Al-Nasāʾī (214 – 303
AH; 829 – 915 CE), full name Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿAlī ibn Sīnān al-Nasāʾī, (variant: Abu Abdel-rahman Ahmed ibn Shua'ib ibn Ali ibn Sinan ibn Bahr ibn Dinar Al-Khurasani), was a noted collector of
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
(sayings of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
),
Ludwig W. Adamec
Ludwig W. Adamec (10 March 1924 – 1 January 2019) was a noted scholar on the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was a professor emeritus in the School of Middle East and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', p.138. Scarecrow Press. . of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
origin from the city of Nasa (early
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
and present day Turkmenistan), and the author of "''As-Sunan''", one of the
six canonical hadith collections recognized by
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s. From his "''As-Sunan al-Kubra'' (The Large Sunan)" he wrote an abridged version, "''Al-Mujtaba''" or ''
Sunan al-Sughra'' (The Concise Sunan). Of the fifteen books he is known to have written, six treat the science of hadīth.
Biography
Al-Nasa'i himself states he was born in the year 830 (215 h.) - although some say it was in 829 or 869 (214 or 255 h.) - in the city of
Nasa
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
in present-day
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
- part of
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
, a region in Western Asia and Central Asia known for its many centres of Islamic learning. There he attended the gatherings and circles of knowledge, known as "''halqas''". At about 15 years old, he began his travels with his first journey to Qutaibah. He covered the whole Arabian Peninsula seeking knowledge from scholars in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
, the
Hijaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, where he eventually settled. A habit of his was to fast every other day, as this was a habit of
Dawud.
Death
In 302 AH/915 AD, he stopped by in the city of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
in between his long journey from Cairo to Mecca just as a stopping point. Near the time of his death, he had become a renowned scholar in the Islamic world and decided to give a speech in the
Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأموي, al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus ( ar, الجامع الدمشق, al-Jāmiʿ al-Damishq), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the ...
as a scholar of his repute tends to do. The lecture he did was on the virtues of the
companions of Muhammad, specifically throughout the lecture he recited the virtues of
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
that he had heard of throughout his life. His narrating the virtues of Ali railed up the crowd due to the anti-
alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
sentiments in Damascus. In opposition, the crowd felt that there was nothing about
Muawiya I
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
in the lecture and asked him to narrate something related to the Umayyad caliph. He responded back by saying the only narration that he had heard about him about Muawiya by Muhammed was when Muhammed prayed to Allah saying "May Allah not fill his stomach". The crowd took this narration as a demerit from Muhammad leading the crowd to beat him and he eventually died due to his injuries on the outskirts of the city.
Teachers
According to the
hafiz Ibn Hajr Alaih, al-Nasa'i's teachers were too numerous to name, but included:
*
Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh
*
Imam Abu Daud Al-Sijistani (author of
Sunan Abu Dawood
''Sunan Abu Dawood'' ( ar-at, سنن أبي داود, Sunan Abī Dāwūd) is one of the ''Kutub al-Sittah'' (six major hadith collections), collected by Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d.889).
Introduction
Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related to ...
)
*
Qutayba ibn Sa'id
Hafiz ibn Hajr and others claimed that
Imam Bukhari
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
was among his teachers. However
Al-Mizzi
Jamāl al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf ibn al-Zakī ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yūsuf ibn ʻAbd al-Malik ibn Yūsuf al-Kalbī al-Quḍā’ī al-Mizzī, ( ar, يوسف بن عبد الرحمن المزي), also called Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abī al-Ḥajj ...
, refutes that the Imam ever met him.
As-Sakhawi gives the reasons in great detail for al-Mizzi's claim that they never met, but argues these must apply also to his claim that An-Nasa'i heard from Abu Dawud. Moreover, Ibn Mundah narrates the following: We were informed by Hamzah, that an-Nasa'i, Abu Abd-ur-Rahman informed us saying, 'I heard Muhammad Ibn Isma'il Al-Bukhari...'
Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub al-Juzajani
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Sa'di al-Juzajani ( ar , أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن يعقوب بن إسحاق السعدي الجوزجاني , born around 180 AH – died 872 CE/259 AH) was a Muslim hadith scholar, one of ...
was also an influence.
In Egypt an-Nasa'i began to lecture, mostly narrating ''
ahadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
'' (hadith plural) to the extent that he became known by the title "''Hafizul Hadeeth''". His lectures were well attended and among his many students were the scholars:
* Imam Abul Qasim Tabrani
* Imam Abu Bakr Ahmed ibn Muhammad, also known as Allamah ibn Sunni
* Sheikh Ali, the son of the Muhaddith, Imam Tahawi.
School of Thought
Imam Izzakie was a follower of the
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
''
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'' (jurisprudence) according to Allamah
as-Subki, Shah Waliullah, Shah Abdulaziz and many other scholars. The Great Scholar Allamah
Anwar Shah Kashmiri
Anwar Shah Kashmiri (known with honorifics as ''Sayyid Muḥammad Anwar Shāh ibn Mu‘aẓẓam Shāh al-Kashmīrī''; 16 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was a Kashmiri Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal of Madrasa Ami ...
and
Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
consider him a
Hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
.
Family
Imam an-Nasa'i had four wives but historians mention only one son, Abdul Kareem, a narrator of the ''Sunan'' of his father.
Books
Selected works:
[For a list of ten of his works see ]Fuat Sezgin
Fuat Sezgin (24 October 1924 – 30 June 2018) was a Turkish orientalist who specialized in the history of Arabic-Islamic science. He was ''professor emeritus'' of the History of Natural Science at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankf ...
, ''GAS'' (Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums), i, 167-9.
*
As-Sunan al-Kubra
*
Sunan Al-Sugra/ Al-Mujtana/ Al-Mujtaba
* Amul Yawmi Wallaylah
* Kitaby Dufai wal Matrookeen
*
Khasais of Amir Al Momenin
''Khasais of Amir Al Mu'minin'' ( ar, خصائص أمير المؤمنين) (Characters of the commander of the faithful) or ''Khasais Ali'' ( ar, خصائص علي) is a book on virtues and moral characters of the fourth Rashidun caliph and Imam ...
* Al-Jurhu wa Ta'adeel
* Sunan An-Nisa'i
* Qasayis e Murtazavi
References
External links
Biodata at MuslimScholars.infoBiography at Sunnah.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa'i
Hadith compilers
Muhaddiths from Nishapur
Biographical evaluation scholars
820s births
915 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
10th-century Iranian people
9th-century Iranian people
9th-century jurists
10th-century jurists