Khaythama al-Atrabulsi
- Died
- 343 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Hasan Khaythama ibn Sulayman al-Atrabulsi (250–343 AH / 864–945 CE) was a Syrian hadith scholar and traveler based in Tripoli, best known for compiling a collection on the virtues of the Prophet's companions (Fada'il al-Sahaba).
Lineage and early life
His full name was Khaythama ibn Sulayman ibn Haydara ibn Sulayman al-Qurashi al-Atrabulsi. Sources preserve multiple variants of his ancestry: one lineage traces him as Khaythama ibn Sulayman ibn al-Hurr (who was nicknamed Haydara) ibn Sulayman ibn Hizzan ibn Sulayman ibn Hayyan ibn Wabra al-Murri al-Qurashi, connecting him to Hayyan ibn Wabra, a companion of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq; another variant gives his grandfather as Haydara ibn Sulayman ibn Dawud ibn Khaythama.
According to his nephew's transmission, he was born in 250 AH (864 CE), which scholars consider the most accurate report. Other accounts state that he was born in 227 AH or 217 AH, with a report by Ibn Futays asserting that he lived to the age of 126.
Travels and scholarship
Al-Atrabulsi traveled extensively across the Islamic world in pursuit of hadith, beginning his studies after 260 AH. In Syria, he heard narrations in Aleppo, Antioch, Damascus, Hims, Beirut, Jableh, Tyre, and Raqqa. His journeys also took him to Baghdad, Kufa, Wasit, Mecca in the Hijaz, and Yemen. During a sea voyage between Jableh and Antioch to study under local scholars, his vessel was intercepted by enemy forces; he fought in the engagement, was wounded, and was held captive for four months before being liberated.
He studied under numerous prominent transmitters, including Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Abbas ibn al-Walid al-Bayruti, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Dabari in Yemen, Muhammad ibn Isa al-Mada'ini, Yahya ibn Abi Talib, and Muhammad ibn Awf al-Ta'i.
A large circle of students transmitted from him, most notably Ibn Manda, who recorded one thousand fascicles (ajza') from him in Tripoli, as well as Tammam al-Razi, Abu al-Husayn ibn Jumi', Abu Hafs ibn Shahin, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Nasr al-Tamimi, and his nephew Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah al-Atrabulsi. In Damascus, he taught scholars such as the judge Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Harun Ibn al-Jundi.
Standing and reception
Al-Atrabulsi was recognized by biographers as a reliable hadith authority (thiqa) and an observant worshipper. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi declared him thoroughly trustworthy (thiqa thiqa). Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani similarly described him as trustworthy and pious, while noting that some individuals accused him of Shi'ism (tashayyu'); when questioned about this accusation, al-Khatib remarked that al-Atrabulsi had compiled a book on the virtues of the Companions (Fada'il al-Sahaba) without displaying bias toward any single figure. He also composed Kitab al-Ruqa'iq on asceticism and heart-softening traditions.
During a teaching session in Damascus, the city's judge, Zakariyya ibn Ahmad al-Balkhi, questioned a narration delivered by al-Atrabulsi and sent an inquiry to Ibn Uqda in Kufa, who replied confirming the correctness of al-Atrabulsi's transmission.
Death
Al-Atrabulsi died in the month of Dhu al-Qa'da in 343 AH (945 CE) at the age of ninety-three, though al-Sam'ani reported an alternate estimate placing his death around 350 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Min Hadith Khaythama ibn Sulayman is a hadith tract (juzʾ) preserving narrations received from teachers across Syria, Iraq, the Hijaz, and Yemen. Belonging to the ajzaʾ genre of monographic hadith compilations, the work records individual prophetic traditions, historical reports, and pious anecdotes transmitted with full chains of transmission.
Juz min Hadith Khaythama al-Atrabulsi is a short compilation of forty-six Prophetic hadiths transmitted from various teachers. Arranged with full chains of transmission, the collection gathers reports covering legal rulings and rituals, virtues and historical reports, as well as ethical exhortations and admonitions.