Ibn Abi Asim

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Ibn Abi Asim
ابن أبي عاصم
TitleImam, Qadi
Personal
Born206 AH (821/2 AD)
Died287 AH (900 AD)
ReligionIslam
EraIslamic golden age
RegionIraq
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceZahiri[1]
CreedAthari[2][3]
Main interest(s)Hadith, Aqidah, Fiqh
OccupationMuhaddith, Islamic Scholar, Muslim jurist
Muslim leader

Abu Bakr Ahmad bin `Amr ad-Dahhak bin Makhlad ash-Shaibani (Arabic: أبو بكرأحمد بن عمرو بن الضحاك بن مخلد الشيباني), widely known as Ibn Abi Asim (Arabic: ابن أبي عاصم), was an Iraqi Sunni scholar of the 9th century. He is most famous for his work in the field of hadith science.[4]

Biography[edit]

Family and early life[edit]

Ibn Abi Asim was born in Basra, Iraq in 822.[5] He grew up in an academic household, as both his father and his grandfather were scholars of Prophetic traditions in their own right.[4] Due to his family's scholarly background, he was educated in the religious sciences at an early age. While religious learning was often begun in a madrasa or masjid starting in the early teens, Ibn Abi Asim had a head start relative to his time period.

Career[edit]

Eventually, Ibn Abi Asim left Basra for the city of Isfahan, further to the east. Late in life, he was granted a position as a judge at his new city of residence.[6]

Death[edit]

Ibn Abi Asim died in Isfahan in the year 900.[5][6] He was 81 years old and at the time of his death, he was still holding his position as a judge. According to Iranian historian Abu Nu`aym, Ibn Abi Asim was buried in Isfahan's Doshabaz cemetery.[7]

Legacy[edit]

Works[edit]

Ibn Abi Asim compiled numerous Prophetic traditions into two volumes, organized into chapters based on different theological and creed-related topics. He had also written about the first-generation Muslim and Umayyad caliph, Mu'awiya,[5] though the work is now lost. Likewise, the exact topic has eluded historians, with Al-Suyuti claiming it was a book on Mu'awiya's dreams,[8] while Ibn Hajar referred to it as a book on Mu'awiya's virtues.[9] It is not known whether the topic Ibn Abi Asim's essay was actually disputed, or if he had simply written about both topics.

Sunni Muslim evaluation[edit]

Historians Abu al-Abbas al-Niswi and Abu Nu`aym both reported Ibn Abi Asim as having been a Zahirite.[10][11] Although he has become an important figure for the Zahiri school in the modern day, few of his works in jurisprudence have survived to the modern era.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani. Akhbar Asbahan (in Arabic). Vol. 1. p. 135.
  2. ^ Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala'., v.13, pg.430
  3. ^ Abu Nu`aym, Dhikr Akhbar Isfahan, v.1, pg.100
  4. ^ a b Ibn 'Asakir. The History of Damascus. Vol. 7. p. 87.
  5. ^ a b c Cobb, Paul M. (2012). The Lineaments of Islam: Studies in Honor of Fred McGraw Donner. Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 181.
  6. ^ a b Kahalah, Mu'jam al-Mu`allifin, v.2, pg.36
  7. ^ Abu Nu`aym, The History of Isfahan, v.1, pg.55
  8. ^ Al-Suyuti, History of the Caliphs, edited by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim, Cairo: Dar al-Nahdat Misr li at-Tab' wa al-Nashr, 1976. Pg. 309.
  9. ^ Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary by Bin Baz and Ali al-Shibl, Riyadh: Dar us Salam, 2000. Vol. 7, pg. 132.
  10. ^ Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala'., v.13, pg.430
  11. ^ Abu Nu`aym, Dhikr Akhbar Isfahan, v.1, pg.100