ibnAbdullah87
Junior Member
Did you know that Imaam An-Nasaa'ee was barred from attending some study circles?
It's true! An-Nasaa'ee went to study under al-Haarith ibn Miskeen in Egypt, but al-Haarith barred him and many others from attendance. Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee said, "The reason for that was that al-Haarith had become a judge in Egypt and there existed some animosity between the two of them." [1]
Ath-Thahabee mentioned that Al-Haarith was afraid that an-Nasaa'ee may have been a spy from the ruler, so he prevented him from attending. [2]
Furthermore, al-Haarith had implemented a number of drastic changes when he took the position, he removed many mu'ath-thins and even barred the followers of ash-Shaafi'ee and Aboo Haneefah. (An-Nasaa'ee was a Shaafi'ee.) [3]
However, an-Nasaa'ee, may Allaah have Mercy on him, explemplified great character and patience by sitting outside the door of the masjid and listening to the class anyway. He wrote many narrations from al-Haarith and included hundreds of them in his books. What an excellent implementation of the statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):
"No servant humbles himself for the sake of Allaah, except that Allaah raises him up." [4]
Furthermore, his way of learning the narrations from al-Haarith by concealing himself supports the permissibility of narrating from someone without their knowledge or permission, since the scholars of hadeeth have accepted this kind of narration from him and others. [5]
* * *
Did you know there was a man who memorized a million narrations of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)?
It's true! His name was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee, also known as Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allaah have Mercy on him. Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee said, "Ahmad ibn Hanbal had memorized one million hadeeth." [6]
This number may shock you, however it is not strange considering he was the called the imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah. Similar numbers have been reported about his peers and contemporaries:
al-Bukhaaree - 300,000
Muslim - 300,000
Aboo Daawood - 500,000
Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee - 700,000
Yahyaa ibn Ma'een - 1,000,000 (written) [7]
Some one might say - How can there be hundreds of thousands of narrations from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)? The answer is from a number of angles:
-1- These numbers are very possible since the Companions used to focus on and talk about everything the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) did, said, and approved of. They also would describe his character and physical characteristics. The shaykh explained that they would talk about what he did from the minute he woke up until he went to sleep, where he went, how he walked, what he ate and drank, how he prayed, what he said to whom, etc. They reported everything they saw from him. [8]
-2- These numbers include narrations that come by way of different chains. One hadeeth may have dozens of different chains, and each one is memorized and considered a hadeeth. Ath-Thahabee said about the 1,000,000 narrations of Yahyaa ibn Ma'een, "He meant with repetition (one hadeeth with different chains and wordings). Do you not see that he (Yahyaa) said: 'If we had not written the hadeeth 50 times we would not have known it.'" [9]
-3- These numbers also include a number of statements and actions of the Companions (mawqoofaat) and their students (maqtoo'aat). [10]
It may also be asked - Is it really possible for one person to memorize hundreds of thousands of narrations? The answer lies in the early scholars' understanding of the word memorization (hifth). Some of them understood it means word-for-word memorization, while others understood that it includes a man knowing exactly where the narration is found in his book, or that he knows of the narration in a general way. [8]
And Allaah knows best.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sharh Sunan an-Nasaa'ee of Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee (1/319)
[2] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (14/130)
[3] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (12/57)
[4] From an authentic hadeeth collected by at-Tirmithee in his Sunan on the authority of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee called it saheeh in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee (#2029, 2/390).
[5] Refer to Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, Kitaab ash-Shahaadah (the Book of Testimony), Baab Shahaadatul-Mukhtabi' (the Chapter on the Testimony of a Concealed Person), hadeeth #2638 and #2639.
[6] Taareekh Baghdad (4/419), refer to the introduction of Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40, Maktabah al-Kawthar).
[7] Reports mentioning these numbers can be found in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40-42).
[8] As explained by Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas in his classes explaining Tadreeb ar-Raawee, which took place in the year 1421 at the Haram in Makkah.
[9] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (11/85)
[10] According to al-Bayhaqee, as quoted by as-Suyootee in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/41).
It's true! An-Nasaa'ee went to study under al-Haarith ibn Miskeen in Egypt, but al-Haarith barred him and many others from attendance. Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee said, "The reason for that was that al-Haarith had become a judge in Egypt and there existed some animosity between the two of them." [1]
Ath-Thahabee mentioned that Al-Haarith was afraid that an-Nasaa'ee may have been a spy from the ruler, so he prevented him from attending. [2]
Furthermore, al-Haarith had implemented a number of drastic changes when he took the position, he removed many mu'ath-thins and even barred the followers of ash-Shaafi'ee and Aboo Haneefah. (An-Nasaa'ee was a Shaafi'ee.) [3]
However, an-Nasaa'ee, may Allaah have Mercy on him, explemplified great character and patience by sitting outside the door of the masjid and listening to the class anyway. He wrote many narrations from al-Haarith and included hundreds of them in his books. What an excellent implementation of the statement of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):
"No servant humbles himself for the sake of Allaah, except that Allaah raises him up." [4]
Furthermore, his way of learning the narrations from al-Haarith by concealing himself supports the permissibility of narrating from someone without their knowledge or permission, since the scholars of hadeeth have accepted this kind of narration from him and others. [5]
* * *
Did you know there was a man who memorized a million narrations of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)?
It's true! His name was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ash-Shaybaanee, also known as Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allaah have Mercy on him. Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee said, "Ahmad ibn Hanbal had memorized one million hadeeth." [6]
This number may shock you, however it is not strange considering he was the called the imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah. Similar numbers have been reported about his peers and contemporaries:
al-Bukhaaree - 300,000
Muslim - 300,000
Aboo Daawood - 500,000
Aboo Zur'ah ar-Raazee - 700,000
Yahyaa ibn Ma'een - 1,000,000 (written) [7]
Some one might say - How can there be hundreds of thousands of narrations from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)? The answer is from a number of angles:
-1- These numbers are very possible since the Companions used to focus on and talk about everything the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) did, said, and approved of. They also would describe his character and physical characteristics. The shaykh explained that they would talk about what he did from the minute he woke up until he went to sleep, where he went, how he walked, what he ate and drank, how he prayed, what he said to whom, etc. They reported everything they saw from him. [8]
-2- These numbers include narrations that come by way of different chains. One hadeeth may have dozens of different chains, and each one is memorized and considered a hadeeth. Ath-Thahabee said about the 1,000,000 narrations of Yahyaa ibn Ma'een, "He meant with repetition (one hadeeth with different chains and wordings). Do you not see that he (Yahyaa) said: 'If we had not written the hadeeth 50 times we would not have known it.'" [9]
-3- These numbers also include a number of statements and actions of the Companions (mawqoofaat) and their students (maqtoo'aat). [10]
It may also be asked - Is it really possible for one person to memorize hundreds of thousands of narrations? The answer lies in the early scholars' understanding of the word memorization (hifth). Some of them understood it means word-for-word memorization, while others understood that it includes a man knowing exactly where the narration is found in his book, or that he knows of the narration in a general way. [8]
And Allaah knows best.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sharh Sunan an-Nasaa'ee of Muhammad Aadam al-Ityoobee (1/319)
[2] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (14/130)
[3] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (12/57)
[4] From an authentic hadeeth collected by at-Tirmithee in his Sunan on the authority of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee called it saheeh in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee (#2029, 2/390).
[5] Refer to Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, Kitaab ash-Shahaadah (the Book of Testimony), Baab Shahaadatul-Mukhtabi' (the Chapter on the Testimony of a Concealed Person), hadeeth #2638 and #2639.
[6] Taareekh Baghdad (4/419), refer to the introduction of Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40, Maktabah al-Kawthar).
[7] Reports mentioning these numbers can be found in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/40-42).
[8] As explained by Wasee Allaah 'Abbaas in his classes explaining Tadreeb ar-Raawee, which took place in the year 1421 at the Haram in Makkah.
[9] Siyaru A'laam an-Nubalaa' (11/85)
[10] According to al-Bayhaqee, as quoted by as-Suyootee in Tadreeb ar-Raawee (1/41).