Ibn Jami al-Saydawi
- Died
- 402 AH
- Born in
- Sidon
Abu al-Husayn Ibn Jami al-Saydawi (c. 305–402 AH / c. 917–1012 CE) was a Levantine hadith scholar and traveler from Sidon, best known for his biographical hadith dictionary Mu'jam al-Shuyukh ("Dictionary of Teachers") .
Name, Background and Early Life
His full name was Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Jami al-Ghassani . He was commonly attributed with the nisba al-Saydawi, and alternately al-Saydani, referencing the coastal town of Sidon near Tyre . His father, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Jami (d. 371 AH), was an ascetic transmitter of hadith who studied under Muhammad ibn Abdan al-Makki and Muhammad ibn al-Mu'afa al-Saydawi .
Ibn Jami was born in Sidon, with reports placing his birth in either 305 AH or 306 AH . According to his son al-Sakan, Ibn Jami took up continuous fasting at the age of eighteen and maintained the practice until his death .
Education and Travels
Ibn Jami undertook extensive scholarly journeys in pursuit of hadith, traveling through Egypt, Iraq, Fars, and the districts of Ahwaz . In Baghdad, he attended the transmission sessions of the judge al-Husayn ibn Isma'il al-Mahamili . While in Siraf, he received narrations from local teachers, including Ahmad ibn Salim al-Sirafi, Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Isbahani, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ma'ruf al-Sirafi . His other instructors included his father Abu Bakr, Ahmad ibn Rayhan al-Baghdadi in Sidon, and Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man in Tyre .
The hadith master Khalaf ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti compiled and arranged Ibn Jami's biographical dictionary, Mu'jam al-Shuyukh, across five volumes, documenting the numerous scholars from whom Ibn Jami had collected reports during his travels .
Students and Standing
A wide circle of scholars transmitted from Ibn Jami, including his contemporary Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id, as well as Tammam al-Razi, Abu Abd Allah al-Suri, Abu Sa'd al-Malini, Abu Ali al-Ahwazi, and Abu Nasr Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Aqil . The last surviving narrator to transmit directly from him was the preacher of Damascus, Abu Nasr al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Tullab . His son, al-Hasan (known as al-Sakan), and his grandson, Abu al-Hasan Ahmad, also narrated from him, preserving his original manuscripts in Sidon with their documented audition records (sama'at) .
Ibn Jami was regarded as a trustworthy authority (thiqah) and a prominent figure among the scholars of hadith; al-Khatib al-Baghdadi explicitly confirmed his reliability when questioned about him .
Death
Ibn Jami died in Sidon in the month of Rajab in 402 AH (1012 CE) . His son al-Sakan confirmed the year 402 AH and stated that his father lived to the age of ninety-seven . Another report transmitted by Abu Muhammad al-Kattani placed his death in 403 AH, whereas earlier biographical notices gave less specific approximations placing it after 394 AH or before 400 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Mu'jam al-Shuyukh, also known as Kitab al-Mu'jam min al-fawa'id al-muntaqah al-hisan or Mu'jam Ibn Jami', is a biographical hadith dictionary. Organized alphabetically in four parts, the work records the teachers from whom narration was studied and received during extensive travels across regions such as Mecca, Iraq, Fars, the Levant, and Egypt. Each entry provides biographical details alongside a selected narration, such as a prophetic hadith, a narrative account, or an original composed piece.