Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi - G.F. Haddad

9/12/2014 Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi

http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/al_khatib.htm 1/23

al-Khatib al-Baghdadiby Dr. G. F. Haddad

"Truly, hadith pleases the virile among men,while the effeminate among them hate it."

Al-Zuhri.

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Thabit ibnAhmad ibn Mahdi al-Shafii (392-463), with Abu al-Maali Ibn al-Juwayni and Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri the third most importantfigure in the fourth generation-layer of Abu al-Hasan al-Asharisschool, praised by al-Dhahabi as "the most peerless imam,erudite scholar and mufti, meticulous hadith master, scholar ofhis time in hadith, prolific author, and seal of the hadithmasters." Al-Qinnawji said: "He was a jurist whose preferencewent to hadith and history." His father a memorizer of Quranand the main preacher (khatb) in Darzijan Southwest of Baghdad sat him at the age of eleven in the class of Ibn Razquyah al-Bazzar (d. 412), after which he travelled first to Baghdad thenNaysabur around 415, back to Baghdad, then Asbahan for twoyears, Ray, Hamadhan, Dinawar, back to Baghdad, then al-Shamand Mecca for pilgrimage, then Baghdad or his nearby nativeDarzijan until 451, then Damascus until 459, then Tyre (Sr)until 462, then Baghdad again where he died.

Al-Khatib wrote abundantly on the science of hadith and becamethe undisputed hadith authority in his time according to hisstudent, the Hanbali hadith master Ibn Aqil. He heard countlesshadith masters, among them Abu Bakr al-Barqani (who alsonarrated from him), Abu Nuaym al-Asbahani, al-Abdawi, and thepious centenarian virgin scholar Karima bint Ahmad ibnMuhammad al-Marwaziyya (d. 463) one of al-Kushmihanisstudents from whom al-Khatib took al-Bukharis Sahih in fivedays during his pilgrimage trip at age fifty-two. He took Shafiifiqh from Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Mahamili and the qadi Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari, whom he frequented for several years. Amonghis famous students: al-Nasr al-Maqdisi, Ibn Makula, al-Humaydi,Abu Mansur al-Shaybani who transmitted his Tarikh and theHanbali Abu Yala.

Ibn Makula and al-Mutaman al-Saji said that the people of



Baghdad never saw anyone such as al-Khatib after al-Daraqutni.Abu Abd Allah al-Suri ranked al-Khatib far above Abu Nasr al-Sijzi. Abu Ali al-Baradani said: "It is probable al-Khatib nevermet his equal." Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini said: "Al-Khatib is theDaraqutni of our time." Ibn Makula said:

He was one of the foremost scholars whom we witnessed inhis science, precision, memorization, and accuracy in thehadith of the Messenger of Allah e . He was an expert in itsminute defects, its chains of transmission, its narrators andtransmitters, the sound and the rare, the unique and thedenounced, the defective and the discarded. The people ofBaghdad never had someone comparable to Abu al-HasanAli ibn Umar al-Daraqutni after the latter, except al-Khatib.

Said al-Muaddib asked al-Khatib: "Are you the hadith masterAbu Bakr?" He replied: "I am Ahmad ibn Ali; hadith mastershipended with al-Daraqutni."

About hadith mastership al-Khatib wrote:

He does not excel in hadith science nor is able to peruse itscomplexities and shed light on its hidden benefits except hewho has gathered its variants, collated its loose ends,brought it all together, and worked assiduously to compile itunder its topical subheadings, organizing its different types.This activity strengthens competence, cementsmemorization, purifies the heart, hones the personality,expands the tongue, greatly improves language, unveilsambiguities and clarifies them. It also earns memorabilityand immortality, as the poet said:

Some die then knowledge keeps alive their memory,While ignorance joins the dead with the dead.

Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Kattani said: "Al-Khatib followed the[doctrinal] school of Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari Allah have mercyon him." Al-Dhahabi reports this and comments: "This is true. Foral-Khatib explicitly stated, concerning the reports on the DivineAttributes, that they are passed on exactly as they werereceived, without interpretation." Ibn al-Subki comments: "Thisis al-Asharis position, yes. But al-Dhahabi is the victim of hislack of knowledge of Shaykh Abu al-Hasans position just asothers were also victims: for al-Ashari also has another positionallowing for figurative interpretation (al-tawl)." Al-Dhahabi does



go on to relate al-Khatibs precise disowning of both nullification(tatl) and anthropomorphism (tajsm) of the divine Attributes:

Abu Bakr al-Khatib said: "As for what pertains to the divineAttributes, whatever is narrated in the books of soundreports concerning them, the position of the Salaf consists intheir affirmation and letting them pass according to theirexternal wordings while negating from them modality(kayfiyya) and likeness to things created (tashbh). The principle to be followed in thismatter is that the discourse on the Attributes is a branch ofthe discourse on the Essence. The path to follow in theformer is the same extreme caution as in the latter. When itis understood that the affirmation of the Lord of the Worlds[in His Essence] is only an affirmation of existence and not ofmodality, it will be similarly understood that the affirmationof His Attributes is only an affirmation of their existence, notan affirmation of definition (tahdd) nor an ascription ofmodality. So when we say: Allah I has a Hand, hearing, andsight, they are none other than Attributes Allah I hasaffirmed for Himself. We should not say that the meaning ofhand is power (al-qudra) nor that the meaning of hearingand sight is knowledge (ilm), nor should we say that theyare organs (l naqlu innah jawrih)! Nor should we likenthem to hands, hearings, and sights that are organs andimplements of acts. We should say: All that is obligatory is[1] to affirm them because they are stated according todivine prescription (tawqf), and [2] to negate from themany likeness to created things according to His saying (There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him) (42:11) (and there is none like Him) (112:4)."

Our teacher Dr. Nur al-Din Itr comments al-Khatibs positionthus:

This is a vulnerable spot where feet tread a slippery path.Many are those who fell into likening Allah to His creaturesbecause of it, or into something like it our refuge is in



Allah! while believing that this was the position of the piousSalaf y but Allah has exonerated the latter from holding it. Imam al-Khatib passed the obstacle at which point penslapsed and illusions flared, for he refuted the Mutazila andtheir likes who contradict the divine Attributes, and heunderstood the position of the Salaf as it truly is by affirmingthose Attributes with a kind of affirmation that commits toAllah I the knowledge of their reality, not an affirmation ofdimensionality and modality (athbata tilka al-sift ithbtanyufawwidu ilma haqqatih il Allhi tal l ithbta tahddwa takyf). He thereby asserted the school of the Salaf as itreally was, not as some erratic people in our timeunderstand it to be. The latter are in fact arrogant wranglerswho cannot tell the difference between the Salafs committalof the actual knowledge of these matters to Allah, theirholding His Transcendence above whateveranthropomorphism the terms may suggest, and theanthropomorphism of the ignorant Karramiyya!

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfarayini said: "Al-Khatib was with us in Hajj,and he used to conclude an integral recitation of Quran outloudevery day. People would gather around him as he was mounted,saying: Narrate hadith to us, and he would narrate to them."Abd al-Muhsin al-Shihi said: "I was al-Khatibs travellingcompanion from Damascus to Baghdad, and he used to recite theentire Quran once every day and night."

Ibn al-Abanusi reported that al-Khatib used to read whilewalking. This is a common habit among hadith masters. Al-Khatibhimself narrated that Ubayd ibn Yaish said: "For thirty years Inever ate at night with my own hand. My sister would spoonfeedme while I wrote hadith."

Al-Khatib wrote in his Tarikh Baghdad in the entry devoted toIsmail ibn Ahmad al-Naysaburi al-Darir: "He went to pilgrimageand narrated hadith, and what a wonderful shaykh he was! Whenhe went to Hajj he took with him a load of books, intending toreside in Mecca or Madina for a while. Among them was al-Bukharis Sahih which he had heard from al-Kushmihani. I read itbefore him entirely in three sittings. The third session lasted fromthe beginning of the day until night, and it ended with the risingof dawn." Al-Dhahabi comments: "This was by Allah! the kindof reading faster than which no-one ever heard."



Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Muslima, al-Qaim bi Amrillahs vizier nicknamed Rais al-ruasa and a hadith scholar, patronized al-Khatib with a small fortune which enabled the latter to devotehimself to teaching and writing. He passed an edict that noteacher nor preacher in Baghdad narrate a hadith withoutauthenticating it with al-Khatib first. He once asked the latter toverify a document which some Jews produced claiming that itwas the Prophets e exemption of the tax on non-Muslims (jizya)for the Jews of Khaybar written, they said, in the hand of Ali ibnAbi Talib t . Al-Khatib looked at the document then declared it aforgery on the grounds that it was witnessed by Muawiya whoentered Islam in the year of the conquest of Mecca, whereasKhaybar was conquered in the year 7 and Sad ibn Muadh whodied during the battle of Banu Qurayza two years beforeKhaybar.

Al-Khatib came to settle in Damascus, fleeing Baghdad in Safar451 in fear for his life during the Fatimi-leaning Turk Arslan al-Basasiris (d. Dhu al-Hijja 451) attempted coup against al-Qaimbi Amrillah (422-467) and the Abbasid caliphate, althoughDamascus itself was under Fatimi rule. He then fled Damascusagain in 459 to go to Tyre until 462, whence he returned toBaghdad, visiting Syrian Tripoli, Aleppo, and all the main cities onhis way. Ibn Nasir narrated: "When al-Khatib read hadith in themosque of Damascus, his voice could be heard from one end ofthe mosque to the other and he spoke in pure Arabic." He is alsonoted for his accurate and elegant handwriting.

