Hisham bin Ammar
- Died
- 245 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Hisham bin Ammar (153–245 AH / 770–859 CE) was a Syrian scholar of hadith, Quran reciter, jurist, and the Friday preacher of Damascus, renowned as one of the principal transmitters of the canonical Quranic reading of Ibn Amir al-Dhimashqi.
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Abu al-Walid Hisham ibn Ammar ibn Nusayr ibn Maysarah ibn Aban al-Sulami, also referred to as al-Zafari al-Dimashqi. He was born in Damascus in 153 AH (770 CE). To support his education, his father sold a residential house for twenty dinars to equip him for travel in pursuit of knowledge. Later in life, he was known to dye his beard yellow.
Education and Career
In Damascus, Hisham studied Quranic recitation under Irak ibn Khalid and Ayyub ibn Tamim, through whom he mastered the Syrian recitation tradition. In hadith, his teachers included Malik ibn Anas, Muslim al-Zanji, Isma'il ibn Ayyash, al-Haytham ibn Humayd, and al-Walid ibn Muslim. He also transmitted Awali Malik (Elevated Narrations of Malik) directly from Malik ibn Anas.
He served as the official Friday preacher (khatib) and prayer leader at the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, delivering the Friday sermon for decades. He also authored Fada'il al-Qur'an (Virtues of the Quran) and issued legal verdicts in the city.
Teaching and Students
Hisham attracted numerous students who traveled to Syria for his elevated chains of transmission (isnad ali). His hadith students included al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Baqi ibn Makhlad, and Muhammad ibn Sa'd, while al-Tirmidhi narrated from him via al-Bukhari. Senior contemporaries such as al-Walid ibn Muslim also transmitted from him. In Quranic recitation, his prominent students included Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, Ahmad al-Halwani, and Isma'il ibn al-Huwayris.
Scholarly Standing and Criticisms
Hisham was widely commended for his eloquence, authority in recitation, and extensive hadith repertory. Abu Zur'ah al-Razi stated that anyone who missed hearing from Hisham would have to descend ten thousand narrations in chain length. Yahya ibn Ma'in affirmed his reliability and described him as astute (kayyis), and al-Daraqutni declared him truthful (saduq) and of eminent stature.
Critics raised concerns regarding his later years and certain theological remarks. Abu Hatim al-Razi noted that his memory changed in old age and that he became susceptible to prompting (talqin). He was also noted for charging a fee of one dirham for dictating every two sheets of hadith. Additionally, when reports reached Baghdad that Hisham stated the pronunciation (lafz) of the Quran by Gabriel and the Prophet was created, and that he praised God in a sermon as having "manifested Himself to His creation through His creation," Ahmad ibn Hanbal censured these phrases severely, calling him impetuous and cautioning against praying behind him. Later biographical authorities noted that despite these criticisms, Hisham held a leading rank in Quranic studies and hadith, and they interpreted his controversial expressions charitably.
Death
Hisham died in Damascus at the end of Muharram in 245 AH (859 CE) at the age of ninety-two. A variant report places his death in 246 AH, and another account gives his age at death as eighty-nine.
Answer updated
List of Works
This collection of prophetic traditions preserves narrations from prominent eighth-century authorities, reflecting the hadith tradition of Damascus and the Hijaz during the early Abbasid period.
This short hadith compilation documents elevated-chain narrations (awali) transmitted directly from Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH / 795 CE).