Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Daim
- Died
- 718 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Daim (625 or 626–718 AH / 1228 or 1229–1318 CE) was a Syrian hadith transmitter and musnid based in Damascus, recognized for holding the highest chains of transmission (ʿuluw al-isnad) of his time and for his collection Awali Abi Bakr ibn Abd al-Daim .
Lineage and Early Life
His full lineage is Abu Bakr ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Daim ibn Ni'ma ibn Ahmad ibn Ni'ma ibn Bukayr al-Nabulsi al-Maqdisi al-Salihi . He was born in Kafr Batna in the Damascus countryside in 625 or 626 AH (c. 1228–1229 CE; another report specifies early 626 AH), where his father, the prominent musnid Ahmad ibn Abd al-Daim, was serving as the town preacher . He was given the epithet al-Muhtal on account of his diligence and active striving in earning a livelihood . He performed the pilgrimage to Mecca three times during his life .
Hadith Transmission and Scholarship
Ibn Abd al-Daim began receiving hadith in 630 AH from al-Fakhr al-Irbili . He studied the entirety of Sahih al-Bukhari under Ibn al-Zubaydi, and attended the transmissions of al-Nasih ibn al-Hanbali, Salim ibn Sasra, Ja'far al-Hamadani, and al-Diya al-Maqdisi . He also obtained written authorizations (ijazat) from scholars in Baghdad, including Ibn Ruzbah .
He began teaching hadith around 660 AH during his father's lifetime . As an elevated transmitter, he transmitted Sahih al-Bukhari on several occasions, and his teachers' records were organized into a Mashyakha extracted by al-Barzali, while Salah al-Din al-Ala'i selected a part containing his elevated narrations entitled Awali Abi Bakr ibn Abd al-Daim . His students included al-Dhahabi, Salah al-Din al-Ala'i, Ibn al-Khabbaz, and Ibn Nafis .
Later Life and Death
In his later years, Ibn Abd al-Daim lost his sight and developed partial deafness, though he could hear well when the reader raised their voice and remained attentive, disallowing anyone from reciting what he could not clearly understand .
He died at the age of ninety-three, matching the lifespan of his father . His death occurred in al-Salihiyya on Friday night, 19 Ramadan 718 AH (November 1318 CE), and his funeral was widely attended . Other reports state that he died in Rajab 718 AH, or on Friday night, 29 Ramadan 719 AH . Numerous chains of transmission were extinguished with his death .
Answer updated
List of Works
Awali Abi Bakr ibn Abd al-Daim is a hadith collection comprising reports transmitted with elevated chains of narration (ʿulūw al-isnād). It gathers transmissions featuring the shortest available chains back to the Prophet or early authorities.