A Brief History of Writing Hadith
And biographies of the Imams
In the introduction to Fath al-Bari, Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani writes: "May God grant you and us knowledge." Know that during the era of the Sahaba (RA) and the senior Tabi'un, comprehensive books of the Prophetic ahadith were not compiled and organized. There are two reasons for this. (1) First, the early Sahaba (RA) were forbidden from doing so, as is established by an authentic narration in Sahih Muslim. This was out of fear that the ahadith might get mixed up with the noble Quran. (2) Second, the memory of the Sahaba (RA) was extremely strong, and their minds were very sharp. Furthermore, most individuals among them did not know how to write. Then, towards the end of the Tabi'un's era, righteous people began to diminish, and the innovations of the Khawarij, Rawafid, and Qadariyyah began to occur in abundance. The very first person to collect the noble Hadith was Rabi' bin Sabih, or Sa'id bin Abi Aruba, and others. They would compile a separate compilation for each chapter. Then the attention of the eminent people of the third tier was directed towards this, and the compilation of ahadith began. Among them is the compilation of Imam Malik, the Muwatta. In it, strong ahadith were collected, and along with them, the sayings of the Sahaba (RA) and the Tabi'un, and those after them were also included. In Makkah, Abu Muhammad Abdul Malik bin Abdul Aziz and Ibn Jurayj compiled books of ahadith. In Syria, Abu Amr Al-Awza'i did so. In Kufa, Abu Abdullah Sufyan bin Sa'id did so. In Basra, Abu Salama Hammad bin Salama bin Dinar collected ahadith. Then people of their era followed them here [in these regions], to the extent that some Imams deemed it appropriate that the compilation and authoring of the ahadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ be undertaken in a specific manner; this is an event of the second century Hijri. Then Abdullah bin Musa Al-Absi Al-Kufi, Musaddad bin Musarhad Al-Basri, Asad bin Musa Al-Umawi, and Nu'aym bin Hammad Al-Khuza'i who resided in Egypt, prepared *Musnads*.
Because of the *Taqlid* (following) of the Imams of what came after, no Imam remained whose *Musnad* had not been prepared. Some scholars of hadith from that very time, such as Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ishaq bin Rahwayh, Uthman bin Abi Shaybah, and others, prepared *Musanid* (plural of Musnad). Some individuals among them compiled *Musanid* along with chapters, for example, Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah.
When Imam Bukhari looked at these compilations, that authentic (Sahih), good (Hasan), and weak (Zaeef) ahadith were mixed in them, and in many of them weak ahadith were also quite prominent, his courage spurred him to collect such ahadith about which there would be absolutely no doubt or suspicion. (Meaning no weak ahadith at all). In the introduction of Isma'ili, it is written: "I saw the book of compilation of Abu Abdullah Bukhari; I found it exactly as its name implies (Sahih Bukhari). In it, there are many authentic ahadith. I extracted from it the good comprehensive meanings..."
... no one can do it except the one who has complete mastery over the knowledge of the text of the hadith and its narrators." Bukhari (RH) was such a person that his era was unable to produce someone like him. He reached the rank of perfection and collected ahadith. Along with this, he also had good intentions, and attaining goodness was his objective; thus, a group of people tried to author books in this manner. Among them is Hasan bin Ali Halwani, who is a contemporary of Bukhari. The era of Muslim bin Al-Hajjaj was also close to theirs. He too tried to achieve his objective, and took ahadith from them and their books. Besides them, many tried to attain this goodness, but no one could reach the rank of Imam Bukhari.
Hafiz Abu Al-Fadl bin Tahir writes in the book *Shurut al-A'immah*: "It is not transmitted from any of the five Imams of hadith that they said: 'I have established these conditions regarding the extraction of ahadith in my book.' However, when their books were scrutinized, the condition of each became known. The condition of Bukhari and Muslim is that the agreed-upon hadith should be extracted from such a trustworthy person, who narrates that hadith from a famous Sahabi. As for Abu Dawood and Nasai, their books consist of three types of ahadith. (1) The first type is authentic ahadith, whose extraction has been done in the *Sahihayn* [Bukhari and Muslim]. (2) The second type are those ahadith which are authentic according to the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim. Abu Abdullah bin Mandah states that the condition of Abu Dawood and Nasai is that a hadith should be taken from such narrators whom the Muhaddithin [scholars of hadith] have not unanimously agreed to abandon. If the *Isnad* [chain of narration] is connected, and it is not *Munqati* [broken] or *Mursal*, then this type will also be considered authentic. However, this method is different from the extraction method of Bukhari and Muslim, as we have clarified that Bukhari and Muslim left many authentic ahadith, which Abu Dawood and Nasai took. (3) The third type are those ahadith, whose extraction Abu Dawood and Nasai did with soundness without interruption, and whose cause they have also made apparent, as the people of *Marifa* [gnosis/deep knowledge] have understood. They also collected such ahadith, the narration of which some individuals have done, and took evidence from them. They have also taken its defect [weakness], but they have also made its defect apparent so that the doubt may be removed. They only do this at the time when they do not find any other narration besides it, because in their view, instead of the opinion of people, hadith of this type is superior.
