al-Ijli
- Died
- 261 AH
- Born in
- Kufa
Abu al-Hasan al-Ijli (182–261 AH / 798–875 CE) was an Iraqi hadith scholar and critic of narrator evaluation from Kufa who settled in Tripoli, best known for his biographical dictionary Ma'rifat al-Thiqat (Knowledge of Trustworthy Narrators).
Early life and education
Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Salih ibn Muslim al-Ijli was born in Kufa in 182 AH. He was raised in a scholarly family; his father, Abd Allah ibn Salih al-Ijli, was an accomplished Quran reciter and hadith transmitter. Al-Ijli began his formal pursuit of hadith in 197 AH.
During his education, he studied under his father, as well as prominent traditionalists including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma'in, Husayn ibn Ali al-Ju'fi, Shubaba ibn Sawwar, and Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firyabi. He also traveled to hear the early traditionist Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi, but al-Tayalisi died one day before his arrival.
Travels and settlement in Tripoli
Al-Ijli journeyed extensively in pursuit of hadith, traveling from Kufa to Basra and Baghdad, and then westward into the Levant, where he heard Ya'qub ibn Ka'b in Antioch and Musa ibn Ayyub in al-Massisah. After traversing the Levantine coast and Egypt, he traveled to the western Islamic lands and permanently settled in Tripoli. It is reported that he departed the east to escape the Mihna (the inquisition regarding the createdness of the Quran), while another account attributes his move to a desire for ascetic solitude and devotion.
In North Africa, his hadith transmissions spread widely. His students included his son Salih (who studied under him in 257 AH), Sa'id ibn Uthman al-A'naqi, Uthman ibn Hadid al-Ilbiri, Sa'id ibn Ishaq, and the Andalusian transmitter Muhammad ibn Futays al-Ghafiqi, who was the last surviving narrator to transmit from him.
Standing and views
Al-Ijli was widely praised by his peers for his mastery of hadith criticism, precision, and asceticism. Abbas al-Duri stated that contemporary scholars ranked him alongside Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Ma'in. When asked about al-Ijli, Ibn Ma'in commended him as "trustworthy, son of a trustworthy man, son of a trustworthy man." Malik ibn Isa al-Qafasi designated him the most knowledgeable elder in hadith of his experience, and local scholars of the Maghrib considered him peerless in the region in knowledge, accuracy, and piety. Later critics, including al-Dhahabi, noted that his biographical compilation on transmitter evaluation demonstrated exceptional depth in the discipline and immense memorization.
In creedal matters, al-Ijli held uncompromising traditionalist positions, declaring that anyone who affirmed the doctrine of the return (raj'ah) of Ali ibn Abi Talib or maintained that the Quran was created was an unbeliever.
Death
Al-Ijli died in Tripoli in 261 AH (875 CE). He was buried along the coast, where his son Salih (d. 322 AH) was later interred beside him.
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Thiqat (also known as Ma'rifat al-Thiqat and Tarikh al-Thiqat) is an early biographical evaluation dictionary of hadith narrators. Dedicated primarily to trustworthy narrators (al-thiqat) in the science of narrator criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil), the work records narrators' names, geographic affiliations, and explicit evaluation grades, originally arranged by generational classes (tabaqat).