Ibn Sirin

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Sirin al-Basri (c. 33–110 AH / 653–729 CE) was an early Islamic jurist, hadith transmitter, and prominent scholar of Basra from the generation of the Successors (Tabi'un), renowned for his scrupulous piety and expertise in dream interpretation Taysir al-Bayan li-Ahkam …+1.

Lineage and Early Life

Muhammad ibn Sirin was the client (mawla) of the Prophet's companion Anas ibn Malik Taysir al-Bayan li-Ahkam …+1. His father, Sirin, whose kunya was Abu 'Amra, was originally a coppersmith from Jarjaraya or Maysan who had moved to 'Ayn al-Tamr, where he was captured by Khalid ibn al-Walid Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Anas ibn Malik subsequently bought him and entered into a manumission contract (kitaba) with him for twenty thousand or forty thousand dirhams, which Sirin fulfilled Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Ibn Sirin's mother was Safiyya, a client of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq; three of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ perfumed her and prayed for her, and eighteen veterans of the Battle of Badr attended her marriage contract, with Ubayy ibn Ka'b reciting prayers while the others answered amen Wafayat al-Ayan+1.

According to his brother Anas ibn Sirin, Muhammad was born two years before the end of the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan (c. 33 AH / 653 CE), though another transmission reports that he was born two years before the end of the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi placed his birth in the year 31 AH Majallat al-Buhuth al-Isl…+1. He grew up in Basra alongside several siblings who also became respected hadith transmitters, including Ma'bad, Yahya, Anas, Hafsa, and Karima al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Ibn Sirin worked in commerce as a cloth merchant (bazzaz) al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. He fathered thirty children from a single wife, though none survived him except his son Abd Allah al-Tabaqat al-Kubra+1.

Scholarly Career and Teachings

Ibn Sirin met around thirty Companions of the Prophet Awham al-Muhaddithin al-T…+1. He transmitted hadith from Anas ibn Malik, Abu Hurayra, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abd Allah ibn Umar, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Imran ibn Husayn, and 'Adi ibn Hatim, and was particularly prominent in narrating from the jurists Shurayh al-Qadi and 'Ubayda al-Salmani Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Prominent scholars who transmitted from him include Qatada ibn Di'ama, Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, Amir al-Sha'bi, Abd Allah ibn Awn, Yunus ibn Ubayd, Khalid al-Hadhdha', and Hisham ibn Hassan Majallat al-Buhuth al-Isl…+1.

In hadith methodology, Ibn Sirin was known for strict precision, insisting on narrating prophetic reports verbatim rather than by paraphrasing the meaning (riwaya bi-l-ma'na) Awham al-Muhaddithin al-T…+1. To avoid being compelled to serve as a judge (qadi), he occasionally fled Basra to Damascus—where he lived unnoticed for four years—and to al-Yamama Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq+1.

Ibn Sirin was celebrated for his skill in oneiromancy (ta'bir al-ru'ya), and subsequent tradition attributed compilations on dream interpretation to him, such as Ta'bir al-Ru'ya Awham al-Muhaddithin al-T…+1.

Demeanor and Standing

Ibn Sirin was partially deaf (asamm), and al-Sha'bi frequently advised students to seek out "that deaf man," referring to Ibn Sirin's depth of learning al-Tabaqat al-Kubra+1. Physically, he was described as short, having a full belly, parting his ear-length hair, and dyeing it with henna Min Alam al-Salaf. Unlike many ascetics of his era, he was known for a cheerful disposition, humor, and frequent laughter, alongside profound personal scrupulousness Taysir al-Bayan li-Ahkam …+1.

He was widely praised by contemporaries and later biographers. Ibn Sa'd evaluated him as trustworthy, authoritative, eminent, and a leading jurist endowed with vast knowledge and piety al-Tabaqat al-Kubra+1. Hisham ibn Hassan called him the most truthful human being he had ever encountered al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Muwarriq al-'Ijli remarked that he had never seen anyone more knowledgeable in his scrupulousness or more scrupulous in his legal understanding than Ibn Sirin Taysir al-Bayan li-Ahkam …+1. Ibn Awn grouped him as the foremost scholar of Iraq alongside al-Qasim ibn Muhammad in the Hijaz and Raja' ibn Haywa in Syria Tadhkirat al-Huffaz = Tab…+1.

Later Life and Death

Later in life, Ibn Sirin accumulated debt from commercial ventures and was imprisoned in Basra al-Maarif+1. When Anas ibn Malik was dying, he requested that Ibn Sirin perform his ritual washing; Ibn Sirin obtained permission from his creditor to leave prison temporarily to carry out the bequest before returning al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya.

Ibn Sirin died in Basra in Shawwal 110 AH (729 CE), approximately one hundred days after his contemporary al-Hasan al-Basri Awham al-Muhaddithin al-T…+1. His age at death is reported as seventy-seven, seventy-eight, or over eighty years Hayat al-Tabiin+1. The funeral prayer was led by al-Nadr ibn 'Amr al-Maqra'i Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq.