Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari

Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari (d. 329 AH / 941 CE) was an Iraqi Hanbali jurist and scholar who served as the leading Hanbali authority in Baghdad during his era, best known for his creedal treatise Sharh al-Sunnah (Explanation of the Sunnah) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Name and Early Life

His full name was al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Khalaf, bearing the kunya Abu Muhammad al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. The nisba al-Barbahari is derived from barbahar, referring to medicinal herbs imported from India, a trade associated with those who brought them al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. A birth year of 233 AH (847 CE) is recorded for him al-Alam lil-Zirikli. Al-Barbahari was noted for his asceticism; he reportedly renounced his father's estate of seventy thousand dirhams out of religious scrupulousness al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

Education and Transmission

Al-Barbahari studied with several prominent disciples of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, chief among them al-Marrudhi, and he also accompanied the ascetic Sahl al-Tustari Fatawa wa Istisharat al-I…+1. His students included Ibn Battah, the preacher Abu al-Husayn ibn Sam'un, and Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Maghribi Tarikh al-Islam.

Public Activity and Controversies

Al-Barbahari was an outspoken opponent of theological innovations, commanding a large and influential following among the populace of Baghdad al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. In theological doctrine, he strictly adhered to traditionalist transmission and rejected speculative disputation; when Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari arrived in Baghdad and recounted his refutations of the Mu'tazilites and non-Muslim groups, al-Barbahari reportedly replied that he recognized only what Ahmad ibn Hanbal had affirmed, and he did not accept al-Ash'ari's treatise al-Ibanah Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

His standing and the assertive actions of his supporters drew opposition from state officials and rival groups:

• In 321 AH, opponents turned the Abbasid caliph al-Qahir and his vizier Ibn Muqlah against him; al-Barbahari went into hiding, while several of his leading companions were arrested and exiled to Basra al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.
• Following the fall of Ibn Muqlah and the blinding of al-Qahir in 322 AH, al-Barbahari reemerged with heightened prestige, notably leading the funeral prayer for the grammarian Niftawayh Tarikh al-Islam.
• According to a report by Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi, another crackdown occurred in 323 AH, during which his followers were pursued and their residences looted, forcing him back into concealment Tarikh al-Islam.
• Al-Barbahari's following was so vast that on one occasion, when he sneezed while walking through western Baghdad, his companions' collective prayer for him was heard by Caliph al-Radi in his palace chamber, alarming the ruler al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Al-Radi subsequently ordered the police chief, Badr al-Kharshani, to proclaim across the city that no two companions of al-Barbahari were permitted to assemble together al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

Death

Following the decree, al-Barbahari moved from his residence at Bab Muhawwal on the western side of Baghdad to the eastern side, hiding in the house of the sister of the military commander Tuzun in Darb al-Hammam on Darb al-Silsilah street Tabaqat al-Hanabila - li-…. After approximately a month in hiding, he fell ill with dysentery and died in Rajab 329 AH (941 CE); another account places his death in Rajab 328 AH Tabaqat al-Hanabila - li-…+1. Reports regarding his age at death vary between seventy-seven and ninety-six years Tarikh al-Islam+1.

He was washed secretly by a lone washer, and only a servant prayed over his body behind locked doors, though the owner of the house reported looking out and seeing the chamber miraculously filled with men in white and green garments praying over him Tabaqat al-Hanabila - li-…. He was buried inside her residence near the royal palace in al-Makharrim, and upon her death, she was buried beside him Tabaqat al-Hanabila - li-….