Ibn al-Samarqandi

Isma'il ibn Ahmad al-Samarqandi (454–536 AH / 1062–1142 CE), commonly known as Ibn al-Samarqandi, was a Syrian-born Iraqi hadith scholar and master transmitter (musnid) based in Baghdad Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+2. He became the foremost hadith authority in Baghdad for elevated transmission chains and dictation sessions Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1.

Early life and education

Abu al-Qasim Isma'il ibn Ahmad ibn 'Umar ibn Abi al-Ash'ath al-Samarqandi was born in Damascus on Friday, 4 Ramadan 454 AH (September 1062 CE) al-Taqyid li-Marifat Ruwa…+1. His father, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn 'Umar, was originally from Samarkand before settling in Damascus Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…. Isma'il was younger than his brother, the hadith scholar Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. In Damascus, his father introduced him to hadith auditions during his youth, where he heard from scholars including al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Kattani, Abu Nasr ibn Tullab, Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi al-Hadid, and 'Abd al-Da'im ibn al-Hasan al-Hilali Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. He also visited Jerusalem, studying under Makki al-Rumayli, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Tusi, and Hamd ibn 'Ali al-Ruhawi Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1.

Around 469 AH, his father relocated the family to Baghdad, where Ibn al-Samarqandi settled permanently Tarikh al-Islam+1. In Baghdad, he studied under numerous authorities, most notably Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn al-Naqqur, whom he accompanied so closely that he referred to himself as "Abu Hurayrah to Ibn al-Naqqur" because he rarely missed an audition Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1. His other Baghdadi teachers included 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Sarifini (Ibn Hazar Mard), 'Ali ibn al-Busri, 'Abd al-Baqi ibn Muhammad al-'Attar, Abu Nasr al-Zaynabi, Abu al-Qasim Isma'il ibn Mas'ada al-Isma'ili, and Rizq Allah al-Tamimi Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1.

Scholarly career and teaching

Ibn al-Samarqandi worked as a book broker and dealer (dallāl fī al-kutub), through which he assembled a large collection of original manuscripts and verified copies of hadith works Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1. As earlier generations of transmitters passed away, he became the city's preeminent hadith scholar in terms of both prolific output and elevation of chains ('uluww al-isnad) Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1. He delivered more than three hundred dictation sessions (amālī) in the Mosque of al-Mansur on Fridays after prayer, in the area associated with Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1. Later in his life, he began requesting compensation for granting auditions, whereas earlier he had been eagerly offering them to students without charge Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1.

A wide circle of scholars transmitted from him, including Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani, Ibn 'Asakir, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Nasir, 'Umar ibn Tabarzad, Abu al-Yumn al-Kindi, 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn Sukayna, and 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Akhdar al-Taqyid li-Marifat Ruwa…+2.

Standing and reception

Biographers characterized Ibn al-Samarqandi as trustworthy (thiqah), meticulous (mutqin), and discerning in hadith lore al-Mahrawaniyat+2. Abu al-'Ala' al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Hamadhani stated that he did not equate any contemporary shaykh in Iraq or Khurasan with him al-Taqyid li-Marifat Ruwa…+1. Abu Shuja' 'Umar al-Bistami described him as the master of Khurasan and Iraq in transmission al-Mahrawaniyat+1. Abu Tahir al-Silafi affirmed his trustworthiness, adding that while he had familiarity with biographical evaluation (rijāl), his brother Abu Muhammad possessed deeper expertise in the field al-Mahrawaniyat+1.

Death

Ibn al-Samarqandi died in Baghdad on Tuesday night, 26 Dhu al-Qi'dah 536 AH (June 1142 CE)—with other reports placing it on the 27th or 28th—at the age of eighty-two years and three months al-Taqyid li-Marifat Ruwa…+2. Funeral prayers were held for him at Jami' al-Qasr and the Nizamiyya madrasa, and he was buried on Wednesday at Bab Harb in the Martyrs' Cemetery (Maqābir al-Shuhadā'), west of the tomb of Bishr al-Hafi Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+2.