Abu Bakr al-Turaythithi
- Died
- 497 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Bakr al-Turaythithi (411 or 412–497 AH / 1021 or 1022–1104 CE) was a Sufi elder and hadith transmitter based in Baghdad, recognized as a Shafi'i jurist in biographical compendia.
Life and Sufism
His full name was Ahmad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Zakariyya, known also as Ibn Zahra' (or Ibn Bahdha). His nisba derives from Turaythith (modern Torbat-e Heydarieh / Turshiz), a large district near Nishapur. He was born in Shawwal 411 AH according to Abu al-Mu'ammar al-Ansari, whereas Abu Tahir al-Silafi recorded from al-Turaythithi's own statement that his birth occurred in Shawwal 412 AH. He was included by Ibn al-Salah in his biographical dictionary of Shafi'i jurists.
Al-Turaythithi was deeply immersed in Sufism; he served numerous elder masters and was noted for his fine recitation of the Quran. He was a companion of the Sufi master Abu Sa'id al-Naysaburi (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Dust) and resided at his Sufi hospice (ribat) in Baghdad. Al-Turaythithi possessed a resonant voice, and he would call the nighttime adhan from the roof of the ribat, carrying his voice across both sides of the city.
Hadith Transmission and Reception
Al-Turaythithi heard hadith from his father Ali, as well as Abu Ali ibn Shadhan, Hibat Allah al-Lalaka'i, Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl al-Qattan, Abu al-Qasim al-Hurfi, Abu al-Hasan ibn Makhlad, and Abu al-Hasan al-Hammami. His transmissions included short specialized tracts such as Hadith al-Dabb and the compilation Ahadith Musalsalat. A substantial circle of scholars transmitted from him, including Abu Tahir al-Silafi, Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Samarqandi, Ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi, Ibn al-Batti, Hibat Allah al-Shirazi, Abd al-Ghafir al-Alma'i, and Abu al-Fadl, the preacher of Mosul.
His standing among traditionalists was a subject of controversy. Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani noted that while al-Turaythithi held authentic hearings (sahih al-sama'), his reputation was compromised by claiming to have heard hadith directly from Abu al-Hasan ibn Rizqawayh (d. 412 AH). Ibn al-Samarqandi recounted confronting him while a text of Ibn Rizqawayh was being read, asking al-Turaythithi for his birth year; when al-Turaythithi replied 412 AH, Ibn al-Samarqandi struck out the transmission endorsement on the grounds that Ibn Rizqawayh had died that very year, prompting al-Turaythithi to leave the gathering. Ibn Nasir consequently accused him of fabrication and rejected his reports, and Shuja' al-Dhuhli reported a general consensus among Baghdadi critics regarding his weakness due to mixing sound materials with unverified ones.
Critics including Ibn al-Anmati and Abu Nasr al-Yunarti attributed these irregularities to another Sufi, Abu Ali al-Kirmani. In his later years, al-Turaythithi lost his sight, and al-Kirmani wrote fresh manuscripts for him; al-Turaythithi narrated from them relying entirely on al-Kirmani's word, being unversed in the strict technical scrutiny of hadith scholars. In contrast, al-Silafi praised him as the most venerable Sufi shaykh he had met in Baghdad, insisting that his original master registers were as evident as the sun and that he transmitted faithfully whenever reading directly from them. Taj al-Din al-Subki similarly defended al-Turaythithi, arguing that he was not an intentional liar and that the transmissions derived from his sound originals remained reliable.
Death
Al-Turaythithi died in Baghdad in Jumada al-Akhira 497 AH (March 1104 CE). An isolated entry placed his death in 479 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith al-Dabb (The Hadith of the Spiny-Tailed Lizard) is a short narrative tract recounting an account of a desert lizard testifying to the prophethood of Muhammad. It details an encounter with a Bedouin from Banu Sulaym who demanded the creature speak before accepting Islam, followed by the lizard testifying in fluent Arabic, the conversion of the Bedouin, and charitable acts by the companions.
Ahadith Musalsalat (also referenced as Juz' min Ahadith Musalsalat or Musalsalat al-Turaythithi) is a short hadith compilation (juz') devoted to patterned or continuous-chain narrations (musalsalat). It gathers traditions characterized by a specific repetitive feature, condition, phrase, or physical act preserved across every tier of the transmission chain.