Abu Bakr al-Shafii
- Died
- 354 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Bakr al-Shafii (260–354 AH / 874–965 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar based in Baghdad, recognized as the leading transmitter (musnid) of Iraq in his time and best known for his eleven-part hadith compilation, al-Ghaylaniyyat.
Origin and Education
His full name was Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdawayh ibn Musa ibn Bayan al-Bazzaz al-Shafii al-Jabbali. He was born in Jumada 260 AH (874 CE) in Jubbul, a town on the Tigris between al-Nu'maniyya and Wasit, the same birth year as al-Tabarani. He later moved to Baghdad, where he permanently settled. His attribution "al-Shafii" reflects his adherence to the Shafi'i legal school.
He began receiving hadith transmissions in 276 AH. He studied under numerous scholars in Baghdad, including Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Harbi, Ismail ibn Ishaq al-Qadi, Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musa ibn Sahl al-Washsha, Abu Qilaba al-Raqqashi, Muhammad ibn Shaddad al-Misma'i, Muhammad ibn al-Jahm al-Sammari, and Ishaq ibn al-Hasan al-Harbi, from whom he heard the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas.
Teaching and Stance during the Buyid Era
Al-Shafii spent decades dictating and transmitting hadith in Baghdad, attracting prominent students, among them al-Daraqutni, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, Ibn Rizqawayh, Abu Ali ibn Shadhan, and Ibn Shahin. The last surviving transmitter to narrate directly from him was Abu Talib Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ghaylan al-Bazzaz. His primary surviving compilation, al-Ghaylaniyyat, comprises eleven parts extracted and selected from his transmissions by al-Daraqutni and transmitted through Ibn Ghaylan, celebrated for the elevation and rarity of its chains.
When the Daylamite (Buyid) authorities in Baghdad banned the public recitation of the virtues of the Prophet's Companions and had insults against the early generations inscribed on mosques, al-Shafii openly defied the restriction by intentionally dictating hadiths on the virtues of the Companions in the central Jami' Mosque of the City and in his own mosque at Bab al-Sham, seeking divine reward for his action.
Scholarly Standing and Death
Al-Shafii was widely praised for his integrity, reliability, and precision. Al-Daraqutni described him as thoroughly trustworthy and reliable (thiqa ma'mun), stating that no one in their era was more reliable than him, and noted that his original manuscripts (usul) were sound, well-preserved, and accurately annotated regarding his auditions. When asked about him by al-Sulami, al-Daraqutni reaffirmed that he was trustworthy and steadfast across all circumstances.
Al-Shafii died in Baghdad on a Wednesday, with thirteen nights remaining in Dhu al-Hijjah 354 AH (December 965 CE), and was buried early the following Thursday morning.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Fawaid al-Shahir bil-Ghilaniyat is an eleven-part hadith collection extracted and compiled by al-Daraqutni. Comprising eleven fascicles typically bound in a single volume, it gathers elevated transmissions and rare reports narrated back to early authorities, including traditions transmitted through the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas.