Ibn Bilal al-Khashshab
- Died
- 330 AH
- Born in
- Nishapur
Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn Bilal al-Khashshab (c. 240–330 AH / c. 854–942 CE) was a hadith transmitter and narrator from Nishapur known for his elevated chains of transmission and his hadith collection Juz' Abi Hamid Ibn Bilal.
Name and Origin
His full name was Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Bilal al-Bazzaz al-Naysaburi. He was given the sobriquet al-Khashshab because he resided in the carpenters' quarter (al-Khashshabin) in Nishapur, not because he sold timber, and he personally disliked this designation. He was born around 240 AH.
Education and Travels
Ibn Bilal began his studies in his native Nishapur, where he transmitted from scholars such as Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhli, Abd al-Rahman ibn Bishr ibn al-Hakam, Ahmad ibn Hafs, Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami, Ahmad ibn al-Azhar, and Ahmad ibn Mansur Zaj.
He traveled for the pilgrimage and to seek hadith. In Baghdad, he heard from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Za'farani; in Kufa, he studied under Musa ibn Ishaq al-Kinani in 259 AH; in Hamadhan, he received narrations from Sakhtawayh ibn Mazyar; and in Mecca, he transmitted from Yahya ibn al-Rabi' and Bahr ibn Nasr al-Khawlani.
Among those who transmitted hadith from him were Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Naysaburi, Ibn Mandah, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Sibghi, Asim ibn Yahya al-Zahid, and Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahwish al-Ziyadi. Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi saw him in person, though he did not directly receive transmissions from him.
Standing
Ibn Bilal was recognized as an authority possessing short chains of transmission (uluww al-isnad). Al-Sam'ani described him as a reliable, established, and prolific narrator (min al-thiqat al-athbat al-muktirin). Abu Ya'la al-Khalili praised him as a trustworthy and well-known figure from whom major traditionists took narrations.
Death
Ibn Bilal died in Nishapur on the Day of Eid al-Adha in 330 AH (942 CE). He was buried at the Bab Ma'mar cemetery in the city.
Answer updated
List of Works
Juz Abu Hamid Ibn Bilal is a short hadith compilation containing twenty-eight numbered traditions transmitted from ninth-century teachers. The narrations address diverse subjects in Islamic jurisprudence, etiquette, supplications, and creed, opening with a report on post-prayer supplication and concluding with traditions concerning divine forgiveness and sincerely seeking martyrdom.