Al-Daraqutni
Abu Hasan Ali ibn Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Daraqutni (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي بن عمر بن أحمد بن مهدي الدارقطني, romanized: Abū ‘l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar ad-Dāraquṭnī, 918 CE — 995 CE) was an 10th-century muhaddith best known for compiling the hadith collection Sunan al-Daraqutni. He was celebrated by later Sunni hadith scholars as the "imam of his time" and the "amir al-mu'minin in hadith".[4][5]
Abu Hasan Ali Al-Daraqutni | |
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ابو الحسن على الدارقطني | |
Personal | |
Born | 918 CE/306 AH |
Died | 995 CE/385 AH (aged 77) Baghdad |
Religion | Islam |
Denomination | Sunni[1] |
Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[2] |
Creed | Athari |
Main interest(s) | Hadith, biographical evaluation |
Notable work(s) | Sunan al-Daraqutni |
Occupation | Muhaddith |
Muslim leader | |
Influenced
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Biography
Al-Daraqutni was born in 918 CE/306 AH in the Dar al-Qutn (Arabic: دار القطن, romanized: Dār al-Quṭn) quarter of Baghdad, whence he got his nisba. His studies were initially largely restricted to his native Iraq, where he frequented Wasit, Basra and Kufa.[4] His teachers in his period included the son of Abu Dawood, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi and Ibn Mujahid, from whom he learned the different recitations of the Quran.[6] Later in life, he travelled to Syria and Egypt; while in the latter, he enjoyed the patronage of the Ikhishid vizier Jafar bin al-Fadl for assisting him with compiling his own hadith collection.[4] His students included the hadith scholars Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani[6] and Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri.[3]
Al-Daraqutni was a committed follower of the Shafi‘i school, studying jurisprudence under the Shafi'ite scholar Abu Sa'id al-Istakhri. Like most other hadith scholars in 10th-century Baghdad, he was also an adherent of traditionalist school of Sunni doctrine and opposed the use of scholastic theology. He wrote a treatise against Muʿtazilite Amr ibn Ubayd on the subject of anthropomorphism in relation to God and compiled a series of hadith collections in defence of the traditionalist interpretation of God's attributes.[4][6]
He died in 995 CE/385 AH and was buried in the Bab al-Dayr cemetery in Baghdad, near the grave of Maruf Karkhi.[3]
Works
Several of al-Daraqutni's extant works have been published:[4][6]
General hadith works
- al-Sunan, his primary hadith collection.
- Kitab al-du'afa wa-l-matrukin, an alphabetically-ordered list of 632 hadith transmitters considered to be da'if or rejected.
- al-'Ilal al-warida fi al-ahadith
- al-Mukhtalif wa-l mu'talif fi asma al-rijal, a list of hadith transmitters who names are similar in spelling but differ in pronunciation.
Works on Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Al-Daraqutni wrote a series of commentaries, addendums and analyses of narrations contained within Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
- Dhikr asma' al-tabi'in wa-man ba'dahum mimman sahhat riwayatuhuu min al-thiqat 'ind Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
- Dhikr asma' al-tabi'in wa-man ba'dahum mimman sahhat riwayatuhu 'ind Muslim
- al-Ilzamat ala sahiay al-Bukhari, a compilation of 109 narrations whose chains of narration, according to al-Daraqutni, satisfy the requirements for inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
- Asma al-sahaba allati ittafaqa fiha al-Bukhari wa-Muslim wa-ma infarada bihi kull minhuma
- Kitab al-tatabbu'
- Kitab fi dhikr riwayat al-sahihayn
Kitab al-tattabu
In his Kitab al-tatabbu', al-Daraqutni reviews 217 narrations within the two collections which he deems to be flawed using both isnad and matn criticism. Reasons given include the isnad not meeting the requirements for inclusion in the collections, and the commentary of the hadith's transmitters being inadvertently merged with its matn. Jonathan A. C. Brown cautions that the work is an adjustment to the two collections rather than an attack on their overall integrity.[4]
Works in the defence of traditionalist theology
- Kitab al-sifat, a collection of hadith concerning the attributes of God.
- Kitab al-Ru'ya, a collection of hadith concerning the vision of God on the Day of Judgement.
- Ahadith al-nuzul, a collection of hadith concerning the descent (nuzul) of God from the heavens.
Other
- Kitab al-qira'at, a work on the different recitations of the Quran.
See also
References
- Dhahabi, Imam. Siyar 'Alam al-Nubala [ed. Shu'ayb al-Arnaut]. 17. p. 558.
- Brown, Jonathan (2013). The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (Islamic History and Civilization). Brill. p. 138. ISBN 9004158391.
- Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1991) [1st. pub. 1965]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume I (C-G). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 136. ISBN 9004070265.
- Brown, Jonathan A. C. (2004). "Criticism of the Proto-Hadith Canon: Al-Dāraquṭnī's Adjustment of the "Ṣaḥīḥayn"". Journal of Islamic Studies. 15 (1): 1–37. ISSN 0955-2340 – via JSTOR.
- Brown, Jonathan A. C. (2012-10-01). "al-Dāraquṭnī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE.
- Çakan, İsmail Lütfi. "Dârekutnî". İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Retrieved 11 August 2020.