Abū Dāwūd (Dā’ūd) Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath ibn Isḥāq al-Azdī al-Sijistānī ( ar, أبو داود سليمان بن الأشعث الأزدي السجستاني), commonly known simply as Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, was a scholar of prophetic
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
who compiled the third of the
six "canonical" hadith collections recognized by
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
Muslims, the ''
Sunan Abu Dāwūd''. He was a
Persian speaker of
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
descent.
Biography
Abū Dā’ūd was born in
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...
and died in 889 in
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
. He traveled widely collecting
ḥadīth (traditions) from scholars in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Hijaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
,
Tihamah
Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.
Etymology
Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...
,
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...
, and
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
among other places. His focus on legal ḥadīth arose from a particular interest in
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
(law). His collection included 4,800 ḥadīth, selected from some 500,000. His son, Abū Bakr ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Dā’ūd (died 928/929), was a well known ''
ḥāfiẓ'' and author of ''Kitāb al-Masābīh'', whose famous pupil was
Abū 'Abd Allāh al-Marzubānī.
School of thought and Quotes
Imam Abu Dawud was a follower of
Hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools ('' madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanba ...
although some have consider him
Shafi.
Imam Abu Dawud himself has stated: "From this book of mine four (4)
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
are sufficient for an intelligent and insightful person. They are:
* Deeds are to be judged only by intentions.
* Part of a man's good observance of Islam is that he leaves alone that which does not concern him.
* None of you can be a believer unless you love for your brother that which you love for yourself.
* The permitted (''halal'') is clear, and the forbidden (''haram'') is clear, between these two are doubtful matters. Whosoever abstains from these doubtful matters has saved his religion."
Works
Principal among his twenty-one works:
*''
Sunan Abu Dāwūd''; contains 4,800
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
mostly
''sahih'' (authenticated), some marked
''ḍaʿīf'' (unauthenticated)usually numbered after the edition of Muhammad Muhyi al-Din `Abd al-Hamid (Cairo: Matba`at Mustafa Muhammad, 1354/1935), where 5,274 are distinguished. Islamic scholar
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī or ''Ibn Ḥajar'' ( ar, ابن حجر العسقلاني, full name: ''Shihābud-Dīn Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Nūrud-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Kināni'') (18 February 1372 – 2 Febru ...
), and some others, believe a number of the unmarked hadith are
''ḍaʿīf''.
*''Kitab al-Marāsīl'', lists 600 extensively investigated
''sahih'' ''mursal hadith''.
*''Risālat Abu Dāwūd ilā Ahli Makkah''; letter to the people of
Makkah
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
describing his
Sunan Abu Dāwūd.
*''Kitāb al-Masāhif'', catalogs non-Uthmanic variants of the Qur'an text
See also
*
Kutub al-Sittah
*
Sunan Abu Dawood
''Sunan Abu Dawood'' ( ar-at, سنن أبي داود, Sunan Abī Dāwūd) is one of the '' Kutub al-Sittah'' (six major hadith collections), collected by Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d.889).
Introduction
Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related ...
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
Biodata at MuslimScholars.infoBiography at Sunnah.comLetter from Imam Abu Dawud to the people of Makkah explaining his book, terms he uses, and his methodology.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Dawood
810s births
888 deaths
Iranian people of Arab descent
Hadith compilers
Hadith
Hadith studies
Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in
Hanbalis
Atharis
9th-century jurists