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Abū Muḥammad Sufyān ibn ʽUyaynah ibn Maymūn al-Hilālī al-Kūfī () (725 – ) was a prominent eighth-century
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic religious scholar from
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. He was from the third generation of Islam referred to as the
Tabi' al-Tabi'in The Tābiʿū al-Tābʿīn (, singular ) is the generation after the Tabi‘un, Tābi‘ūn in Islam. The first generation of Muslims are called the companions of Muhammad. The second generation of Muslims are called ''tābi‘ūn'' "Successor ...
, "the followers of the followers". He specialized in the field of
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
and Quran exegesis and was described by
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 ...
as
Shaykh al-Islam Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning " elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of ...
—a preeminent Islamic authority. Some of his students achieved much renown in their own right, establishing schools of thought that have survived until the present.


Biography

Ibn ʽUyaynah's father, ʽUyaynah ibn Abī ʻImrān, was originally from
Kufa Kufa ( ), 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, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
in present day
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
where he was a governor for Khālid ibn ʻAbdillāh al-Qasrī. However, when al-Qasrī was removed from his position his successor sought out his governors causing ʽUyaynah to flee to Mecca where he then settled. Ibn ʽUyaynah was born in the year 725-6 CE/107 AH. He was the client ( ''mawlā'') of Muḥammad ibn Muzāḥim and began his religious studying while still young. He said of himself that he first sat formally with a religious instructor at 12 when he attended the lessons of ʻAbd al-Karīm Abū Umayyah. Subsequent teachers include ʻAmr ibn Dīnār, al-Zuhrī, Ziyād ibn ʻAllāqah, Abū Isḥāq, al-Aswad ibn Qays, Zayd ibn Aslam, ʻAbdullāh ibn Dīnār, Manṣūr ibn al-Muʻtamir, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim and many others. By his own account, Ibn ʽUyaynah read the entire Qur'an (perhaps meaning that he had memorized it) by the age of four and began writing hadith at age seven. Upon turning 15, his father gave him the following advice which he later said he never turned away from:
My son, the meanderings of childhood have now departed you, associate yourself with good and you will be from its people. And, know that none will be content with the religious scholars unless obedient to them so obey them and be content, serve them and grasp some of their knowledge.
He lived in
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
and had nine brothers. Of the brothers, five pursued studies in hadith with Sufyān becoming the most renowned of them. The names of the remaining four are Muḥammad, Ibrāhīm, Ādam and ʻImrām.


Scholastic career

Ibn ʽUyaynah was praised by contemporaries for both his knowledge and humility. ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī described him as from the most knowledgeable people of the
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
of the inhabitants of the
Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in masculine form) was the ancient M ...
region of what is now
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. He was lauded by Muḥammad Ibn Ismāʼīl al-Bukhārī for his memorizing ability, an essential quality for a hadith narrator. Not just a transmitter of recorded knowledge, his student al-Shāfiʽī said he had not seen anyone more adept at explaining the meaning of hadiths than Ibn ʽUyaynah. His humility was also illustrated by al-Shāfiʽī's mention of Ibn ʽUyaynah's reluctance to give religious verdicts. Ibn Mahdī preferred him to a contemporary of his, Sufyān al-Thawrī, in their understanding of the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
and
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
. Statements attributed to Ibn ʽUyaynah illustrate his respect for religious knowledge, acting upon that knowledge and the sacrifice necessary to obtain it. In one statement he said that whatever increase a person experiences in their intellect is matched by a decrease in material wealth. And, that knowledge that does not benefit an individual is of detriment to them. Ibn ʽUyaynah's students were numerous. Many of them would embark on a religious pilgrimage (''Hajj'') to
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
intending to meet him and then crowding him during the days of ''Hajj''. Some of Ibn ʽUyaynah's teachers were also his students, for example, al-ʻAmash, Ibn Jurayj, and Shuʼbah. Both Abū ʽAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʽī the namesake of the Shāfiʽī school of jurisprudence and Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal the namesake of the Ḥanbalī school. Al-Nawawī, a prominent Shāfiʽī scholar, cited Ibn ʽUyaynah as from "the grandfathers of the Shāfiʽī scholars in their methodology in
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
". The hadith Ibn ʽUyaynah narrated are found in the six canonical hadith collections.


Death

Ibn ʽUyaynah performed the religious pilgrimage (''Hajj'') seventy times, saying that each time he went he supplicated
Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
that that not be the last time he visit the places of ''Hajj''. He said he was shy to ask this again on the seventieth occasion and returned to Mecca and died there within the next year. He died on Saturday February 25, 814 CE, the first day of
Rajab Rajab () is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect", which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is regarded as one ...
, 198 AH, at the age of 91. He was buried in the al-Ḥajūn district of Mecca.


Works

Ibn ʽUyaynah compiled one of the early collections of
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
with his ''Jāmiʻ'' which followed the ''Muwaṭṭaʼ'' of Mālik ibn Anas. The subject of his book was Prophetic narrations (''sunan'') and subsequent narrations (''āthār'') and another contained "some" Qur'an exegesis. Al-Ubbī, a latter religious scholar, claimed this work to be one of the first compilations in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. In summary, his two known works are: * ''al-Jāmiʼ'' * ''al-Tafsīr''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uyaynah, Sufyan Ibn 725 births 814 deaths Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in hadith narrators Hadith scholars People from Mecca 8th-century Arabic-language writers 9th-century Arabic-language writers 8th-century Arab people