Ibn Samun al-Waiz
- Died
- 387 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Ibn Samun al-Waiz (300–387 AH / 912–997 CE) was an Iraqi preacher, ascetic, and hadith transmitter from Baghdad, renowned for his sermons on spiritual contemplation and inner thoughts (ilm al-khawatir wa-l-isharat).
Name and Early Life
He was Abu al-Husayn (and in some transmissions Abu al-Hasan) Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Isma'il ibn 'Anbas ibn Isma'il al-Baghdadi, with "Sam'un" being a sobriquet or modified form of his ancestor Isma'il's name. In his early life, he earned his living as a professional scribe, copying manuscripts for a fee to support himself and his mother. When he resolved to perform the pilgrimage, he sold his books to fund the journey; however, his caravan was intercepted by Bedouins, leaving him destitute and clad only in an acquired cloak. Upon his return to Baghdad, he was recommended to the Abbasid caliph, who sought a virtuous and upright man to marry an estranged court concubine; the caliph married her to Ibn Sam'un and endowed her with considerable wealth and fine garments. In later years, he frequently recounted this transformation in fortune from the pulpit while dressed in fine attire.
Scholarship, Preaching, and Transmissions
Ibn Sam'un acquired hadith in Baghdad and the Levant, and his preaching gained widespread renown, earning him the honorific al-Natiq bi-l-Hikma ("the speaker endowed with wisdom"). He transmitted hadith from figures such as Abdullah ibn Abi Dawud al-Sijistani, Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Duri, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salm al-Makhrami, Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Mutayri, and 'Umar ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, and he met the mystic Abu Bakr al-Shibli.
He dictated approximately twenty gatherings of hadith, preserved in the collection known as Amali Ibn Sam'un (The Dictations of Ibn Sam'un). Among his students and narrators were al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Khallal, Abu Talib al-Ushari, Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Abanusi, Hamzah ibn Muhammad al-Daqqaq, and Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hammaduh al-Hanbali.
Standing and Criticism
Leading contemporary scholars held Ibn Sam'un in high esteem; Abu Bakr al-Baqillani and Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini used to kiss his hand when visiting him, with al-Baqillani remarking that aspects of Ibn Sam'un's subtle discourse sometimes eluded him due to its profound intricacy.
Biographical sources also note points of contention regarding his transmissions and statements. Abu Dharr al-Harawi questioned his direct audition from Ibn Abi Dawud, suggesting the name belonged to another individual, though other authorities upheld his transmission. Later critics, including al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, recorded that despite his elevated standing, certain utterances attributed to him diverged from the approach of the early generations (al-salaf) and resembled ecstatic sayings (shath). Additionally, Ibn Hazm reported in Al-Milal wa-l-Nihal that Ibn Sam'un claimed the Supreme Name of God consists of thirty-seven characters that are distinct from the standard letters of the Arabic alphabet.
Death
Ibn Sam'un died in Baghdad toward the end of 387 AH (997 CE) at the age of eighty-seven.
Answer updated
List of Works
Amali Ibn Samun al-Waiz is a collection of hadith dictation sessions (majalis) belonging to the amālī genre. It consists of records of scholarly gatherings where traditions were orally dictated alongside their full chains of transmission (asānīd) to students and attendees who assembled to transcribe them.