Skip to main content

Yahya ibn Ma’in - an example of using youth productively


Al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi said in Siyar al-Alam al-Nubala about the scholar of Hadith, Yahya ibn Ma’in: “He is the great Imam and scholar, the master of the Huffaz [memorisers of hadith], the king of the Huffaz, the shaykh of the scholars of hadith, Abu Zakariyya, Yahya ibn Ma’in ibn Awn ibn Ziyad ibn Bistam. He was not from the Arabs but became allied with some of the Bani Murr, and came to be known as al-Murri, and al-Baghdadi by birth, one of the most of the prominent scholars of hadith. He was born in Baghdad in 158 AH and grew up there. He started writing hadith at the age of ten. His father Ma’in was one of the noble scribes under Abdullah ibn Malik in charge of the water tax, and left 1,000,000 Dirhams, all of which he spent on acquiring knowledge of hadith until he did not even have sandals to wear!

He heard hadith from Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Hushaim ibn Bashir, Ism’il ibn Ayyash, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Abdur-Razzaq al Sana’ani from Yemen, Waki ibn al-Jarh, Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Qattan, Abdur-Rahman ibn Mahdi, and many others, in Iraq, Sham, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and al-Hijaz. On his authority, Imams Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Abbad al-Duri, al-Baghdadi – then narrator of his teachings – Abu Zar’ah al-Razi, Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Darimi, Abu Ya’la al-Mawsili and many others.

Comments

umm kulthoum said…
thank you for that. just a small addition:
Whenever Shaykh Yayha went for hajj, he would go via Madinah, and on return, go through Madinah. When he went for hajj in 233 AH, he entered Madinah before hajj began, fell ill and passed away. People heard of his arrival and his death, the tribe of Banu Hashim brought out the bed on which the Prophet Salallahu alayhi wasallam was washed, and used it to prepare for his burial. And he was buried in al Baqi.

Popular posts from this blog

An advice to Muslims working in the financial sector

Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullah wabarakatahu, Dear Brothers & Sisters, We are saddened to see Muslims today even those who practise many of the rules of Islam are working in jobs which involve haram in the financial sector. They are working in positions which involve usurious (Riba) transactions, insurance, the stock market and the like. Even though many of the clear evidences regarding the severity of the sin of Riba are known, some have justified their job to themselves thinking that they are safe as long as they are not engaged in the actual action of taking or giving Riba. Brothers & Sisters, You should know that the majority of jobs in the financial sector, even the IT jobs in this area are haram (prohibited) as they involve the processing of prohibited contracts. If you work in this sector, do not justify your job to yourself because of the fear of losing your position or having to change your career, fear Allah as he should be feared and consider His law regard

Q&A: Age of separating children in the beds?

Question: Please explain the hukm regarding separation of children in their beds. At what age is separation an obligation upon the parents? Also can a parent sleep in the same bed as their child? Answer: 1- With regards to separating children in their beds, it is clear that the separation which is obligatory is when they reach the age of 7 and not since their birth. This is due to the hadith reported by Daarqutni and al-Hakim from the Messenger (saw) who said: When your children reach the age of 7 then separate their beds and when they reach 10 beat them if they do not pray their salah.’ This is also due to what has been narrated by al-Bazzar on the authority of Abi Rafi’ with the following wording: ‘We found in a sheet near the Messenger of Allah (saw) when he died on which the following was written: Separate the beds of the slave boys and girls and brothers and sisters of 7 years of age.’ The two hadiths are texts on the separation of children when they reach the age of 7. As for the

Q&A: Shari' rule on songs, music, singing & instruments?

The following is a draft translation from the book مسائل فقهية مختارة (Selected fiqhi [jurprudential] issues) by the Mujtahid, Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud Abdul Latif al-Uweida (May Allah protect him) . Please refer to the original Arabic for exact meanings. Question: What is the Shari’ ruling in singing or listening to songs?  What is the hukm of using musical instruments and is its trade allowed? I request you to answer in detail with the evidences? Answer: The Imams ( Mujtahids ) and the jurists have differed on the issue of singing and they have varying opinions such as haraam (prohibited), Makruh (disliked) and Mubah (permissible), the ones who have prohibited it are from the ones who hold the opinion of prohibition of singing as a trade or profession, and a similar opinion has been transmitted from Imam Shafi’i, and from the ones who disliked it is Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who disliked the issue and categorised its performance under disliked acts, a similar opinion has been tran