al-Tirmidhi

Imam Al-Tirmidhi
Grave of Isa al-Tirmidhi inside his Tomb, near Oxus River, Termez, Uzbekistan
Personal life
Born	824 / 209 AH Termez, Abbasid Caliphate
Died	9 October 892/ 13 Rajab 279 AH (aged 70) Termez, Abbasid Caliphate
Era	Islamic golden age
Region	Abbasid Caliphate
Main interest(s)	Hadith
Notable work(s)	Jami at-TirmidhiShama'il Muhammadiyah
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Lineage	Banu Sulaym
Jurisprudence	Ijtihad
Creed	Muffawidh[1][2]
Muslim leader
Influenced by Muhammad al-Bukhari

Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi (Arabic: محمد بن عيسى الترمذي, romanized: Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā at-Tirmidhī; 824 – 9 October 892 CE / 209–279 AH), often referred to as Imām at-Termezī/Tirmidhī, was an Islamic scholar, and collector of hadith from Termez (early Khorasan and in present-day Uzbekistan). He wrote al-Jami` as-Sahih (known as Jami` at-Tirmidhi), one of the six canonical hadith compilations in SunniIslam. He also wrote Shama'il Muhammadiyah (popularly known as Shama'il at-Tirmidhi), a compilation of hadiths concerning the person and character of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. At-Tirmidhi was also well versed in Arabic grammar, favoring the school of Kufa over Basra due to the former's preservation of Arabic poetry as a primary source.^[3]

Biography

Name and lineage

Al-Tirmidhi's given name (ism) was "Muhammad" while his kunya was "Abu `Isa" ("father of `Isa"). His genealogy is uncertain; his nasab (patronymic) has variously been given as:

• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة)‎^[4]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Mūsá ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن موسى بن الضحاك)‎^[5][6][7][8]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد)‎^[9]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد بن الضحاك)‎^[10]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn ‛Īsá (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد بن عيسى)‎^[8]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Yazīd ibn Sawrah ibn as-Sakan (محمد بن عيسى بن يزيد بن سورة بن السكن)‎^[5][6][8]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl (محمد بن عيسى بن سهل)‎^[11][12]
• Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl ibn Sawrah (محمد بن عيسى بن سهل بن سورة)‎^[13]

He was also known by the laqab "ad-Darir" ("the Blind"). It has been said that he was born blind, but the majority of scholars agree that he became blind later in his life.^[5][14]

At-Tirmidhi's grandfather was originally from Marw (Persian: Merv), but moved to Tirmidh.^[5] According to Britannica Online, he was an Arab.^[15] According to S.H. Nasr and M. Mutahhari in The Cambridge History of Iran, Al-Tirmidhi was of Persian ethnicity.^[16] His uncle was the famous Sufi Abu Bakr al-Warraq.^[17] Al-Warraq was the teacher of Al-Hakim al-Samarqandi, a known associate of the famous theologian Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi.

Birth

Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi was born during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. His year of birth has been reported as 209 AH (824/825).^[18][19][20]Adh-Dhahabi only states that at-Tirmidhi was born near the year 210 AH (825/826),^[5] thus some sources give his year of birth as 210 AH.^[4][21] Some sources indicate that he was born in Mecca (Siddiqi says he was born in Mecca in 206 AH (821/822))^[22] while others say he was born in Tirmidh (Persian: Termez), in what is now southern Uzbekistan.^[18] The stronger opinion is that he was born in Tirmidh.^[5] Specifically, he was born in one of its suburbs, the village of Bugh (hence the nisbats "at-Tirmidhi" and "al-Bughi").^{[19][21][23][24]}

Hadith studies

At-Tirmidhi began the study of hadith at the age of 20. From the year 235 AH (849/850) he traveled widely in Khurasan, Iraq, and the Hijaz in order to collect hadith.^[4][9][10] His teachers and those he narrated from included:

• al-Bukhari^{[4][6][7][9][10][14][18][22]}
• Abū Rajā’ Qutaybah ibn Sa‘īd al-Balkhī al-Baghlāni^{[6][7][10][18]}
• ‘Alī ibn Ḥujr ibn Iyās as-Sa‘dī al-Marwazī^{[6][7][10][18]}
• Muḥammad ibn Bashshār al-Baṣrī^[7][10][18]
• ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mu‘āwiyah al-Jumaḥī al-Baṣrī^[6]
• Abū Muṣ‘ab az-Zuhrī al-Madanī^[6]
• Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Mālik ibn Abī ash-Shawārib al-Umawī al-Baṣrī^[6]
• Ismā‘īl ibn Mūsá al-Fazārī al-Kūfi^[6]
• Muḥammad ibn Abī Ma‘shar as-Sindī al-Madanī^[6]
• Abū Kurayb Muḥammad ibn al-‘Alā’ al-Kūfī^[6][10]
• Hanād ibn al-Sarī al-Kūfī^[6][10]
• Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Harawī^[6]
• Suwayd ibn Naṣr ibn Suwayd al-Marwazī^[6]
• Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Baṣrī^[10]
• Zayd ibn Akhzam al-Baṣrī^[14]
• al-‘Abbās al-‘Anbarī al-Baṣrī^[14]
• Muḥammad ibn al-Muthanná al-Baṣrī^[14]
• Muḥammad ibn Ma‘mar al-Baṣrī^[14]
• ad-Darimi^[10][18]
• Muslim^[14][18][22]
• Abu Dawud^[9][14][22]

