Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Fahm

Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Fahm (558–655 AH / 1163–1257 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i hadith scholar and traditionist based in the Damascus countryside, best known for compiling the hadith collection al-Fawaid al-Muntaqat al-Musammah bi-Mashyakhat al-Mawsil (The Selected Benefits, Named the Mashyakhah of Mosul) al-Fawaid al-Muntaqat al-…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Fahm Abd al-Mun'im ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Mun'im ibn Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Abbas al-Yaldani al-Dimashqi, and he bore the honorific title Taqi al-Din Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1. His father, Abd al-Mun'im, was commonly known by his kunya Abu al-Fahm Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…. Ibn Abi al-Fahm was born at the beginning of 558 AH (with another transmission giving 568 AH) in the village of Yalda (also spelled Yaldan) near Damascus Tarikh al-Islam+1. He began his formal study of hadith at a mature age Tarikh al-Islam+1.

Education and Travels

Ibn Abi al-Fahm undertook scholarly travels to collect hadith traditions directly from leading authorities in multiple centers of learning Tarikh al-Islam+1. In Damascus, he studied under scholars including Yusuf ibn Ma'ali al-Kinani, Abu Tahir al-Khashu'i, Abu al-Yumn al-Kindi, Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Harastani, Abu Muhammad al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Asakir, and Abd al-Khaliq ibn Fayruz Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1. In Baghdad, he attended the circles of Abu al-Faraj ibn Kulayb, Yahya ibn Bush, al-Mubarak ibn al-Ma'tush, Hibat Allah ibn al-Sibt, and Abd al-Wahhab ibn Sukaynah Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1. In Mosul, he heard hadith from Abu Mansur Muslim ibn Ali al-Sayhi and Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Tusi al-Majma al-Muassis lil-M…+1.

Career and Students

Ibn Abi al-Fahm served for a time as the khatib (Friday preacher) in his native village of Yalda Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. He was an active transmitter who compiled collections of hadith, including al-Fawaid al-Muntaqat al-Musammah bi-Mashyakhat al-Mawsil, in which he gathered reports received from his shaykhs in Mosul, and a thematic compilation titled al-Manahi wa-Dhamm al-Kalam (Prohibitions and the Dispraise of Speculative Theology) al-Fawaid al-Muntaqat al-…+1. Most of his books and handwritten compendia were later endowed to the al-Fadiliyyah library in the Kallasa quarter of Damascus al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad….

A large number of students transmitted from him, including al-Dimyati, Ibn al-Adim, his grandson Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Wali, al-Badr ibn al-Tuzi, al-Jamal ibn al-Shatibi, and female hadith transmitters such as Zaynab bint al-Radi and Zaynab bint Abd al-Salam Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. Later scholars such as al-Mizzi held general transmission licenses (ijazah) from him al-Fawaid al-Muntaqat al-….

Standing and Death

Biographers described Ibn Abi al-Fahm as a long-lived traditionist, reliable compiler, and scholar characterized by piety, comprehension, and extensive audition Tarikh al-Islam+1. Abu Shamah noted that he was a righteous man who remained devoted to hadith until the end of his life Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. Ibn Kathir observed that he remained constantly engaged in hearing, copying, and transmitting hadith up until his passing al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad….

Ibn Abi al-Fahm died in his village of Yalda on the 8th of an unspecified month in 655 AH (1257 CE) at approximately one hundred years of age, and was buried there al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1.