Hamza al-Sahmi
- Died
- 427 AH
- Born in
- Jurjan
Hamza al-Sahmi (c. 340s–427 AH / c. 950s–1036 CE) was a hadith scholar and historian from Jurjan, best known for his local biographical history Tarikh Jurjan and his records of hadith criticism in Su'alat Hamza lil-Daraqutni .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Abu al-Qasim Hamza ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Musa ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Qurashi al-Sahmi al-Jurjani, tracing his descent to the companion Hisham ibn al-As . A variant in his genealogy gives his ancestry as Ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Hisham ibn al-As . He was born in Jurjan in the 340s AH .
Al-Sahmi came from a scholarly household; his grandfather, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Musa (d. 324 AH), studied al-Shafi'i's jurisprudence under Ibrahim ibn Hani . His father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Ibrahim al-Qazzaz, was also a hadith narrator who transmitted in Mecca, Baghdad, Kufa, Rayy, Hamadhan, and Jurjan, and died in Jumada al-Akhirah 386 AH while Hamza was away traveling, arriving twelve days after the burial . His paternal uncle, Abu Nasr As-ham ibn Ibrahim (d. 360 AH), was noted by Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni as the only known hadith transmitter bearing the name As-ham .
He began his formal hearing of hadith in Jurjan in 354 AH from his father, Abu Ahmad ibn 'Adi, Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili, and Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Isma'il al-Sarram .
Travels and Public Career
In 368 AH, al-Sahmi set out on extensive travels across the Islamic world to study hadith . His journey took him to Isfahan, Rayy, Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Wasit, Ahwaz, Damascus, Egypt, Nishapur, and the Two Holy Sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina . Among his teachers outside Jurjan were Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni, Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Muqri', Abd al-Wahhab ibn al-Hasan al-Kilabi, and Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Dasa .
In 406 AH, al-Sahmi visited Nishapur as a member of an official delegation sent by the Ziyarid prince Manuchihr ibn Qabus to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, traveling alongside the Jurjan notable Abu Sa'd al-Jawlaki and Qadi al-Shalanji .
Scholarly Contributions and Students
Al-Sahmi authored Tarikh Jurjan (also titled Kitab Ma'rifat 'Ulama' Ahl Jurjan), a biographical dictionary recording the scholars, traditionists, and rulers associated with Jurjan and its outlying regions, including Astarabadh, Abaskun, and Dihistan . In hadith criticism, he compiled Su'alat Hamza lil-Daraqutni, recording the critical evaluations of narrators (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil) and hidden defects ('ilal) that he solicited directly from al-Daraqutni and other hadith masters .
A prominent circle of scholars transmitted from him, including Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, who narrated from him upon his arrival in their region, Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, Abu Salih Ahmad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Mu'adhdhin, Ismail ibn Mas'adah al-Isma'ili, and Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Khalaf al-Shirazi .
Death
Notice of al-Sahmi's death reached Nishapur in Rajab 427 AH / 1036 CE . The hadith scholar Abu Abd Allah al-Humaydi recorded in his own handwriting that al-Sahmi died in Rayy in 428 AH, while another report places his death in 426 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Tarikh Jurjan (The History of Jurjan), also titled Kitab Ma'rifat 'Ulama' Ahl Jurjan, is a biographical dictionary and local history. The work documents the scholars, hadith transmitters, jurists, judges, and rulers connected to the city of Jurjan and its surrounding districts.
Sualat Hamza lil-Daraqutni (The Questions of Hamza to al-Daraqutni) is a specialized hadith work documenting critical evaluations of hadith transmitters (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil) primarily delivered by Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni alongside several other authorities.