Al-Mutaman narrated that al-Khatib said: "Whoever authorsbooks puts his mind on a plate for display to people." He fledfrom Damascus to Tyre because of enmity from the Rafidigovernor of Damascus and accusations that he was a Nasibi orenemy of Ahl al-Bayt on grounds of narrating Ahmad ibn Hanbalsbook on the merits of the Companions and Ibn Rizquyahs bookon the merits of al-Abbas. "At that time the call to prayer inDamascus included the phrase hayya al khayri al-amal."

Abu Mansur Ali ibn Ali al-Amin narrated that when al-Khatibreturned from al-Sham he was wealthy in garments and gold butwithout heir. So he wrote to al-Qaim bi Amrillah: "My propertywill go back to the public treasury (bayt al-ml), so give mepermission to distribute it among those I choose." He thendistributed it two hundred dinars to the scholars of hadith.



Ibn Tahir said: "I asked [the Sufi hadith master] Hibat Allah ibnAbd al-Warith al-Shirazi: Was al-Khatib like his books inmemorization? He said: No, if we asked him of something hemight take days to answer us and if we pressed him he would getangry. He was abrupt and his memorization was not on a parwith his books." This assessment is belied by the scholarscomparison of al-Khatib to al-Daraqutni and by the example ofhis extemporaneous response cited below. Furthermore, al-Dhahabi relates from al-Samani that Hibat Allah (d. 486) enteredBaghdad in 457 when al-Khatib was away, and the latter did notreturn until 462, one year before his death.

Al-Khatib frequented Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayinis classes for threeyears at a time when Abu Ishaq was the unchallengedheadmaster of the Shafii school in his time. One day hementioned the narrator Bahr ibn Kaniz al-Saqqa then turned toal-Khatib and asked: "What do you say concerning him [i.e. hisreliability]?" Al-Khatib replied: "If you give me permission then Ishall mention his state." Al-Isfarayini then sat back like a studentbefore his master, while al-Khatib gave a lengthy and detailedaccount of the narrators grading on the spot. Abu Ishaq was oneof those who carried al-Khatibs bier to his grave.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Hamadhani said in his Tarikh:"The science died at the time of al-Khatibs death."

Ibn Asakir narrated: "When al-Khatib first drank Zamzam waterhe asked Allah I for three petitions [according to the Propheticnarration "Zamzam water makes good whatever [need in theworld and the hereafter] it is drunk for"]: to be able to narratethe history of Baghdad in that city, to dictate hadith in themosque of al-Mansur [in Baghdad], and to be buried near Bishral-Hafi. He obtained all three."

Abu al-Barakat Ismail ibn Abi Sad al-Sufi said:

Shaykh Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali al-Turaythithi, known as IbnZahra al-Sufi, was in our ribt and had prepared for himselfa grave next to Bishr al-Hafis grave. He used to go thereonce a week to sleep in it, reciting the entire Quran at thattime. When Abu Bakr al-Khatib died after stipulating that hebe buried next to Bishr al-Hafi, the scholars of hadith cameto Ibn Zahra asking permission to bury him in Ibn Zahrasgrave and cede his place to him. He refused, saying: "Howcan I allow a spot I have prepared for myself to be taken



away from me?" They came to my father [Abu Sad al-Sufi]who invited Ibn Zahra and told him: "I do not say to you togive them your grave, but I ask you: if Bishr al-Hafi werealive and you were at his side, then al-Khatib came and satfarther away, would it be fit for you to sit higher than him?"He replied: "No, I would make him sit in my place." He said:"It is the same in this situation." Ibn Zahras heart washappy with this and he gave his permission.

Al-Khatib was an ascetic, industrious scholar given to worship, atrustworthy hadith master withdrawn from the courts of princes,generous, grave and earnest in his manners, and both tirelessand meticulous in his work. He wrote 10,000 pages totalling 104books, many of them remaining to our time authoritativemanuals in hadith science noted for their insight and widecompass. Ibn Hajar said in his introduction to Sharh Nukhba al-Fikar: "There is hardly a single discipline among the sciences ofhadith in which al-Khatib did not author a monograph." Then hecited the hadith master Ibn Nuqtas praise: "Whoever gives creditwhere credit is due knows that hadith scholars, after al-Khatib,all depend on his books." Among them:

Al-Amali ("The Dictations") of which three volumes exist inthe Zahiriyya collection.

Al-Asma al-Mubhama ("Anonymous Mentions"), identifyingthose mentioned anonymously in hadiths or hadith chains.

Al-Bukhala ("The Misers") in three volumes.

Al-Faqih wa al-Mutafaqqih ("The Jurist and the Student ofthe Law").

Al-Fasl li al-Wasl al-Mudraj fi al-Naql ("The DecisiveStatement On Attributions Inserted Into Transmission").

Al-Fawaid al-Muntakhaba ("The Select Benefits").