There are four types of ahadith in the book of Imam Abu Isa Tirmidhi.
(1) The first type: Authentic and definitive, which is in accordance with Bukhari and Muslim. (2) The second type: In accordance with the conditions of Abu Dawood and Nasai, as we have explained in their second type. (3) The third type: It is like the third type of Abu Dawood and Nasai, that its extraction and its defect were also explained. (4) The fourth type: Those ahadith (whose extraction they did), they also explained their defect and said that in my book I have described such a hadith, upon which some jurists have acted. They took evidence from this hadith or someone acted upon it. Whether its method is authentic or not, however, he has removed the objection from his side, because his method is that under some chapter, they take such a famous hadith whose chain reaches an authentic Sahabi and write it in that chapter. In this chapter, they do not take a hadith from the narration of another Sahabi (even if the chain of that Sahabi is not like the first one, but its ruling is authentic), they bring such a hadith below it. In this way, they mention in this chapter that there is a narration from so-and-so and so-and-so, among whom they also count a group of Sahaba, that they also extracted this ruling from this hadith. But they adopt this method very little except in a few chapters. (End of quote).
Hazimi has explained in the chapter of the conditions of the Imams that the method of the extraction of authentic hadith by those people is that the matters below should be considered: the uprightness of the narrator, his Mashayikh (teachers), and the one from whom he took the narration; what is his condition. If they are all trustworthy, and from some ways it is proven to be authentic, then its extraction is necessary; and if from some it is entered (and is objectionable), then its extraction is not authentic, but bringing it as a *Shahid* [supporting narration] and *Tabi'* [corroborating narration] is correct. (Hazimi said) that this matter is such that there is great subtlety in it, and there is a need to clarify it so that the classes of narrators can be well recognized and their ranks can be understood. Now we will clarify it with an example. For instance, the companions of Zuhri consist of five classes. Among them, every class holds a superiority of some sort over the other class. The first class possesses extreme soundness, such as Malik, Ibn Uyaynah, Abdullah bin Umar, Yunus, Uqayl, etc., and this is what is in view of Bukhari. The second class are those who are like the first class in uprightness and steadfastness, but this class is not equal to Zuhri in continuity and memorization. The first class stayed with him in travel and residence, and the second did not adhere to it except for a short period; therefore, they did not attain that practice and mastery in the hadith of Zuhri. For this reason, the first class unanimously agreed upon them being lesser, but these are included in the conditions of Muslim, such as Awza'i, Layth bin Sa'd, Nu'man bin Rashid, Abdul Rahman bin Khalid, Ibn Musafir, and Ibn Dhu'ayb. And the third class is of those people who stayed with Zuhri like the first class, but they were protected from objections and criticism.
