Hannad ibn al-Sari

Hannad ibn al-Sari (152–243 AH / 769–857 CE) was an Iraqi hadith scholar, traditionist, and ascetic from Kufa, renowned for his devotion and for his hadith collection Kitab al-Zuhd (The Book of Asceticism) al-Mujam al-Saghir li-Ruw…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

He was Abu al-Sari Hannad ibn al-Sari ibn Mus'ab ibn Abi Bakr ibn Shabara ibn Sa'fuq al-Tamimi al-Darimi al-Kufi al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa a…. He was born in 152 AH (769 CE) in Kufa, where he was raised and spent his life al-Mujam al-Saghir li-Ruw…+1. He is distinguished in biographical literature from his grand-nephew of the same name, the hadith transmitter Hannad ibn al-Sari ibn Yahya (d. 331 AH) Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma ….

Education and Hadith Transmission

Hannad studied under prominent Iraqi scholars and traditionists of the late second century AH. Among his teachers were Abu al-Ahwas Sallam ibn Sulaym, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, Sharik ibn 'Abd Allah, Hushaym ibn Bashir, and Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash al-Takmil fi al-Jarh wa a…+1.

He became a leading authority for traditionists traveling to Kufa. His narrations were recorded by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah, while al-Bukhari transmitted from him outside his Sahih al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. Other notable students included Abu Zur'ah al-Razi, Abu Hatim al-Razi, Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Baqi ibn Makhlad, and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari al-Mujam al-Saghir li-Ruw…+1. He authored Kitab al-Zuhd, a large thematic compilation gathering prophetic traditions and early reports on spiritual detachment, piety, and eschatology Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith+1.

Devotional Life and Standing

Hannad was widely known by the honorific Rahib al-Kufa ("the Monk of Kufa") due to his rigorous worship and ascetic lifestyle al-Mujam al-Saghir li-Ruw…+1. He never married and never took a concubine al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. His student Ahmad ibn Salama al-Naysaburi related that Hannad spent his days in continuous prayer, weeping, and reciting the Qur'an in his local mosque from dawn until nightfall, a routine his neighbors reported he had maintained for seventy years Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1.

Scholars of hadith held him in high regard. When Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked whom hadith seekers should write from in Kufa, he instructed them to adhere to Hannad Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith. Qutayba ibn Sa'id remarked that he had never seen Waki' honor anyone as deeply as he honored Hannad Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …. Al-Nasa'i declared him trustworthy (thiqah), Abu Hatim al-Razi described him as truthful (saduq), and Ibn Hibban included him in his biographical work on reliable transmitters Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1.

Death

Hannad died on a Wednesday, the final day of Rabi' al-Akhir 243 AH (857 CE), at the age of ninety-one Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma …+1; a variant date transmitted by al-Bukhari places his death at the end of Rabi' al-Awwal of the same year Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik….