Sunan Ibn Majah is a collection of hadith compiled by Imam Muhammad bin Yazid Ibn Majah al-Qazvini (rahimahullah).
About Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Mājah is a
collection of hadīth compiled by Imām Muḥammad bin Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Qazvīnī
(raḥimahullāh). It is widely considered to be the sixth of the six canonical
collection of Ḥadīth (Kutub as-Sittah) of the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws). It
consists of 4341 aḥādīth in 37 books.
Author bio:
Abū `Abdullāh Muḥammad
bin Yazīd bin `Abdullāh ar-Rab`ī al- Qazvīnī, famously known as Ibn Mājah, was
born in 209 AH to a non-Arab tribe by the name of Rab`i in Qazvin (Iran).
Various explanations have been given for his nickname, Ibn Mājah, the more
prominent being that Mājah was his mother. Some scholars believe that Mājah was
the nickname of his father.
Travels to learn Hadith:
Ibn Mājah spent his
early years studying Ḥadīth in his hometown of Qazvin, which had by then become
a major center of hadith sciences. In 230 AH, at the age of 21 or 22, he
travelled to various countries to seek more knowledge. He travelled to
Khurasan, Iraq, Hijaz, Egypt and Sham to attend the gatherings of hadīth
scholars. He also studied under scholars in Makkah and Madinah, and later
travelled to Baghdad, which, according to Imām adh-Dhahabī was the home of
chains of narration and memorization the (Dār al isnād al `āli wal ḥifẓ), the
seat of the caliphate and knowledge. He never gave up on his quest for
knowledge and continued his travels to Damascus, Homs, Egypt, Isfahan,
Ashkelon, and Nishapur and became a pupil of the major scholars of ḥadīth of
those times.
His teachers:
Imām Ibn Mājah studied
under some of the eminent teachers in Makkah, Madinah, and Qazvin. In Madinah,
he studied under Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Muṣ`ab az-Zubairi, Aḥmad bin Abi Bakr al-`Awfi, and
Ḥāfiẓ Ibrāhim bin al-Mundhir. His teachers in Makkah were Ḥāfiẓ Jalwāni, Abū
Muḥammad Ḥasan bin `Ali al-Khilāl, Ḥāfiẓ Zubair bin Bakkār, the judge of
Makkah, and Ḥāfiẓ Salamah bin Shabib. Prominent among his teachers in Qazvin
are `Amr bin Rāfi` al-Bajali, Ismā`īl bin Tawbah, and Muḥammad bin Abū Khālid
al-Qazvīnī. He also studied under other renowned teachers like Jubārah bin Mughallis,
Abū Bakr bin Abi Shaibah, Nasr bin `Ali Nishapuri, Abū Bakr bin Khallād
al-Bāhilī, Muḥammad bin Bashshār, Abūl-Ḥasan `Ali bin Muḥammad Tanāfisī, and
`Ali bin Mundhir.
His students:
Ibn Mājah had a great
number of pupils scattered far and wide, in Qazvin, Isfahan, Hamadan, Baghdad,
and other places. Notable among them are `Ali bin `Abdullāh al-Falāni, Ibrāhīm
bin Dīnār al-Jarshi, Aḥmad bin Ibrāhīm al-Qazvīnī, Ḥāfiẓ Abū Ya’la al-Khalīlī,
and Abū `Amr Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ḥakim al-Madanī al-Iṣfahānī.
His rank among scholars:
Imām Ibn Mājah was a
great Ḥadīth scholar, interpreter of the Qur’ān, and historian, whose rank has
been acknowledged by various scholars of different ages. Imām adh-Dhahabī says,
“Imām Ibn Mājah remembered aḥādīth by heart. He was a critic in the field of
Ḥadīth Sciences, truthful, upright and a man of wide learning.” In
Tadhkiratul-Ḥuffāẓ he writes, “He was a great memorizer of aḥādīth and a Ḥadīth
scholar and Qur’ān exeget of Qazvin.” Abū Ya`la al-Khalīlī said, “He was very trustworthy
and an authority; and had a deep knowledge of the hadīth sciences.” `Allāmah
Sindī said, “Among the Imāms of hadīth he had a high rank and was pious and a
trustworthy scholar by consensus.”
Works:
Upon completing his
education, Imām Ibn Mājah dedicated the later years of his life to writing and
left behind three great works: as-Sunan, at-Tafsīr, and at-Tārīkh. As-Sunan is
a prominent collection of ḥadīth ranked sixth among the six sound books of
hadīth. At-Tafsīr is a commentary on the Qur’ān in which Imām Ibn Mājah
collected aḥādīth and comments of the companions and Tabi`īn supported with
chains of narrations. At-Tārīkh is a great book of history and a manifestation
of his knowledge and scholarship. The last two books, praised by scholars such
as Ibn Kathīr, no longer exist.
Death:
Imām Abū `Abdullāh
Muḥammad Ibn Mājah Al-Qazvīnī died on Monday, 22 Ramadan, in the year 273 AH at
the age of 64. The poet, Muḥammad bin Aswad al-Qazvīnī eulogized, “The loss of
Ibn Mājah weakened the column of the throne of knowledge and shook up its
pillars.”
His Sunan:
The Sunan of Ibn Mājah
is a collection of aḥādīth mostly arranged according to Fiqh chapters, but also
includes other topics such as ‘Aqīdah, interpretation of dreams, tribulations,
and asceticism. Sunan Ibn Mājah is considered one of the greatest works of
Ḥadīth. When Imām Abū Zur`ah ar-Rāzī, a Ḥadīth authority of his time was shown
this work, he remarked, “If this book reached the public, all or most of the
existing Jāmi` would cease to be used.” These words were proven true later when
Sunan Ibn Mājah eclipsed several of the Jawāmi`, Musnad and Sunan of those
times.
Sunan Ibn Mājah contains 37 books, 1560 chapters and 4341 aḥādīth. It includes
1339 additional aḥādīth, known as Zawā’id of Sunan Ibn Mājah which are not
found in the other five major books of Ḥadīth. According to Fuwad `Abdul Bāqi,
of the 1339 additional aḥādīth contained therein, 428 aḥādīth are Ṣaḥīḥ, 199
are Hasan, 613 Ḍa`īf, and 99 are Munkar (denounced) and Mauḍū` (fabricated).
Sheikh Nāṣiruddīn al-Albānī, in his book Ṣaḥīḥ wa Ḍa`īf Sunan Ibn Mājah counted
948 Ḍa`īf aḥādīth.
Ibn Mājah did not write an introduction to his book, so the conditions for the
aḥādīth in his collection are not explicit. However, there are indications that
he was concerned with collecting as many aḥādīth as possible on Fiqh issues.
Sunan Ibn Mājah contains a larger number of aḥādīth than any of the other five
books without repetition. It also includes a greater number of weak aḥādīth
than the other five. Ibn Mājah was enthusiastic about finding evidences for
Fiqh issues. His purpose may have been to collect as many aḥādīth, and find the
chain of narrations for the aḥādīth that were the basis of rulings on Fiqh
issues of the time, regardless of their authenticity or chain of narrators.
Certain qualities of Sunan Ibn Mājah set it apart from the other books of
Ḥadīth and made it popular among scholars of all times:
- It is written in an excellent
style; the chapter titles are in harmony with the ḥadīth listed and follow
the same order as books of Islamic Jurisprudence.
- The chapters are well-ordered
and well-arranged, with no repetition of aḥādīth (a quality lacking in
other Ḥadīth books).
- It is brief but comprehensive
with respect to legal rulings.
- On several occasions, Ibn Mājah
identified aḥādīth that are Gharīb (unfamiliar). Imām at-Tirmidhī had done
this earlier, but Ibn Mājah’s classification in some special chapters are
unique.
- Ibn Mājah gives the name of the
town the narrator of a ḥadīth belonged to.
- He added 482 new Ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth
that are not in the other five books of Ḥadīth.
- Sunan Ibn Mājah includes 3002
aḥādīth that are common with the other five books, but Ibn Mājah narrated
them with different channels of narration. The multiplicity of channels
strengthen these aḥādīth. This distinguishing quality is unique to Ibn
Mājah and is not found in any other book of Ḥadīth.
- It contains 1339 aḥādīth that
are not found in any of the other five books. These additions, also known
as Zawā’id have elevated Sunan Ibn Mājah to the position of the “sixth of
the Six”.
- [vtab]
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- Volume 3
- Volume 4
- Volume 5
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