IMAM AT-TIRMIDHI

He is Abu ‘Eisă bin Sawrah bin Müsă bin Ad-Daḥḥāk, As-Sulami, Ad-Darir, Al-Bughi,^[1] At-Tirmidhi. He is called “As-Sulami” due to his ancestor’s allegiance to the tribe of Sulaim, a well-known branch of the families of Qais bin Ghilan. ^[2]

As for “At-Tirmidhi,” it is an ascription to a large city (Tirmidh) on the northern banks of the Amu Darya river in Tajikistan. His grandfather was from Marw (in Turkmenistan) but he emigrated to Tirmidh where Imām At- Tirmidhi was born.^[3]

His Birth, Studies, And Travels

Scholars differ over which year he was born in. The dates vary between 200 and 209H.^[4] While he was young, he began learning in his own city and later traveled to learn from the scholars of various lands. Al-Mizzi said: “He journeyed through the lands and heard from many personalities from Khurasan, Al-‘Iraq, Al-Hjiaz and other places.”^[5]

His Teachers

At-Tirmidhi heard from many of the most eminent people of knowledge of his time, some of those whom Al-Bukhari heard from, as well as the other famous Hadith compilers. He met and heard narrations from Muslim, and Abu Dawud, and he stayed with Al-Bukhari learning a wealth of knowledge and narrations from him. Thus, Al-‘Allamah ‘Abdul  ‘Aziz Ad-Dihlawi said, “Surely, At-Tirmidhi was Bukhari’s successor.” ^[6]

{[1]An ascription to Bugh a village outside of Tirmidh, where he was born according to As- Sama’āni.

[2] This was stated by ‘Ali al-Qari in Sharh Shama’il At-Tirmidhi 1:7.

[3] See the introduction to Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi.

[4] See Aḥmad Shakir’s Introduction to Jami’ At-Tirmidhi, the Introduction to Tuhfat Al- Ahwadhi, Al-Hittah by Siddiq Hasan Khan, and the other popular books of biographies of the famous scholars.

 [5] Tahdhib Al-Kamal 26:250-251.

[6] Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi}

In his Sunan, At-Tirmidhi mentioned much of what he learnt from Al-BukhārīConcerning narrators and benefits from the narrations.

His Books

He authored many books, the most famous of which are the following:

1. Al-Jami’, and it is this book, more commonly known as Sunan At-Tirmidhi.
2. Ash-Shama’il An-Nubuwiyah Wal-Khasa’il Al-Mustafuwiyah, more commonly known as Shama’il At-Tirmidhi.
3. Kitab Al-‘Ilal As-Saghir, which is often printed at the end of Sunan At-Tirmidhi.

His Death

At-Tirmidhi died in Termez in the village of Bugh according to As- Sam’äni ^[1] on the eve of Monday, the thirteenth night of Rajab in the year 279H, may Allah have mercy upon him.^[2]

About Book:  Jami’ At-Tirmidhi

Al-Hafiz Abu Al-Fadl Al-Maqdisi said: “I heard Al-Imam Abu Ismā īl ‘Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Ansari^[3] in Harrah – when Abū ‘Eīsā At- Tirmidhi and his book was mentioned before him saying: ‘To me, his book is better than the book of Al-Bukhari and that of Muslim. Because only one who is an expert in knowledge can arrive at the benefit of the books of Al- Bukhari and Muslim, whereas in the case of the book of Abu ‘Eisă, every one of the people can reach its benefit.” ^[4]

In Jami Al-Ușul,^[5] Ibn Al-Athir said: “(It) is the best of the books,^[6] having the most benefit, the best organization, with the least repetition. It contains what others do not contain; like mention of the different Madhhabs (views), angles of argument, and clarifying the circumstances of the Hadith being authentic, weak, Gharib (odd), as well as disparaging and endorsing remarks (regarding narrators).”

Similarly, more was said by Ibn Al-Arabi in Aridah Al-Ahwadhi who listed fourteen categories of benefit in the book.

{[1] Al-Insab 3:45-46.

[2] Tahdhib Al-Kamal 26:252.

[3]He is Shaikh Al-Islam Abu Ismail Abdullah bin Muhammad bin ‘Ali Al-Ansari Al- Haruwi, author of Dham Al-Kalam Wa Ahlih, Manazil As-Sa’irin, as well as others. He died in the year 481H. See Tadhkirah Al-Huffaz.

[4] Sharut Al-A’immah Al-Hufaz Ashab Al-Kutub As-Sittah. See also Siyar Alam An-Nubala’ 13:277, Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah 11:67, and the Introduction to Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi p. 281.

[5] 1:193 pub. Dar Al-Fikr.

[6] Referring to its qualities in comparison to the remainder of the Six Books of Hadith.}

Adh-Dhahabi said: “In Al-Jami’ there is useful knowledge, abundant benefits, and a summary of the issues. It is one of the Ușul of Islam, if not for the tarnish of the inauthentic Ahadith in it, some of which are fabricated – and most of that are about virtues.”^[1]

Introductory Points: From At-Tirmidhi

The great Hafiz of Hadith, Imam Abu ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi wrote a book known as Al-‘Ilal (or Al-‘Ilal As-Saghir), which is often published along with Jami’ At- Tirmidhi, or Sunan At-Tirmidhi as it is more commonly known. In Al-‘Ilal, he mentioned some important introductory points to let the reader know about what he has included in his Sunan. The following are some excerpts from Al- ‘Ilal for the benefit of those who read this translation of Sunan At-Tirmidhi:

At-Tirmidhi’s Objective

Abū ‘Eīsā said:

“All of the Aḥadīth that are in this book^[2] are acted upon and cited as proof by some of the people of knowledge, with the exception of two Ahadith:

The Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas, that the Prophet ﷺ combined the Zuhr and ‘Asr (prayers), and the Maghrib and ‘Isha’ (prayers) in Al-Madinah, without being in a state of fear, nor due to rain.^[3]

 And the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ: Whoever drinks wine, then lash him. If he returns to it, then on the fourth time kill him.’^[4]

I have clarified the deficiencies of both of these Ahadith in the book.”

The Opinions Of The Fuqaha’ That At-Tirmidhi Mentions After Some Chapters

[Sufyan Ath-Thawri]

He said:

“And whatever we mentioned in this book, from choices of the Fuqahā”: Then whatever is in it from the saying of Sufyan Ath-Thawri, most of it is what was narrated to us by Muhammad bin ‘Uthman Al-Küfi (he said): “Ubaidullah bin Musa narrated it to us from Sufyan.’ Some of it was narrated to me by Abu Al-Fadl, Maktum bin Al-‘Abbas At-Tirmidhi (he said): ‘Muḥammad bin Yusuf Al-Firyabi narrated to us from Sufyan.”

[Malik Bin Anas]

{[1]Siyar Alam An-Nubala’ 13:274.

[2] That is, his Sunan.

[3]No. 187 in his Sunan.

[4] No. 1444 in his Sunan.

Whatever is in it from the sayings of Mälik bin Anas, then most of it is what Was narrated to us by Ishaq bin Musa Al-Anṣārī (he said): ‘Ma’n bin ‘Eisa Al- Qazzaz narrated to us from Mälik bin Anas.’ Whatever it contains from the chapters on fasting, then Abu Muş’ab Al-Madini informed us of it, from Malik bin Anas. Some of the statements of Malik are from what we were informed by Mūsā bin Ḥizām (who said): “Abdullah bin Maslamah Al- Qa’nabi informed us from Malik bin Anas.’

[‘Abdullah Bin Al-Mubarak]

Whatever is in it from the sayings of Ibn Al-Mubarak, then it is what was narrated to us by Aḥmad bin ‘Abdul-A’la Al-Amuli, from the companions of Ibn Al-Mubarak, from him. Among it is what has been related from Abū Wahb [Muḥammad bin Muzāḥim], from Ibn Al-Mubarak. And among it is what has been related from ‘Ali bin Al-Hasan, from ‘Abdullah bin Al- Mubarak. Among it is what has been related from ‘Abdan, from Sufyan bin ‘Abdul-Malik, from Ibn Al-Mubarak. And among it is what was related from Ḥabban bin Mūsā, from Ibn Al-Mubarak. And among it is what was related from Wahb bin Zam’ah, from Fadalah An-Nasawi from ‘Abdullah bin Al- Mubarak. And there are other narrators whose names we mentioned from Ibn Al-Mubarak.

[Ash-Shafi’i]

And whatever it contains from the sayings of Ash-Shafi’i, then most of it is what Al-Hasan bin Muhammad Az-Za’farani informed me of from Ash- Shafi’i. Whatever there is regarding Wudu’ or Salat, it was narrated to us by Abu Al-Walid Al-Makki from Ash-Shafi’i. And among it is what was narrated to us by Abū Ismail [At-Tirmidhi] (he said): ‘Yusuf bin Yahya Al-Qurashi Al- Buwaiti narrated it to us, from Ash-Shafi’i.’ Some things were mentioned in it from Ar-Rabi’ from Ash-Shafi’i, and Ar-Rabi’ permitted us to narrate that, and he wrote that (permission) for us.

[Ahmad Bin Hanbal And Ishaq Bin Ibrahim Ar-Rahūyah]

Whatever it contains of sayings of Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ishaq bin Ibrāhīm, then it is what Ishaq bin Mansur informed us of from Aḥmad and Ishaq, except what is in the chapters on Al-Hajj, Blood Money (Ad-Diyāt), and Punishments (Al-Hudud)-for I did not hear that from Ishaq bin Manşür, (rather) Muḥammad bin Musa Al-Așamm informed me of it from Ishaq bin Manşür, from Aḥmad and Ishaq. And some of the statements of Ishaq [bin Ibrahim’] were narrated to us by Muhammad bin Fulaiḥ, from Ishaq. We have clarified this appropriately in each place in the book.”

At-Tirmidhi’s Statements Of Criticism After Some Narrations

He said:

“Whatever is in them mentioning deficiencies regarding the Ahadith, the narrators, or history, then it is what I extracted from Kitab At-Tarikh.^[1] And most of that is what I deliberated with Muhammad bin Ismail (Al-Bukhari). Among them are what I also disussed with ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdur-Rahman, and Abu Zur’ah. Most of it is from Muhammad, and the least of it is from ‘Abdullah and Abu Zur’ah. [And I have not seen anyone, in Al-‘Iraq nor Khurasan, more knowledgeable about the meaning of deficiencies, history and the knowledge of the chains of narration, than Muhammad bin Ismail].”

The Terminology Used By At-Tirmidhi

There are some terms that At-Tirmidhi uses in his Sunan, which are either not very common, or used by him in a manner that is not very common, and in the case of some terms, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars about their meanings. Some of these disagreements are very difficult to rectify.

The Meaning Of Hasan And The Meaning Of Gharib According To At-Tirmidhi

In Al-‘Ilal, he said:

“Whatever it is that we mentioned in this book saying ‘A Hasan Hadith,’ we only meant that its chain is Hasan according to us.

 Every Hadith that is related that does not have in its chain someone who is accused of lying, nor is the Hadith Shadh,^[2] and it has been related through other routes similar to that, then it is a Hasan Hadith according to us.

About whatever we said in this book ‘it is a Gharib Hadith,’ then the people of Hadith considered the Hadith to be Gharib for various reasons:

Sometimes a Hadith is Gharib because it is not related except through one route, like the Hadith of Hammad bin Salamah from Abu Al-Ushara’, from his father, who said: ‘I said: “O Messenger of Allah! Is there no slaughtering except upon the neck and the throat?” He said: “If you stab its thigh it would be accepted of you.”^[3]

So Ḥammad bin Salamah was the only one who reported this Hadith from Abu Al-Ushara’, and it is not known of Abu Al-Ushara’ (narrating) [from his father] except this Hadith, even though this Hadith is popular with the people of knowledge.”

And:

“Abū ‘Eīsă said: Sometimes a Hadith is considered Gharib due to an addition that is in the Hadith, and it will only be correct when the addition is from one Who is depended upon for his memory. For example; what is reported by Malik bin Anas from Nafi’, from Ibn ‘Umar who said: ‘Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said Zakat Al-Fitr during Ramadan is obligatory on every free person or slave, male or female, among the Muslims: A Ṣa’ of dates, and a Șa’ of barley.’^[1] He said: Malik added in this Hadith: ‘among the Muslims.’

{[1] By Al-Bukhari.

[2] A narration containing an addition which is not contained in the narration of more reliable narrators.

[3] No. 1481 in his Sunan.}

Ayyub As-Sakhtiyyani, ‘Ubaidullah bin ‘Umar, and more than one of the A’immah, reported this Hadith from Nafi’, from Ibn ‘Umar, and they did not mention “among the Muslims” in it.

Some of them whose memories are not relied upon, reported what is similar to the narration of Malik from Nafi’.

More than one of the A’immah approved the narration of Malik, and used it as proof. Among them are Ash-Shafi’i and Aḥmad bin Hanbal, they said: ‘When a man has slaves who are not Muslims, he does not have to give Sadaqat Al-Fitr on their behalf and they cited the narration of Malik as proof. So when a Hafiz whose memory is relied upon narrates an addition, then that is accepted from him.

Sometimes a Hadith is related through many routes, and it is only considered Gharib due to the condition of the chain.”

The Meaning of Hasan Sahih

This is the statement that the scholars disagree the most about, “This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.”^[2] The most popular views about its meaning are one of, or a combination of the following:

1. It means that one of the chains of the Hadith is Hasan and another is Sahiḥ. This is mentioned by Ibn As-Salah in his introduction to ‘Ulum Al-Hadith.
2. It means that the Hadith is either Hasan or Sahiḥ, as scholars would differ over what to call it. This was mentioned by Ibn Hajar in Nuzhat An-Nazr.
3. It is a grade above Hasan and below Sahih. This is the view of Ibn Kathir as mentioned in Ikhtiṣār ‘Ulum Al-Hadith.
4. It means that it is Hasan by itself, or Sahih due to other narrations. This was said by ‘Abdul-Haqq Ad-Dahlwi in his introduction to his explanation of Mishkat.
5. That they are two descriptions; Hasan describing it as good, and Sahih describing it as a higher level of precision in its transmission due to the narrators. This is the view of Ibn Daqiq Al-‘Eid in Al-Iqtirah, Adh- Dhahabi in Muqaddimat Al-Mawqizah. In An-Nukat ‘Ala Ibn As-Salāḥ,

{[1]See nos. 675 and 676 in his Sunan.

[2] It is a common mistake to claim that At-Tirmidhi was the first to say such thing. However, he quotes Al-Bukhari saying the same under Hadith no. 1742 and others.}

Ibn Hajar stated that this is the strongest view. Similarly, in his explanation of At-Tirmidhi’s Al-‘Ilal, Ibn Rajab said: “A Hadith will only be Sahih Hasan when its chain is connected, uninterrupted, being narrated by trustworthy, just narrators, and it is not Shadh, and similar is related from other routes. As for Sahih by itself, then it is not a condition that a similar narration is related from other routes, but it also must not be Shadh, so in this case As-Sahih Al-Hasan is stronger than what is merely Sahih.”

6. In the introduction to Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi, Al-Mubarakpūrī said: “There occurred to me two other views, one of them that the meaning is Hasan by itself, Sahiḥ due to other narrations.^[1] And the other that the meaning is Hasan in rank, and its chain is correct (Sahih), meaning that it is the most correct thing mentioned on this topic. So if it is said “The most correct of what is mentioned about this,’ even if it is Ḥasan or weak, then it refers to the preponderance of, or lack of weakness.”

There are other views stated by the scholars that are in many ways similar to one of these.

Additionally, one will find that At-Tirmidhi utilizes various combinations of all of these terms, calling a narration “Hasan Gharib Sahih”,^[2] “Sahih Gharib,”^[3]“Gharib Hasan,”^[4] “Sahih Hasan,”^[5] as well as others.^[6]

The Meaning of Jayyid

At-Tirmidhi also mentions the term Jayyid for some narrations: “Jayyid Gharib Hasan,”^[7]“Hasan Jayyid Gharib, “^[8] “Jayyid Gharib.”^[9]

In most cases, the usage of the term Jayyid, or its derivations to grade a narration, means one of three things:

1. When it is used to describe how one of the narrators narrated it, then the narration is safe from Tadlis.^[10]

{[1]Similar to no. 4 above.

[2] See no. 1768.

[3] See no. 2004.

[4] See no. 2269.

 [5] See no. 2389.

[6] Sometimes he describes the same narration- with an identical chain of narration – differently when it appears later. See nos. 1692, and 3738 for example.

[7] See no. 60.

[8] See no. 2035.

[9] See no. 2037.

[10] At-Tadlis is when a narrator reports from his Shaikh a narration he did not hear directly from him in a manner that appears as if he heard it directly from him, or when he quotes the name of the one he is narrating from in a manner that confuses his real identity. The narrator who is known for committing Tadlis is called a Mudallas.

2. That it is a Hadith grade, meaning that it is better than Hasan but not as good as Sahiḥ.
3. That a narrator, or narrators, in the chain were generous in the manner that they narrated it, meaning that they did a very good job in the narration.

The Meaning of Karahiyyah and Makruh

When At-Tirmidhi mentions the Karahiyyah of a topic, translated as: “What has been related about it being disliked to do such and such” then the reader must understand that the term Makruh was used by the early scholars to imply a wider meaning than those who came later.

Contemporary Fiqh defines Makruh as a judgement in Islamic law that an action is disliked, loathsome or detested, but one is not accountable for doing something unlawful if he or she commits a Makruh act. So it is essentially something that one should stay away from, but one will not be held accountable if one does it.

The early scholars used the term and its derivatives in a wider sense, that is, they used it for something that there was a prohibition against, or an indication of a prohibition against it. Yet, there were reasons that they did not feel confident enough to label it “Haram” or absolutely unlawful.

This means that one may find At-Tirmidhi saying: “About it being disliked to do this or that” and one must understand that the topic in question may in fact be considered absolutely unlawful, based upon the evidence produced. Additionally, it would be incorrect to say that At-Tirmidhi only considered the thing to be “disliked” when he uses such expressions. Rather, it is an indication that this evidence indicates – or almost indicates – that the action is unlawful.

REFERENCE:

Book: Jami’ At-Tirmidhi

Translated by:Abu Khaliyl