Iqtida al-Ilm al-Amal ("Knowledge Necessitates Deeds"), acollection of narrations on this topic, which he prefaced withthe words:

O student of knowledge, I exhort you to purify yourintention in pursuing knowledge and to strive to



make your soul act according to knowledgesdictates. For the science is a tree of which deeds arethe fruit, and he is not counted learned, who doesnot put his learning into practice. And did those ofthe Salaf of the past reach whatever high levelsthey reached, other than by purified beliefs,righteous deeds, and renouncing most of therefinements of the world? And did the wise peopleof the past attain greater felicity except throughhard work and diligence, contentment with little,and spending of their superfluity to meet the needof the needy and destitute? Surely, he who gathersbooks of knowledge is no different than he whogathers gold and silver. Surely, the devourer ofbooks is no different from the greedy miser. Surely,the bibliophile enamoured with books is no differentfrom the hoarder of gold and silver. Therefore, justas wealth does not benefit except through itsspending, likewise do the sciences not benefitexcept those who put them into practice andobserves their requirements.

Al-Jahr bi Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim ("Pronouncing thebasmala Outloud"), listing as al-Daraqutni did in his Sunan the proof-texts of the Shafii school on this practice. Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Sahm al-Musib stated that all of the hadithsadduced by al-Khatib in al-Jahr as is the case with al-Daraqutnis proofs for the basmala in his Sunan are eitherweak or very weak. Al-Dhahabi also wrote a critique of al-Khatibs book, as did the Hanbali Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibnAbd al-Hadi.

Al-Jami li Akhlaq al-Rawi wa Adab al-Sami ("TheCompendium on the Ethics of the Hadith Narrator and theManners of the Auditor") in two volumes, the continuation ofSharaf Ashab al-Hadith. It contains the following chapters:

1: Intention in the Pursuit of Hadith

2: The Characteristics That Must Distinguish theNarrator and Auditor of Hadith (3 sections)

3: "High" (= short) Chains of Transmissions (4 sections)



4: Choosing Ones Shuykh Once Their Attributes AreKnown (9 sections)

5: The Etiquette of Study (4 sections)

6: The Etiquette of Asking Permission to Enter the Houseof the Hadith Master (7 sections)

7: The Etiquette of Entering the House of the HadithMaster (9 sections)

8: The Veneration and Honoring of the Hadith Master (6sections)In the section entitled "Kissing the Hand of theHadith Scholar, His Head, and His Right [Shoulder]" al-Khatib narrates the following three hadiths amongothers:

a) From Abd Allah ibn Umar: "I was in one of theMessenger of Allah military detachments, and wecame up to him until we kissed his hand."

b) From Usama ibn Sharik: "We rose upapproaching the Prophet, and kissed his hand."

c) From Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Kab al-Ansari or Abd al-Rahman ibn Razin: "We came andgreeted Salama ibn Akwa. He brought out hishands and said: I pledged loyalty with these twohands to the Messenger of Allah e . He brought outa hand as big as a camels paw. We rose upapproaching him, and kissed it."

9: The Etiquette of Hadith Audition

10: The Etiquette of Interrogating the Hadith Master (5sections)

11: How to Memorize What Comes From the HadithMaster (2 sections)

12: The Encouragement to Lend the Books of Auditionand the Blame of Those Who Go the Way of Avarice andRefusal (2 sections)

13: The Recording of Hadiths in Books and the Etiquette



Pertaining Thereunto

14: Beautifying Ones Calligraphy (8 sections)

15: The Obligation to Check Against the [HadithMasters] Book For Verification and the Elimination ofDoubt and Misgivings

16: Reading To the Hadith Master and Its Etiquette (7sections)

17: Mention of the Morals and Ethics of the Narrator andWhat Manners He Must Use With His Disciples andCompanions (4 sections)

18: It is Offensive to Narrate to Those That Do Not SeekIt And It is A Waste to Give It to Other Than Those WhoAre Qualified (8 sections)

19: The Hadith Masters Giving of High Respect to theStudents of Knowledge and His Keeping the BestOpinion of Them and A Mild Disposition (8 sections)

20: The Hadith Master Must Exempt Himself FromAccepting Remuneration For Narrating (3 sections)

21: His Caring For His Appearance and Looking to HisAdornment Before Narrating Hadith (28 sections:)

