Ibn Asakir
Ibn‘Asākir | |
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Personal | |
Born | Muslim Jurist, Historian |
Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced
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Ibn Asakir (
Name and Titles
His full name was ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hibat Allāh ibn `Abd Allāh, Thiqat al-Dīn, Abū al-Qasim, known as Ibn `Asakir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari (الحافظ المؤرخ علي بن الحسن بن ھبة اللہ بن عبداللہ بن الحسین الدمشقي الشافعي).[1]
Ibn Asakir is often given the honorary epithets such as Al-Imam (The Leader), al-'Allamah (The Learned one), al-Hafidh (The Wise one) al-Kabeer (The Noble One), Al-Fakhruddin (The pride of the Religion), al-Mujawwad (The perfect Reciter), Muhaddith ash-Sham (Hadith Master of Levant) and Imam ash-Muhaddith (Leader of Hadith Masters).
Life
Born in Damascus, during the reign of
Relationship with the rulers
Shortly after Ibn Asakir returned from his extensive travels to settle in his hometown of
Teaching
He first began teaching hadith in the
As he was world famous, he also lectured in many famous learning centers:
- Adh-Dhuhriyyu
- Al-Jaami' fi-l-Haththi 'alaa Hifzwi-l-'Ilm
- Dhammu-l-Malaahee
- Maddhu-t-Tawaadwu'i Wadhammu-l-Kibbr
- Majjlisaan minn Majaalis fee Masjidi-Dimashqq
- Majjmoo'a Feehi Khawmsi
- Sa'ati Rawhmatullaah
- Nafee Tashbiyah
- Swiffati-Allaah Ta'alaa
Students
Ibn Asakir had a large number of students with some becoming world-class leading scholars in their times; amongst them:[12][13][14][15]
- Ibn al-Sam'ani
- Ibn al-Athir
- Ibn al-Dubaythi
- Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam
- Ibn al-Salah
- Ibn Arabi
- Sultan Saladin (famous Islamic conqueror and ruler); was also his student and had a profound impact on Saladin's life to the point he would attend to Ibn Asakir's funeral.
Creed
In his book entitled
- "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."
Death
Ibn Asakir, the Imam of the hadith scholars and historians died in 24 January 571/1176 at the age of 71 and was buried at the Bab al-Saghir cemetery, next to his father and near to the grave of the Caliph Mu`awiya.[13]
Legacy
His was a tumultuous time: centuries of
During Ibn Asakir's intense journeys for education to the east. It is said that he was the first scholar in Damascus to bring many copies of books that have never reached Damascus before in history. Due to so much knowledge and information he gathered, he manage to share these new pieces of valuable information in Umayyad Mosque and began teaching there. Due to this, Damascus would later grow into becoming the Islamic center and birth many great scholars. The city would eclipse both Islamic leading centers such as Baghdad and Nishapur after the Mongol invasion. Ibn Asakir's collection's would later spread all over the west impacting further Islamic knowledge.[18]
Al-Qasim the son of Ibn Asakir would narrate two unique reports that prophesize his legacy.[18]
- I (Al-Qasim) used to hear my father (Ibn 'Asakir) say that, while his mother was pregnant, his father had a vision in a dream informing him that he would beget a son whom God would use to revivify Sunnism.
- When my mother became pregnant with me, she saw in her dream someone telling her: "You will beget a child who will become very important. When you deliver him, bring him on the fortieth day of his birth to the Grotto - meaning the Grotto of Blood in the Mount Qasyun - and give alms, for then God will bless him and bless the Muslims by him."