neither remaining in acceptance nor in rejection. (Meaning some accepted them and some rejected them). And these are the conditions of Abu Dawood and Nasai, such as Sufyan bin Husayn, Ja'far bin Burqan, and Ishaq bin Yahya Al-Kalbi. The fourth class is that which shares with the third class in criticism and endorsement (Jarh wa Ta'deel), but they have a deficiency in practice and mastery concerning the hadith of Zuhri because they did not have the companionship of Zuhri for an extended period of time. Such people are upon the conditions of Tirmidhi. (Hazimi said) that in reality, the condition of Tirmidhi is more profound than the condition of Abu Dawood, because when a hadith is of the fourth class or is weak, Tirmidhi explains its weakness and warns about it. Therefore, that hadith comes as a *Shahid* and *Tabi'*, and their reliance is solely on that hadith which has been proven authentic from a group. The examples of this class are Ramih bin Salih, Muawiyah bin Yahya Sadafi, and Muthanna bin Sabah. The fifth class is the group of weak and unknown narrators. It is not permissible for the one describing a hadith to describe their ahadith in chapters, but yes, they can be mentioned as a consideration and a witness. For Abu Dawood, these are of a lesser rank than them, but for the *Shaykhayn* [Bukhari and Muslim], narrations are absolutely not taken from them. Examples of these are Bahr bin Kathir Saqqa, Hakam bin Abdullah Al-Ayli, Abdul Quddus bin Habib, and Muhammad bin Sa'id Maslub. Imam Bukhari sometimes takes narrations from individuals of the second class, and Muslim takes from famous individuals of the third class, and Abu Dawood takes from famous individuals of the fourth class, due to some necessity or the other. Dhahabi states in *Mizan al-I'tidal* that the rank of Jami' Tirmidhi is lesser than the Sunan of Abu Dawood and Nasai, because he has described ahadith of people like Maslub and Kalbi. Abu Ja'far bin Zubayr said that the best books upon which all Muslims have agreed to rely are five books. The *Muwatta*, which was written first of all but in rank it is not behind anyone, because regarding these books, the objectives of people are different. There is an affection for the *Sahihayn* among everyone. For one who intends to understand *Fiqh*, there are many benefits in Bukhari. If one's view is focused on the enclosure and comprehensiveness of the rulings of ahadith, then look at Abu Dawood, which is not found in any other. There are subtleties of hadith in Tirmidhi, in which no one shares with them. In Nasai, there are more delicate matters and major important matters have been adopted than all of them, and I say that... ...in *Sahih Muslim*, there is a commitment to good arrangement and describing the entire hadith. Imam Abdullah Muhammad bin Umar Rashid has said that it is proven to me through investigation and clearly that the book of Tirmidhi is divided into different chapters, and this is a distinct benefit, and in this...
...Ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah ennoble his face). Hazrat Ali (RA) prayed for blessings for him and his offspring. He was born in 80 AH. He passed away in Baghdad in 150 AH. He studied Fiqh from Ibrahim Nakha'i and Hammad bin Abi Sulayman. He heard hadith from Ata bin Rabah and Abu Ishaq Al-Sabi'i. He narrated from Muhammad bin Al-Munkadir, Nafi', and Hisham bin Urwah, and Simak bin Harb, etc. He was a practicing scholar, an ascetic, a worshipper, an Imam of the Shari'ah sciences. Those who praised him and those who exaggerated in his praise were more than those who criticized him. May Allah be pleased with him. Imam Malik: Malik bin Anas bin Malik Al-Asbahi. He is the Imam of *Dar al-Hijrah* (Madinah). He was born in 95 AH and passed away in 179 AH, and at that time his age was 84 years. And he is the Imam of the people of Hijaz, rather the Imam of the people in Fiqh and Hadith. He learned knowledge from Muhammad bin Shihab Al-Zuhri, Yahya bin Sa'id Al-Ansari, Nafi', the freed slave of Ibn Umar, and other dignitaries, and his students Muhammad Hasan Shaybani, Imam Shafi'i, and Yahya bin Yahya Andalusi, etc., are Imams of Hadith. May Allah be pleased with him. Muhammad bin Al-Hasan: Muhammad bin Hasan Shaybani. He is the student of Hazrat Abu Hanifa. He was born in the middle of 132 AH and passed away in 189 AH. He narrated from Abu Hanifa, Mis'ar bin Kidam, Sufyan Thawri, Malik bin Anas, and Awza'i, Rabi'ah bin Salih, Bukayr bin Ammar, and Qadi Abu Yusuf, and attained the knowledge of Fiqh from them. Abu Yusuf: Imam Qadi Abu Yusuf. Ya'qub bin Ibrahim Ansari Kufi. He narrated from Hisham bin Urwah, Abu Ishaq Shaybani, and Ata bin Al-Sa'ib. He passed away in 192 AH. He was a practicing scholar, a jurist (*Faqih*), and a Muhaddith. May Allah be pleased with him. Shafi'i: Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Idris Shafi'i Muttalibi was a tremendous Imam. He was born in 150 AH in Palestine. He passed away in Egypt in 204 AH. He learned the knowledge of Fiqh from Muslim bin Khalid and Imam Malik bin Anas. Imam Malik bin Anas, Abu Nur Ibrahim bin Khalid, Abu Ibrahim Al-Muzani, and Rabi' bin Sulayman Al-Muradi, and many people narrated from him. The scholars of the world are unanimous on his Imamate, and all agree upon his deep understanding (*Tafaqquh*) and his high rank. May Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Abi Al-Dunya: Abu Bakr Abdullah is his name. He narrated from Abu Sa'id bin Sulayman, Ali bin Ja'd, Abu Nasr Tammar, and Khalid bin Khirash. He was born in 208 AH. Al-Humaydi: He is a great Imam. His name is Abdullah bin Zubayr Asadi Makki. He is the teacher of Bukhari and among the tremendous students of Imam Shafi'i. He passed away in Makkah in 219 AH. Ishaq bin Rahwayh: He is a Sahib-e-Madhab Imam (founder of a school of thought). Ishaq bin Ibrahim bin Makhlad Hanzali stayed in Nishapur. He had the hearing of hadith from Ibn Mubarak, Jarir bin Abdul Hamid, Abdul Aziz Al-Ammi, Fudayl bin Iyad, Isa bin Yunus Daraqutni, and Imam Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, and Nasai narrated from him. He was born in 166 Hijri and passed away in 238 AH.
