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Some of the Contemporaries and Colleagues of Im
ā
m Ah.mad
 by GF Haddad – Qasyoun@ziplip.com – Rajab 1423 – September 2002
Bishr al-H .
ā 
 f 
ī  
1
 
Bishr ibn al-H.
ā
rith, Ab
ū
Nas.r al-Khur 
ā
s
ā
n
 ī 
al-Marwaz
 ī 
al-Baghd
ā
d
 ī 
known as Bishr al-H.
ā
f 
 ī 
(151-227), was a disciple of Fud.ayl ibn ‘Iy
ā
d.(d. 187) and teacher of Sar 
 ī 
al-Saqat.
 ī 
. He took h.ad
 ī 
th from Im
ā
mM
ā
lik, Ibn al-Mub
ā
rak, H.amm
ā
d ibn Zayd, Shar 
 ī 
k, Hushaym, and others. Al-D
ā
raqut.n
 ī 
called him:
 z 
ā
hid jabal thiqa
– “an ascetic who is a mountain of knowledge and trustworthiness.” The Scholars of h.ad
 ī 
th have rarely used the term
 jabal 
, which is above
h.ujja
(“Proof in himself”), which is above
thiqa
 (“trustworthy”). Among his sayings:
•
“I do not know anything better than the pursuit of h.ad
 ī 
th science for whoever fears All
ā
h andkeeps a good intention in this activity; as for myself, I ask the forgiveness of All
ā
h from havingever pursued it, and from every single step I took in it.” Im
ā
m al-Sha‘r 
ā
n
 ī 
explained that thereason Bishr abandoned the study of h.ad
 ī 
th is because he considered it a conjectural science incomparison with the certitude in belief imparted by frequenting Fud.ayl ibn‘Iy
ā
d..
2
However, theearly sources show that this was done out of scrupulous fear of All
ā
h.
3
Sufy
ā
n al-Thawr 
 ī 
 similarly said: “Would that all my knowledge were erased from my breast! How can I face beingasked, tomorrow, about each single h.ad
 ī 
th I ever narrated: ‘What was your purpose in narratingit?’” He also said: “Would that my hand had been cut off and I never sought after a singleh.ad
 ī 
th!”
4
 
•
“If talking pleases you, keep silent; and if silence pleases you, then speak.”
•
“O All
ā
h! You know, above Your Throne, that lowliness is more beloved to me than nobility. OAll
ā
h! You know, above Your Throne, that poverty is more beloved to me than wealth. O All
ā
h!You know, above Your Throne, that I do not put anything before Your love.”Im
ā
m al-Nawaw
 ī 
in his monograph entitled
al-Tarkh
ī 
 s.bil-Qiy
ā
m
narrates the following commentary by Bishr on the h.ad
 ī 
th of Mu‘
ā
wiya to [‘Abd All
ā
h] Ibn ‘
Ā
mir: “Sit, for Iheard the Prophet
!
say:‘Whoever likes for men to stand up for him let him take his place in the fire’”
5
:The Prophet
!
only disliked the standing of others from the perspective of arrogance, but from the perspective of sincere love he did not, since he himself stood up for ‘Ikrima ibn Ab
 ī 
Jahl... and he said[concerning Sa‘d ibn Mu‘
ā
dh]: “Stand for your chief,” and he said: “He who
likes
people to stand for him...” indicating that whoever likes people to stand for him, only then must you not stand for him.It is also established that the Prophet
!
used to stand up for his daughter F
ā
t.ima, take her by the hand,and kiss her, and she used to stand up for him, take his hand, and kiss him.
6
 Also relatedfrom Bishr al-H
ā
f 
 ī 
is the statement: “None criticizes Ab
ū
H.an
 ī 
fa except an envier or anignoramus.”
7
Bishr either followed the School of Ab
ū
H.an
 ī 
fa in
 fiqh
or that of Sufy
ā
n al-Thawr 
 ī 
.Bishr al-H.
ā
f 
 ī 
’s grandfather was a Zoroastrian from Khur 
ā
s
ā
n named B
ā
 b
ū
r. Ibn al-Jawz
 ī 
relates fromZubda, the sister of Bishr:One time Bishr entered my house late at night. He placed one of his feet inside the house and theother outside, and remained thus in reflection until dawn. Afterwards I said to him: “What were youthinking about all night?” He said: “I was thinking of Bishr-the-Christian, and Bishr-the-Jew, and
1
Ibn
 
