhammad Amin (d. 1252 H.) sahib al-Hashia | `Ala al-Din (d. 1306 H.)		| `Abd al-Ghani | Ahmad (d. 1307 H.) | Muhammad Abu Khayr (d. 1345 H.) | Muhammad Abul Yusr (d. 1401 H.)

Lineage of `Umar ‘Abidin:

He was `Umar
b. `Abd al-`Aziz b. Ahmad
b. `Abd al-Rahim
b. Muhammad Salih al-Din (known as Ibn `Abidin because of his rightousness)
b. Najm al-Din b. Muhammad
b. Kamal b. Taqi al-Din (al-mudarris)
b. Mustafa b. Husayn b. Rahmatu Allahal-Thani b. Qasim
b. Hasan
b. Isma’il (the first of them who came to Damascus, became the leader of the guild of ashraf in 330 H. ),
b. Husayn al-Thalith,
b. Ahmad b. al-Khamis
b. Isma’il al-Thani
b. Muhammad
b. Isma’il al-A`raj
b. al-Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq
b. al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir
b. al-Imam `Ali Zayn al-`Abidin
b. al-Imam al-Husayn
b. Sayyidina `Ali & Sayyidatina Fatima radia Allah `anhum.

Burial place of Sheikh Muhammad Amin ‘Abidin (author of the Hashia, d. 1252 H), Bab Saghir, Damascus
(Photo: bmk/ziarat 2009)

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latest update: 2008-October-13
Original site: <a href="http://damas-original.nur.nu/Texter/bionotes/bio_abidin_Muhammad-Amin.html

View original article on damas-original.nur.nu

Excerpt from Risalat f’it Tawhid
Concerning the Affirmation of Divine Oneness
by Shaykh Wali Raslan ad-Dimashqi
translation by Muhtar Holland © Baz Publications
View | Download

Excerpto de Risala fi’t-Tawhid de Sheikh Rislan al-Dimashqi: View | Download

Article in At-Tabaqat al-Kubra of Imam al-Sha’rani (PDF) – View | Download – see also below

Summary notes from Imam Sha´rani’s Tabaqat

Buried near Bab Tuma. With him is buried: His Sheikh Abu `Âmir al-Mu’addab, on the qibla side; and on the southern side: Sheikh Abu Majd, Ibrahim b. `Abd al-`Aziz al-Sanadi, the care-taker of the grave, Sheikh Najm al-Din b. Isra’il, and Sheikh Ahmad al-Harun (d. 13.. H./ 1961). – Within Bab Tuma is his home and a small mosque where he used to worship, and a well that he dug with his own hands.
Reference: Ziarat al-Sham

`Umar (d. 1237) |
| Muhammad Amin (d. 1252 H.) sahib al-Hashia | `Ala al-Din (d. 1306 H.)		| `Abd al-Ghani | Ahmad (d. 1307 H.) | Muhammad Abu Khayr (d. 1345 H.) | Muhammad Abul Yusr (d. 1401 H.)

Lineage of `Umar ‘Abidin:

He was `Umar
b. `Abd al-`Aziz b. Ahmad
b. `Abd al-Rahim
b. Muhammad Salih al-Din (known as Ibn `Abidin because of his rightousness)
b. Najm al-Din b. Muhammad
b. Kamal b. Taqi al-Din (al-mudarris)
b. Mustafa b. Husayn b. Rahmatu Allahal-Thani b. Qasim
b. Hasan
b. Isma’il (the first of them who came to Damascus, became the leader of the guild of ashraf in 330 H. ),
b. Husayn al-Thalith,
b. Ahmad b. al-Khamis
b. Isma’il al-Thani
b. Muhammad
b. Isma’il al-A`raj
b. al-Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq
b. al-Imam Muhammad al-Baqir
b. al-Imam `Ali Zayn al-`Abidin
b. al-Imam al-Husayn
b. Sayyidina `Ali & Sayyidatina Fatima radia Allah `anhum.

Biography (pdf) by S.A.

t.b.d.
 

Tomb stone of Sheikh ‘Ala al-Din ‘Abidin (d. 1306 H.) reverse side of the the tombstone of Sheikh Muhammad Amin.
(Photo: bmk/ziarat 2009)

© Damas Cultural Society 2007 — Latesi update: 2008-October-13
Original site: damas-original.nur.nu

Abul Walid `Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (the caliph) ibn Al-Hakam (the Sahabi) ibn Abil`As ibn Umayya al-Quraishi. The one of the seven fuqaha of Madina, and the fifth Umawi caliph.

Ibn Khaldun stated that
“`Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan is one of the greatest Arab and Muslim Caliphs. He followed in the footsteps of `Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Commander of the Believers, in regulating state affairs”.

He was a well-educated man and capable ruler who was able to solve many political problems. He ruled for 21 years, and extended and consolidated Muslim rule.

He spent the first half of his life with his father, Marwan bin Al-Hakam fourth Umayyad caliph, in Medina, where he received religious instruction and developed friendly relations with pious circles of that city that were to stand him in good stead in his later life. As caliph, he treated the scholars with respect, and his private life was close to their ideals. As a result, many were to abandon their earlier opposition to Umayyad rule.

‘Abd al-Malik became caliph after the death of his father Marwan I in 685. Within a few years, he dispatched armies, under Al-Ḥajjaj bin Yousef, on a campaign to reassert Umayyad control over the Islamic empire. In an attemtpt to oust ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr from Makka, Al-Hajjaj besieged the Holy City, and bombarded it with catapults. ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was killed in the final fighting around the Ka’ba.

‘Abd al-Malik assiend Al-Ḥajjaj as governor of Iraq, where he quelled revolts consolidated Umawi rule, paving the way to further territorial expansion, from Anatolia to the far Maghrib.

For the first time, a special currency for the Muslim world was minted, which led to war with the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines were decisively defeated by `Abd al-al-Malik in Sevastopol, after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs. The Islamic currency was then made the only currency of exchange in the Muslim world.

Many other important changes took place under the rule of `Abd al-Al-Malik:
– He introduced reforms in agriculture and commerce.
– He made Arabic the state language. During his reign, all important records were translated into Arabic.
– He organised a regular postal service.
– He repaired the damaged Kaaba and began the tradition of weaving a silk cover for the Kaaba in Damascus.

He was the first in Islam to be called `Abd al-Malik [Ziarat al-Sham p. 33:f4]

To history, Abd al-Malik is known as the “Father of Kings”: his four sons succeeded him as the caliph one after another[18] though with Umar II, son of Abd al-Aziz succeeding Sulayman. Abd al-Malik died at al-Sinnabra in 705.[19]

Buried in The cemetery of Bab Saghir, near Sayyiduna Mu`awiya.

His wife Umm al-Banain `Atiqa bint Yazid b. Mu`awiah b. Abi Sufian is buried outside Bab al-Jabiah west of damascus [Ziarat al-Sham p. 33]

His son al-Walid b. `Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (d. 96 H) built the Umawi mosque, after demolishing the church that was in its place; also rebuilt the Prophets (s) mosque in Madina and the Dome of hte Rock in Jerusalem. He is buried in Bab al-Saghir, 20 armlengths north of Mu`awyiah [Ziarat al-Sham p. 75]

References:
gfh
Damas Cultural Society © 2007

From onemilegrads.blogspot.se

Abdullah al-Aftah ibn Ja’far al-Sadiq was the eldest surviving son of Ja’far al-Sadiq, and the full-brother of Isma’il ibn Jafar. Abdullah’s title “al-Aftah” derives from the Arabic words “aftah al-ra’s” (broad-headed) or “aftah al-rijlayn” (broad-footed) used to describe his appearance.

During the lifetime of his father, Abdullah al-Aftah had supported the revolt of his relative Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya.