The famous scholar Ibn Kathir quoted these two reports in his biography of Ibn 'Asakir and commented on it by saying:[18]
- "I say that these visions are indeed true, and what proves it is that he brought to Syria the most famous books of Islam, such as the Musnad Abu Yaʽlaand other Hadith books, the massive ones and concise ones. "
Reception
Ibn al-Najjar said about him: "He was the Imam (leader) of all the hadith scholars of 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."[11]
Al-Nawawi describes him as: “The Hafiz (great hadith scholar) of Syria, nay! the Hafiz of the entire world!!!”[20]
Al-Dhahabi said: "There was no one in his time equal to him in the command (sciences) of Hadith or more knowledge about Hadith transmitters (Ilm al-Rijal). Whoever reads his Ta'rikh realizes the man's pre-eminence."[18]
Taj al-Din al-Subki said: "He is the leading teacher, the protector of the Sunnah and its servant, the vanquisher of Satan's army by his scholarship and their slayer, the memorizers of Hadith. No one can deny his eminence, for it is the desire of those who embark on the journeys of knowledge and the endpoint for those who have great resolve among the seekers. He is the sine qua non by the unanimous agreement of the community, the attainer of what is beyond aspirations, the ocean that is not bounded by a shoreline, and the erudite who carried the burden of spreading the Sunnah. He spent his days and nights indefatigably pursuing all fields of scholarship. His only companions were knowledge and hard work, for they were his utmost desire. His memory captured even the slightest detail, his precision and combined the new and the old, his command put him on par with those who came before him if not exceeding them, and his breadth of knowledge was so enriching that everyone else was as a beggar compared to him."[18]
Works
- magnum opus (80 volumes).[1]
- Al-Muwaafaqaat `alaa Shuyukhu-l-A'immati-th-Thiqaawt (72 volumes).
- `Awali Malik ibn Anas wa Dhayl 'alaa `Awali Malik ibn Anas (50 volumes).
- Manaaqib ash-Shubbaan (15 volumes).
- Al-Mu`jam (12 volumes) listing only the names of his shaykhs.
- Fadaa'il Ashaabi-l-Hadeeth (11 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.
- Ghawraaw'ibb Malik (10 volumes).
- Al-Suba`iyyat (7 volumes), listing narrations with chains containing only seven narrators up to the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --.
- Yawmi-l-Mazeed (3 volumes).
- Al-Ishraf `ala Ma`rifatu-l-Atraf.
- Akhbar al-Awza`i.
- Al-Musalsalat.
- Bayan al-Wahm wa al-Takhlit fi Hadith al-Atit ("The Exposition of Error and Confusion in the Narration of the [Throne's] Groaning")
- At-Tawbah wa Sa'atu-r-Rawhmatullaah (Repentance and the Intensity of the Mercy of Allaah)
- Al-Arba'oon fee Manaaqib Ummahaati-l-Mu'mineen (R) (including Fadlu Ummu-l-Mu'mineen Aa'ishah (R))
- Arba`un Hadithan fi al-Jihad.
- Arba`un Hadithan `an Arba`ina Shaykhan min Arba`ina Madeenah.
- Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari fima Nusiba ila al-Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Ash'ari is a biography of Al-Ash'ari, relaying his ancestry, his conversion from Mu'tazilism and his subsequent "middle position" creed, i.e. Orthodox Sunni Islam.[21]
See also
- List of Ash'aris
- List of Islamic scholars
- Al-Zahiriyah Library
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ibn Asakir". Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
- ISBN 143845371X
- ISBN 978-9004158399.
- ^ "Salaam Knowledge". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ a b F. Sobieroj (1987). "al-Suhrawardi". In C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs; G. Lecomte (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. IX. Brill. p. 778.
- ^ Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn Asakir (2010). "Al-Arbain on the Memorable Qualities of the Mothers of the Believers".
- ^ ISBN 9780415966900.
- ^ N. Elisseeff (1986). "Ibn Asakir". In B. Lewis; V.L. Menage; C. Pellat; J. Schacht (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. III. Brill. pp. 713–714.
- ^ Muhammad Eqbal, Farouque Hassan, “Madrassa (Madrasah),” in Helmut K. Anheier and Stefan Toepler eds. International Encyclopedia of Civil Society (New York: Springer, 2010), p. 964.
- ISBN 9780415929141.
- ^ a b Zulfiqar Ayub 2015, p. 210
- ISBN 9004104224.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b Zulfiqar Ayub 2015, p. 211
- ^ "Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn 'Arabi (d. 638 AH) by Sh. G. F. Haddad".
- ISBN 9789042915244.
- ^ Zulfiqar Ayub 2015, p. 212
- ISBN 9780861540464.
- ^ ISBN 9780861540464.
- ^ Zulfiqar Ayub 2015, p. 213
- ^ Al-Nawawi. "Bustan al-'Arifin (The Gardens of the Gnostics)".
- ^ McCarthy, Richard J. (1953). The Theology of Al-Ashari. Imprimerie Catholique. p. 145.
Sources
- Zulfiqar Ayub (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. pp. 81–84.