al-Jawz
 ī 
,
 
S .ifat 
 
al-S .afwa
 
(2:216-218);
 
al-Dhahab
 ī 
,
 
Siyar 
 
(9:170-172
 
#1691).
2
Al-Sha‘r 
ā
n
 ī 
,
al-T 
.
abaq
ā
t al-Kubr 
ā
(1:57).
3
See
 
the
 
chapters
 
on
 
Bishr 
 
in
 
al-Sulam
 ī 
’s
 
T 
.
abaq
ā
t al-S 
.
ū
 fiyya
,
 
al-Qushayr 
 ī 
’s
 
 Ris
ā
la
, and Ibn al-Mulaqqin’s
T 
.
abaq
ā
t al-Awliy
ā
’ 
.
4
Both reports cited by al-Dhahab
 ī 
in the
Siyar 
(al-Arna’
ū
t
.
ed. 7:255, 7:274).
5
 Narrated Ab
ū
D
ā
w
ū
d, al-Tirmidh
 ī 
who said:
h.asan
(“fair”) and Ah
.
mad in his
Musnad 
.
6
 Narrated from ‘
Ā
’isha by al-Bayhaq
 ī 
in
al-Sunan al-Kubr 
ā
(7:101 #13346) and al-H
.
ā
kim (3:154=1990 ed. 3:167,
 s.ah.
ī 
h.
according to al-Dhahab
 ī 
). Cf. ‘Abd All
ā
h al-Ghum
ā
r 
 ī 
,
 I‘l 
ā
m al-Nab
ī 
l bi Jaw
ā
 z al-Taqb
ī 
l 
, 2
nd
ed. (Cairo:Maktabat al-Q
ā
hira 1994). See also, on this issue, the chapter (#26) on getting up out of respect in al-Bayhaq
 ī 
’s
al-Madkhal il 
ā
al-Sunan
.
7
 Narrated by al-Dhahab
 ī 
in his
T 
ā
r 
ī 
kh al-Isl 
ā
m
(6:142) and
Man
ā
qib Ab
ī 
H 
.
an
ī 
 fa
(p. 32).
 
Bishr-the-Zoroastrian, and about my soul, and about my name of ‘Bishr,’ and I said to myself: ‘Whathave you done to merit that He single you out [with Isl
ā
m]?’ And I kept thinking of His immensefavor towards me, and thanking Him that He has made me one of His special servants and clothed mewith the vestment of His beloved ones.”Ibn al-Jawz
 ī 
also relates from Muh.ammad ibn Qud
ā
ma: “Bishr ibn al-H.
ā
rith once met a drunkard onthe road who began kissing him and shouting: ‘
Y 
ā
sayyid 
ī 
!
 
Y 
ā
Ab
ā
Nas.r!
’ and Bishr did not push himaway from him. When the drunkard left, Bishr’s eyes filled with tears and he said: ‘A man who lovedanother man because he imagined that there was some good in him – yet, perhaps, the lover is saved,while the one who is loved is uncertain about his own condition.’”Im
ā
m Ah.mad was awed by Bishr al-H.
ā
f 
 ī 
and considered him one of the
 Abd 
ā
l 
– major Saints of thetime – only regretting that he did not complete the Sunna by marrying.
Ibn al-Mad 
ī  
n 
ī  
 
