Brief Biographies of the
eminent Scholars of Hadeeth:
From the English
Translation of Bulugh al-Maraam | Published by Daar as-Salaam
The Seven Great Imaams of
Hadeeth
1. AHMAD (Ibn
Hanbal):
He is Abu ‘Abdullah, Abmad bin
Muhammad bin Hanbal Ash-Shaibani, known by the name Ibn Hanbal. He was a
celebrated theologian, jurist? and a Hadeeth scholar. He is also one of the four
Fiqh Imam. Imaam Ahmad was born at Baghdad in Rabi’-ul-Awwal, 164 H. He studied
the Hadeeth and Fiqh together with other Islaamic disciplines in Baghdad, then
travelled to Ash-Sham and Hijaz for further studies. He was persecuted during
the rule of Al-Ma’mun bin Harun Ar-Rashid for refusing to acknowledge the Bid‘aa
(innovation) of claiming that the Qur'aan was the creation of Allaah * introduced by the
Mu’tazila. He however, stood firm against all the trials and saved the Sunnah
from the innovation of the wretched Mu ‘tazila thoughts. He was the mostly
persecuted and most firm one amongst all the Imam. He is most famous for
collecting the Hadeeth of the Prophet? compiled in the Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal,
which contain 28 to 29 thousand Hadeeth. It was said that Ibn Hanbal memorized
one million Hadeeth. Ibn Hanbal died in Baghdad on Friday, 12 Rabi’-ul-Awwal 241
H.
*
The Creed of the Ahlus-Sunnahh is that the Qur'aan is the Kalaam or Word of
Allaah
2. AL-BUKHARI, Muhammad
bin Isma’il:
He is the Amir-ul-Mu ‘mimn in the
knowledge of Hadeeth, and his full name is Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammad bin Isma’il
bin Ibrahim bin Al-Mughira bin Bardizbah Al-Ju’fi Al-Bukhari. He was born in
Shawwal 194 H. In Bukhara in what is now Uzbekistan. Al-Bukhari studied Hadeeth
at an early age and travelled widely over the Muslim world collecting Hadeeth
and compiled the most authentic ones in his book Al-Jami ‘As-Sahih, which later
became known as As-Sahih Al-Bukhari and contains 2602 Hadeeth which he selected
from the thousands of Hadeeth that he had memorized. Al-Bukhari studied under
famous Hadeeth Imam like Malik bin Anas and Yahya bin Ma’in. He died in
Samarqand, the present day capital of Uzbekistan
Nowadays, the capital is Tashkent.
,
the night of ‘Eid-ul-Fitr, 256 H. Al-Bukhari was unique in the science of the
methodology of Hadeeth and his book Al-Ja’mi ‘As-Sahih is considered to be the
most authentic book after the Qur’an. Saheeh al-Bukhari has been translated to
English and is easily available.
3. MUSLIM bin
Hajjaj:
Muslim’s full name is Muslim bin
Al-Hajjaj Al-Qushairi An-Nishapuri. He was born in 204 H., in the city of
Nishapur near the city of Mashhad in present Iran. Muslim is considered second
only to Al-Bukhari in the science of the methodology of Hadeeth. He started the
study of Hadeeth at an early age and travelled to ‘Iraq, Hijaz, Ash-Sham and
Egypt and studied under the scholars of Hadeeth at that time like Al-Bukhari,
Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ibn Abee Shaiba. He also taught the famous Hadeeth scholars
like At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Abu Haatim.
Muslim
compiled the Hadeeth book Al-Musnad As-Sahih, which became known as Sahih
Muslim. This book, which is considered by the Muslim ‘Ulama as the second most
authentic Hadeeth book after Al-Bukhari, contains 9,200 Hadeeth. Imam Muslim
died at his birthplace in Rajab 261 H. Saheeh al-Muslim has been translated to
English.
4. ABU DA’UD, Sulaiman bin
Al-Ash’ath:
Abu Da’ud, Sulaiman bin Al-Ash’ath
bin Ishaq Al-Azdi As-Sijistani, who was one of the eminent Imam of Hadeeth, was
born in 202H. He studied Hadeeth under Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal along with
Al-Bukhari and taught many of the later scholars of Hadeeth, like At-Tirmidhi
and An-Nasaa’ee. Though Abu Da’ud collected 5,00,000 Hadeeth, he compiled 4,800
Hadeeth only in his book entitled As-Sunan, which he taught in Baghdad and other
major cities at that time. He died at Basra on Friday in the month of Shawwal
275 H. Sunan Abu Dawood has been translated to English.
5. AT-TIRMIDHEE, Abu ‘Iesa
Muhammad bin ‘Iesa:
Abu ‘Iesa, Muhammad bin
‘lesa bin Sura At-Tirmidhee was born in 209 H. In a town called Tirmiz in
Uzbekistan near the northern border of Afghanistan. He was a student of
Al-Bukhari, and compiled 4,000 Hadeeth in his book called Al-Jami which later
came to be known as Sunan At-Tirmidhi. He also contributed tremendously to the
methodology of Hadeeth and composed a book on it called Al-’Ilal (the
discrepancies). He was famous for his piousness. He became blind and finally
died on 13 Rajab 279H. An abriged version of Sunan at-Tirmidhi is available in
English in the Alim computer software CD.
6. AN-NASA’I, Abu
‘Abdur-Rahman Ahmad bin Shu’aib:
Abu
‘Abdur-Rahman, Ahmad bin ‘Ali bin Shuiaib bin ‘Ali Al-Hafiz was born in 215H. In
Nisa’, a city in Khurasan. He became famous for the study of the methodology of
Hadeeth, memorizing and mastering it. His book known as Sunan An-Nasa‘ee is
third to Sahih Al-Bukhari in terms of containing the least weak Hadeeth. He
lived in Egypt then moved to Damascus in Syria and died in Makkah in the year
303 H.
7. IBN MAJAH, Muhammad bin
Yazid:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammad bin Yazid bin
Majah Al-Qizwini was born in 207H. He studied under Imam Malik and others, and
many people narrated Hadeeth from him. He was one of the eminent scholars of
Hadeeth,but his Sunan contains many weak and even Munkar Hadeeth. Ibn Majah died
in Ramadan in 273H. Sunan Ibn Majah has been translated to English, and printed
by Kazi Publications, Lahore.
Other Hadeeth
Scholars
8. IBN RAHWAIH, Ishaq bin
Ibrahim:
Abu Ya’qub, Ishaq bin Ibrahim
At-Tamimi Al-Hanzali Al-Marwazi was an eminent and great Haafidh, who was a
resident and the ‘Aalim of Nishapur. He was also considered as the Sheikh of the
east of his time and was known as Ibn Rahawaih. Imam Ahmad said, “I don’t know
an ‘Aalim equal to Ishaq in Iraq. Abu Zar’a also said, “There was no body so
good at memorizing the Hadeeth than Ishaq.” Abu Hatim also said, “His mastery
(of the Hadeeth), accuracy and accuracy and memorization were very surprising.”
Ibn Rahwaih was born in the year 166 H and died on l5th Sha’ban 238
H.
9. AL-ISMA’ILI, Ahmad bin
Ibrahim:
Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin Ibrahim bin
Isma’il bin Al-’Abbas Al-Isma’ili Al-Jurjani was born in 277 H. He was
considered as an Imam and a Hafidh, and was given the title Sheikh-ul-lslam due
to his wide knowledge and because he was the leader of the Shafi’ees in his
region.
10. AL-BAZZAR, Ahmad bin
‘Amr:
Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin ‘Amr bin
‘Abdul-Khaliq Al-Basri was one of the eminent and learned Hadeeth scholars who
had attained the rank of Hafidh in the memorization of Hadeeth. He authored two
books on Hadeeth which are Al-Musnad Al-Kabir and Al-’Ilal. He studied under
At-Tabarani and others. Al-Bazzar died in 292 H.
11. AL-BAIHAQI, Ahmad bin
Al-Husain:
Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin Al-Husain was
born in Sha’ban in the year 374H. He was considered a learned Hafidh among the
eminent Imams of Hadeeth and a jurisprudence scholar in the Shafi’ee Madhhab. He
wrote many books like As-Sunan Al-Kubra and As-Sunan As-Sughra. Adh-Dhahabi
said, “His books exceed one thousand volumes.” Al-Baihaq, which he is named
after, is a town near Nishapur. Al-Baihaqi died in 458 H.
12. ABU HATIM AR-RAZI,
Muhammad bin Idris:
Abu Hatim, Muhammad bin
Idris bin Al-Mundhir Al-Hanzali Ar-Razi was born in the year 195 H. He was an
eminent Hafidh and an Imam and one of the prominent scholars who excelled in the
methodology of Hadeeth. He was also one of the most respected scholars in the
knowledge Al-Jarh wat-Ta’dil (verifying the reliability and unreliability of the
narrators of the Hadeeth).
