al-Hasan ibn Musa al-Ashyab

al-Hasan ibn Musa al-Ashyab (ca. 130s–209 AH / ca. 750s–824 CE) was a Baghdadi hadith scholar, jurist, and judge who held judicial office in Homs and Mosul Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Lineage and background

Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Musa, known by the title al-Ashyab, was of Khurasan ancestry and belonged to the military families (abna' al-jund) resident in Baghdad Tarikh Baghdad+1. He was born in the 130s AH Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

Education and career

Al-Ashyab studied hadith under several leading authorities of his era, including Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Dhi'b, Hariz ibn Uthman, Hammad ibn Salama, Hammad ibn Zayd, and Abd Allah ibn Lahi'a Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. A large group of traditionists transmitted from him, most notably Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Khaythama Zuhayr ibn Harb, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba, Ahmad ibn Mani', and al-Harith ibn Abi Usama Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1.

During the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, he served as judge of Homs and subsequently of Mosul Tarikh Baghdad+1. While serving in Mosul, the Christian community offered one hundred thousand dirhams to obtain a judgment allowing the reconstruction of a ruined place of worship, but he officially ruled in the congregational mosque against its rebuilding and returned the funds Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. He later returned to Baghdad and remained there until Caliph al-Ma'mun appointed him judge over Tabaristan Tarikh Baghdad+1.

Scholarly standing

Al-Ashyab was widely regarded by hadith critics as a reliable transmitter. Yahya ibn Ma'in, Abu Hatim al-Razi, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Yusuf ibn Kharash declared him trustworthy (thiqa) and truthful (saduq) Tarikh Baghdad+1. Ahmad ibn Hanbal commended him as one of the most discerning and precise scholars of Baghdad, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi noted his mastery in retaining the hadiths of Shu'ba Tarikh Baghdad+1. While Ali ibn al-Madini was reported in one narration to have indicated some reservation regarding him, another narration transmitted through Abu Hatim records that Ibn al-Madini considered him trustworthy al-Jami li-Kutub al-Duafa…+1. Al-Dhahabi characterized him as an independent jurist who did not adhere to legal imitation (taqlid) Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

Death

Al-Ashyab died in Rayy in Rabi' al-Awwal 209 AH (824 CE) while traveling to take up his judicial appointment in Tabaristan, and Abu Hatim al-Razi was among those who attended his funeral Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. Variant reports date his death to 210 AH or 207 AH Tarikh Baghdad+1.