Ibn al-Dajjaji
- Died
- 564 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Dajjaji (480–564 AH / 1087–1169 CE) was a Baghdad-based Hanbali preacher, Quran reciter, jurist, and poet, best known for his literary anthology Saft al-Milh wa-Zawh al-Tarah.
Life and Education
His full name was Sa'd Allah ibn Nasr ibn Sa'id ibn Ali (also recorded as Sa'd Allah ibn Nasr ibn Sa'id ibn Abi Ali or Ibn Sa'd). He was known both as Ibn al-Dajjaji and as Ibn al-Hayawani, and belonged to a known Hanbali family in Baghdad. He was born in 480 AH (1087 CE).
He studied Quranic recitation under Abu Mansur al-Khayyat and heard hadith from him, as well as from Abu al-Khattab Ali ibn al-Jarrah and Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Bayan al-Razzaz. He also studied Hanbali jurisprudence, engaged in academic disputation, and dedicated many years to preaching, reciting, and teaching in Baghdad.
A substantial circle of students studied under him and transmitted from him. These included his son Abu Mansur Muhammad, his grandson Abu Talib Abd al-Haqq ibn al-Hasan, the jurist Ibn Qudama (al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq), Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Akhdar, Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Khatib, and Abd al-Khaliq ibn Asad.
Standing and Views
Biographers recognized Ibn al-Dajjaji as a virtuous, trustworthy scholar of reliable hadith audition. Ibn al-Jawzi noted that he studied law, held disputations, and preached, praising him as a speaker of gentle expression and pleasant delivery. When questioned during one of his preaching assemblies regarding the narrations on the divine attributes (ahadith al-sifat), Ibn al-Dajjaji prohibited delving into them and instructed his listeners to maintain complete submission (taslim).
In addition to preaching, he composed poetry and authored Saft al-Milh wa-Zawh al-Tarah ("The Casket of Witticisms and the Dispelling of Grief"), a literary collection of ethical maxims, reports, and anecdotes intended for companionship and reflection.
Death
Ibn al-Dajjaji died on Monday, 12 Sha'ban 564 AH (1169 CE); an alternative report places his death around 560 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Saft al-Milh wa Zawh al-Tarah (The Casket of Witticisms and the Dispelling of Grief) is an Arabic literary and ethical anthology. Reflecting on the changing states of human hearts and the forgetful nature of mankind, it presents a diverse selection of memorable reports, maxims, and anecdotes rather than an exhaustive treatment of a single scholarly discipline. The collection is designed to offer solace in isolation as well as engaging material for friendly gatherings and pleasant conversation.