Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi
Encyclopedia
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Thabit ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Shafi`i, commonly known as al-Khatib al-Baghdadi or the lecturer from Baghdad
(10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim
scholar and historian
.
24th, 392 AH) in Hanikiya, a village south of Baghdad. He was the son of a preacher of Darzidjan and he began studying at an early age with his father and other shaykhs. Over time he studied other sciences but his primary interest was hadith
. There is not a lot of information available about what he did while he was studying under his father. At the age of 20 his father died and he went to Basra
to search for hadith. In 1024 he set out on a second journey to Nishapur
and he collected more hadith in Rey
and Isfahan. It is unclear how long he traveled but his own accounts put him back in Baghdad in 1028. While he was an authority on hadith it was his preaching that gave him fame that would help him later in life. One biographer, Al-Dhahabi
, says that teachers and preachers of tradition usually submitted what they had collected to Al-Baghdadi before they used them in their lectures or sermons.
but switched his view to Shafi'i
because of theological opinions. Some think that this change in opinion happened after a trip to Nahrawan in 1038 but it is unsure. These changes in opinions caused Imam Hanbal's followers to dislike him and there was a certain hostility between them and al-Baghdadi. Despite the problems that existed al-Baghdadi had protection under Caliph Al-Qa'im and Ibn al-Muslima and, under that protection, he opened a lot of lectures on hadith in the Mansur Mosque. al-Baghdadi used these opportunities to make malicious insinuations against Hanbal and his followers. Later generations would view this open attack as a form of legal and theological bias from the courts but that is uncertain as al-Baghdadi did not enter into situations with the courts until after a journey in search of hadith in 1053.
's rebellion was successful and he overthrew Ibn Muslima for control of Baghdad. This loss of protection caused al-Baghdadi to go to Damascus
. He spent eight years lecturing in the Umayyad Mosque before some type of mishap took place. There is a controversy surrounding what that mishap was exactly. Biographers Yaqut, Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
, al-Dhahabi
, as-Safadi, and Ibn Taghribirdi
all contend that the mishap involes al-Baghdadi frequenting a youth which naturally caused a problem in Damascus. Sibt ibn al-Jawzi contends that the youth in question came along with al-Baghdadi from Baghdad. Yaqut goes on to explain that the story reached the ruler of Damascus who was Rafidi who, in turn, ordered his chief of police to kill al-Baghdadi. The police chief was a Sunni and he advised al-Baghdadi to gain the protection of Shari ibn Abi al-Hasan al-'Alawi. The reason, from what we know, that the police gave him the advice was because al-Baghdadi was an important person and killing him would lead to a retaliation against the Shi'i. al-Baghdadi took the advice and fled to Sur, Lebanon. He stayed there for about a year before he returned to Baghdad where he died in September 1071. He was buried next to Bishr al-Hafi.
, and Ibn Taghribirdi believe that al-Baghdadi only finished the work of an author named as-Suri. While Yaqut contends that al-Baghdadi took the work from as-Suri's sister and claimed them as his own, Ibn Kathir believes that the works in question were borrowed from as-Suri's wife but he does not give an opinion as to the authenticity of them. He has also been accused of being dishonest in relation to the hadiths by Ibn al-Jawzi.
declared his works influential in the field of the Science of hadith
and Hadith terminology
saying, "Scarce is the discipline from the disciplines of the science of hadith
that he has not written an individual book regarding." He then quoted Abu Bakr ibn Nuqtah, a Hanbali
scholar, as saying, “Every objective person knows that the scholars of hadeeth coming after al-Khatib are indebted to his works.”
This is a short list of some of al-Baghdadi's works. Some accounts have him authoring over 80 titles.
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
(10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
scholar and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
Early life
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi was born on May 10, 1002 CE (Jumada al-ThaniJumada al-thani
Jumada al-Thani is the sixth month in the Islamic Calendar.It is also known as Jumaada al-Akhir and Jumada al-Akhira.This is the sixth month of the Islamic calendar...
24th, 392 AH) in Hanikiya, a village south of Baghdad. He was the son of a preacher of Darzidjan and he began studying at an early age with his father and other shaykhs. Over time he studied other sciences but his primary interest was hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
. There is not a lot of information available about what he did while he was studying under his father. At the age of 20 his father died and he went to Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
to search for hadith. In 1024 he set out on a second journey to Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
and he collected more hadith in Rey
Rey, Iran
Rey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
and Isfahan. It is unclear how long he traveled but his own accounts put him back in Baghdad in 1028. While he was an authority on hadith it was his preaching that gave him fame that would help him later in life. One biographer, Al-Dhahabi
Al-Dhahabi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn `Abd Allah, Shams al-Din Abu `Abd Allah al-Turkmani al-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i , known as Al-Dhahabi , a Shafi'i Muhaddith and historian of Islam.-Biography:...
, says that teachers and preachers of tradition usually submitted what they had collected to Al-Baghdadi before they used them in their lectures or sermons.
Hanbalis
al-Baghdadi was born HanbaliHanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
but switched his view to Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
because of theological opinions. Some think that this change in opinion happened after a trip to Nahrawan in 1038 but it is unsure. These changes in opinions caused Imam Hanbal's followers to dislike him and there was a certain hostility between them and al-Baghdadi. Despite the problems that existed al-Baghdadi had protection under Caliph Al-Qa'im and Ibn al-Muslima and, under that protection, he opened a lot of lectures on hadith in the Mansur Mosque. al-Baghdadi used these opportunities to make malicious insinuations against Hanbal and his followers. Later generations would view this open attack as a form of legal and theological bias from the courts but that is uncertain as al-Baghdadi did not enter into situations with the courts until after a journey in search of hadith in 1053.
Damascus
In 1059 BasasiriBasasiri
Basasiri was a Turkish slave who rose to become a general in Iraq, and staged a revolt against the Seljuks.Basasiri had been a favorite of the Buwayhid amir al-Malik al-Rahim. When the Buwayhids were expelled from Iraq by the Seljuks in 1055, Basasiri began a rebellion against their authority...
's rebellion was successful and he overthrew Ibn Muslima for control of Baghdad. This loss of protection caused al-Baghdadi to go to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. He spent eight years lecturing in the Umayyad Mosque before some type of mishap took place. There is a controversy surrounding what that mishap was exactly. Biographers Yaqut, Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi
Yusuf ibn Abd-Allah , famously known as Sibt ibn al-Jawzi and Abu-Muzaffar .was a famous scholar.-Confusion:He was the grandson of the great Hanbali scholar Abul-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzi who is known for his works such as A Great Collection of Fabricated Traditions and the Provision of the journey .his...
, al-Dhahabi
Al-Dhahabi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn `Abd Allah, Shams al-Din Abu `Abd Allah al-Turkmani al-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i , known as Al-Dhahabi , a Shafi'i Muhaddith and historian of Islam.-Biography:...
, as-Safadi, and Ibn Taghribirdi
Ibn Taghribirdi
Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi or Ibn Taghribirdi was an Egyptian historian born into the Turkish Mamluk elite of Cairo in the 15th century. He studied under al-Ayni and al-Maqrizi, two of the leading Cairene historians and scholars of the day...
all contend that the mishap involes al-Baghdadi frequenting a youth which naturally caused a problem in Damascus. Sibt ibn al-Jawzi contends that the youth in question came along with al-Baghdadi from Baghdad. Yaqut goes on to explain that the story reached the ruler of Damascus who was Rafidi who, in turn, ordered his chief of police to kill al-Baghdadi. The police chief was a Sunni and he advised al-Baghdadi to gain the protection of Shari ibn Abi al-Hasan al-'Alawi. The reason, from what we know, that the police gave him the advice was because al-Baghdadi was an important person and killing him would lead to a retaliation against the Shi'i. al-Baghdadi took the advice and fled to Sur, Lebanon. He stayed there for about a year before he returned to Baghdad where he died in September 1071. He was buried next to Bishr al-Hafi.
Controversy
The issue in Damascus was one major controversy surrounding al-Khatib al-Baghdadi. Another major controversy associated with al-Baghdadi is the validity of his writings. Biographers Yaqut, Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn KathirIbn Kathir
Ismail ibn Kathir was a Muslim muhaddith, Faqih, historian, and commentator.-Biography:His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din, Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir, Al-Qurashi, Al-Busrawi...
, and Ibn Taghribirdi believe that al-Baghdadi only finished the work of an author named as-Suri. While Yaqut contends that al-Baghdadi took the work from as-Suri's sister and claimed them as his own, Ibn Kathir believes that the works in question were borrowed from as-Suri's wife but he does not give an opinion as to the authenticity of them. He has also been accused of being dishonest in relation to the hadiths by Ibn al-Jawzi.
Works
Ibn HajarIbn Hajar al-Asqalani
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his family origin , was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith...
declared his works influential in the field of the Science of hadith
Science of hadith
Hadith studies are a number of religious disciplines used in the study and evaluation of the Islamic hadith by Muslim scholars. It has been described by one hadith specialist, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, as the science of the principles by which the conditions of both the sanad, the chain of...
and Hadith terminology
Hadith terminology
Hadith terminology is the body of terminology which specify the acceptability of the narrations, hadith, attributed to the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad, as well as other early figures of religious significance...
saying, "Scarce is the discipline from the disciplines of the science of hadith
Science of hadith
Hadith studies are a number of religious disciplines used in the study and evaluation of the Islamic hadith by Muslim scholars. It has been described by one hadith specialist, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, as the science of the principles by which the conditions of both the sanad, the chain of...
that he has not written an individual book regarding." He then quoted Abu Bakr ibn Nuqtah, a Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
scholar, as saying, “Every objective person knows that the scholars of hadeeth coming after al-Khatib are indebted to his works.”
This is a short list of some of al-Baghdadi's works. Some accounts have him authoring over 80 titles.
- Ta'rikh Baghdad: The History of Baghdad
- al-Kifaya fi ma'rifat usul 'ilm al-riwaya: an early work dealing with Hadith terminologyHadith terminologyHadith terminology is the body of terminology which specify the acceptability of the narrations, hadith, attributed to the Islamic Prophet, Muhammad, as well as other early figures of religious significance...
, which Ibn HajarIbn Hajar al-AsqalaniAl-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his family origin , was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith...
praised as influential in the field; - al-Djami' li-akhlak al-rawi wa-adab al-sami
- Takyid al-'ilm: Questions whether putting traditions into writing is forbidden
- Sharaf ashab al-hadith: Centers around the significance of traditionalists;
- al-Sabik wa 'l-lahik: dealing with hadithHadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
narrators of a particular type; - al-Mu'tanif fi takmilat al-Mu'talif wa 'l-mukhtalif: Correct spelling and pronunciation of names
- al-Muttafik wa 'l-muftarik
- Talkhis al-mutashabih fi 'l-rasm wa-himayat ma ashkala minhu min nawadir al-tashif wa 'l-wahm
- al-Asma' al-mubhama fi 'l-anba' al-muhkama: identifying unnamed individuals mentioned in hadithHadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
- al-Rihla fi talab al-hadith
- Iktida' al-'ilm al-'amal