Luwin
- Died
- 245 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Massisi (d. 245 AH / 859–860 CE), widely known by the moniker Luwin, was a hadith scholar and frontier garrison resident who transmitted traditions preserved in his collection Juz' Luwayn.
Identity and Background
His full genealogy is Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Habib al-Asadi al-Kufi, belonging to the Banu al-'A'if (also recorded as Banu al-Sa'if), whose lineage traces back to Sa'd ibn Malik ibn 'Amir ibn al-Harith ibn Tha'laba ibn Dudan ibn Asad ibn Khuzaymah. He was originally associated with Kufa and Baghdad before moving to the northern frontiers.
Accounts differ regarding the origin of his nickname Luwayn:
- Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari related that he used to trade riding beasts in Baghdad and frequently used the expression "this horse has luwayn, this horse has fadid," leading people to call him Luwin.
- Another account states that his mother gave him the diminutive nickname, and he expressed satisfaction with it, remarking that he did not dislike the moniker and explaining it as the diminutive form of the Arabic word lawn ("color").
He was noted for his exceptional longevity. When questioned about his age during a visit to Baghdad in 240 AH, he stated that he was 113 years old. Modern biographical estimates place his birth between 130 AH / 747 CE and 140 AH / 757 CE.
Scholarly Career and Travels
He began his legal training early and held an instructional circle on the laws of inheritance (al-fara'id) during the era of Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah. Ali ibn Rustam reported that Luwin recounted having initially started transmitting hadith at the age of fifty, but after seeing the Prophet ﷺ in a dream asking whether it was yet time for him to transmit, he withheld from narrating until reaching the age of seventy, when he saw a subsequent dream bidding him to transmit.
Luwin favored residence along the military frontier posts (al-thughur), choosing al-Massisah over other posts and dwelling in Adana as a frontier guard (murabit). He made trips to several regions, transmitting hadith in Basra, Baghdad, and al-Ahwaz. According to 'Abd al-Baqi ibn Qani', his final visit to Baghdad occurred in 240 AH.
Among his primary teachers were Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Sulayman ibn Bilal, Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Hammad ibn Zayd, and Sharik ibn 'Abdullah al-Nakha'i. His transmissions were related by prominent hadith scholars, including Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mughallis, and Abu 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Dakka.
Standing and Reception
Luwin was regarded as a reliable transmitter (thiqa) by major critical authorities, including al-Nasa'i. Nevertheless, Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi recorded that Ahmad ibn Hanbal strongly denounced a specific tradition Luwin narrated via Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah from 'Amr ibn Dinar concerning 'Ali, stating that the report was uncorroborated (munkar) and had no authentic basis.
Death
According to Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Tara'ifi, Luwin died at the frontier in Adana in 245 AH / 859–860 CE, and al-Tara'ifi attended his funeral prayer. Other authorities, including al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim al-Malti and Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Suli, placed his death in 246 AH / 860–861 CE; al-Malti added that in that year Luwin was carried in a litter by four men in Adana, and following his death there, his body was transported in a receptacle to al-Massisah, where he was buried. An alternative report mentions 240 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith Luwayn al-Masisi, also known as Juz' Luwayn, is a compilation belonging to the juz' genre of hadith literature. It gathers transmitted hadith narrations, including prophetical traditions (marfu'), companion reports (mawquf), and legal verdicts of early authorities (maqtu') received from prominent teachers. The traditions preserved across the collection address a variety of topics, including rituals, legal injunctions, ethics, and sacred knowledge.
Juz' Luwayn, also titled Hadith Luwayn or Juz' fihi min Hadith Luwayn, is a classical hadith monograph (juz'). The work consists of a collection of prophetic hadiths and traditions recorded and transmitted from early teachers, providing elevated chains of transmission leading directly to prominent second-century authorities.