Abu Nuʿaym al-Isfahani (أبـو نـعـيـم الأصـفـهـانـي; full name: Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ahmad ibn Ishāq ibn Mūsā ibn Mahrān al-Mihrānī al-Asbahānī (or al-Asfahānī) al-Ahwal al-Ash`arī al-Shāfi`ī, died 1038 CE / AH 430) was a medieval Persian[3][4]Shafi'i scholar and one of the leading hadith scholars of his time.[5][6] His family was an offshoot of the aristocratic House of Mihran.[7]
Born in Buwayhid eraIsfahan, his first teacher was his own grandfather who was a Sufi master, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Ma;dan al-Banna' (d. 365/976), who was the spiritual leader of a school of Sufism in Isfahan, which continued to flourish during the lifetime of Abu Nu'aym.[8] Under his father's lead and guide, he began his scholarly career at an early age. As he got older, he would widely travel and visit Hejaz, Iraq, Syria, Khurazan and other places. He possessed ijaza in hadith from all major scholars of his time.[5][9]
Teachers
Anu Nu'aym had numerous teachers, his most famous ones include:[9]
In his lifetime, the hadith scholars would state: "Abu Nu'aym (Imam Asbahani) possessed chains of transmission that no one in the world possessed during his time". He was praised and famous for possessing very short chains of transmission for hadith. His benefit of studying very young and living almost near 100 years was highly valued by hadith scholars of his time as they saw shorter chain of transmission to be stronger and more authentic. According to Ahmad ibn Hanbal: "The pursuit of short transmission chains is a Sunnah (a way) taken from those who came before us".[9]
Hamza bin al-Abbas al-Alawi said: "The hadith scholars used to say that the hadith master, Imam Asbahani remained in his field (of hadiths) for 14 years without equal (peerless), no one from the East to West possessing any chain (hadith) shorter than his, and there was no one stronger than him in memorization".[11]
Ibn al-Salah in his book entitled Manual of Hadith Science, lists Abu Nu'aym among his seven selected scholars for the highest excellence in authorship of books in Islam.[11]
Theology
Imam Abu Nu'aym followed the Ash'ari doctrine as Ibn Asakir included him to be from the second generation of Imam Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari students and this is further confirmed by Ibn Al-Jawzi in his great compilation of history book entitled Al-Muntazam.[11] This is further confirmed of Abu Nu'aym criticisms of Hanbalite literalism in respect to anthropomorphic expressions in the Quran and Hadith, the HanbaliteIbn Manda was reported to have been involved in a vicious dispute with him.[12] He denounced Abu Nu’aym's creed as unorthodox and banished him from the Jami' mosque of Isfahan, that was dominated by Ibn Manda's Hanbali faction.[12] Abu Nu'aym is unlikely to have been well trained in Ash'ari kalam himself however, but he did approve of it, calling it, "the kalam in accordance with the doctrine of the ahl al-sunnah".[12]
Al-Dhahabi narrates the following incident that took place:[11]
"For there was too much hostile one choosing and enmity between the Ash'aris and Hanbalis, leading to disagreements. Hearing this man call people to Al-Asbahani, the hadith scholars surrounded him with their pen-knives, and he was almost killed.
Al-Dhahabi comments above:[11] "I say, that these are not hadith scholars, but ignorant transgressors (who cross the boundaries set by God) - may Allah keep their harm away!"
The Lebanese Hadith scholar, Gibril Haddad records a historical account and calls it a miracle:[13]
"Imam Asbahani was bestowed a miracle upon him from Allah (God) when he was being banished from the main Mosque of Isfahan (Asbahan) by a group of people against him there. The same people were also unhappy with their ruler, Sultan Mahmud bin Subktukin's appointment of a certain man as a governor over them, and as a result these people ambushed him and killed the governor. Later, the Sultan pretended to solve the issue, had this group reunited in the main Mosque from which Imam Asbahani was banned. Then the Sultan had them all executed down to the last man. And so Imam Asbahani was saved by the harming of such opponents any longer, whilst those against him were punished by Allah, the Exalted."
Works
Abû Nu`aym authored over a hundred works, among them:[13]
The Hilyat al-Awliya is a substantial work in ten volumes, comprising a total of 650 biographies, amounting to about 4,000 pages in the printed edition. The work includes many biographies of early Islam. Most biographies of individuals that are directly involved with the development of Sufi mysticism are found in the tenth volume.
Al-Arba`în `alâ Madhhab al-Mutahaqqiqîn min al-Sûfiyya, in print
Dalâ'il al-Nubuwwa ("The Signs and Proofs of Prophethood"), devoted entirely to the person of the Prophet Muhammad, this large work - partly in print - was expanded by Al-Bayhaqi to seven volumes in a like-titled work.
