Abū ʿĪsā Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā as-Sulamī aḍ-Ḍarīr al-Būghī at-Tirmidhī (Arabic: أبو عيسى محمد بن عيسى السلمي الضرير البوغي الترمذي; Persian: ترمذی, Termezī; 824 – 9 October 892), often referred to as Imām al-Termezī/Tirmidhī, was a Persian[1][2][3]Islamic scholar and collector of hadith who wrote al-Jami` as-Sahih (known as Jami` at-Tirmidhi), one of the six canonical hadith compilations in SunniIslam. He also wrote Shama'il Muhammadiyah (popularly known as Shama'il at-Tirmidhi), a compilation of hadiths concerning the person and character of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. At-Tirmidhi was also well versed in Arabic grammar, favoring the school of Kufa over Basra due to the former's preservation of Arabic poetry as a primary source.[4]
Biography
Name and lineage
Al-Tirmidhi's given name (ism) was "Muhammad" while his kunya was "Abu `Isa" ("father of `Isa"). His genealogy is uncertain; his nasab (patronymic) has variously been given as:
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة)[5]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Mūsá ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن موسى بن الضحاك)[6][7][8][9]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد)[10]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد بن الضحاك)[11]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn ‛Īsá (محمد بن عيسى بن سورة بن شداد بن عيسى)[9]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Yazīd ibn Sawrah ibn as-Sakan (محمد بن عيسى بن يزيد بن سورة بن السكن)[6][7][9]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl (محمد بن عيسى بن سهل)[12][13]
Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl ibn Sawrah (محمد بن عيسى بن سهل بن سورة)[14]
He was also known by the laqab "ad-Darir" ("the Blind"). It has been said that he was born blind, but the majority of scholars agree that he became blind later in his life.[6][15]
At-Tirmidhi's family belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Sulaym (hence the nisbat "as-Sulami").[16] His grandfather was originally from Marw (Persian: Merv), but moved to Tirmidh.[6]
Birth
Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi was born during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. His year of birth has been reported as 209 AH (824/825).[16][17][18]Adh-Dhahabi only states that at-Tirmidhi was born near the year 210 AH (825/826),[6] thus some sources give his year of birth as 210 AH.[5][19] Some sources indicate that he was born in Mecca (Siddiqi says he was born in Mecca in 206 AH (821/822))[20] while others say he was born in Tirmidh (Persian: Termez), in what is now southern Uzbekistan.[16] The stronger opinion is that he was born in Tirmidh.[6] Specifically, he was born in one of its suburbs, the village of Bugh (hence the nisbats "at-Tirmidhi" and "al-Bughi").[17][19][21][22]
Hadith studies
At-Tirmidhi began the study of hadith at the age of 20. From the year 235 AH (849/850) he traveled widely in Khurasan, Iraq, and the Hijaz in order to collect hadith.[5][10][11] His teachers and those he narrated from included:
At the time, Khurasan, at-Tirmidhi's native land, was a major center of learning, being home to a large number of muhaddiths. Other major centers of learning visited by at-Tirmidhi were the Iraqi cities of Kufa and Basra. At-Tirmidhi reported hadith from 42 Kufan teachers. In his Jami`, he used more reports from Kufan teachers than from teachers of any other town.[15]
At-Tirmidhi was a pupil of al-Bukhari, who was based in Khurasan. Adh-Dhahabi wrote, "His knowledge of hadith came from al-Bukhari."[16] At-Tirmidhi mentioned al-Bukhari's name 114 times in his Jami`. He used al-Bukhari's Kitab at-Tarikh as a source when mentioning discrepancies in the text of a hadith or its transmitters, and praised al-Bukhari as being the most knowledgeable person in Iraq or Khurasan in the science of discrepancies of hadith. When mentioning the rulings of jurists, he followed al-Bukhari's practice of not mentioning the name of Abu Hanifah. Because he never received a reliabe chain of narrators to mention Abu Hanifa's decrees, he would instead attribute them to "some people of Kufa."[15] Al-Bukhari held at-Tirmidhi in high regard as well. He is reported to have told at-Tirmidhi, "I have profited more from you than you have from me," and in his Sahih he narrated two hadith from at-Tirmidhi.[15][16]
At-Tirmidhi also narrated some hadiths from Abu Dawud, and one from Muslim.[15] Muslim also narrated one hadith from at-Tirmidhi in his own Sahih.[16]
A.J. Wensinck mentions Ahmad ibn Hanbal as among at-Tirmidhi's teachers.[10][15] However, Hoosen states that according to the most reliable sources, at-Tirmidhi never went to Baghdad, nor did he attend any lectures of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Furthermore, at-Tirmidhi never directly narrates from Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Jami`.[15]
Several of at-Tirmidhi's teachers also taught al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and an-Nasa'i.
