al-Wakhshi

Abu Ali al-Wakhshi (385–471 AH / 995–1079 CE) was a hadith scholar and traveler from Balkh, known for his hadith selections entitled al-Wakhshiyyat Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Lineage and Education

His full name was al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Balkhi al-Wakhshi Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. His nisba derives from Wakhsh, a locality in the district of Balkh within Khuttalan al-Ansab - al-Samani+1. According to Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani, he was born in 385 AH Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Al-Wakhshi traveled extensively across Khurasan, Iraq, al-Jibal, Syria, the frontier fortresses, and Egypt in pursuit of hadith al-Ansab - al-Samani+1. In Balkh, he heard traditions from Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Ahmad al-Khuza'i; in Nishapur, from Abu Zakariyya al-Muzakki and Abu Bakr al-Hiri; in Isfahan, from Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani; in Basra, from Abu Umar al-Hashimi and Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Qasim al-Najjad; in Baghdad, from Abu Umar Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad ibn Mahdi, Abu al-Husayn ibn Bushran, and Ibn Abi al-Fawaris; in Damascus, from Tammam ibn Muhammad al-Razi; and in Egypt, from Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn al-Nahhas al-Ansab - al-Samani+1. According to Yahya ibn Mandah, he entered Isfahan in 417 AH and departed in 441 AH Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith.

Scholarly Career and Reception

Al-Wakhshi selected a five-part hadith collection from the transmissions of Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, which became known as al-Wakhshiyyat Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. Among his contemporaries and students, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi recorded hadith from him in Baghdad and Isfahan, and he was also transmitted from by Umar ibn Muhammad al-Sarakhsi, Umar ibn Ali al-Mahmudi, and Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Husayni al-Balkhi, who transmitted the Sunan of Abu Dawud through him al-Ansab - al-Samani+1.

Al-Sam'ani described al-Wakhshi as a trustworthy hadith master, virtuous, refined in recitation, and skilled in belles-lettres Lisan al-Mizan+1. Isma'il ibn Muhammad al-Taymi praised him as a major hadith master Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. Yahya ibn Mandah noted that he had extensive audition but transmitted relatively little, was knowledgeable in the sciences of hadith, and possessed expertise in aspects of Arabic grammar and lexicography Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith. The hadith scholar Abd al-Aziz al-Nakhshabi noted that he was accused of Qadarism Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

During his stay in Baghdad, an incident occurred that caused the Caliph to order him drowned, prompting him to flee to Egypt Lisan al-Mizan. He returned to Baghdad after a period and lived in semi-seclusion before returning to Balkh Lisan al-Mizan. When the vizier Nizam al-Mulk learned of his presence, he constructed a madrasa for him in Balkh and appointed him to teach and transmit hadith there Lisan al-Mizan.

Death

Al-Wakhshi died on 5 Rabi' al-Thani 471 AH in Balkh at the age of eighty-six Tarikh al-Islam+1. An alternative death year of 456 AH was mentioned in some works but dismissed as an error al-Shula fi Shuyukh al-Kh…+1. Umar ibn Ali al-Mahmudi, who attended the funeral, related that when al-Wakhshi was placed in his grave, a commotion occurred among the crowd as swarms of insects, beetles, and scorpions emerged from the cemetery and descended into an adjacent ravine without harming or being touched by the attendees Lisan al-Mizan+1.