Shuʿba bin al-Ḥajjāj bin al-Ward, Abū Busṭām al-ʿAtakī () (c. 85–160/704–776 AH/CE) was an early, devout Muslim, who was known for both his knowledge of poetry and of ḥadīth. His scrupulousness in ḥadīth transmission, alongside other scholars such as Sufyān al-Thawrī, is understood to have laid the foundation for the concretization of ḥadīth sciences.

Biography

Shuʿba bin al-Ḥajjāj was born with a speech impediment (''althagh'') sometime between the years 80–86 AH, though likely 85, in Wāsiṭ, a historical city located on the west bank of the

Tigris River The Tigris ( ; see below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging ...

in central ʿIrāq. He then moved to

Baṣra Basra () is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border at the north-easternmost extent ...

as a child, where lived, studied, and later died in 160/776 AH/CE due to plague. Another famous scholar and ḥadīth transmitter, Sufyān al-Thawrī, called Shuʿba "commander of the faithful concerning ḥadīth" (''amīr al-mu'minīn fī al-ḥadīth''), but Shuʿba himself is quoted by Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī as saying "By God, truly in poetry I am more sound than in ḥadīth." He was instrumental in transmitting ḥadīth, and is understood to be one of the first individuals mentioned as a zāhid amongst the early ḥadīth transmitters. Although

Abū Ḥanīfa Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and eponym ...

and ʿAbd Allāh bin Ṣāliḥ al-ʿAjlī al-Kūfī levelled critiques against his transmissions.ʿAbd Allāh bin Ṣāliḥ al-ʿAjlī al-Kūfī, Maʿrifa al-Thiqāt al-Rijāl Ahl al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥadīth, v. 1, 456. It is mentioned in

al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

's Tārīkh al-Islām that Shuʿba studied ''masāʿil'' (juridical affairs) under both Anas Ibn Mālik and Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, but not much is known of his juridical endeavors. However, his appearance in the ḥadīth transmitted by individuals such as Sufyan al-Thawri,

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Abū al-Ḥusayn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī (; after 815 – May 875 CE / 206 – 261 AH), commonly known as Imam Muslim, was an Islamic scholar from the city of Nishapur, particularly known as a ' ...

and

al-Bukhari Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the history ...

show the prominent place he held in the early circles of ḥadīth transmitters and other scholars. Furthermore, there are many reports that mention the devotion of Shuʿba, including: helping the poor, avoiding ostentatious displays of knowledge and wealth, and participating in renunciatory acts.Abu al-Faraj al-Jawzī, Al-Muntaẓim fi Tārīkh al-Mulūk wa al-Umam, v. 8, 243–5.

References

8th-century Islamic religious leaders Hadith compilers Hadith scholars Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in hadith narrators People from Basra 776 deaths 704 births {{islam-scholar-stub