Imam Biographies (Part B)
Ibn Abi Hatim Muhammad bin Idris Razi (resident of Rayy) Abi Hatim Abu Sa'id al-Shaykh Ali bin Munfadh bin Yunus bin Abd al-A'la, Hajjaj bin al-Sha'ir, Ibn Warah, and Hazru'ah heard Hadith from him. His year of birth is 230 AH.
Ahmad bin Hanbal Imam Abu Abdullah Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal al-Shaybani Marwazi was born in 164 AH in Baghdad and passed away there in 241 AH. He was an Imam of Fiqh, Hadith, asceticism, and piety. He heard Hadith from Yazid bin Harun, Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan, Sufyan bin 'Uyaynah, Shafi'i, and Abd al-Razzaq. Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud narrated from him (Imam Hanbal). (RA).
Darimi Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Abd al-Rahman Darimi, Hafiz of Samarkand, narrates Hadith from Yazid bin Harun and Nadr bin Shumayl. And from him (meaning Abu Abdullah), Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, etc., narrate. He was the Imam of his time. He was born in 181 AH and passed away in 255 AH.
Bukhari Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Isma'il bin Ibrahim bin Mughirah al-Ju'fi al-Bukhari was born in 194 AH and passed away in 256 AH. He narrated from Makki bin Ibrahim Balkhi, Abi Nu'aym Fadl bin Dukayn, and Ali bin Madini, Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Yahya bin Ma'in, etc. His book, Sahih Bukhari, is the most authentic book after the Word of Allah.
Muslim Abu al-Husayn Muslim bin al-Hajjaj bin Muslim al-Qushayri al-Nayshapuri was born in 204 AH and passed away in 261 AH. His age was 57 years. He took Ahadith from Imams like Yahya bin Yahya, Qutaybah bin Sa'id, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, and Ahmad bin Hanbal, etc., and many people took Ahadith from him. Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari are (as if) two horses running a race in the excellence of narration and authenticity of Isnad. (Who want to surpass one another). (RA).
Tahawi Imam Abu Ja'far Ahmad bin Muhammad Misri heard Ahadith from Harun ibn Sa'id, Abd al-Ghani bin Rifa'ah, Yunus bin Abd al-A'la, Bahr bin Nasr, Isa bin Matrud, and Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abd al-Hakam. His passing was in 327 AH.
Ibn Majah Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid al-Qazwini. He heard Hadith from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numayr, Ibrahim bin al-Mundhir, Abdullah bin Mu'awiyah, and Hisham bin 'Ammar. It is said that there are thirty Zaeef Ahadith in his Sunan. He was born in 209 AH. His passing was in 273 AH. (RA).
Abu Dawud His name is Sulayman bin Ash'ath bin Ishaq Azdi Sijistani. His birth occurred in 202 AH and he passed away in Basra in 275 AH. He acquired the science of Hadith from Ahmad bin Hanbal, Uthman bin Abi Shaybah, and Qutaybah bin Sa'id, etc. He presented his book Sunan to Ahmad bin Hanbal and corrected it. Ibn al-Arabi states that if someone has no collection of knowledge and only has the Mushaf
and this book (meaning Sunan Abu Dawud), then he will have no need for any other (religious) knowledge.
