Abu Hafs al-Bazzar

Abu Hafs al-Bazzar (c. 688–749 AH / 1289–1348 CE; another report gives 681 AH) was a Baghdad-born Hanbali jurist and hadith scholar, best known for his biographical memoir of his teacher Ibn Taymiyya, titled al-A'lam al-Aliyya fi Manaqib Ibn Taymiyya (The Lofty Signs in the Virtues of Ibn Taymiyya) al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…+1.

Lineage and Early Education

His full name was Umar ibn Ali ibn Musa ibn al-Khalil al-Baghdadi al-Azaji al-Bazzar, carrying the honorific title Siraj al-Din and the kunya Abu Hafs al-Radd al-Wafir+1. He was born in Baghdad around 688 AH, though Ismail Pasha al-Babani recorded his birth in 681 AH al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…+1.

In Baghdad, al-Bazzar studied hadith under teachers including Ismail ibn al-Tabbal, Ali ibn Abi al-Qasim, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Muhsin ibn al-Dawallibi al-Radd al-Wafir+1. He completed a full recitation of the Quran according to the reading of Abu Amr ibn al-Ala under Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Mu'min al-Wasiti, studying some of al-Wasiti's treatises on Quranic recitations with him al-Radd al-Wafir+1.

Travels, Career, and Companionship of Ibn Taymiyya

Al-Bazzar traveled to Damascus, where he read Sahih al-Bukhari to Ahmad ibn Abi Talib al-Hajjar at the Hanbaliyya school (Madrasat Sharaf al-Islam ibn al-Hanbali) al-Radd al-Wafir+1. This reading was attended by a large assembly of scholars, including al-Mizzi, al-Birzali, and Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…+1. Al-Bazzar closely accompanied Ibn Taymiyya in Damascus, studied under him, read the legal manual al-Muharrar in his presence, and was granted authorization by him to issue fatwas al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…+1. Drawing on his firsthand observations of Ibn Taymiyya's daily conduct, lectures, and private life, al-Bazzar composed his biographical monograph al-A'lam al-Aliyya al-Radd al-Wafir+1.

During his stay in Damascus, al-Bazzar resided at the Diya'iyya madrasa at the foothills of Mount Qasiyun and served as its imam al-Radd al-Wafir+1. He also performed the Hajj pilgrimage several times al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…. In Baghdad, he served as a tutor (mu'id) at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa and briefly held the position of imam at the Caliph's Mosque (Jami al-Khalifa) al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…. Contemporaries noted his melodious recitation of the Quran and hadith, as well as his devotion to nocturnal prayer (tahajjud) and worship al-Radd al-Wafir+1.

Later Life and Death

Al-Bazzar returned to Baghdad toward the end of his life al-Radd al-Wafir+1. In 749 AH, he departed for Mecca on the pilgrimage caravan al-Radd al-Wafir+1. Along the way, at al-Hilla al-Mazyadiyya, the young scholar Ibn Rajab, who was traveling with his father, studied with him and read the three-narrator reports (thulathiyyat) of Sahih al-Bukhari under his instruction al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq….

Before reaching the pilgrimage boundaries (miqat), al-Bazzar contracted the plague at the waystation of Hajir al-Radd al-Wafir+1. He died there on the morning of Tuesday, 21 Dhu al-Qa'da 749 AH al-Radd al-Wafir+1. It was reported that he had already made the intention for ihram before his death al-Alam al-Aliya fi Manaq…. Approximately fifty other travelers on the caravan died of the plague alongside him, and all were buried at Hajir al-Radd al-Wafir+1.