Mualla ibn Said al-Tanukhi
- Died
- 353 AH
- Born in
- -
Mualla ibn Said al-Tanukhi (d. 353 AH / 964 CE; another report gives c. 350 AH / 961 CE) was a hadith transmitter from Baghdad who settled in Egypt, best known as the narrator of the fabricated narrative Hadith al-Himyan (The Story of the Money Pouch) attributed to Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari.
Life and Travels
Known by the kunya Abu Khazim and the appellation al-Shubaybi (or al-Shaybi), he initially worked in Baghdad calling out garment sales in the market of Bab al-Taq. After market rivals drove him away, he relocated to the cloth merchants' market in al-Karkh and entered the service of the judge Abu Umar. He was described as an itinerant traveler (jawwalah) who recorded traditions across several regions, including Baghdad and Basra, before eventually taking up residence in Fustat, Egypt.
Transmission and Standing
Mualla transmitted hadith from scholars including Bishr ibn Musa al-Asadi, al-Fadl ibn al-Hubab al-Jumahi, and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Those who related material from him included Abu Bakr ibn Shadhan, Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Thallaj, and Abd al-Ghani ibn Said.
Biographical critics assessed him negatively. Abd al-Ghani ibn Said remarked that while they recorded traditions from him, he was not someone one could rely on or be pleased with. Ibn al-Thallaj noted that he drank date wine (nabidh). Hadith critics classified him as untrustworthy (laysa bi-thiqah) and accused him of inventing the apocryphal narrative known as Hadith al-Himyan (also called Hikayat al-Himyan), which he claimed to have received from al-Tabari with an invented chain extending back to the Prophet's companion Abdullah ibn Umar.
Death
According to Ibn al-Thallaj, Mualla died around 350 AH (c. 961 CE), whereas al-Khatib al-Baghdadi recorded a report that he died in Egypt in 353 AH (964 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith al-Himyan (The Hadith of the Money Pouch), also referred to as Hikayat al-Himyan, is an apocryphal narrative transmitted on the purported authority of the scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Framed with a chain of transmission descending through the owner of the purse from Ahmad ibn Yunus, Malik ibn Anas, Nafi, and Abdullah ibn Umar, the text is a fabricated account unanimously classified as baseless by hadith critics.