1. Siwk

2. Paring Nails

3. Clipping the Moustache

4. Grooming the Hair

5. Wearing Clean Clothes

6. Avoiding Foods That Cause Bad Breath

7. Dyeing Ones White Hair [with Henna],Contrary to Jews and Christians

8. It is Fine to Use Saffron or Memecylon(wars) To That Effect



9. The Dislike of Dying Ones Hair Black

10. The Preferred Garments For the HadithMaster

11. His Shirt

12. The outer headcover (qalansuwa) andturban (imma)

13. The unstitched head-shawl (taylasn)

14. Wearing a Ring

15. Combing His Beard

16. Incensing and Perfuming Himself

17. Looking At Himself In the Mirror

18. Wearing Sandals

19. His Composure in Walking

20. His Initiating Salm With Whomever HeMeets Among the Muslims

21. Entering His Gathering of People

22. The Desirability of His Sitting Square-Legged and In A Humble Manner

23. Using Gentle Speech and KeepingComposure In Discourse

24. Avoiding Jesting With the People In theGathering

25. The Desirability of Being Gentle In HisRebukes Without Acrimony Nor Breach

26. The States In Which Narrating Is Offensive

27. Those Who Disliked Narrating Other ThanIn A State of Purity



28. Those In A State of Impurity Who, Wishingto Narrate, Perform Dry Ablution (tayammum)

34: The Hadith Masters Care To Share His CompanyEqually Among His Companions (5 sections)

35: His Care to Be Absolutely Truthful in His SpeechRegardless of His Concerns and Situation (9 sections, ofwhich the third, seventh, and eighth examine thequestion of narrating hadith according to meaning ratherthan precise wording

36: The Ruling Concerning Whoever Narrated a HadithFrom Memory Then Was Contradicted In It (4 sections)

37: Dictating Hadith And Dictation Sessions (7 sections)

38: Employing A Repeater (mustaml) (33 sections)

39: Competition Over The Hadith Among Its StudentsAnd Mutual Secretiveness So As To Withhold Its Benefit

40: The Obligation of Mutual Faithful Counsel andBenefit With Regard to Narrations

41: Picking and Choosing Hadith By Those Who AreUnable To Write All Its Chains Comprehensively (6sections)

42: Concerning the Writing of Hadith In Detail and In ItsTotality And the Need For This Endeavor In theCompilation of Books Related To Its Various Sciences(15 sections)

43: Travelling In Pursuit of A Hadith To Far-OffCountries So As To Meet the Hadith Masters There AndObtain Short Chains of Transmission (13 sections)

44: The Memorization of Hadith and the Penetration ofInsight Concerning It (12 sections:)

1. Emphasis on the Memorization of Hadith

2. Those Who Described Themselves asMemorizers



3. Hadith Learning is Not By Mere InstructionFor It Is None Other Than a Type of KnowledgeAllah I Creates in the Heart

4. The Means That Facilitate HadithMemorization

5. A Supplication For the Memorization ofQuran, Hadith, and the Various Disciplines

6. Types of Preferred Foods and ThoseRecommended Against For the Improvement ofMemory

7. The Requisite Schedule of Night Study ofHadith For the Student

8. Repeating What is Memorized To Master ItBy Heart:

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar said: "My fathercame in and saw me reading silently ina notebook, reading it back to myself.He said to me: Your only aid in yourtype of narration is whatever yoursight conveys to your heart. If youwant narration then look at it and readit outloud also. For then, your aidcomes from both what your sightconveys to your heart and what yourhearing conveys to your heart." Dr. M.Ajaj al-Khatib commented on thisnarration: "These are fine and truewords, for this is what the authoritiesin education and psychology say: themore senses participate in theabsorption of a subject or its learning,the faster and easier itsmemorization."

Ilqima said: "Repeat the hadith atlength and it will never be erased frommemory."

One time a pail of water was placed



before Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. When heplaced his hand in it, he happened toremember a hadith. He did not removehis hand from the water until fajr roseand until he had completely masteredthe hadith.

Sufyan al-Thawri said: "Make thehadith your own discourse to yourselfand the very thought of your hearts,and you will then memorize it."

Jafar al-Maraghi said: "I went into acemetary in Tustar, and I heardsomeone shouting: And al-Amash,from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra;and al-Amash, from Abu Salih, fromAbu Hurayra, for a long time. I beganto look for the source of this voice untilI saw Ibn Zuhayr, studying al-Amashs narrations alone, frommemory."

9. Rehearsing Hadith With All Types of People

10. Rehearsing Hadith With Disciples AndFriends

11. Rehearsing Hadith With Spouses AndCompanions

12. Rehearsing Hadith With Older People

Abu Said al-Khudri said: "Review(tadhkar) hadith with each other,for one hadith brings out another."

Ilqima said: "Rehearse the hadith toone another, for its life is itsremembrance."

Ibrahim al-Nakhai said: "Whoever ispleased with memorizing hadith lethim narrate it to others, even to thosewho have no inkling for it. When he



does this, the hadith will be like a bookin his breast."

Al-Zuhri used to read back the hadithshe had memorized to his slave-girl andthe beduins in his land.

Ibn Abbas would say to Said ibnJubayr: "O Said! Narrate." Saidreplied: "I, narrate in your presence?"Ibn Abbas replied: "If you make amistake I will let you know."

Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Six men wouldalmost take leave of their minds uponhadith repetition: Yahya [ibn Main],Abd al-Rahman [ibn Mahdi], Waki[ibn al-Jarrah], [Sufyan] Ibn Uyayna,Abu Dawud, and Abd al-Razzaq dueto their ardent love of it. One night,Waki and Abd al-Rahman rehearsedhadith together in ths Holy Sanctuaryand did not stop until the caller toprayer raised the adhn of fajr."

Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq said: "Iwas with Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak inthe mosque on a cold winter night andwe rose to leave. When we reachedthe door he reminded me of a hadithand I reminded him of another. We didnot stop reminding each other until thecaller to prayer came and raised themorning adhn."

45: The Exposition and Definition of the Immense Meritof Compiling And Authoring Books (15 sections)

Abu Zura was asked about the [final] numberof those [Companions] who narrated hadithfrom the Prophet. He replied: "Who cancompute it? Those who witnessed with theProphet e the Farewell Pilgrimage were 40,000and those who witnessed the campaign ofTabuk with him were 70,000." In another



narration someone asked him: "O Abu Zura! Isit not said that the hadith of the Prophet e is4,000 narrations [in all]?" He replied: "And whosaid that may Allah untooth him! ? This iswhat heretics say (hdh qawlu al-zandiqa).Who can circumscribe the totality of the hadithof the Messenger of Allah e ? When he diedthere were 114,000 sahba who narrated andhad heard from him.

46: Ceasing Narration In Old Age Lest Memory IsAffected And the Mind Becomes Confused:

Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Rahmanibn Khallad said: "If the hadith scholar lives along life, I find it preferable that he stoptransmitting narrations at the age of eighty, forit is the period of senility. Making glorification,asking forgiveness, and reciting Quran is allmore appropriate for eighty-year-olds. But if hismind is crystal-clear and he has perspicuity,knowing the narrations in his possession and infull mastery of them, and he purports tonarrate for the obtainment of reward, then Ihope all the best for him."

Al-Khayl ("Equestrianism"). Al-Khatib relates from his fatherthat their origin was of a Beduin Arab tribe specializing inraising horses in al-Jasasa, bordering the Euphrates.

Al-Kifaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya ("The Sufficiency in the Science ofHadith Narration") in about 170 chapters in which al-Khatib"exhaustively listed the codes of hadith narration,expounding its principles and universal rules as well as theschools of the experts wherever their opinions differed; itremains, in our time, the greatest book on the subject."

Manaqib Ahmad ibn Hanbal ("The Immense Merits of ImamAhmad").

Manaqib al-Shafii ("The Immense Merits of Imam al-Shafii").

Al-Mudih li al-Jam wa al-Tafriq ("The Clarifier of Collation



and Dispersion"), listing the different names under which thesame person may be identified in transmission chains.

Musnad Abi Bakr al-Siddiq ala Shart al-Sahihayn("Narrations Related by Abu Bakr According to the Criterionof al-Bukhari and Muslim").

Al-Muttafaq wa al-Muftaraq ("Similar-Looking NarratorsNames").

Nasiha Ahl al-Hadith ("The Faithful Counsel of the Masters ofHadith")

Poetry, in which he declaimed:

If your quest is for true directionIn the twin matter of your world and the hereafter,Then dissent with your own soul in its lusts;Truly lust is the meeting of all corruption.

Al-Qunut wa al-Athar al-Marwiyya Fih ("The qunt and ItsProof-Texts") according to the Shafii school.

Al-Rihla fi Talab al-Hadith ("Travel in Pursuit of A Hadith"),published by Dr. Nur al-Din Itr who termed it "a vastdemonstration and signal proof establishing the rank reachedby our great scholars in their high energies, lofty pursuits,noble goals and means by which we hope to sound thewake-up call for our cultivated youth and students ofknowledge, that they may tread the path of their firstmasters, the immortal ulema of their Community."

Riwaya al-Sahaba an al-Tabii ("Narration of the CompanionsFrom a Tabii"), listing examples of this occasional case.

Al-Sabiq wa al-Lahiq ("The Precursor and the Subsequent inChronology") in ten volumes.

Salat al-Tasbih wa al-Ikhtilaf Fiha ("The Prayer ofGlorification and the Difference of Opinion Concerning ItsStatus"), an authoritative presentation of its proof-texts thatgoes together with Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqis al-Tarjih liHadith Salat al-Tasbih, al-Mundhiris documentation in thefirst volume of al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, and Ibn al-Salahs



discussion in his Fatawa.

Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith ("The Eminence of the Masters ofHadith") in which he narrated Abu Dawuds saying: "Were itnot for this band of people we would not be studying Islam."The narrations al-Khatib gathered in this precious book listthe attributes used by the Imams of hadith for the scholarsof the Prophetic narrations:

"Those Who Command Good and Forbid Evil" [Ibrahimibn Musa]

"The Substitute-Saints" [Sufyan al-Thawri, Yazid ibnHarun, Ahmad ibn Hanbal]

"The Pillars of the Sharia" [al-Khatib]

"The Nearest of People to the Prophet e " [because ofthe hadith: "Truly the nearest of people to me on theDay of Resurrection are those who invoked the mostblessings upon me"].

