Abū ʿĪsā Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā as-Sulamī aḍ-Ḍarīr al-Būghī at-Tirmidhī ( ar, أبو عيسى محمد بن عيسى السلمي الضرير البوغي الترمذي; fa, , ''Termezī''; 824 – 9 October 892 CE / 209 - 279 AH), often referred to as Imām at-Termezī/Tirmidhī, was an
Islamic scholar
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
, and 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 ...
from
Termez (early
Khorasan and in present-day
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
). He wrote ''
al-Jami` as-Sahih'' (known as ''Jami` at-Tirmidhi''), one of the
six canonical hadith compilations in
Sunni Islam. He also wrote ''
Shama'il Muhammadiyah
''ash-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya'' () is a collection of hadiths compiled by the 9th-century scholar al-Tirmidhi regarding the intricate details of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's life including his appearance, his belongings, his manners, and m ...
'' (popularly known as ''Shama'il at-Tirmidhi''), a compilation of hadiths concerning the person and character of the Islamic prophet,
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
. At-Tirmidhi was also well versed in
Arabic grammar
Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities wit ...
, favoring the school of
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 Naja ...
over
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
due to the former's preservation of
Arabic poetry
Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that.
Arabic poetry ...
as a primary source.
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 ()
[
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Mūsá ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk ()][
][
][
]
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ()
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk ()[
]
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn ‛Īsá ()[
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Yazīd ibn Sawrah ibn as-Sakan ()][
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl ()
* Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl ibn Sawrah ()
He was also known by the '']laqab
Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/middle/ family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...
'' "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.[
]
At-Tirmidhi's grandfather was originally from Marw
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
(Persian: Merv), but moved to Tirmidh.[
According to '' Britannica Online'', he was an Arab. According to S.H. Nasr and M. Mutahhari in '' The Cambridge History of Iran'', Al-Tirmidhi was of Persian ethnicity.
]
Birth
Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi was born during the reign of the Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...
caliph al-Ma'mun
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'm ...
. His year of birth has been reported as 209 AH (824/825).[
Cited by
] Adh-Dhahabi only states that at-Tirmidhi was born near the year 210 AH (825/826),[ thus some sources give his year of birth as 210 AH.] Some sources indicate that he was born in Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
(Siddiqi says he was born in Mecca in 206 AH (821/822))[
] while others say he was born in Tirmidh ( Persian: Termez), in what is now southern Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
. The stronger opinion is that he was born in Tirmidh.[ Specifically, he was born in one of its suburbs, the village of Bugh (hence the '' nisbats'' "at-Tirmidhi" and "al-Bughi").]
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
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 ...
, and 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 ...
in order to collect hadith.[ His teachers and those he narrated from included:
* al-Bukhari][
* Abū Rajā’ Qutaybah ibn Sa‘īd al-Balkhī al-Baghlāni][
* ‘Alī ibn Ḥujr ibn Iyās as-Sa‘dī al-Marwazī][
* Muḥammad ibn Bashshār al-Baṣrī][
* ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mu‘āwiyah al-Jumaḥī al-Baṣrī][
* Abū Muṣ‘ab az-Zuhrī al-Madanī][
* Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Mālik ibn Abī ash-Shawārib al-Umawī al-Baṣrī][
* Ismā‘īl ibn Mūsá al-Fazārī al-Kūfi][
* Muḥammad ibn Abī Ma‘shar as-Sindī al-Madanī][
* Abū Kurayb Muḥammad ibn al-‘Alā’ al-Kūfī][
* Hanād ibn al-Sarī al-Kūfī][
* Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Harawī][
* Suwayd ibn Naṣr ibn Suwayd al-Marwazī][
* Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Baṣrī][
* Zayd ibn Akhzam al-Baṣrī][
* al-‘Abbās al-‘Anbarī al-Baṣrī][
* Muḥammad ibn al-Muthanná al-Baṣrī][
* Muḥammad ibn Ma‘mar al-Baṣrī][
* ad-Darimi][
* Muslim][
* Abu Dawud][
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
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 Naja ...
and Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
. 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.[
At-Tirmidhi was a pupil of al-Bukhari, who was based in Khurasan. Adh-Dhahabi wrote, "His knowledge of hadith came from al-Bukhari."][ 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 reliable chain of narrators to mention Abu Hanifa's decrees, he would instead attribute them to "some people of Kufa."][ 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
Hadith terminology ( ar, مصطلح الحديث, muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology in Islam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings (''hadith'') attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by other early Islamic fi ...
'' he narrated two hadith from at-Tirmidhi.[
At-Tirmidhi also narrated some hadiths from Abu Dawud, and one from Muslim.][ Muslim also narrated one hadith from at-Tirmidhi in his own '']Sahih
Hadith terminology ( ar, مصطلح الحديث, muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology in Islam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings (''hadith'') attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by other early Islamic fi ...
''.[
A.J. Wensinck mentions ]Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Dhuhli ( ar, أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل الذهلي, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal al-Dhuhlī; November 780 – 2 August 855 CE/164–241 AH), was a Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, hadith traditionist, and ...
as among at-Tirmidhi's teachers.[ 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`''.][
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 Rasul Allah'', known as '' Jami' at-Tirmidhi''
* ''Al-'Ilal as-Sughra''
* ''Az-Zuhd''
* ''Al-'Ilal al-Kubra''
* ''Ash-Shama'il an-Nabawiyya wa'l-Fada'il al-Mustafawiyya''
* ''Al-Asma' wa'l-Kuna''
* ''Kitab at-Tarikh''
* '' Khatm al-Awliya'''
Accusation of heresy by some Hanbalites
Al-Tirmidhi was accused of being a Jahmite heretic, and was harshly criticized by some fanatic 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 ...
followers, including Abu Bakr al-Khallal (d. 311/923) in his ''Kitab al-Sunna'' (Book of the Prophetic Tradition), because he rejected a narration attributed to Mujahid concerning the explanation of the verse 79 from Surat al-Isra' in the Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
about the praiseworthy station of Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
, known as "al-Maqam al-Mahmud".
The verse is:
The Hanbalites interpreted the Praiseworthy Station as the seating of Muhammad on the Throne next to God, despite the overall weakness of the narrations supporting it.
Death
At-Tirmidhi was blind in the last two years of his life, according to adh-Dhahabi.[ 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.][
He died on Monday night, 13 Rajab 279 AH (Sunday night, 8 October 892) in Bugh.][
At-Tirmidhi is buried on the outskirts of Sherobod, 60 kilometers north of Termez in ]Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
. In Termez he is locally known as Abu Isa at-Termezi or "Termez Ota" ("Father of Termez").[
]
See also
* Al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
Early Islam scholars
Notes
References
External links
Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
Biography at Sunnah.com
Biography of al-Tirmidhee at theclearpath.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirmidhi
Sunni Muslim scholars
Transoxanian Islamic scholars
Persian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Hadith compilers
Hadith scholars
9th-century Persian-language writers
Muslim scholars persecuted by Hanbalis
People from Surxondaryo Region
Shafi'is
Atharis
9th-century Islamic religious leaders
9th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
824 births
892 deaths
Biographical evaluation scholars
9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate