al-Tirmidhi
- Died
- 279 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi (c. 209/210–279 AH / c. 824/825–892 CE) was a hadith scholar, critic, and traditionist from Tirmidh in Khurasan, best known for compiling al-Jami (also known as Sunan al-Tirmidhi), one of the six canonical Sunni hadith compendia .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Sawrah ibn Musa ibn al-Dahhak al-Sulami al-Bughi al-Tirmidhi . Variant lineages recorded by biographers include Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Yazid ibn Sawrah ibn al-Sakan and Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddad . His tribal affiliation al-Sulami traces back to the Banu Sulaym branch of Qays Aylan, while al-Bughi is derived from Bugh, a village outside Tirmidh near the Oxus (Amu Darya) River . His family was originally from Marw, whence his grandfather relocated during the era of Layth ibn Sayyar .
Al-Tirmidhi was born around 209 or 210 AH (c. 824–825 CE) . While some early reports claimed that he was born blind, biographers including al-Dhahabi noted that he lost his eyesight later in life after completing his travels and transcribing hadith; Umar ibn Allak related that he wept out of piety until he lost his vision and remained blind for several years .
Education and Scholarly Travels
Al-Tirmidhi traveled widely across Khurasan, Iraq, and the Hejaz to collect transmissions, though he did not journey to Egypt or Syria . He studied under many leading hadith masters of his era, including Qutaybah ibn Sa'id, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Ali ibn Hujr, Muhammad ibn Bashshar (Bundar), Mahmud ibn Ghaylan, Ahmad ibn Mani', and Abu Kurayb .
He maintained an exceptionally close scholarly relationship with Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, under whom he studied the discipline of hidden defect criticism (ilal) and narrator evaluation (rijal), and shared many of the same senior teachers with him .
Students
A broad circle of students narrated hadith and transmitted compilations from al-Tirmidhi. His foremost transmitter for al-Jami' was Abu al-Abbas Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mahbubi al-Marwazi . Other prominent students included al-Haytham ibn Kulayb al-Shashi (who transmitted his al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyya), Hammad ibn Shakir al-Warraq al-Nasafi, Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hasnawayh, and Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Isma'il al-Samarqandi . Additionally, his teacher al-Bukhari narrated a hadith from him outside his Sahih .
Scholarly Standing
Al-Tirmidhi was widely praised by contemporaries and subsequent authorities for his retentive memory, piety, and critical acumen . Al-Bukhari remarked to him: "I have benefited from you more than you have benefited from me" . Ibn Hibban listed him in al-Thiqat, characterizing him as one who collected, authored, memorized, and critically discussed traditions . Abu Sa'd al-Idrisi stated that al-Tirmidhi served as an exemplar in memorization, noting the meticulous organization of al-Jami' and al-Ilal al-Kabir .
When Ibn Hazm described al-Tirmidhi as "unknown" (majhul) in his legal treatise al-Iysal, later hadith critics—including al-Dhahabi and Ibn Kathir—countered that this merely reflected Ibn Hazm's personal lack of familiarity with al-Tirmidhi's works, as al-Jami' had not yet entered al-Andalus during Ibn Hazm's lifetime .
Death
Al-Tirmidhi died on the night of Monday, 13 Rajab 279 AH (October 892 CE), at approximately seventy years of age . The majority of sources record that he died in Tirmidh, while another report places his death in the nearby village of Bugh . An alternative date after 280 AH was cited by al-Khalili, though biographical authorities consider 279 AH to be correct; other isolated transmissions also mention 270 AH or 275 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Sunan al-Tirmidhi, also widely known as al-Jami', is a ninth-century hadith collection that is counted as one of the six canonical hadith compendia (al-Kutub al-Sittah) in Sunni Islam.
Mukhtasar al-Shamail (also titled Mukhtasar al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyyah) is an abridgment and critical hadith evaluation of al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyyah, a work devoted to the Prophet Muhammad's characteristics.
al-Ilal al-Kabir (also known as al-Ilal al-Mufrad, and surviving in the arrangement titled Tartib Ilal al-Tirmidhi al-Kabir) is a collection of hadith criticism and evaluations of hidden defects (ilal). Distinct from the shorter treatise al-Ilal al-Saghir, it primarily records critical questions posed to senior traditionists concerning problematic transmissions and narrators.
Kitab al-Ilal al-Waqi bi-Akhir Jami al-Tirmidhi is a 3rd-century AH / 9th-century CE treatise on hadith criticism and methodology placed at the conclusion of al-Jami. Commonly referred to by later scholars as al-Ilal al-Saghir, it articulates the methodological framework, terminology, and critical principles governing the larger compilation.
al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyya (also titled al-Shamail al-Nabawiyya or simply al-Shamail) is a specialized hadith collection devoted to the physical features, personal attributes, character, and daily life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.