Ibn Adi Imam Abu Ahmad Abdullah Jurjani heard Hadith from Bahlul bin Ishaq, Abu Hanifa, and Abu Abd al-Rahman Nasa'i. He was born in 277 AH.
Al-Tirmidhi His name is Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa bin Sawrah Tirmidhi. He was born in 200 AH and passed away in Tirmidh in 279 AH. He acquired knowledge from Muhammad bin Bashshar and Ali bin Hujr, etc., and studied Fiqh from Muhammad bin Isma'il Bukhari. Tirmidhi stated, "I presented my book before the scholars of Hijaz, Iraq, and Khurasan, and everyone was pleased upon seeing this book. The one who has the book of Tirmidhi in his house, it is as if the Prophet ﷺ is speaking in his house."
Abu Zur'ah His name is Abd al-Rahman Nasri Dimashqi. He narrates from Hawdah bin Khalifa, Abu Nu'aym, Ahmad bin Khalid, Abu Sahr Nasa'i, Ubayd, and Sulayman bin Harb. He passed away in 281 AH.
Bazzar His name is Abu Bakr Ahmad bin 'Amr Basri. He narrates from Hadyah bin Khalid, Abd al-A'la Ibn Imad, Hasan bin Ali bin Rashid, and Junhi, and from Muhammad bin Yahya bin Fayyad Rammani. He passed away in 292 AH.
Ibn al-Durays Hafiz Musnad Abu Abdullah bin Ayyub bin Yahya Ibn Durays Kalbi Razi is the author of the book Fada'il al-Qur'an. He was born in the beginning of 200 AH and passed away at Rayy in 294 AH.
Ibn Abi Shaybah Muhammad bin Uthman bin Abi Shaybah is a Hafiz, Kamil, and Muhaddith of Kufa. He passed away in 297 AH.
Abu Ya'la His name is Ahmad bin Ali Mawsili. He heard Hadith from Ali bin Ja'd, Yahya bin Ma'in, Muhammad Minhal, Ghassan bin Rabi', Shayban bin Farrukh, and Yahya bin Ma'in. He passed away in 304 AH.
Nasa'i He is Abd al-Rahman Ahmad bin Shu'ayb bin Ali bin Bahr. He was born in 215 AH and passed away in Makkah in 303 Hijri. He narrates the science of Hadith from Qutaybah bin Sa'id, Ali bin Khashram, Ishaq bin Ibrahim, Muhammad bin Bashshar, and Abu Dawud Sijistani. Some princes asked him concerning his book Sunan whether it was Sahih or Hasan or closer to both, and they said, "Write Sahih Ahadith from it for us," so he made a selection from the Sunan and left out all those Ahadith regarding the Isnad of which people had spoken concerning a defect (Ta'lil). (RH).
Ibn al-Jarud Imam Naqid, Hafiz, Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Ali Ibn al-Jarud Nayshapuri, neighbor of Makkah, is the author of the book Al-Muntaqa fi al-Ahkam. He passed away in 304 AH.
Ibn Khuzaymah His name is Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ishaq. He narrates from Mahmud bin Ghaylan, 'Utbah bin Abdullah, Muhammad bin Aban, Ali bin Hujr, Abu Qudamah, Bishr ibn
Mu'adh, Abu Kurayb, and Abd al-Jabbar bin 'Ala', from whom Bukhari and Muslim bin al-Hajjaj have narrated. He was born in 223 AH and passed away in 311 AH.
Al-Sarraj His name is Abu al-Abbas Muhammad bin Ishaq al-Thaqafi Nayshapuri. He narrates from Qutaybah bin Sa'id, Ibn Rahwayh, Muhammad bin Bakkar, and Abu Kurayb. He was born in 216 AH and passed away in 313 AH.
Abu 'Awanah His name is Ya'qub bin Ishaq. He narrates from Yunus bin Abd al-A'la, Ahmad ibn al-Azhar Za'farani, Dhuhli, and Ali bin Askab. He passed away in 316 AH.
Ibn Sa'd His name is Al-Hafiz Allama Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Sa'd Nayshapuri Bazzaz, one of the reliable people. He suddenly passed away in 339 AH.
Ibn al-Sakan His name is Hafiz Abu Ali Sa'id bin al-Sakan Baghdadi. He came and stayed in Egypt. He was born in 294 AH. He presented his book Sahih al-Muntaqa before the people of Andalus. He passed away in 353 AH. This is how it is written in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz. And Allah knows best.
