al-Fadl ibn Dukayn

al-Fadl ibn Dukayn (130–219 AH / 747–834 CE) was a prominent Kufan hadith master and traditionist, best known as one of the foremost transmitters of Sufyan al-Thawri and a leading teacher of al-Bukhari Ishruna Hadithan min Sahi…+1.

Origin and Background

His full lineage is al-Fadl ibn 'Amr ibn Hammad ibn Zuhayr ibn Dirham al-Qurashi al-Taymi al-Talhi al-Kufi Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1. He was widely known by his kunya, Abu Nu'aym, and by the nickname of his father, Dukayn—though one report states that his father's actual name was 'Umar and that Farwah al-Ju'fi nicknamed him Dukayn Ishruna Hadithan min Sahi…+1. His family held client status (wala) with the household of the Companion Talhah ibn 'Ubayd Allah Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1. He was also known by the epithets al-Ahwal (the cross-eyed) and al-Mula'i, a trade nisba derived from selling garments and blankets (al-mula'), a business he operated in Kufa in partnership with 'Abd al-Salam ibn Harb Mawsuat Aqwal Abi al-Hasa…+1.

Abu Nu'aym was born in 130 AH (747/748 CE) Ishruna Hadithan min Sahi…+1. Alongside his scholarly gravity, he was noted for having a humorous and playful disposition Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf ….

Hadith Transmission and Students

Abu Nu'aym studied under major scholars of the eighth century, transmitting from al-A'mash, Mis'ar ibn Kidam, Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Sharik ibn 'Abd Allah, Zakariyya ibn Abi Za'idah, Hisham al-Dastawa'i, and Malik ibn Mighwal al-Tadil wa al-Tajrih lim…+1. He was particularly renowned for his long companionship with Sufyan al-Thawri, from whom he transmitted around four thousand traditions Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1. He stated that he shared over one hundred teachers with al-Thawri, with other reports specifying forty, fifty, or one hundred and thirteen common shaykhs Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1.

A vast number of hadith scholars narrated from him. Among his most prominent students were Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma'in, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Abu Hatim al-Razi, Ya'qub ibn Shaybah, Mahmud ibn Ghaylan, Harun ibn 'Abd Allah al-Hammal, Yusuf ibn Musa al-Qattan, and his daughter Saliha (also reported as Taliha) Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1. Al-Bukhari narrated directly from him in his Sahih, while Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj narrated from him via an intermediary al-Tawdih li Sharh al-Jam…+1.

Scholarly Standing and Creed

Abu Nu'aym was universally recognized by contemporary authorities as an exceptional, highly accurate hadith authority (thiqah thabt) Takhrij Ahadith wa Athar …+1. Ya'qub ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi remarked that the scholars reached a consensus on his utmost precision and that his narrations constituted an authoritative proof Takhrij Ahadith wa Athar …+1. Ahmad ibn Hanbal paired him with 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi in accuracy, praised his deep vigilance in hadith, and considered him more knowledgeable about narrators and their lineages than Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, making fewer errors than him Ishruna Hadithan min Sahi…+2. Yahya ibn Ma'in stated that he had seen none more steadfast than Abu Nu'aym and 'Affan ibn Muslim Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Ak…. Both al-Daraqutni and Abu Zur'ah al-Razi rated him as more precise in transmitting al-Thawri's corpus than Qabisah ibn 'Uqbah Mawsuat Aqwal Abi al-Hasa…+1.

Scholars noted that Abu Nu'aym harbored mild Shi'i inclinations (tashayyu'), though free from extremism (ghuluw) or reviling the early figures of Islam al-Jami li-Kutub al-Duafa…+1. Responding to such characterizations, he affirmed that the guardian angels had never recorded him cursing Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan Ishruna Hadithan min Sahi….

The Mihna and Death

During the Abbasid inquisition concerning the createdness of the Quran (the Mihna), Abu Nu'aym took an uncompromising stance, refusing to assent to the doctrine al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1. When interrogated, he tore a button off his garment and threw it down, remarking that yielding his neck was easier to him than abandoning his belief Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Ak…. He maintained that among the eight hundred scholars he had met, from al-A'mash downward, not one maintained that the Quran was created, and that anyone who asserted it had been accused of heresy al-Tawdih li Sharh al-Jam…. Ahmad ibn Hanbal later lauded Abu Nu'aym and 'Affan ibn Muslim for standing firm for God's cause when few others did al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1.

According to al-Bukhari, Abu Nu'aym died on Tuesday, the last day of Sha'ban in 219 AH (834 CE) al-Tadil wa al-Tajrih lim…+1. Another report places his death in 218 AH Tahrir Taqrib al-Tahdhib+1.