‘Al
 ī 
ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
, Ab
ū
al-H.asan ‘Al
 ī 
ibn ‘Abd All
ā
h ibn Ja‘far al-Sa‘d
 ī 
al-Bas.r 
 ī 
al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
(d. 234)was the trustworthy Im
ā
m and h.ad
 ī 
th Master and one the most knowledgeable of the h.ad
 ī 
th Masters of his time. He narrated h.ad
 ī 
th from his father, from H.amm
ā
d ibn Zayd, and a large number of h.ad
 ī 
thMasters. From him narrated al-Bukh
ā
r 
 ī 
, Ab
ū
D
ā
w
ū
d, al-Baghaw
 ī 
, Ab
ū
Ya‘l
ā
, and others. He was astudent of Yah.y
ā
ibn Sa‘
 ī 
d al-Qat.t.
ā
n together with al-Sh
ā
dhak 
ū
n
 ī 
, ‘Amr ibn ‘Al
 ī 
, Ah.mad ibn H.anbal,and Yah.y
ā
ibn Ma‘
 ī 
n.Ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
once said: “I may find the minute defect of a h.ad
 ī 
th narration forty years later.” HisShaykh ‘Abd al-Rah.m
ā
n ibn Mahd
 ī 
said: “‘Al
 ī 
ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
is the most knowledgeable of all human beings in the h.ad
 ī 
th of the Messenger of All
ā
h
!
, especially in what Ibn ‘Uyayna narrates. Do you blame me for loving ‘Al
 ī 
ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
too much? By All
ā
h! I learn more from him than he does fromme.” His other Shaykhs Yah.y
ā
al-Qat.t.
ā
n and Sufy
ā
n ibn ‘Uyayna said the same about him. Al-Bukh
ā
r 
 ī 
 said: “I did not think little of myself before anyone except before ‘Al
 ī 
(ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
).” Al-Nas
ā
’
 ī 
said:“It is as if All
ā
h created him only for this science (h.ad
 ī 
th).” He died in Samarr 
ā
. Ibn al-Ath
 ī 
r said that thename of Mad
 ī 
ni is related to the city of the Prophet
!
but al-Jawhar 
 ī 
said thatthe latter would be“Madan
 ī 
,” “Mad
 ī 
ni” referring to the city built by the caliph al-Mans.
ū
r, al-Mad
ā
’in.
8
 
 Al-Q
ā 
sim ibn Sall 
ā 
m 
9
 
Al-Q
ā
sim ibn Sall
ā
m ibn ‘Abd All
ā
h, Ab
ū
‘Ubayd al-Haraw
 ī 
 
"
 
(d. 224), was one of the great earlyh.ad
 ī 
th Masters and philologists, author of 
Ghar 
ī 
b al-H .ad 
ī 
th
,
 Fada’il al-Qur’ 
ā
n
, and many other works.A student of al-Sh
ā
fi‘
 ī 
, Hushaym, Ibn ‘Uyayna, Ghundar, Ibn al-Mub
ā
rak, Wak 
 ī 
‘, Ibn Mahd
 ī 
, and others,he was one of ‘Abb
ā
s al-D
ū
r 
 ī 
’s Shaykhs. Ish.
ā
q ibn R 
ā
h
ū
yah said: “As All
ā
h loves the truth, Ab
ū
 ‘Ubayd is better versed and more knowledgeable in the Law than I.” Ibr 
ā
h
 ī 
m al-H.arb
 ī 
said: “Ab
ū
 ‘Ubayd was like a mountain into which the Spirit was breathed. He excelled in everything, except thath.ad
 ī 
th was the specialty of Ah.mad [ibn H.anbal] and Yah.y
ā
[ibn Ma‘
 ī 
n].”‘Abb
ā
s al-D
ū
r 
 ī 
said: “I heard Ab
ū
‘Ubayd al-Q
ā
sim ibn Sall
ā
m mention the vision of All
ā
h [in thehereafter], the
kurs
ī 
where the two Feet are placed, our Lord’s laughter, and where He was [beforecreation], then he said: ‘All these are sound
(s.ah.
ī 
h. )
narrations transmitted by the scholars of h.ad
 ī 
th and
 fiqh
one from another; we consider them the truth and do not doubt them. But if it were asked: How doesHe laugh? or: How does He place His
Qadam
? We reply: We do not explain this; nor did we ever hear anyone explain it.’”Among his sayings:
•
“He who follows the Sunna is like one who is grasping a hot coal. A day spent following theSunna is, to me, preferable to striking sword-blows in the way of All
ā
h Almighty.”
•
“I am puzzled by those who leave the principles to study the branches.”
10
Shaykh Muh
.
ammad ‘Aj
ā
 jal-Khat
.
 ī 
 b said he meant by the principlesthe foundational books
(al-kutub al-ummah
ā
t)
of  proof-texts as opposed to the books of 
 fiqh
.
11
 
8
Source: al-Khat.
 ī 
 b,
al-J 
ā
mi‘ 
(2:385 #1841).
9
Sources: Ibn Ab
 ī 
Ya‘l
ā
,
T 
.
abaq
ā
t al-H .an
ā
bila
(1:259-262 #369); al-Dhahab
 ī 
,
Siyar 
(9:183-191 #1702, 8:287-289#1482); Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr,
al-Intiq
ā
’ 
(p. 167).
10
 Narrated by al-Khat
.
 ī 
 b in
al-J 
ā
mi‘ li Akhl 
ā
q al-R
ā
w
ī 
(2:270 #1612).
 
 Ibn Ab
 ī 
Ya‘l
ā
relates from Ibn Ab
 ī 
al-Duny
ā
[the h.ad
 ī 
th Master ‘Abd All
ā
h ibn Muh.ammad ibn‘Ubayd (208-281)] the following account by Ab
ū
‘Ubayd:I visited Ah.mad ibn H.anbal one day. When I entered his house he got up and embraced me, thenhe made me sit at the head of his gathering. I said: “Ab
ū
‘Abd All
ā
h! Is it not said that the owner of the house, or chief of the gathering, is the most deserving of sitting at the head of his house or gathering?” He replied: “Yes, he sits there, and seats whom he wishes there.” I thought to myself:
“Take benefit from what you just heard, Ab
ū
‘Ubayd!”
Then I said: “Ab
ū
‘Abd All
ā
h! If I were tocome and see you according to what befits you, I would come and see you each and every day.” Hereplied: “Do not say that. I have brothers whom I do not see all year but once, and in whose love Itrust more than in those I see every day.” I said to myself:
“This is another one, Ab
ū
‘Ubayd!”
WhenI got up to leave he got up with me. I said: “Please do not, Ab
ū
‘Abd All
ā
h!” He said: “Al-Sha‘b
 ī 
 said: Part of the perfection of the visitor’s call is that he be accompanied to the door of the house[when he leaves], and to hold the reins of his mount for him.” I said: “Ab
ū
‘Abd All
ā
h! From al-Sha‘b
 ī 
?” He said: “From Ibn Ab
 ī 
Z
ā
’ida, from Mujalid, from al-Sha‘b
 ī 
.” I said to myself:
“Ab
ū
 ‘Ubayd, this is the third benefit for you!”
 Ibn Ab
 ī 
Ya‘l
ā
continues: “It is narrated from Ab
ū
Qil
ā
 ba, from Ibn ‘Abb
ā
s, that the Prophet
!
said:‘Whoever holdsthe reins of someone’s mount not begging anything from him nor fearing him, his sinsare forgiven.’
12
Al-Sha‘b
 ī 
narrated that Ibn ‘Abb
ā
s held the reins of Zayd ibn Th
ā
 bit’s mount, so thelatter said: ‘You are holding them for me, you, the Prophet’s
!
cousin?’ Whereupon Ibn ‘Abb
ā
s replied:‘This is our practice with the
 
Ulema.’”
13
It is also narrated that Ibn ‘Abb
ā
s would wait for Zayd to comeout outside his door in order to take knowledge from him; and when Zayd died he said: “Thus is knowl-edge taken away.”(Ab
ū
‘Ubayd must not be confused with his contemporary and philologist namesak eAb
ū
‘Ubaydawho is Ma‘mar ibn al-Muthann
ā
al-Taym
 ī 
(d. ~210). He authored
Maj
ā
 z al-Qur’ 
ā
n
14
and the lost
Ghar 
ī 
b al-H .ad 
ī 
th
as well as historical and lexicographical works. He is cited heavily in Qur’
ā
nic com-mentaries and al-Baghaw
 ī 
reports in his that he explained
istaw
ā
 as “He mounted”
(s.a‘ida)
in the verse
#
Then He established Himself over the Throne
$
(32:4).
15
Pickthall followed that sense in histranslation of the verse as “Then He mounted the Throne.”)
Ibn Ab 
ī  
Shayba 
16
 
‘Abd All
ā
h ibn Muh.ammad ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba Ibr 
ā
h
 ī 
m ibn ‘Uthm
ā
n ibn Khuwasta, Ab
ū
Bakr al-‘Abas
 ī 
 (d. 235), described by al-Dhahab
 ī 
as the brother, father, and uncle of h.ad
 ī 
th Masters and their most prestigious representative, “the master of h.ad
 ī 
th Masters,” “one of those who have reached the sky, anapex of trustworthiness,” “one of the oceans of knowledge,” the author of 
al-Musnad 
,
al-Ah.k 
ā
m
,
al-Mus.annaf 
, and
al-Tafs
ī 
r 
, “one of the peers of Ah.mad ibn H.anbal, Ish.
ā
q ibn R 
ā
h
ū
yah, and ‘Al
 ī 
ibn al-Mad
 ī 
n
 ī 
in age, place of birth, and h.ad
 ī 
th memorization.” Ab
ū
Zur‘a al-R 
ā
z
 ī 
said: “I never saw anyonewith more mastery of the h.ad
 ī 
th than Ab
ū
Bakr ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba,” rather lavish praise in light of al-R 
ā
z
 ī 
’s familiarity with Ah.mad ibn H.anbal and al-Bukh
ā
r 
 ī 
. His scholarly relatives are: his brothers‘Uthm
ā
n ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba and al-Q
ā
sim ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba; his son Ibr 
ā
h
 ī 
m ibn Ab
 ī 
Bakr ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba;and his nephew Ab
ū
Ja‘far Muh.ammad ibn ‘Uthm
ā
n ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba. All are h.ad
 ī 
th Masters except al-Q
ā
sim, who is weak.‘Abd All
ā
h ibn Ab
 ī 
Shayba took h.ad
 ī 
th from Shar 
 ī 
k ibn ‘Abd All
ā
h al-Q
ā
d.
 ī 
at age fourteen, Ibn al-Mub
ā
rak, Sufy
ā
n ibn ‘Uyayna, Hushaym ibn Bash
 ī 
r, Wak 
 ī 
‘ ibn al-Jarr 
ā
h., Yah.y
ā
al-Qat.t.
ā
n, Ism
ā
‘
 ī 
l ibn‘Ayy
ā
sh, Ism
ā
‘
 ī 
l ibn ‘Ulayya, and other major authorities. From him took al-Bukh
ā
r 
 ī 
and Muslim, Ab
ū
 D
ā
w
ū
d, Ibn M
ā
 jah, Ah.mad ibn H.anbal, Ab
ū
Zur‘a, Ibn Ab
 ī 
‘
Ā
s.im, Baq
 ī 
ibn Makhlad, al-B
ā
ghand
 ī 
, Ab
ū
 Ya‘l
ā
al-Maws.il
 ī 
, S.
ā
lih.Jazara, ‘Abd
ā
n, Ab
ū
al-Q
ā
sim al-Baghaw
 ī 
, and others.
11
This objection is addressed in depth in the section titled “The Superiority of 
 Fiqh
over H
.
ad
 ī 
th” in the chapter onal-Sh
ā
fi‘
 ī 
.
12
 Narrated by Ibn ‘As
ā
kir.
13
This h
.
ad
 ī 
th is narrated by al-Khat
.
 ī 
 b in
al-Faq
ī 
h wal-Mutafaqqih
(2:99), al-Bayhaq
 ī 
in
al-Madkhal 
(p. 137), IbnSa‘d (2:360) from Ab
ū
Nu‘aym with a sound
(s.ah.
ī 
h. )
chain according to Ibn H
.
ajar in
al-Is
.
ā
ba
(1:561), al-T
.
abar 
ā
n
 ī 
 with a sound chain as indicated by al-Haytham
 ī 
in the chapter on Zayd in
Majma‘ al-Zaw
ā
’id 
, Ibn al-Muqri’ in
al- Rukhs
.
a f 
ī 
Taqb
ī 
l al-Yad 
(p. 95 #30), al-T
.
abar 
 ī 
in his
T 
ā
r 
ī 
kh
(11:57, al-Fath
.
), and Ibn ‘As
ā
kir in his
T 
ā
r 
ī 
kh
in the biography of Zayd.
14
Published in Cairo in two volumes edited by Fu’
ā
d Sezg
 ī 
n (1955 and 1962).
15
In his commentary entitled
Ma‘ 
ā
lim al-Tanz 
ī 
l 
(al-Manar ed. 3:488).
16
Main sources: al-Dhahab
 ī 
,
Siyar 
(9:394-396 #1841) and
Tadhkira
(2:432-433).
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Serenity1961

Jazaak Allah u khaira.

reply02 / 08 / 2010
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