At the time, Khurasan, at-Tirmidhi's native land, was a major center of learning, being home to a large number of muhaddiths. Other major centers of learning visited by at-Tirmidhi were the Iraqi cities of Kufa and Basra. At-Tirmidhi reported hadith from 42 Kufan teachers. In his Jami`, he used more reports from Kufan teachers than from teachers of any other town.^[14]

At-Tirmidhi was a pupil of al-Bukhari, who was based in Khurasan. Adh-Dhahabi wrote, "His knowledge of hadith came from al-Bukhari."^[18] At-Tirmidhi mentioned al-Bukhari's name 114 times in his Jami`. He used al-Bukhari's Kitab at-Tarikh as a source when mentioning discrepancies in the text of a hadith or its transmitters, and praised al-Bukhari as being the most knowledgeable person in Iraq or Khurasan in the science of discrepancies of hadith. When mentioning the rulings of jurists, he followed al-Bukhari's practice of not mentioning the name of Abu Hanifah. Because he never received a reliable chain of narrators to mention Abu Hanifa's decrees, he would instead attribute them to "some people of Kufa."^[14] Al-Bukhari held at-Tirmidhi in high regard as well. He is reported to have told at-Tirmidhi, "I have profited more from you than you have from me," and in his Sahih he narrated two hadith from at-Tirmidhi.^[14][18]

At-Tirmidhi also narrated some hadiths from Abu Dawud, and one from Muslim.^[14] Muslim also narrated one hadith from at-Tirmidhi in his own Sahih.^[18]

A.J. Wensinck mentions Ahmad ibn Hanbal as among at-Tirmidhi's teachers.^[9][14] However, Hoosen states that according to the most reliable sources, at-Tirmidhi never went to Baghdad, nor did he attend any lectures of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Furthermore, at-Tirmidhi never directly narrates from Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Jami`.^[14]

Several of at-Tirmidhi's teachers also taught al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and an-Nasa'i.

Writings

• Al-Jami' al-Mukhtasar min as-Sunan 'an Rasul Allah, known as Jami' at-Tirmidhi
• Al-'Ilal as-Sughra
• Az-Zuhd
• Al-'Ilal al-Kubra
• Ash-Shama'il an-Nabawiyya wa'l-Fada'il al-Mustafawiyya
• Al-Asma' wa'l-Kuna
• Kitab at-Tarikh

He is also reported to have a work on Islamic history and an exegesis of the Qur’an, but these are extinct.^[25]

Death

Tomb of Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi, near Oxus River, Termez, Uzbekistan. (2006)

At-Tirmidhi became blind in the last two years of his life, according to adh-Dhahabi.^[10] His blindness is said to have been the consequence of excessive weeping, either due to fear of God or over the death of al-Bukhari.^{[4][5][10][14][18]}

He died on Monday night, 13 Rajab 279 AH (Sunday night, 8 October 892)^[a] in Bugh.^[7][10][14]

At-Tirmidhi is buried on the outskirts of Sherobod, 60 kilometers north of Termez in Uzbekistan. In Termez he is locally known as Abu Isa at-Termezi or "Termez Ota" ("Father of Termez").^[24]

See also

• Al-Tabari

Early Islam scholars

v t e Early Islamic scholars

Muhammad, The final Messenger of God(570–632 the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taught Ali (607–661) fourth caliph taught Aisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taught Abd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taught Zayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taught Umar (579–644) second caliph taught Abu Hurairah (603–681) taught Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taught Husayn ibn Ali (626–680) taught Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by Aisha Urwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taught Said ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taught Abdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taught Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taught Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taught Hisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taught Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taught Salim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taught Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman taught Muhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taught Farwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taught Zayd ibn Ali (695–740) Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taught Malik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Maliki Sunnis in North Africa, and taught Al-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqh Muhammad al-Shaybani (749–805) al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Shafi'i Sunnis and Sufis, and taught Ismail ibn Ibrahim Ali ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the Companions Ibn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775) Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Hanbali Sunnis and Sufis Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith books Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith books Dawud al-Zahiri (815–883/4) founded the Zahiri school Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith books Al-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith book Abu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver Shia Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-Tabari Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver Shia Sharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver Shia Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver Shia Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on Sufism Rumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism Key: Some of Muhammad's Companions Key: Taught in Medina Key: Taught in Iraq Key: Worked in Syria Key: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadith Key: Worked in Persia

Notes

1. In the Islamic calendar, the weekday begins at sunset.

References

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External links

• Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
• Biography at Sunnah.com
• Biography of Imam al-Tirmidhi at Sunnah.orgArchived 2018-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Biography of al-Tirmidhee at theclearpath.com