Abū Dāwūd (Dā’ūd) Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath ibn Isḥāq al-Azdī al-Sijistānī (), commonly known as Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, was a scholar of prophetic

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

who compiled the third of the six "canonical" hadith collections recognized by

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Muslims, the '' Sunan Abu Dāwūd''.

Biography

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

descent, Abū Dā’ūd was born in

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

and died in 889 in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

. He travelled widely collecting

ḥadīth Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

(traditions) from scholars in numerous locations including

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Hijaz Hejaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province ...

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is 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 masculine form) was the ancient M ...

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

and

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

. His focus on legal ḥadīth arose from a particular interest in

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

(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 or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

although some have considered him

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

. Imam Abu Dawud has stated: "From this book of mine four

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

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 are: *'' Sunan Abu Dāwūd'': contains 4,800

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 AH/1935 CE), where 5,274 are distinguished. Islamic scholar

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

, 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, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...

describing his Sunan Abu Dāwūd collection.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Biodata at MuslimScholars.info

Biography at Sunnah.com

Letter 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 Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in Hanbalis Atharis 9th-century jurists