"The Owners of Transmission Chains [to the Prophet e ]"[Yazid ibn Zuray]

"The Owners of Frayed Garments and Inkwells" [Caliphal-Mamun]

"The Best of All Scholars" [al-Khatib]

"The Best of All People" [al-Awzai]

"The Best of Those Who Spoke About Knowledge"[Ahmad]

"The Trustees of Allah Over His Religion" [Abu Hatim al-Razi]

"The Messengers Trustees" [al-Khatib]

"The People of Belief" [because of the hadith: "Do youknow who of those who possess belief is the best inbelief?" They said the angels. He replied: "This is true,and it is right that they should be so, but nothing standsin their way because of the position in which Allah I has



placed them. I mean others." They said: "The Prophetswhom Allah honored with Prophetship andMessengership." He replied in the same way. They saidthe martyrs. He replied: "This is true, and it is right thatthey should be so, but nothing stands in their waybecause of the honor Allah bestowed upon them withmartyrdom. I mean others." They asked: "Who then, OMessenger of Allah?" He said: "Generations yet in theloins of men who shall come after me; they shall believein me without seeing me and confirm me without seeingme. They shall see the suspended leaves [of the Law]and put them into practice."

"The People of Truth" [al-Khatib]

"The People of Righteousness" [Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz]

"The Vessels of Knowledge" [al-Khatib]

"The People Most Meritorious of Salvation in theHereafter" [because of the hadith: "Truly the safestamong you against the disasters of the Day ofResurrection on that day are those of you who invokedthe most blessings on me in the world"].

"The Friends of Allah" [al-Khalil ibn Ahmad]

"The Massive Throng" [al-Khatib]

"The Guardians of the Earth" [Sufyan al-Thawri]

"The Guardians of the Religion" [al-Amash]

"The Implanters of the Religion" [Ibn al-Mubarak]

"The Party of Allah" [al-Khatib]

"The Preservers of the Pillars of the Law" [al-Khatib]

"The Preservers of the Prophets Sunna" [al-Khuraybi]

"The Custodians of the Faith" [Kahmas]

"The Protectors of the Faith" [al-Khatib]



"The Repellers of False Imputations to the Prophet" [IbnMain]

"The Carriers of Knoweldge" [al-Khuraybi]

"The Storehouses of the Religion" [al-Khatib]

"The Successors of the Messenger e " [al-Khatib]

"The Elect Among Tribes" [Hafs ibn Ghyath]

"The Elect Among People" [Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash]

"The Elect Among Worshippers" [Abu Muzahim al-Khaqani]

"The Virile Among Men" [al-Zuhri]

"The Trustees Who Preserve the Reports of theMessengers" [Abu Hatim al-Razi]

"The Strangers" [Abdan]

"The Knights of this Religion" [Yazid ibn Zuray]

"The Caretakers of the Matter of Sharia" [al-Khatib]

"The Strivers In the Preservation of the Faith" [al-Khatib]

"Mankind" (al-ns) [Ahmad ibn Hanbal]

"Those Who Belong to No Tribe" [Abdan]

"The Intermediaries Between the Prophet e and HisCommunity" [al-Khatib]

"Muhammads Inheritors" [Ibn Masud]

"The Inheritors of the Prophets" [al-Fudayl ibn Iyad]

"The Beneficiaries of the Messenger of Allah" [Abu Saidal-Khudri, according to the hadith of the Prophet: "Thereshall come after me a people who shall ask you about me.When they come to you, treat them kindly and narrate



to them "].

Al-Tabyin li Asma al-Mudallisin ("The Exposition of theNames of Those Who Concealed Their Sources").

Taqyid al-Ilm ("The Fettering of Knowledge"), an importantbook gathering all the proofs that large-scale writing ofhadith began in the time of the Prophet e , together withparticular caveats against it.

Al-Tatfil wa Hikayat al-Tufayliyyin ("Sponging andSpongers").

Tali Talkhis al-Mutashabih, an addendum to Talkhis al-Mutashabih.

Talkhis al-Mutashabih fi al-Rasm ("Summary of theSimilarities in Spelling"), on hadith narrators commonlyconfused with one another due to the similar spelling of theirnames.

Tarikh Baghdad ("History of Baghdad"), his most importantwork. Ostensibly a history of Baghdad, it is more specificallya reference work in narrator-authentication (ilm al-rijl) anda valuable compendium of 4,385 hadiths narrated with theirfull chains, over half of them (2,253) not found in the twobooks of Sahih and the four Sunan. In this respect al-Khatibs rank as an independent narrator is comparable tothat of al-Bayhaqi (d. 458), Ibn Abd al-Barr (d. 463), andIbn Asakir (d. 571).