Dhikr Akhbâr Asbahân ("Memorial of the Chronicles of Ispahan"), in print
Al-Du`afâ', in print
Fadâ'il al-Khulafâ' al-Arba`a wa Ghayrihim, in print
Fadîlat al-`Adilîn min al-Wulât, a collection of over forty narrations on just government and the duties of the governed towards the rulers. Al-Sakhawi documented each narration in detail and both the work and its documentation were published.
Juz` fî Turuq Hadîth Inna Lillâhi Tis`atun wa Tis`îna Isman, in print
Al-Mahdî.
Ma`rifat al-Sahâba wa Fadâ'ilihim ("Knowing the Companions and Their Merits"), in print. This book was the basis of subsequent similar works by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Ibn al-Athir, and Ibn Hajar.
Musnad al-Imâm Abî Hanîfa, in print
Al-Mustakhraj `alâ al-Bukhârî ("Additional Narrations Meeting al-Bukhârî's Criterion"), in print
Al-Mustakhraj `alâ Muslim ("Additional Narrations Meeting Muslim's Criterion"), in print
Riyâdat al-Abdân, in print
Al-Shu`arâ' ("The Poets").
Al-Sifât. Al-Suyûtî mentioned it in his commentary on Sûrat al-Nâs in his book al-Iklîl fî Istinbât al-Tanzîl.
Sifat al-Janna ("Description of Paradise"), in print
Tabaqât al-Muhaddithîn wal-Ruwât ("Biography-Layers of the Hadîth Scholars and Narrators").
Tasmiyatu mâ Intahâ ilaynâ min al-Ruwât `an al-Fadl ibn Dukayn `Aliyan, in print
Tasmiyatu mâ Intahâ ilaynâ min al-Ruwât `an Sa`îd ibn Mansûr `Aliyan, in print
Tathbît al-Imâma wa Tartîb al-Khilâfa, in print, a refutation of Shîasm.
^ abcdeGibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1960]. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 142. ISBN9004081143.
^Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1971]. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. III (H-Iram) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 751. ISBN9004081186.
^Frye, R.N., ed. (1975). The Cambridge history of Iran (Repr. ed.). London: Cambridge U.P. p. 461. ISBN978-0-521-20093-6. The authors of most of these works, which have been the mainstay of Sufi literature to this day within the khanaqahs, were Persians, such men as Kalabadhi, Sarraj, Makki, Sulami and Abu Nu'aim.
^Meri, Josef W. (January 2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization, Volume 1 An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 401. ISBN978-0-415-96691-7. Al-Isfahani Abu Nu'aym Ahmad b. 'Abdallah, was born in Isfahan in around AH 336/948 CE. Although he wrote exclusively in Arabic, he was of Persian origin.
^ abLucas, Scott C. (2004). Constructive Critics, Ḥadīth Literature, and the Articulation of Sunnī Islam The Legacy of the Generation of Ibn Saʻd, Ibn Maʻīn, and Ibn Ḥanbal. Brill. p. 97. ISBN9789004133198.
^The Encyclopædia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples. Holland: EJ Brill. 1913. p. 102.
Norman Calder, Jawid Ahmad Mojaddedi, Andrew Rippin, Classical Islam: a sourcebook of religious literature, Routledge, 2003, ISBN978-0-415-24032-1, p. 237.
ABU NU`AYM AL-ASBAHANI, Dr. G.F. Haddad
Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2007). "Hamza al-Isfahani and Sasanid Historical Geography of Sini Muluk al-ard w'al-anbiya". In Gyselen, Rika (ed.). Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour l'histoire et la géographie historique. Peeters Publishers. pp. 111–140.
Zulfiqar Ayub (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. pp. 145–147.
March 03, 2023
isfahani, nuʿaym, isfahani, أبـو, نـعـيـم, الأصـفـهـانـي, full, name, ahmad, ʿabd, allāh, ahmad, ishāq, mūsā, mahrān, mihrānī, asbahānī, asfahānī, ahwal, arī, shāfi, died, 1038, medieval, persian, shafi, scholar, leading, hadith, scholars, time, family, offsho. Abu Nuʿaym al Isfahani أبـو نـعـيـم الأصـفـهـانـي full name Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Musa ibn Mahran al Mihrani al Asbahani or al Asfahani al Ahwal al Ash ari al Shafi i died 1038 CE AH 430 was a medieval Persian 3 4 Shafi i scholar and one of the leading hadith scholars of his time 5 6 His family was an offshoot of the aristocratic House of Mihran 7 Abu Nu aym al IsfahaniTitleAl ḤafiẓPersonalBorn948 1 Isfahan 1 Died23 October 1038 1 ReligionIslamDenominationSunniJurisprudenceShafi i 1 CreedAsh ari 2 Main interest s Hadith Fiqh History Muslim leaderInfluenced by Al Shafi iAbu Hasan al Ash ariAl TabaraniAl Hakim al NishapuriAl DaraqutniAbu Bakr al AjurriInfluenced Al Khatib al Baghdadi Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Birth and Education 1 2 Teachers 1 3 Students 1 4 Death 2 Reception 3 Theology 4 Works 5 See also 6 References 7 SourcesBiography EditBirth and Education Edit Born in Buwayhid era Isfahan his first teacher was his own grandfather who was a Sufi master Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Ma dan al Banna d 365 976 who was the spiritual leader of a school of Sufism in Isfahan which continued to flourish during the lifetime of Abu Nu aym 8 Under his father s lead and guide he began his scholarly career at an early age As he got older he would widely travel and visit Hejaz Iraq Syria Khurazan and other places He possessed ijaza in hadith from all major scholars of his time 5 9 Teachers Edit Anu Nu aym had numerous teachers his most famous ones include 9 Al Tabarani main teacher Al Hakim al Nishapuri Al Daraqutni Abu Bakr al Ajurri Abu al ShaykhStudents Edit Abu Nu aym had many students his most famous ones include 9 Al Khatib al Baghdadi foremost pupil Al Malini Al Dakhwani Abu al Fadl Hamd bin Ahmed al Haddad Abu Ali al Hassan his younger brother Death Edit He died in Ṣafar 430 November 1038 10 Reception EditIn his lifetime the hadith scholars would state Abu Nu aym Imam Asbahani possessed chains of transmission that no one in the world possessed during his time He was praised and famous for possessing very short chains of transmission for hadith His benefit of studying very young and living almost near 100 years was highly valued by hadith scholars of his time as they saw shorter chain of transmission to be stronger and more authentic According to Ahmad ibn Hanbal The pursuit of short transmission chains is a Sunnah a way taken from those who came before us 9 Abu Nu aym was regarded as one of the best hadith authorities by his contemporary Khatib al Baghdadi and by Dhahabi and Taqi al Din al Subki 1 Hamza bin al Abbas al Alawi said The hadith scholars used to say that the hadith master Imam Asbahani remained in his field of hadiths for 14 years without equal peerless no one from the East to West possessing any chain hadith shorter than his and there was no one stronger than him in memorization 11 Ibn al Salah in his book entitled Manual of Hadith Science lists Abu Nu aym among his seven selected scholars for the highest excellence in authorship of books in Islam 11 Theology EditImam Abu Nu aym followed the Ash ari doctrine as Ibn Asakir included him to be from the second generation of Imam Abu Hasan al Ash ari students and this is further confirmed by Ibn Al Jawzi in his great compilation of history book entitled Al Muntazam 11 This is further confirmed of Abu Nu aym criticisms of Hanbalite literalism in respect to anthropomorphic expressions in the Quran and Hadith the Hanbalite Ibn Manda was reported to have been involved in a vicious dispute with him 12 He denounced Abu Nu aym s creed as unorthodox and banished him from the Jami mosque of Isfahan that was dominated by Ibn Manda s Hanbali faction 12 Abu Nu aym is unlikely to have been well trained in Ash ari kalam himself however but he did approve of it calling it the kalam in accordance with the doctrine of the ahl al sunnah 12 Al Dhahabi narrates the following incident that took place 11 For there was too much hostile one choosing and enmity between the Ash aris and Hanbalis leading to disagreements Hearing this man call people to Al Asbahani the hadith scholars surrounded him with their pen knives and he was almost killed Al Dhahabi comments above 11 I say that these are not hadith scholars but ignorant transgressors who cross the boundaries set by God may Allah keep their harm away The Lebanese Hadith scholar Gibril Haddad records a historical account and calls it a miracle 13 Imam Asbahani was bestowed a miracle upon him from Allah God when he was being banished from the main Mosque of Isfahan Asbahan by a group of people against him there The same people were also unhappy with their ruler Sultan Mahmud bin Subktukin s appointment of a certain man as a governor over them and as a result these people ambushed him and killed the governor Later the Sultan pretended to solve the issue had this group reunited in the main Mosque from which Imam Asbahani was banned Then the Sultan had them all executed down to the last man And so Imam Asbahani was saved by the harming of such opponents any longer whilst those against him were punished by Allah the Exalted Works EditAbu Nu aym authored over a hundred works among them 13 The Hilyat al Awliya is a substantial work in ten volumes comprising a total of 650 biographies amounting to about 4 000 pages in the printed edition The work includes many biographies of early Islam Most biographies of individuals that are directly involved with the development of Sufi mysticism are found in the tenth volume Al Arba in ala Madhhab al Mutahaqqiqin min al Sufiyya in print Dala il al Nubuwwa The Signs and Proofs of Prophethood devoted entirely to the person of the Prophet Muhammad this large work partly in print was expanded by Al Bayhaqi to seven volumes in a like titled work Dhikr Akhbar Asbahan Memorial of the Chronicles of Ispahan in print Al Du afa in print Fada il al Khulafa al Arba a wa Ghayrihim in print Fadilat al Adilin min al Wulat a collection of over forty narrations on just government and the duties of the governed towards the rulers Al Sakhawi documented each narration in detail and both the work and its documentation were published Juz fi Turuq Hadith Inna Lillahi Tis atun wa Tis ina Isman in print Al Mahdi Ma rifat al Sahaba wa Fada ilihim Knowing the Companions and Their Merits in print This book was the basis of subsequent similar works by Ibn Abd al Barr Ibn al Athir and Ibn Hajar Musnad al Imam Abi Hanifa in print Al Mustakhraj ala al Bukhari Additional Narrations Meeting al Bukhari s Criterion in print Al Mustakhraj ala Muslim Additional Narrations Meeting Muslim s Criterion in print Riyadat al Abdan in print Al Shu ara The Poets Al Sifat Al Suyuti mentioned it in his commentary on Surat al Nas in his book al Iklil fi Istinbat al Tanzil Sifat al Janna Description of Paradise in print Tabaqat al Muhaddithin wal Ruwat Biography Layers of the Hadith Scholars and Narrators Tasmiyatu ma Intaha ilayna min al Ruwat an al Fadl ibn Dukayn Aliyan in print Tasmiyatu ma Intaha ilayna min al Ruwat an Sa id ibn Mansur Aliyan in print Tathbit al Imama wa Tartib al Khilafa in print a refutation of Shiasm Al Tibb al Nabawi Prophetic Medicine See also EditList of Ash aris and MaturidisReferences Edit a b c d e Gibb H A R Kramers J H Levi Provencal E Schacht J 1986 1st pub 1960 Encyclopaedia of Islam Vol I A B New ed Leiden Netherlands Brill p 142 ISBN 9004081143 Lewis B Menage V L Pellat Ch Schacht J 1986 1st pub 1971 Encyclopaedia of Islam Vol III H Iram New ed Leiden Netherlands Brill p 751 ISBN 9004081186 Frye R N ed 1975 The Cambridge history of Iran Repr ed London Cambridge U P p 461 ISBN 978 0 521 20093 6 The authors of most of these works which have been the mainstay of Sufi literature to this day within the khanaqahs were Persians such men as Kalabadhi Sarraj Makki Sulami and Abu Nu aim Meri Josef W January 2006 Medieval Islamic Civilization Volume 1 An Encyclopedia Routledge p 401 ISBN 978 0 415 96691 7 Al Isfahani Abu Nu aym Ahmad b Abdallah was born in Isfahan in around AH 336 948 CE Although he wrote exclusively in Arabic he was of Persian origin a b Lucas Scott C 2004 Constructive Critics Ḥadith Literature and the Articulation of Sunni Islam The Legacy of the Generation of Ibn Saʻd Ibn Maʻin and Ibn Ḥanbal Brill p 97 ISBN 9789004133198 The Encyclopaedia of Islam A Dictionary of the Geography Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples Holland EJ Brill 1913 p 102 Pourshariati 2007 p 114 Meri Josef W 2006 Medieval Islamic Civilization A K index Routledge p 401 a b c d Zulfiqar Ayub 2015 p 145 Abu Nu aym s Sources for Ḥilyat al awliya Sufi and Traditionist books openedition org a b c d e Zulfiqar Ayub 2015 p 146 a b c W Madelung Abu No aym Al Esfahani Encyclopaedia Iranica I 4 pp 354 355 available online at 1 a b Zulfiqar Ayub 2015 p 147Sources EditNorman Calder Jawid Ahmad Mojaddedi Andrew Rippin Classical Islam a sourcebook of religious literature Routledge 2003 ISBN 978 0 415 24032 1 p 237 ABU NU AYM AL ASBAHANI Dr G F Haddad Pourshariati Parvaneh 2007 Hamza al Isfahani and Sasanid Historical Geography of Sini Muluk al ard w al anbiya In Gyselen Rika ed Des Indo Grecs aux Sassanides donnees pour l histoire et la geographie historique Peeters Publishers pp 111 140 Zulfiqar Ayub 2 May 2015 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars pp 145 147 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abu Nu 27aym al Isfahani amp oldid 1141092273, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