About his father, Imam Ja´far al-Sadiq
His father, Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq born in 702 CE or 17th Rabi al-Awwal 83 H is said to be highly respected for his great Islamic scholarship, pious character, and academic contributions. As a child, Ja’far Al-Sadiq studied under his grandfather, Zayn al-Abidin. After his grandfather’s death, he studied under and accompanied his father, Muhammad al-Baqir, until Muhammad al-Baqir died in 733.

Ja’far Al-Sadiq became well versed in Islamic sciences, including Hadith, Sunnah, and the Qur’an. In addition to his knowledge of Islamic sciences, Ja’far Al-Sadiq was also an adept in natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, anatomy, alchemy and other subjects.

The foremost Islamic alchemist, Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, known in Europe as Geber, was Ja’far Al-Sadiq’s most prominent student. Ja’far Al-Sadiq was known for his liberal views on learning, and was keen to have discourse with Scholars of other views.

Abū Ḥanīfa was an Islamic scholar and Jurist. He was a student of Ja’far Al-Sadiq, as was Imam Malik ibn Anas, who quotes 12 hadiths from Imam Jafar Sadiq in his famous Al-Muwatta.

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He is buried near Sayyidina Bilal in Maqbara Bab Saghir in Damascus.

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The first Dar al-Hadith was founded in Damascus by the Zengid ruler Nur al-Din (al-Malik al-`Adil Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zanki (r. 662-671 H). The Dar al-Sunna school (subsequenty renamed Dar al-Hadith) was built with the purpose of strengthening the sunni doctrine, a charge entrusted to Ibn `Asakir, the erudite hadith scholar and historian of Damascus. It was the first in its kind, later followed by similar institutes, such as the Dar al-Hadith al-Kamiliyyah in Cairo built in 728 H, where Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani tought.

The sandals of the Prophet (s)

One of the merchants in Damascus had the honor to keep the shoes of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Following his will, the shoes were moved to Dar al Hadith after his death, where they were kept in a wooden box located above the mihrab of its mosque, as a goal of seekers of barakah from near and far. The shoes were lost when Dar al-Hadith was burnt by the tatars during the siege of Damascus in the 8th hijri century.

Imâm Abû Hafs al-Fâkihânî (d. 734), a Maliki faqîh and hadith master, visited Damascus seeking the baraka of the the most honored Sandal of the Prophet (s), that was kept in a wooden box above the Mihrâb in the mosque of Dar al-Hadith. He bared his head and began to kiss it and rub his face over it. His tears flowed. He recited [1]:

Restoring Dar al-Hadith

In the 13th century H., a Christian family resident in Damascus, who owned the house next to the Dar al-Hadith Madrasah, laid hands on the Western corner of the mosque and turned it into a wine storage. Sheikh Yusuf al-Hasani al-Maghribi (d. 1279) took the issue to the local land authorities, then to the Sultan of Istanbul – all in vain. He then wrote and complained about the situation to his friend al-Amir `Abdul Qadir al-Jaza’iri (d. 1300 H). When the Amir came to settle in Damascus in 1273 H., he purchased the building from the Christians, restored it and endowed it as a waqf under the supervision of Sheikh Yusuf and his descendants. The son of Sheikh Yusuf, Sheikh Badru al-Din al-Hasani grew up in this house, and spent his childhood studying in Dar al-Hadith.

Dar al-Hadith was burnt again in 1912 during the uprising against the French, and many of Sheikh Badru al-Din’s books and hand-writings were destroyed. The madrasa was rebuilt, however, the mosque pertaining to it is entirely destroyed except a portion of the qibla wall containing the mihrab, which is incorporated in a private residence.

References:

[1] GF Haddad: “Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyyah” pdf
[2] http://www.daralhadith.com
[3] http://archnet.org/sites/3719
Tarikh `Ulama Dimashq
http://www.muhaddith.org/

t.b.d.

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