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Muḥammad ibn Hibbān al-Bustī () (c. 270–354/884–965) was a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Arab scholar, polymath and a prominent
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 ...
traditionist, ḥadith critic, evaluator of rijal, compiler and interpreter of hadith. He was a prolific writer and well-versed in numerous Islamic fields such as
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
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(reaching the level of
Ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...
) as well as in the sciences of
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
,
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and other disciplines.


Biography


Birth

Ibn Hibban was born in 270 AH (884 CE) in Bust or Bost in present-day southern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
(former name of
Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...
province capital was Bost or Bust, its new name is
Lashkargah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...
).


Education

Imam Ibn Hibban grew up in the city of Bust, where he spent his childhood and early youth, then left for education. In thirst for knowledge, this imam was travelling countries from
Transoxania Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tur ...
and reaching far as
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 ...
. During these intense travels, he had numerous teachers whom he narrated from.


Teachers

He studied Islamic sciences with many prominent scientists of the time, such as: *
Al-Nasa'i Al-Nasāʾī (214 – 303 Islamic calendar, AH; 829 – 915 CE), full name Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿAlī ibn Sinān ibn Baḥr ibn Dīnar al-Khurasānī al-Nasāʾī (), was a noted collector of hadith (sayin ...
* Al-Hasan ibn Sufyan * Abu al-Ya'la al-Mosuli * Al-Husayn ibn Idris al-Harawi * Abu al-Khalifa al-Jamhi * Imran ibn Musa ibn Madzhashi' * Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Sufi * Ja'far ibn Ahmad al-Dimashqi * Ibn Khuzaymah


Career

Ibn Hibban became judge in
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
for a time and built a
Khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...
in the town; and in 340 A. H./951 A. D. he went to his birth town, Bust and built there a madrasah for his students, in which they were given stipends.


Students

His most famous students became leading scholars of their time: *
Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (; 933 - 1014 CE), also known as Ibn al-Bayyiʿ, was a Persians, Persian Sunni scholar and the leading hadith studies, traditionist of his age, frequently referred to as the "Imam of t ...
*
Al-Daraqutni Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutni (; 918–995 CE / 306–385 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar and traditionist best known for compiling the hadith collection '' Sunan al-Daraqutni''. He is commonly celebrated in Sunni tradition with titles such as "Im ...
* Al-Khattabi * Ibn Manda


Death

Ibn Faisal died in Bust on a Friday night, eight days before the end of the month of
Shawwal Shawwal () is the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. It comes after Ramadan and before Dhu al-Qa'da. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the Arabic verb ''shāla'' (), which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to an ...
in 354 AH. He was buried in his native town Bost or Bust (currently
Lashkargah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...
) in present-day southern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
.


Theology

When returning to Sijistan, after studying in
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 ...
with Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban was opposed by some of the
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 ...
s as he taught that God does not have limits, rejecting their belief in al-Hadd lillah (
limits Limit or Limits may refer to: Arts and media * ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu * ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film * Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony * "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea * "Limits", a 2009 ...
for
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
). Furthermore, these local
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 ...
s accused him of Zandaqa (heresy) for his statement al-Nubuwwa 'ilmun wa 'amal (prophecy consists of a knowledge and action). Due to this he left for Samarkand, where he became a Judge. Ibn al-Subki relates an incident between Ibn Hibban and the
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 ...
tes in his famous book entitled ''Tabaqat al-Shafi'yya al-Kubra'' where Abu Ismail al-Harawi said: "I asked Yahya ibn Ammar about Ibn Hibban saying "Did you see him?" He said, "How could I not have seen him, considering that we expelled him from Sijistan? He had a lot of knowledge, but not much religious feeling. He came to us and denied that Allah has limits, so we drove him out of Sijistan." Ibn al-Subki comments on this: "Look at how ignorant this critic is! I wish I knew who is more deserving of criticism! One who affirms limits for his Lord, or the one who denies them?" One of his enemies, al-Sulaymani (d. 404/1014) claimed that Ibn Hibban owed his appointment to
Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...
vizier Abu al-Tayyib al-Mu'sabi for whom he wrote a refutation of the Karmatis. Whenever he was in
Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...
during distress, he would visit
Imam Reza Shrine The Imam Reza shrine (; ) is a Shi'ite shrine, imamzadeh and mausoleum complex, located in Mashhad, in the province of Razavi Khorasan, Iran. The shrine contains the grave of Ali al-Rida, who is regarded as the eighth Imam in Shia Islam. Als ...
and ask for relief that would always come, “time after time again.”


Reception

Al-Hakim, his student, the author of the Al-Mustadrak, said: “Abu Hatim Al-Basti Al-Qadi was one of the vessels of knowledge in language, jurisprudence, hadith and preaching, and among the wise men. He was classified, and he came out of the classification in the hadith that had not preceded him."
Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...
said: "The imam, the scholar, the hafiz, the majestic, the sheikh of Khorasan… the author of the famous books."


Works

Khatib al-Baghdadi recommended 40 books of his for study. Most of his works have however perished even though he made an effort to preserve them by leaving his house and library in Nishapur as a
Waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
for the transmission of his books. His Tarikh al-Thikat, a work of Ilm al-Rijal, was utilised by hadith critics such as
al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...
,
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, ...
etc. In total, Ibn Hibban wrote almost 60 books on different topics of Islamic Science but his master piece is
Sahih Ibn Hibban ''Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān'' (صحيح ابن حبان) is a collection of hadith by Sunni scholar Ibn Hibban. It has the distinction of being one of small number of collections intended by the respective authors to contain only authentic had ...
(originally titled: Al-Musnad al-Sahih ala al-Takasim wa al-Anwa). Some of them are listed below: * Kitab al Sahaba (five volumes) * Kitab al Tabi`yyun (twelve volumes) * Kitab al-Atba` al Tabi`yeen (fifteen volumes) * Kitab Taba al-Atba` (seventeen volumes) * Kitab Taba` al Taba` (twenty volumes) * Kitab `ala al Awham (ten volumes) * Kitab al Rihla (two volumes) * Kitab al Fasl Bayna Akhbarna wa Haddathana * Tarikh al-Thiqat, * Ilal wa Awham al-Mu’arrikhin * Ilal Manaqib al-Zuhri(twenty volumes) * Ilal Hadith Malik(ten volumes) * Ilal ma Asnada Abu Hanifah (ten volumes) * Ghara’ib al-Kufiyeen(ten volumes) * Ghara’ib ahl al-Basrah (eight volumes) * Mawquf ma Rufi`a (ten volumes) * Al-Mu`jam `ala al-Mudun (ten volumes) * Al-Hidayah ila al-`Ilm al-Sunan


Bibliography

* *


References


External links


Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibban, Ibn 884 births 965 deaths Shafi'is 9th-century Arab people 10th-century Arab people Asharis Kullabis Hadith scholars Hadith compilers Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Transoxanian Islamic scholars Biographical evaluation scholars