13. IBN AL-JARUD, ‘Abdullah
bin ‘Ali:
Abu Muhammad, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ali bin
Al-Jarud An-Nishapuri,who lived near Makkah, was an Imam and a Hafidh who was
among those ‘Ulama who mastered the recitation of the Qur’an. He authored
Al-Muntaqa fil-Ahkam and was among the pious scholars of his time. Ibn Al-Jarud
died in 307 H.
14. AL-HARITH bin Abu
Usama:
Imam Abu Muhammad, Al-Harith bin Abu
Usama Muhammad bin Dahir At-Tamimi Al-Baghdadi was a Hafidh and authored
Al-Musnad which he did not arrange. Ibrahim Al-Harbi and Abu Hatim verified him
as reliable, and Ad-Daraqutni said, “He is truthful.” Al-Harith was born in 186
H. And died on the day of? ‘Arafa 282 H.
15. AL-HAKIM, Abu
Abdullah:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammed ‘Abdullah
An-Nishapuri Al-Hakim known as Ibn Al-Baiyi’ was born in 321H. He was a
celebrated Imam in the verification of Hadeeth. He authored Al-Mustadrak in the
methodology of Hadeeth. It is said that he studied under one thousand professors
and authored many valuable books. Al-Hakim was pious and religious. He died in
Safar 405 H.
16. IBN HIBBAN, Abu Hatim
Ibn Hibban:
Abu Hatim, Muhammad bin Hibban bin
Ahmad bin Hibban Al-Busti was born in Bust in Sijistan. He was one of the
celebrities in the knowledge of Hadeeth, pious, Faqih, learned and one of the
students of Ibn Khuzaimah. He died in Samarqand in 354 H., while in his
eighties.
17. IBN KHUZAIMA, Muhammad
bin Ishaq:
Ibn Khuzaima, Muhammad bin Ishaq
was born in 223 H. In Nishapur. He was considered as a Sheikh-ul-lslam (the most
learned ‘Aalim of Islam) and one of the eminent and senior Hafidh. He was the
Imam and Hafidh of Khurasan during his time. He also authored more than 140
books. Ibn Khuzaima died in Nishapur in 311 H.
18. IBN ABU
KHAYTHAMA:
Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin Abu Khaythama
Zuhair bin Harb An-Nasa’I Al-Baghdadi was a celebrated Imam, Hafidh and an
authority. He authored At-Tarikh Al-Kabir. Ad-Daraqutni said about him, “He was
reliable and trustworthy.” Al-Khatib also said, “He was reliable ‘Aalim
(learned), accurate Hafidh, knowledgeable in the history of people, and the
narration of poetry.” He studied Hadeeth under Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ibn Ma’in.
Ibn Abu Khaythama died in Jumada-ul-Ula 289 H., at the age of 94
years.
19. AD-DARAQUTNI, ‘Ali bin
Umar:
Abul-Hasan, ‘Ali bin ‘Umar bin Ahmad bin
Mahdi Al-Baghdadi. He was nicknamed after a big store called Dar Al-Qutn in
Baghdad. He was a great Hafidh and a unique Imam who was born in the year 306 H.
He was the authority in the methodology of Hadeeth, the knowledge of the
weaknesses of the Hadeeth narrations and names of the Hadeeth narrators of his
time. Ad-Daraqutni died on 8th Dhul-Qa’da 385 H.
20. AD-DARIMI, ‘Abdullah
bin ‘Abdur-Rahman:
Abu Muhamrnad, ‘Abdullah
bin ‘Abdur-Rahmnan bin Al-Fadl bin Bahram At-Tamimi Ad-Darimi As-Samarqandi was
born in the year 181 H. He was a
celebrated Imam,
Hafidh and Sheikh-ul-Islam of Samarqand and the author of Al-Musnad Al- ‘Aali.
He heard Hadeeth at Al-Haramain, Khurasan, Ash-Sham, Iraq and Egypt. Muslim, Abu
Da’ud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i and others transmitted Hadeeth from him. He was
described to be very intelligent and very virtuous and was considered to be an
exemplary person in piousness, patience, hardwork, worship and abstinence.
Ad-Darimi died on 8th Dhul-Hijja 255H.
