al-Tabari, Abu Mashar
- Died
- 478 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Ma'shar al-Tabari (d. 478 AH / 1085 CE) was a Shafi'i scholar of Quranic recitations and the leading Quran teacher of Mecca, noted for works on variant readings including Suq al-arus and al-Talkhis fi al-qira'at al-thaman.
Life and Education
His full name was Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Samad ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Qattan al-Tabari. He traveled widely to study Quranic recitations, hadith, exegesis, Arabic philology, and history, receiving instruction in Baghdad, Egypt, Harran, and Aleppo. In recitation, he studied under Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Muhammad al-Zaydi in Harran, Abu Abd Allah al-Karizini, Ibn Nafis, Ismail ibn Rashid al-Haddad, and al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Isfahani, and received general authorization (ijazah) from Abu Ali al-Ahwazi. In hadith and related fields, he heard traditions from Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari in Baghdad and Abu Bakr al-Burujirdi in Aleppo, and transmitted the Quranic commentary of Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi directly from the author.
He eventually settled in Mecca as a resident scholar (mujawir), where he taught Quranic recitations for an extended period. Numerous students studied and recited under him, among them al-Hasan ibn Balimah, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi al-Ansari, Abu Nasr al-Ghazi, Abu Tammam al-Saymari, Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Malik al-Qazwini, and Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Arja'.
Standing and Critique
Abu Ma'shar compiled significant treatises on recitation and exegesis, including Suq al-arus, in which he gathered 1,500 transmission pathways (turuq) of Quranic readings, and an exegetical work titled al-Durar fi al-tafsir. Ibn al-Jazari praised him as the leading authority of Mecca (shaykh ahl Makkah), describing him as an accomplished master, critical verifier, trustworthy, and righteous.
His transmission faced scrutiny regarding his hearing of a specific hadith tract; Ibn Tahir al-Qaysarani reported hearing Abu Sa'd al-Harami in Herat state that Abu Ma'shar's direct audition of the text of Ibn Nazif was not authentic, alleging that he merely took a written manuscript and transmitted it. Subsequent biographical critics, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, rejected this criticism as unfounded.
Death
Abu Ma'shar died in Mecca in 478 AH (1085 CE); Ibn Kathir reported an approximate date of death after 470 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadithan Ahaduhuma fi Fadl Rajab (A Tract Containing Two Hadiths, One of Them on the Virtue of Rajab) is a short hadith treatise that records two distinct prophetic traditions accompanied by their complete chains of transmission.