Ibn Hibban His name is Abu Hatim Muhammad. He narrates from Husayn Idris Harawi, Abu al-Khalifa al-Jumahi, Abu Abd al-Rahman Nasa'i, Abu Ya'la, and Ibn Khuzaymah. He passed away in 354 AH.
Al-Tabarani His name is Hafiz al-Hujjah Abu al-Qasim Sulayman bin Ahmad al-Shami al-Lakhmi. He is the author of compilations, and the author of many famous compilations. He was born in Akka in 260 AH and passed away in 360 AH.
Ibn al-Sunni Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Muhammad Dinawari is a narrator of Sunan Nasa'i. He narrates from Abu al-Khalifa al-Jumahi, Raji, and Abu 'Arubah al-Harrani. He passed away in 364 AH.
Abu al-Shaykh His name is Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Muhammad Ansari Isbahani. He narrates from Mahmud bin al-Faraj, Ibrahim bin Sa'dan, al-Ramli, Abu al-Khalifa, Abu Ya'la, and Abu 'Arubah. He was born in 274 AH and passed away in 369 AH.
Ibn Shahin His name is Abu Ja'far Umar bin Ahmad Baghdadi. He narrates from Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Baghandi, Abu Habib al-Muzani, and al-Baghawi. He passed away in 385 AH.
Daraqutni His name is Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Umar al-Daraqutni. He was the Imam of his time and unique in his era. He was born in 305 AH and passed away in 385 AH.
Hakim Imam al-Muhaddithin Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Hamdawayh bin Nu'aym al-Dabbi al-Tahmani Nayshapuri. He is the author of famous compilations.
He was born in 321 AH and passed away in 403 AH.
Ibn Marduwayh Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Musa Isbahani is the author of Tafsir and Tarikh, and a Hafiz of great stature. He passed away on 24 Ramadan 410 AH.
Abu Nu'aym His name is Ahmad bin Abdullah Isfahani, the author of Hilyah. He is among the tremendous Mashayikh of Hadith and is of great rank and status. He was born in 336 AH and passed away in 430 AH.
Al-Bayhaqi His name is Imam Hafiz Allama Shaykh of Khurasan Abu Bakr Ahmad bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Musa Bayhaqi, author of famous compilations. He was born in 384 AH and passed away in 458 AH.
Ibn Abd al-Barr His name is Imam Shaykh al-Islam Hafiz of the Maghrib Abu Umar Yusuf bin Abdullah al-Namari al-Qurtubi. His compilations are famous. He was born in 368 AH and passed away in 463 AH.
Al-Khatib Hafiz of great stature, Imam, Muhaddith of Sham and Iraq, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ali bin Thabit al-Baghdadi, author of compilations. He was born in 392 AH and passed away in 463 AH.
Al-Baghawi Muhyi al-Sunnah Abu Muhammad al-Husayn bin Mas'ud bin Muhammad bin al-Farra' al-Shafi'i, author of the book Ma'alim al-Tanzil, Sharh al-Sunnah, Tahdhib, and Masabih, etc. He passed away in Shawwal 516 AH at Marw.
Razin Razin bin Mu'awiyah, Abu al-Hasan Razin bin Mu'awiyah al-Abdari, Hafiz, author of the book Tajrid fi al-Jam' bayna al-Sihah (which is a comprehensive book of the books of Sahih). He passed away in 520 AH.
Qadi Iyad Qadi Allama, Scholar of the Maghrib, Iyad bin Musa bin Iyad, author of the book Al-Shifa, etc. He was born in Ceuta (Sabtah) in 476 AH. His origin is Andalusian, as his grandfather migrated from Andalus to Fes and took up residence in Ceuta. He was buried in Marrakesh. He passed away in 544 AH.
Ibn Asakir Imam Hafiz, Muhaddith of Sham, Fakhr al-A'immah, Thiqat al-Din Abu al-Qasim Ali bin Hasan Dimashqi Shafi'i, author of compilations. He was born in 499 AH. His passing occurred in 571 AH.
Abd al-Razzaq Imam al-Muhaddithin Abd al-Razzaq bin Abu Muhammad bin Abu Salih Muhaddith of Baghdad was born in 528 AH. He passed away in 604 AH.
Ibn al-Qattan Hafiz Allama Naqid Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Malik bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al-Himyari al-Kutami al-Fasi. He passed away in 628 AH.
Ibn al-Najjar Hafiz Imam of great stature, Historian of the era, Mufid al-Iraq Muhammad bin Mahmud Baghdadi, author of numerous compilations, was born in 578 AH.
and passed away in 643 AH.
Al-Diya Imam al-Alam Hafiz al-Hujjah Muhaddith of Sham Diya al-Din Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahid al-Sa'di al-Maqdisi Dimashqi, author of beneficial compilations. He was born in 569 AH and passed away in 643 AH.
Nawawi Abu Zakariyya Muhyi al-Din Yahya Ibn Sharaf al-Din al-Nawawi, Imam of the people of his time, was born in Muharram 631 AH and passed away on 24 Rajab 676 AH.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We praise Him, and we seek help from Him, and we seek forgiveness from Him, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our selves and from the badness of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomever Allah the Exalted lets remain astray, none can guide him, and we bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, who is One and has no partner, and we bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and His Messenger. May peace and blessings be upon him ﷺ, and upon his ﷺ family, and upon his Companions (RA), and upon his followers until the Day of Resurrection.
After praise and salutation, the matter worthy of writing is that Allah the Exalted says in His Glorious Word, "Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not become divided; remain all of you in the refuge of God alone and do not separate." The Divine Command is, "Hold firmly to what We have given you and remember what is in it, perhaps you may become God-fearing." And the Word of God is, "Obey Allah and His Messenger and fear (Him)," and Allah the Exalted says, "Take what the Messenger has given you and refrain from what the Messenger has forbidden you."
It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud (RA) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Allah has set forth an example of the Straight Path (Sirat-e-Mustaqim), and on both sides of the path there are walls in which there are open doors, and over the doors there are hanging curtains, and at the beginning of the path there is a caller who says, 'Walk straight on the path, do not deviate,' and above it there is a caller who calls out. Whenever any servant wants to open any of those doors, he says, 'Woe to you! Do not open it, because if you open it you will enter into it.' Then he explained its interpretation and informed that the path is Islam, and the open doors are the prohibitions of Allah (Maharim Allah), and the hanging curtains are the boundaries of Allah (Hudud Allah). The caller on the path is the Quran, and the caller above it is the admonisher of Allah who is in the heart of every believer." This was narrated by Ahmad and Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman.
And it is narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), he said, "At the time we were with the Master ﷺ, a man came to us whose clothes were exceedingly white, whose hair was exceedingly black, upon whom the signs of travel were not visible, and none of us knew him, until he reached the Prophet ﷺ. He placed his knees against the knees of the Noble Prophet ﷺ and placed his hands on his thighs and said, 'O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam.' The Master ﷺ said, 'That you testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger. Establish prayer, give Zakat, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj of the House of Allah if you have the provision for the journey.' He said, 'You have spoken the truth.' We were amazed that he asks a question and also confirms it. Then he said, 'Inform me about Iman.' You ﷺ said, 'That you believe in Allah, and in His angels, and in His messengers, and in the Last Day, and that
good and evil are from Allah the Exalted.' He said, 'You have spoken the truth.' Then he said, 'Inform me about Ihsan.' You ﷺ said, 'Worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and if you do not see Him, then know that He is seeing you.' He said, 'You have spoken the truth.'" Muslim narrated it.
It is narrated from Mu'awiyah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding in the matters of Din. And indeed I am the distributor and Allah is the Giver." (Muttafaq Alayh)
I have explained Iman, Islam, and Ihsan, and added to it the knowledge of the authentic Ahadith of the Trustworthy Messenger ﷺ, Prophetic Ahadith, and the reports of the Sahaba (RA). I hope that Allah the Exalted will grant benefit to the seekers of truth through it.
It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (RA), he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When a person dies, his deeds are cut off from him except for three things: (1) ongoing charity (Sadaqah Jariyah), (2) knowledge from which benefit is derived, (3) or a righteous child who prays for him." This is narrated by Muslim.
With this, I have offered my service to the one who provides security to creation, the one who raises the flag of Islam, the servant of the Two Holy Sanctuaries, the one who attains the virtues of both worlds, the Asif of the age, the Administrator of Cities, the Alexander of the era, the Helper of the Nation and Religion, the Most Excellent of Sultans, the beloved of the people of knowledge and Marifa, Sultan bin Sultan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Sultan of Deccan. May Allah protect him from the evils of the times.
I, the one in need of Allah the Self-Sufficient, Abdul Qadeer Muhammad Siddiqui Professor of Hadith, Head of the Department of Theology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Deccan.