Ibn al-Tahhan

Ibn al-Tahhan (d. 416 AH / 1025 CE) was an Egyptian hadith scholar and biographical historian best known for Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr (History of the Scholars of Egypt), a biographical continuation to the historical works of Ibn Yunus Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1.

Identity and Early Life

His full name was Abu al-Qasim Yahya ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd Allah ibn Harun al-Hadrami al-Misri Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1. He traced his ancestral origins to Hadramawt and resided in Egypt in a village near al-Fustat Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1. He was commonly known as Ibn al-Tahhan (the son of the miller) and was also designated with the professional epithet al-Sawwaf (the wool merchant) Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr. His exact date of birth is unrecorded, though he noted receiving transmissions from a teacher who died in 313 AH Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr. His father took interest in his education and brought him to hear hadith from scholars, and Ibn al-Tahhan later did the same for his own son and his brother Muhammad Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1.

Education and Scholarship

Ibn al-Tahhan studied under numerous Egyptian and visiting scholars, including his father, Hamza ibn Muhammad al-Kinani, al-Hasan ibn Rashiq, Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Baghdadi (known as Ghundar), Thuwayba, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn al-Abbas Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1. Among those who attended hadith sessions alongside him was the traditionist Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id al-Azdi Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr.

In his scholarship, Ibn al-Tahhan exercised critical evaluation (al-jarh wa-al-ta'dil) of transmitters and applied strict discernment regarding the credentials of his authorities Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1. His primary work, Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr, was composed as a supplement (dhayl) to the two historical dictionaries of Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Yunus—combining additions to the history of native Egyptian scholars and the history of visitors to Egypt Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1. He also compiled al-Mukhtalif wa-al-Mu'talif (Divergent and Similar Names) on onomastic variants, as well as al-Ruwat 'an Malik (Transmitters from Malik), which documented narrators who transmitted from Malik ibn Anas Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1.

Reception and Death

Ibn al-Tahhan's biographical entries served as a significant historical source for subsequent scholars, including al-Sam'ani, Ibn Khallikan, al-Dhahabi, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, who frequently cited his critical verdicts and historical notices Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1.

Ibn al-Tahhan died in 416 AH (1025 CE) Tarikh Ulama Ahl Misr+1.