21. ABU DA’UD, Sulaiman bin
Da’ud At-Tayalisi:
Sulaiman bin Da’ud bin
Al-Jarud Al-Basri was a Persianby origin and the freed slave of Az-Zubair. He
was a great Hafidh and one of the eminent ‘Ulama. Al-Qallas and Ibn Al-Madini
both said about him, “I have not seen someone who is more versed with the
Hadeeth more than him.” Ibn Mahdi said, “He is a most truthful person.” He
recorded Hadeeth from more than one thousand scholars. Abu Da’ud died in the
year 204 H.
22. IBN ABU AD-DUNYA,
‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin ‘Ubaid:
Abu Bakr,
‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin ‘Ubaid bin Sufyan bin Abu Ad-Dunya Al-Qurashi
Al-Baghdadi, the freed slave of Banu Umaiya, was born in 208 H. He was a
Muhaddith and truthful ‘Aalim. He wrote some books and educated more than one of
the caliphs’ sons like Al-Mu’tadid. Ibn Abu Ad-Dunya died in Jumada Al-Ula, 281
H.
23. ADH-DHUHLI, Muhammad
bin Yahya:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammad bin Yahya
bin ‘Abdullah bin Khalid bin Faris, the freed slave of Banu Dhuhl was born in
170 of the Hijra. He was a Sheikh-ul-lslam and Amir-ul-Mu’minin in the knowledge
of Hadeeth and theHafidh of Nishapur. He acquired Hadeeth from many professors
in Al-Haramain, Ash-Sham, Egypt, Iraq, Ar-Ray, Khurasan, Yemen and Al-Jazira and
became very competent in this field and became the authority of knowledge in
Khurasan. Ahmad said, “I never saw someone who knows the Hadeeth of Az-Zuhri
from Muhammad bin Yahya than Adh-Dhuhli. He died in Rabl’-ul-Awwal,
258H.
24. ABU ZUR’A AR-RAZI,
‘Ubaidullah bin Abdul-Karim:
‘Ubaidullah bin
‘Abdul-Karim bin Yazid bin Faroukh, Abu Zur’a Ar-Razi Al-Qurashi by clientship
was a Hafidh and an eminent scholar of the Hadeeth. He was also considered among
the Imam of ‘Al-Jarh wat-Ta‘dil (the critical study of the Hadeeth narrators).
Muslim, At-Tirmi&i, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and others narrated Hadeeth from
him. Adh-Dhahabi said, “Many people heard Hadeeth from him in Al-Haramain,
‘Iraq, Ash-Sham, Al-Jazira, Khurasan, and Egypt.” He was also well acclaimed for
his memorization, brightness, piousness, sincerity, knowledge and the good
application of his knowledge. Abu Zur’a Ar-Razi died towards the end of 264 H.
At the age of 64 years.
25. IBN AS-SAKAN, Sa’id bin
‘Uthman:
Abu ‘Ali Sa’id bin As-Sakan
Al-Baghdadi was born in 294 H. He was a celebrated Hafidh and an authoritative
Imam. He paid much attention to the study of Hadeeth, and collected and wrote
books on Hadeeth, thus becoming very famous in this field. Ibn As-Sakan died in
the year 353 H.
26. SA’ID bin
Mansur:
Sa’id bin Mansur bin Shu’ba Al-Marwazi
or At-Taliqani then Al-Balkhi lived near Makkah. He authored the book As-Sunan.
Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal praised him immensely. Harb Al-Karmani said, “He (Saiid)
dictated to me about ten thousand Hadeeth from his memory.” Sa’id bin Mansur
died in Makkah in? Ramadan 227 H, while in his nineties.
27. ASH-SHAFI’EE, Muhammad
bin Idris:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammad bin ldris
bin AI-’Abbas bin ’Uthman bin Shafi’ee bin As-Sa’ib bin ‘Ubaid bin ‘Abd Yazid
bin Hashim bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Manaf Al-Qurashi Al-Makki was born in
150 H. in Ghaza and was taken to Makkah while a baby. He lived in Egypt where he
died in 204 H. He was considered to be one of the most learned persons amongst
the Muslim Ummah, unique, learned and the founder of the science of Usul Al-Fiqh
(the principles of jurisprudence). His grandfather Shafi’i was a Sahabi who met
the Prophet? while a growing up boy. Imaam Shafi’ee’s book, ar-Risaala on Usool
al-Fiqh has been translated to English (Islaamic Texts Society - UK, 1961) and
is available with us for reference.
28. IBN ABEE SHAIBA, Abu
Bakr:
Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abee
Shaiba Ibrahim bin ‘Uthman bin Hawasi Al-’Ansi (by clientship) was a unique
Hafidh. He authored Al-Musnad wal-Musannaf and other books. He was a leader in
the knowledge of Hadeeth and Abu Zur’a, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da’ud and Khalaf
narrated it from him. Abu Bakr died in Muharram, 235 H.
29. AT-TABARANI, Sulaimman
bin Ahmad:
Abul-Qasim, Sulaiman bin Ahmad bin
Ayub bin Mutair Al-Lakhmi At-Tabarani was born in 260 H. in Tabariya As-Sham. He
was an authoritative Imam and narrated Hadeeth from more than one thousand
scholars. He left Ash-Sham to acquire the knowledge of Hadeeth and spent
thirty-three years of travelling in its pursuance. He authored many interesting
and amusing books, among them are Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir, Al-Mu’jam Al-Awsat, and
Al-Mu’jam As-Saghir. At-Tabarani lived in Asfahan and died there on 27th
Dhul-Qa’da, 360 H.
30. AT-TAHAWI, Ahmad bin
Muhammad:
Abu Ja’far, Ahmad bin Muhammad
Salama bin Salama Al-Azdi Al-Misri At-Tahawi Al-Hanafi was born in the year 228
H. or 227 H. He was nicknamed after a village called Taha in Egypt. He was a
follower of the Shafi’ee Madhaab (school of jurisprudence) and a student of
Al-Muzni, his nephew until the latter one day told him, “By Allah, you will
never became anything.”At-Tahawi then became angry and moved to Abu ‘Imran
Al-Hanafi and not only became a Hanafi (a follower of the Hanaf Madhhab) but
very enthusiastic in proving the Hanafi Madhhab by strengthening the reports,
adducing the Hadeeth weakened by the others as evidence to support his Madhhab.
Al-Baihaqi also said that he used to weaken the unfavourable Hadeeth to his
Madhhab through methods not approved of by the scholars of the Hadeeth. Among
his most famous books is Sharh Ma‘ani Al-Athar. At-Tahawi died in the beginning
of Dhul-Qa’da,321 H.
31. IBN ‘ABDUL-BARR, Yusuf
bin ‘Abdullah:
Abu ‘Umar, Yusuf bin ‘Abdullah
bin Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Barr bin ‘Asim An-Namari Al-Qurtubi was born in
Rabi’-uth-Thani, 368 H. He was a celebrated learned Imam and was the
Sheikh-ul-lslam and Hafidh of Al-Maghrib (North West Africa). He was considered
as the master of his time in the memorization and accurate rendering of the
Hadeeth. He was also skilled in the science of genealogy and history. Ibn Hazm
said, “I cannot talk about the knowledge of the Hadeeth like ‘Abdul-Barr, so how
can I do better than him?” He has authored many books, the most famous of which
is Al-Isti’ab. Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr died on a Friday in Rabi’-uth-Thani, 463 H. At
the age of 95 years.
32. ‘ABDUL-HAQ bin
‘Abdur-Rahman:
Abu Muhammad, ‘Abdul-Haq bin
‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Abdullah bin Husain bin Sa’id Al-Azdi Al-Ishbili was born in
510 H. He was a Hafidh and an authority in the knowledge of Hadeeth. He resided
in Bijaya in Spain where he spread his knowledge and authored books. He was
famous and a celebrated ‘Aalim and was appointed as the Khatib of Bijaya. He was
a Faqih and knowledgeable in the methodology of the Hadeeth, its weak ones and
the history of the Hadeeth narrators. He was also described to be virtuous,
pious and a strict follower of the Sunnah. He also took interest in the arts and
recited poetry. ‘Abdul-Haq died in Bijaya in Rabi’-uth-Thani, 581
H.
33. ‘ABDUR-RAZZAQ bin
Humam:
Abu Bakr, ‘Abdur-Razzaq bin Humam bin
Nafi’ Al-Himyari (by clientship) As-San’ani was considered as one of the
strongholds of knowledge.Ahmad, Ishaq, Ibn Ma’in and Adh-Dhuhli narrated Hadeeth
from him. He became blind in his old age and became senile. ‘Abdur-Razzaq died
in 211 H. At the age of 85 years.