Writings
Al-Jami` Al-Mukhtasar min As-Sunan `an Rasulillah, known as “Jami` At-Tirmidhi)
Al-`Ilal As-Sughra
Az-Zuhd
Al-`Ilal Al-Kubra
Ash-Shama’il An-Nabawiyyah wa Al-Fada’il Al-Mustafawiyyah
Al-Asmaa’ wa Al-Kuna
Kitab At-Tarikh
School of thought
Imam Tirmidhi was very close to Imam Bukhari, Imam Tirmidhi was a Shaf'i or Hanbal. Conclusion was whether he was mujthaid or muqallid as he was close to Imam Bukhari some claim he followed his madhab.
Death
At-Tirmidhi was blind in the last two years of his life, according to adh-Dhahabi.[11] His blindness is said to have been the consequence of excessive weeping, either due to fear of God or over the death of al-Bukhari.[5][6][11][15][16]
He died on Monday night, 13 Rajab 279 AH (Sunday night, 8 October 892)[note 1] in Bugh.[8][11][15]
At-Tirmidhi is buried on the outskirts of Sherobod, a 60 kilometers north of Termez in Uzbekistan. In Termez he is locally known as Abu Isa at-Termezi or "Termez Ota" ("Father of Termez").[22]
Key: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadith
Key: Worked in Persia
Notes
^In the Islamic calendar, the weekday begins at sunset.
References
^Frye, R.N., ed. (1975). The Cambridge history of Iran:Volume 4 (Repr. ed.). London: Cambridge U.P. p. 471. ISBN978-0-521-20093-6.
^Sultan, Sohaib (2007). The Qur'an and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (saw): Selections Annotated and Explained. Woodstock, Vt: Skylight Paths Publishing. p. xxiii. ISBN9781594732225.
^Ar-Raqib, Akil; Roche, Edward M. (2009). Virtual Worlds Real Terrorism. p. 263. ISBN9780578032221.
^"Sibawayh, His Kitab, and the Schools of Basra and Kufa." Taken from Changing Traditions: Al-Mubarrad's Refutation of Sībawayh and the Subsequent Reception of the Kitāb, p. 12. Volume 23 of Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics. Ed. Monique Bernards. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997. ISBN9789004105959
^ abcde
Juynboll, G.H.A. "al-Tirmidhī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online.
^ abcdefg
Abdul Mawjood, Salahuddin ʻAli (2007). The Biography of Imām at-Tirmidhī. Translated by Abu Bakr ibn Nasir (1st ed.). Riyadh: Darussalam. ISBN9960983692.
^ ab
Banuri, Muhammad Yusuf (April 1957). "الترمذي صاحب الجامع في السنن (al-Tirmidhī ṣaḥib al-jāmi' fī al-sunan)". Majallat al-Majmaʻ al-ʻIlmī al-ʻArabīyah (in Arabic). 32. Damascus: 308. Cited by Hoosen, Abdool Kader (1990). Imam Tirmidhi's contribution towards Hadith (1st ed.). Newcastle, South Africa: A.K. Hoosen. ISBN9780620153140.
^ ab"Termez". www.uzbek-travel.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2013-01-08. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)