Abu 'Amr Uthman ibn Abd al-Rahman Salah al-Din al-Kurdi al-Shahrazuri (1181/577 - 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Salah, was a Shafi'i hadith specialist, author of the seminal Introduction to the Science of Hadith.

Contents 1 Birth 2 Education 3 Scholastic specialization 4 Positions held 5 Theological position 6 Death 7 Works 8 References

[edit] Birth

Ibn al-Salah was born in the year 1181 C.E., 577 A.H.

[edit] Education

He first studied fiqh with his father in Sharazor, located in the south-eastern part of what is currently referred to as Iraqi Kurdistan. He then occupied himself in Mosul for an unspecified period of time, studying under a number of the local religious scholars. He studied in a number of cities, including: Baghdad, Hamedan, Naysabur, Merv, Aleppo, Damascus and Harran.

Ibn Khallikan said that he had heard that Ibn al-Salah had repeatedly read al-Muhathab, one of the primary texts of the Shafi'i Madh'hab, "before his mustache had grown."^[1] He read Sahih al-Bukhari upon two of his teachers, al-Mayyad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi and Mansur ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Furawi, as well as Al-Sunan al-Kubra, by Ahmad Bayhaqi, upon the latter.^[2]

[edit] Scholastic specialization

While Ibn al-Salah was most recognized for his contribution to the field of hadith, he was well-grounded in a variety of disciplines. Ibn Khallikan described him as being from amongst the exemplary scholars of Quranic exegesis, hadith and jurisprudence, participating in a number of religious disciplines and producing sound religious verdicts.^[1] Al-Fasi described him as being "a master in both jurisprudence and hadith, and other than that."^[2] He was also described by al-Dhahabi as "strong in the Arabic Language"^[1] and as "the shaikh of the Shafi'i scholars."^[3]

[edit] Positions held

Ibn al-Salah held several positions throughout his life, primarily in the field of education. He taught at the Salahiyyah School in Jerusalem, and then, following the destruction of its city walls, moved to Damascus and taught at the Rawahiyyah School for some time following its inception. Following the foundation of the Ashrafiyyah School he became its shaikh. He was then appointed a teacher at the al-Shamiyyah al-Sughara School.^[1]

[edit] Theological position

Ibn al-Salah avoided association with problematic ideologies in regards to creed. He abstained from interpreting religious texts in a manner inconsistent with their apparent intent, or ta'wil, as he did the entrapments of those immersed in rhetoric, both issues "distancing one from authenticity in creed".^[4] Al-Dhahabi described Ibn al-Salah as: "Firm in his religiosity, Salafi in his generality and correct in his denomination. [He] refrained from falling into common pitfalls, believed in Allah and in what Allah has informed us of from His names and description."^[1] In another of his works, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi said of him: "I say: he was Salafi, of sound creed, abstaining from the interpretations ta'wil of the scholars of rhetoric, believing in what has been textually established, without recourse to unjustified interpretation or elaboration."^[5] Ibn al-Salah himself clarified his position on another stumbling block, describing philosophy as: "The basis of foolishness and degeneration, a topic of confusion and misguidance which is motivated by perversion and blasphemy. Whomsoever engages in philosophy, has been blinded in his insight into the great aspects of the Sharia corroborated by evidences."^[1]

[edit] Death

Ibn al-Salah passed away on Monday, September 18, 1245 C.E., 643 A.H., at the age of 66. His funeral prayer was performed at the congregational mosque of Damascus, to a crowd so large it required a second prayer to accommodate. He was buried in the Sufiyyah graveyard, now the location of a hospital, a mosque and other buildings.^[1]

[edit] Works

1. Al-Muqaddimah - Introduction to the Science of Hadith - perhaps his best known work;
2. Ishkalat 'ala al-Wasit^[1] - in Shafi'i fiqh;
3. Al-Amaali - the transcription of the hadith he read aloud to his students, complete with the chains of narration;^[6]
4. Siyanah Sahih Muslim - an explanation of Sahih Muslim of which only the beginning segment is published;
5. Numerous fatawa, or religious rulings;^[2]
6. Fawa`id, or benefits, from his travels.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Siyar 'Alam al-Nubala, vol. 23, pg. 140-4, by al-Dhahabi, Muassah al-Risalah, Beirut, 11th Edition, 2001.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Dhail al-Taqyid, by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fasi, vol. 3. pg. 111, no. 1375, published by Umm al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, first edition, 1997.
3. ^ Duwal al-Islam, vol. 2, pg. 159, Dar Sadir, Beirut, first edition, 1999.
4. ^ `Abd al-Qadir, Muwaffaq. Foreward. Siyanah Sahih Muslim. By Ibn al-Salah. Ed. `Abd al-Qadir. Beirut: Dar al-Gharab al-Islami, 1984. 22-3.
5. ^ al-Dhahabi. Tadhkirah al-huffaz, vol. 4, pg. 1431, Da'irah al-Ma'arif al-'Uthmaniyyah, India.
6. ^ Al-Risalah al-Mustatrafah, pg. 159-61.