Ibn Abi Shurayh
- Died
- 392 AH
- Born in
- Herat
Ibn Abi Shurayh (d. 392 AH / 1002 CE) was a hadith scholar, jurist, and the foremost authority of hadith transmission (musnid) in Herat and Khurasan during his era. He is known for compiling a collection of one hundred traditions on virtuous deeds titled al-Ahadith al-Miʾa al-Shurayhiyya.
Name and Early Life
His full name was Abu Muhammad ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Makhlad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Mughira ibn Thabit al-Ansari al-Harawi, known as Ibn Abi Shurayh and al-Shurayhi. The patronymic Ibn Abi Shurayh references his father, Ahmad ibn Muhammad, whose kunya was Abu Shurayh. He was born in Herat after 300 AH.
Education and Scholarship
In his youth, Ibn Abi Shurayh was taken by his father on journeys to study hadith. He reached Baghdad and studied under the veteran traditionist Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi toward the end of his life, from whom he received texts including al-Jaʿdiyyat. His other teachers included Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Saʿid, Muhammad ibn ʿAqil al-Balkhi, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Nayruz al-Anmati, Ismaʿil ibn al-ʿAbbas al-Warraq, Ahmad ibn Saʿid al-Tabari, and Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Balkhi.
A substantial circle of scholars transmitted hadith on his authority, including Abu ʿUmar ʿAbd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad al-Malihi, Sufyan ibn Muhammad al-Shurayhi, Abu ʿAsim al-Fudayl ibn Yahya al-Fudayli, Abu Saʿid Yaʿla ibn Hibat Allah al-Fudayli, Bibi al-Harthamiyya, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-ʿUmayri, and Muhammad ibn Abi Masʿud al-Farisi. The last surviving transmitter to narrate directly from him was Abu Mansur ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Bushanji, known as Kullar (d. 477 AH).
Standing
Biographical authorities recognized Ibn Abi Shurayh for sound reception and veracity in narration. Al-Khalil ibn Abd Allah al-Qazwini praised him as a trustworthy jurist, an ascetic, and the last reliable authority upon whom scholars relied in Herat. Al-Dhahabi characterized him as an exemplar, an authoritative traditionist, and noted that his chains of narration attained the highest level of elevation (ʿuluww) in the Islamic world.
Death
Ibn Abi Shurayh died in Safar 392 AH at the age of eighty-five; another report by al-Khalil al-Qazwini places his death in 391 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Ahadith al-Mi'a al-Sharihiyya is an independent hadith tract (juz') that gathers one hundred prophetic traditions. The collection covers various religious subjects, particularly the merits of righteous acts and pious deeds, manners of prayer and invoking blessings upon the Prophet, and eschatological themes such as seeking refuge from the punishment of the grave.