Al-Daraqutni

Abu Hasan Ali ibn Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Mahdi al-Daraqutni (, 918 CE — 995 CE) was a 10th-century ''muhaddith'' best known for compiling the hadith collection ''Sunan al-Daraqutni''. He was celebrated later by Sunni hadith scholars such as the "imam of his time" and the " ''amir al-mu'minin'' in hadith".

Biography

Al-Daraqutni was born in c. 918 CE/306 AH in the ''Dar al-Qutn'' ( ar, دار القطن, translit=Dār al-Quṭn) quarter of Baghdad, whence he got his ''nisba''. His studies were initially largely restricted to his native Iraq, where he frequented Wasit, Basra and Kufa. His teachers in his period included the son of Abu Dawood, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi and Ibn Mujahid, from whom he learned the different recitations of the Quran. Later in life, he travelled to Syria and Egypt and while in the latter, he enjoyed the patronage of the Ikhishid vizier Jafar bin al-Fadl for assisting him with compiling his own hadith collection. His students included the hadith scholars Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani and Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri.

Al-Daraqutni was a committed follower of the Shafi‘i school, studying jurisprudence under the Shafi'ite scholar Abu Sa'id al-Istakhri. He was also an adherent of traditionalist school of Sunni doctrine and opposed the use of kalam. In fact, Al-Dhahabi recorded that he hated it. He wrote a treatise against Muʿtazilite Amr ibn Ubayd on the subject of anthropomorphism in relation to God and compiled a series of hadith collections in defence of the traditionalist interpretation of God's attributes.

He died in 995 CE/385 AH and was buried in the Bab al-Dayr cemetery in Baghdad, near the grave of Maruf Karkhi.

Works

Several of al-Daraqutni's extant works have been published:

General hadith works

* ''al-Sunan'', his primary hadith collection.
*''Kitab al-du'afa wa-l-matrukin'', an alphabetically ordered list of 632 hadith transmitters considered to be ''da'if'' or rejected.
*''al-'Ilal al-warida fi al-ahadith''
*''al-Mukhtalif wa-l mu'talif fi asma al-rijal'', a list of hadith transmitters who names are similar in spelling but differ in pronunciation.

Works on Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

Al-Daraqutni wrote a series of commentaries, addendums and analyses of narrations contained within Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
*''Dhikr asma' al-tabi'in wa-man ba'dahum mimman sahhat riwayatuhuu min al-thiqat 'ind Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari''
*''Dhikr asma' al-tabi'in wa-man ba'dahum mimman sahhat riwayatuhu 'ind Muslim''
*''al-Ilzamat ala sahiay al-Bukhari'', a compilation of 109 narrations whose chains of narration, according to al-Daraqutni, satisfy the requirements for inclusion in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
*''Asma al-sahaba allati ittafaqa fiha al-Bukhari wa-Muslim wa-ma infarada bihi kull minhuma''
*''Kitab al-tatabbu
*''Kitab fi dhikr riwayat al-sahihayn''

Kitab al-tattabu

In his ''Kitab al-tatabbu, al-Daraqutni reviews 217 narrations within the two collections which he deems to be flawed using both ''isnad'' and ''matn'' criticism. Reasons given include the ''isnad'' not meeting the requirements for inclusion in the collections, and the commentary of the hadith's transmitters being inadvertently merged with its ''matn''. Jonathan A. C. Brown cautions that the work is an adjustment to the two collections rather than an attack on their overall integrity.

Works in the defence of traditionalist theology

* ''Kitāb as-sifāt'', a collection of hadiths concerning the attributes of God.foreword by Shaykh Muqbil
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* ''Kitab al-Ru'ya'', a collection of hadiths concerning the vision of Allah on the Day of Judgement.
* ''Ahadith An-Nuzūl'', a collection of hadiths concerning the descent (''nuzūl'') of Allah from the heavens.

Other

* ''Kitab al-qira'at'', a work on the different recitations of the Quran.

See also

* Ibn Khuzaymah
* Ibn Majah
* Al-Bayhaqi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daraqutni
Hadith compilers
People from Baghdad
Hadith scholars
Mujaddid
910s births
995 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
10th-century jurists
Biographical evaluation scholars
Sunni imams
10th-century Muslim theologians