Ibn al-Sawwaq
- Died
- 440 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Ibn al-Sawwaq (361–440 AH / 972–1049 CE) was a Baghdad-based hadith transmitter and traditionist best known for his hadith tract, Min Hadith Abi Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq.
Origin and Education
His full name was Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn ʿImran ibn Sahl ibn Nasr ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-Bundar, commonly known as Ibn al-Sawwaq or al-Sawwaq. The surname al-Sawwaq refers to the trade or sale of sawiq (parched barley or grain meal). He was born on 9 Jumada al-Akhira 361 AH, a date he related directly to al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and resided in the al-Rusafa district of Baghdad.
He received hadith from several prominent Baghdadi traditionists of his era, including Abu Bakr ibn Malik al-Qati'i, Abu Muhammad ibn Masi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salih al-Burujirdi, Makhlad ibn Ja'far al-Baqarhi, Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Khiraqi, and Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Lu'lu' al-Warraq.
Students and Standing
A number of notable scholars transmitted hadith from him, including the historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn Makula, Thabit ibn Bundar and his brother Abu Yasir, and Ibn al-Tuyuri. His transmissions were collected in a hadith part (juz'), preserving narrations recorded with their full chains of transmission.
In terms of biographical evaluation, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi directly documented transmissions from him and declared him trustworthy (thiqah). Al-Dhahabi similarly recorded him among the truthful traditionists (al-shaykh al-saduq).
Death
Ibn al-Sawwaq died in Baghdad on the evening of Sunday, the last day of Dhu al-Hijjah 440 AH, at the age of eighty. He was buried the following day, on Monday, the first of Muharram 441 AH, in the Bab Harb cemetery.
Answer updated
List of Works
Min Hadith Abi Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq is a hadith tract (juz') preserving a collection of prophetic traditions and narrations. The work comprises a series of reports transmitted with complete chains of transmission, encompassing legal, moral, ritual, and historical matters.