Abu al-Husayn al-Kulabi
- Died
- 396 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Abu al-Husayn al-Kilabi (305–396 AH / 917–1005 CE) was a Damascene hadith scholar and judicial witness, best known for his hadith collection Juz' min Hadith al-Kilabi.
Name and Background
His full name was Abd al-Wahhab ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Walid ibn Musa ibn Sa'id ibn Rashid ibn Yazid ibn Qundus ibn Abd Allah al-Kilabi. He was known as Akhi Tabuk ("the brother of Tabuk") in reference to his brother, the traditionist Abu Bakr Tabuk ibn al-Hasan al-Kilabi (d. 378 AH), and bore the honorifics al-Adl and al-Shahid (certified witness).
His nephew Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad reported that he was born in Rabi' al-Awwal 305 AH, though al-Kilabi himself stated in one transmission that he was born in Dhu al-Qa'da 306 AH; another account places his birth in 303 AH.
Education and Scholarship
Al-Kilabi studied hadith in Damascus and transmitted from a generation of scholars who were disciples of Hisham ibn Ammar. His teachers included Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Khuraym al-Uqayli (d. 316 AH), Ibn Jawsa, Makhul al-Bayruti, Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Halabi, Tahir ibn Muhammad al-Tamimi, Umar ibn Salih al-Murri al-Jadyani, and his brother Tabuk ibn al-Hasan.
A substantial group of Syrian and visiting scholars narrated from him, including Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Hinna'i, his brother Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hinna'i, Abu Ali al-Ahwazi, Abu al-Qasim al-Sumaysati, Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani, Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hasnun al-Narsi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Mardah, and his own son Abu al-Hasan Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Kilabi.
His transmissions were gathered into hadith tracts, most notably Juz' min Hadith al-Kilabi (also transmitted under the title Ahadith Abi al-Husayn al-Kilabi), which circulated widely among later traditionists as an elevated chain source for early Damascene narrations.
Standing
Al-Kilabi was recognized as an upright and dependable narrator. Abu al-Walid al-Baji evaluated him as trustworthy and beneficent (thiqah muhsin). Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani similarly characterized him as a trustworthy, noble, and dependable elder and judicial witness (al-shahid al-shaykh al-thiqah al-ma'mun).
Death
Al-Kilabi died in Damascus on Sunday, 11 Rabi' al-Awwal 396 AH, passing away on the same day as Judge Abu Muhammad ibn Abi al-Days. Another report related by Abu Ali al-Ahwazi places his death at sunset on Saturday, 10 Rabi' al-Awwal 396 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Juz min Hadith al-Kilabi (A Hadith Part from the Transmissions of al-Kilabi) is a collection of prophetic traditions transmitted by a Damascus-based hadith scholar from his teachers.
Ahadith Abi al-Husayn al-Kilabi, also known as Juz' min Hadith al-Kilabi, is a hadith tract (juz') recording selected prophetic traditions received through scholarly teachers.