Abu al-Qasim al-Hinnai
- Died
- 459 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Qasim al-Hinnai (378–459 AH / 988–1067 CE) was a Damascene hadith scholar and certified notary (mu'addal), known for his ten-part hadith collection al-Hinnaiyyat.
Name and Early Life
His full name was al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn al-Dimashqi al-Hinnai. His nisba derives from the trade and sale of henna (al-hinna). When asked about his birth by Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Nasib, he stated that he was born on 14 Shawwal 378 AH. Another report of that inquiry records his response as 377 AH, while a separate account gives 376 AH. He was raised in Damascus in a scholarly family alongside his brothers, Ali and Ibrahim, who also transmitted hadith.
Hadith Transmission and Standing
Al-Hinnai served as a certified notary in Damascus and came to be regarded as the city's foremost hadith traditionist of his day. He was the last surviving transmitter to narrate directly from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Durustawayh. His teachers in Damascus included Abd al-Wahhab ibn al-Hasan al-Kilabi, Abu Bakr ibn Abi al-Hadid, Tammam ibn Muhammad al-Razi, Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Hinnai, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qattan, and Abu al-Hasan ibn Jahdam.
The hadith master Abd al-Aziz al-Nakhshabi selected a ten-part compilation of hadith for him, which circulated widely under the title al-Hinnaiyyat (al-Ajza' al-Hinnaiyyat). Al-Hinnai was praised by his contemporaries as reliable (thiqa), righteous, and upright. A large circle of prominent scholars studied under him and wrote down transmissions from him in Damascus, including al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn Makula, Abu Sa'd al-Samman, Makki al-Ramli, Sahl ibn Bishr, Hibat Allah ibn al-Akfani, and Abu al-Qasim al-Nasib, as well as his two sons, Abu Tahir Muhammad and Abu al-Husayn Abd al-Rahman.
Death
Al-Hinnai died on the night of Thursday, 24 Jumada al-Ula 459 AH (though another transmission from Abu Muhammad places it in the final ten days of Jumada al-Ula 457 AH, and al-Sam'ani gave an approximation around 450 AH). The funeral prayer was held at the Umayyad Mosque, and he was buried after the noon prayer on Thursday in the cemetery outside Bab Kaysan beside his brother Ali. The traditionist Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani noted that his funeral was immense, attended by a crowd the likes of which had not been seen for a long time.
Answer updated
List of Works
Fawaid al-Hinnai, commonly known as al-Hinnaiyyat, is a collection of hadith and narrations. The work comprises prophetic traditions, reports from Companions, and accounts from early authorities across various legal, theological, and ascetical subjects, with each narration presented alongside its complete chain of transmission.