Abu al-Fadl al-Zuhri
- Died
- 381 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Fadl al-Zuhri (290–381 AH / 903–991 CE) was an Iraqi hadith transmitter and senior traditionist of Baghdad, recognized for his high chains of transmission and best known for his compilation Hadith Abi al-Fadl al-Zuhri.
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ubaydullah ibn Sa'd ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf al-Qurashi al-Zuhri al-'Awfi al-Baghdadi. He was a direct patrilineal descendant of the prominent companion Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, belonging to a household in which each of his direct paternal ancestors back to the companion was an active transmitter of hadith. He was born in Jumada al-Akhira 290 AH (903 CE) and raised in Baghdad.
Hadith Transmission and Students
Al-Zuhri began hearing hadith in 298 AH. He studied under numerous scholars of his era, including Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Firyabi, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, Ibrahim ibn Sharik al-Kufi, Ibn Abi Dawud, Abdullah ibn Ishaq al-Mada'ini, Muhammad ibn Humayd ibn al-Mujaddar, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Shu'ba, and his own father 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad. He once recalled attending a transmission session of al-Firyabi that gathered approximately ten thousand listeners, weeping later in life at the realization that he was the sole surviving attendee from that assembly.
Owing to his longevity and elevated transmission chains, he became the primary musnid of Iraq in his time. A wide circle of scholars narrated from him, including Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Barqani, Abu Muhammad al-Khallal, Abd al-Aziz al-Azaji, Abu al-Qasim al-Tanukhi, Abu al-Hasan al-Azhari, Abu Muhammad al-Jawhari, and Ahmad ibn Ali al-'Atiqi. The last surviving scholar to transmit directly from him was Abu Ja'far ibn al-Muslima.
Scholarly Standing
Al-Zuhri was widely praised by traditionists for his precision and piety. Al-Daraqutni described him as trustworthy, truthful, and an author possessing authentic written records (sahib kitab), noting the continuity of transmission throughout his lineage back to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. Al-Azaji and al-Azhari both affirmed his reliability and described him as a devout figure whose supplications were answered. Al-Barqani and Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi likewise declared him trustworthy.
In an assembly held by the judge Abu Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf, the traditionist Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Muzaffar rose from his seat to yield it to al-Zuhri, introducing him to the judge by reciting a distinct prophetic narration transmitted by each successive generation of al-Zuhri's ancestors back to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf.
Death
Al-Zuhri died in 381 AH (991 CE). According to al-Tanukhi and Ibn al-Thallaj, he passed away on the eve of Thursday and was buried on Thursday, 25 Rabi' al-Awwal 381 AH. Another report, transmitted by al-'Atiqi and Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fawaris, places his death on Thursday, 25 Rabi' al-Akhir of the same year.
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith Abi al-Fadl al-Zuhri is a collection of prophetic narrations transmitted from prominent fourth-century AH traditionists. The recorded texts encompass various areas of Islamic learning, including legal judgments, ritual rulings, fasting, virtues, and Quranic exegesis.