34. IBN ‘ADI,
‘Abdullah:
Abu Ahmad, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Adi
Al-Jurjani was born in 279 H.He was a famous Imam, an eminent Hafidh and one of
the celebrated ‘Ulama. He was also nicknamed Ibn Al-Qisar. Ibn ‘Adi died in
Jumada-ul-Akhir, 365 H.
35. AL-’AQILI, Muhammad bin
‘Amr:
Abu Ja’far, Muhammad bin ‘Amr bin Musa
bin Hamad Al-’Aqili was a Hafidh, an Imam and the author of Kitab Ad-Du’afa’
Al-Kabir. He was a celebrated scholar, and the author of many books. Al-’Aqili
lived in Al-Haramain and died in 322 H.
36. ‘ALI bin
Al-Madini:
Abul-Hasan, ‘Ali bin ‘Abdullah bin
Ja’far bin Najih As-Sa’di by clientship - Al-Madini was born in 161 H. And was
considered as the most knowledgeable person regarding the Hadeeth of the
Prophet? and Al-Bukhari said in this context, “I never belittled myself before
anyone else except before ‘Ali Al-Madini.” He was considered to be the Imam of
Al-Jarh wat-Ta‘dil, the Hafidh of his time and the exemplary of Ahl Al-Hadeeth
(the scholars of the Hadeeth). ‘Ali Al-Madini died at Samira in present Iraq at
a place called Katibata Al-Qa’qa in the year 234 H.
37. IBN AL-QATTAN, ‘Ali bin
Muhammad:
Abul-Hasan, ‘Ali bin Muhammad bin
‘Abdul-Malik Al-Fasi was born in Qurtuba in Spain in 562 H. And lived in Fas in
Morocco. He was a Hafidh, an Imam and a learned critic of the Hadeeth
methodology. Moreover, he was more knowledgeable about the Hadeeth methodology
and the mastery of the names and history of the narrators of the Hadeeth than
anyone else of his time. He also authored many books and died in Rabi’-ul-Awwal,
628 H.
38. IMAM MALIK, Malik bin
Anas:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Malik bin Anas bin Malik
bin Abu ‘Aamir AI-Asbahi (Dhi Asbah, his ninth grandfather was from one of the
noblest tribes of Yemen) was born in 93 H. or 94 H. He was the Imam of Dar
Al-Hijra (Al-Madina), the Faqih of the Ummah and the leader of Ahl al-Hadeeth.
He studied under more than nine hundred professors and a large number of? people
learnt from him, among them being Imam Ash-Shafi’ee.? The Muwatta of Imaam Malik
has been translated to English.
39. IBN MANDA, Muhammad bin
Ishaq:
Abu ‘Abdullah, Muhammad bin Ishaq bin
Muhammad bin Yahya bin Manda was born in 310 H. And was a Hafidh, an Imam and a
traveller. He was also one of the eminent scholars, who mastered many Hadeeth.
It is said that he travelled all over the Muslim world of his time and returned
with about forty loads of books and his teachers were one thousand seven
hundred. Ibn Manda died in Dhul-Hijja 395H.
40. ABU NU’AIM,
Al-Asfahani:
Ahmad bin ‘Abdullah bin Ahmed bin
Ishaq bin Musa bin Mahran Al-Asfahani was born in Rajab 334 H. He was a famous
Hafidh, one of the eminent Muhaddithin and one of the great Huffaz. He studied
under the celebrated scholars and himself taught many virtuous ‘Ulama. He
authored many books, among them Al-Mustakhraj ‘Ala Al-Bukhari, and Al-Mustakhraj
‘Ala Muslim and Huliyat-ul-Awliya, which is one of the best books. It is said
that when he took it to Nishapur, it sold for four hundred Dinar. Al-Asfahani
died in Safar or 20th Muharram, 430 H. at-Asfahan.
41. ABU YA’LA, Ahmad bin
‘Ali:
Al-Hafiz Ahmad bin ‘Ali bin Al-Muthanna
bin Yahya bin ‘Iesa bin Hilal At-Tamimi was born in Shawwal, 210 H.He authored
AI-Musnad AI-Kabir and was considered as the Muhaddith of Al-Jazira. He was
truthful, trustworthy, tolerant and religious. As-Sam’ani said, “I heard Ismaiil
bin Muhammad bin Al-Fadl Al-Hafiz say: ‘I read the Musnad of Al-’Adani, the
Musnad of Ibn Mani’’ and other Masanid, which are like rivers, but the Musnad of
Abu Ya’la is like the sea into which all the rivers flow’.” Abu Ya’la died in
the year 307 H.
