al-Uthmani al-Dibaji
- Died
- 572 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Muhammad al-Uthmani al-Dibaji (484–572 AH / 1091–1176 CE) was an Alexandrian hadith transmitter, grammarian, and judge, recognized as one of the prominent scholars of Alexandria in his era and known for his compilation titled al-Fawa'id (The Scholarly Benefits) .
Lineage and Background
His full name was Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il ibn Ali al-Uthmani al-Dibaji al-Iskandarani, and he was commonly known by the surname Ibn Abi al-Yabis as well as al-Dibaji . He was an Uthmanid descendant of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, tracing his lineage back to Muhammad al-Dibaj . He was born into an Alexandrian scholarly family; his father, Abu al-Fadl Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya, was also a hadith transmitter who died in 512 AH .
Education and Scholarly Career
Al-Dibaji pursued Islamic disciplines in Alexandria, where he held the judicial title of al-Qadi and dedicated himself to teaching Arabic grammar, lexicology, and hadith transmission . He studied under several prominent figures of his time, including his father, the Maliki jurist Abu Bakr al-Turtushi, the Quranic recitation master Ibn al-Fahham, Ja'far ibn Isma'il al-Muqri', Abu Abd Allah al-Azdi, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Razi .
As a hadith teacher, he was considered second only to Abu Tahir al-Silafi in status in Alexandria . A significant number of prominent traditionists transmitted from him, among them Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, Abd al-Qadir al-Rahawi, Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Mufaddal, and Ja'far al-Hamadani, the latter of whom transmitted his eight-part hadith compilation al-Fawa'id . He also compiled a collection of hadith dictations titled al-Amali .
Standing and Controversies
Al-Dibaji received high praise from contemporary Alexandrian jurists and later biographers. Hammad al-Harrani recorded that a assembly of Alexandrian notables and jurists affirmed that he was a trustworthy, upright, and devout scholar whose audition records were sound, noting that most of them had been heard under the reading of al-Silafi . Al-Dhahabi likewise characterized him as trustworthy, righteous, modest, and dedicated to teaching grammar, language, and hadith .
Despite these endorsements, al-Dibaji faced severe opposition from Abu Tahir al-Silafi, who mistreated him, declared him weak in transmission, and accused him of lying . Al-Dibaji responded to this hostility by stating: "Whoever has anything between me and him is absolved, except for al-Silafi; between me and him lies a standing before Allah" . Other biographical accounts note that toward the end of his life he suffered from cognitive decline and senility, which led some to question his transmissions and accuse him of inaccuracies .
Death
Al-Dibaji died in 572 AH (1176/1177 CE) . Most biographical sources record his age at death as eighty-eight years, while Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti reported that he lived to the age of ninety-eight .
Answer updated
List of Works
Also known as al-Fawa'id, this work is a collection of hadith transmissions and scholarly benefits organized into eight fascicles.