Concerning al-Khatibs authentication method in TarikhBaghdad, al-Samani narrated that he said: "Wheneverin the Tarikh I mention a man concerning whomopinions vary in commendation and discreditation, thenthe preferred position concerning him is placed at theconclusion of his biographical notice."

Makki ibn Abd al-Salam al-Maqdisi said: "I was sleepingin the house of Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Zafarani when Isaw in a dream, shortly before dawn, as if we hadgathered in al-Khatibs house to read the Tarikh asusual. To his right was the jurist, Shaykh Nasr al-



Maqdisi, and to the latters right was a man I did notknow. So I asked who he was and was told: This is theMessenger of Allah e who came to hear the Tarikh. Ithought to myself: This is a huge honor for Shaykh AbuBakr, that the Prophet e himself should attend hisgathering. I also thought: This is also a refutation ofthose who blemished the Tarikh saying that it containsundue criticism of certain people."

It remains true that the Tarikh contains undue criticismof Imam Abu Hanifa t in the form of an assemblage ofglaringly weak and forged reports from known liars,although it also contains authentic reports to the Imamspraise. Among the scholars who refuted the negativereports were the king al-Malik al-Muazzam Isa al-Ayyubi, the Hanafis Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi in the two-volumeal-Intisar li Imam Aimma al-Amsar and al-Kawthari inTanib al-Khatib ala Ma Saqahu fi Tarjimati Abi HanifataMin al-Akadhib and its follow-up al-Tarhib bi Naqd al-Tanib; the Maliki Ibn Abd al-Barr with al-Intiqa; theShafiis al-Suyuti and al-Haytami respectively withTabyid al-Sahifa and al-Khayrat al-Hisan, and theHanbali Ibn al-Jawzi with al-Sahm al-Musib fi al-Raddala al-Khatib. Al-Dhahabi said: "Would that al-Khatibhad not set upon the great figures nor narrated anythingagainst them." However, a case has been made toexonerate al-Khatib from having included these reportsin his Tarikh, and some scholars, such as Dr. Itr and Dr.Mahmud al-Tahhan, consider them later interpolations.

Ibn al-Jawzis assessment of al-Khatib is ambiguous. On theone hand he praises his works with the words: "Whoeverlooks into his books knows his great standing." At the sametime he takes him to task for what he terms his fanaticdenigration of Hanbalis, citing, for example, al-Khatibsdescription of Imam Ahmad as "the leader of hadithscholars" (sayyid al-muhaddithn) as opposed to al-Shafiisas "the diadem of jurists," his weakening of Ibn Batta, andhis citing al-Karabisis barb about Imam Ahmad over theissue of the uncreatedness of the Quran. Added to thischarge is Ibn al-Jawzis singular claim that al-Khatib beganhis career as a Hanbali, then switched to the Shafii school,when both early and contemporary historians concur that hebegan his career as a Shafii and was never a Hanbali. He



also states that al-Khatib took the material of most of hisbooks "except that of the Tarikh" from those of the hadithmaster al-Suri, a claim flatly rejected by al-Dhahabi. PerhapsIbn al-Jawzis most ironic criticism is his complaint that al-Khatib included forgeries and very weak hadiths in his books,as their number is negligible in proportion to those found inIbn al-Jawzis works.

Abu al-Fadl ibn Khayrun said: "A righteous person told methat when al-Khatib died he saw him in his sleep and askedhim: How are you? Al-Khatib replied: I am in [breath oflife, and plenty, and a Garden of delight] (56:89)." Aliibn al-Husayn ibn Jadda said: "I saw in my sleep, after al-Khatibs death, a person standing next to me whom I tried toask about al-Khatib. Before I could say anything he said tome: Go to the middle of Paradise where the pious meet oneanother." Muhammad ibn Marzuq al-Zafarani narrated fromthe pious jurist Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Basri: "I saw al-Khatibin my sleep wearing beautiful white clothes and a whiteturban, looking joyful and smiling. I do not rememberwhether I asked him first: What did Allah do with you? orwhether he spoke to me first but he said: Allah has forgivenme or: granted me mercy. And whoever comes to Him inmy heart I thought: meaning, with tawhd He grants himmercy or forgives him. Therefore, be happy! This took placea few days after his death."

Main sources: Ibn Asakir, Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari (Saqqa ed. p.263-266); al-Dhahabi, Siyar Alam al-Nubala (Dar al-Fikr ed.13:590-603 #4210) and Tadhkira al-Huffaz (3:1135-1145); Ibnal-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-Kubra (Hajr ed. 4:29-39#259); Itr, introduction to al-Khatibs al-Rihla (p. 37-59); andIbn al-Jawzi, al-Muntazam (8:265-270).

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Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi - G.F. Haddad