Ibn al-Muzaffar al-Bazzaz
- Died
- 379 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Ibn al-Muzaffar al-Bazzaz (286–379 AH / 899–989 CE) was a Baghdad-based hadith master and transmitter known for specialized compilation monographs such as Ghara'ib Hadith Malik and Hadith Shu'ba .
Origin and Early Life
His full lineage is Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar ibn Musa ibn Isa ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Salama ibn Iyas, and his kunya was Abu al-Husayn (and reportedly Abu Bakr) . He was also known by the sobriquets al-Bazzaz and al-Baz al-Abyad . Although Abd al-Wahid ibn Ali ibn Burhan stated that his lineage traced back to the companion Iyas ibn Salama ibn al-Akwa', Ibn al-Muzaffar himself stated: "I do not know that we are from the Arabs; my father and forefathers were from Samarra, then my father moved to Baghdad, where I was born in Muharram 286 AH" . Another report places his birth in Muharram 300 AH . He was physically described as cross-eyed with a scar on his forehead .
Education and Travels
Ibn al-Muzaffar began hearing hadith in Muharram 300 AH, with Bunan ibn Ahmad al-Daqqaq being the first teacher from whom he received narrations . In Baghdad, he studied under leading scholars, including Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, Abu Bakr al-Baghandi, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud, and Yahya ibn Sa'id . He travelled extensively across several regions, studying in Harran under Abu Arubah al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, in Damascus under Abu al-Hasan ibn Jawsa, in Egypt under Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi and Muhammad ibn Khuraym (in 314 AH), in Kufa under Abd Allah ibn Zaydan, and in Mosul under Abd Allah ibn Ziyad al-Sha'rani . During his visit to Egypt, he remarked to the traditionist Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini that the material he was dictating was already widely transmitted in Iraq and requested Egyptian transmissions instead, which prompted al-Qazwini to put forward the hadiths of Amr ibn al-Harith .
Ibn al-Muzaffar accumulated vast collections of hadith, reporting that he possessed one hundred thousand narrations from al-Baghandi alone . Later in life, he sold eighty ratls of his original manuscripts of Yahya ibn Sa'id's transmissions—written in his own fine handwriting—to booksellers, remarking that he did not expect students to seek Ibn Sa'id's transmissions directly from him given his other elevated chains .
Students and Standing
A substantial cohort of prominent scholars transmitted from him, including al-Daraqutni, Ibn Shahin, Ibn Uqdah (who was also among his teachers), Abu Bakr ibn al-Muqri, al-Barqani, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, Ibn Abi al-Fawaris, Abu al-Hasan al-Atiqi, and Abu al-Qasim al-Tanukhi . Al-Daraqutni transmitted thousands of hadiths from him, held him in the highest regard, and would not lean back in his presence out of deference .
Scholars widely affirmed his reliability. Ibn Abi al-Fawaris described him as trustworthy, dependable, and possessing excellent memorization, adding that leadership in hadith knowledge and critical selection rested with him . Al-Atiqi, al-Hakim, and Abu Nu'aym all characterized him as a trustworthy and dependable preserver (hafiz) . Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi noted that he was discerning, honest, and prolific .
Creedal Allegations and Controversy
Abu al-Walid al-Baji stated that Ibn al-Muzaffar exhibited overt Shi'i leanings (tashayyu' zahir) . When Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami inquired about this claim with al-Daraqutni, the latter affirmed his reliability and remarked that his leaning was "a little, in an amount that causes no harm, God willing" . Later scholars noted that this perception may have stemmed from his authorship of a compilation on the virtues of al-Abbas (Fada'il al-Abbas) .
Abu Dharr al-Harawi recorded via Ibn Hunayf that Ibn al-Muzaffar once drafted leaves outlining shortcomings of certain hadith scholars (mathalib ashab al-hadith) as a gift to an official associated with Rafidism; when Ibn Hunayf and his companions acquired the text and confronted him with it, Ibn al-Muzaffar was visibly unsettled and apologized, after which they treated him with gentleness and read the material back to him .
Death
Ibn al-Muzaffar died on a Friday—late in the day according to Abu al-Qasim al-Azhari—in Jumada al-Ula 379 AH (with an alternate report mentioning Jumada al-Akhira) in Baghdad, at the age of ninety-three . He was buried on Saturday, the 3rd—or according to al-Azhari, the 4th—of Jumada al-Ula 379 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith Shuba ibn al-Hajjaj (also referred to as Ghara'ib Hadith Shuba) is a hadith monograph that brings together narrations transmitted through the prominent 2nd-century traditionist Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj. The work focuses on rare transmissions, isolated variants, and specific chains of transmission that passed through Shu'ba's students, documenting them with full chains and critical remarks on solitary transmissions and transmitter discrepancies.
Gharaib Malik ibn Anas (also referred to as Gharaib Hadith Malik ibn Anas) is a specialized hadith compilation focusing on rare transmissions, isolated narrations, and chain variants associated with Imam Malik ibn Anas. Belonging to the ghara'ib and ilal genre, it gathers narrations that deviate from standard transmissions or present chain variations, such as differences between raised and stopped attributions or atypical reporting paths.