3. Basrah’s School of Hadith
2. Kufah’s School of Hadith
November 6, 2024Manifestations of naturalism in Hadith transmission from the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum to the Tabi’in
November 6, 2024BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
3. Basrah’s School of Hadith[1]
The history of Basrah dates back to the year 14 AH,[2] when Khalifah ‘Umar ibn al Khattab radiya Llahu ‘anhu directed ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwan radiya Llahu ‘anhu and those with him, who were about three hundred and fifteen, towards it.
A group of Bedouin joined them. Thus, they numbered five hundred.[3] Then the city developed and flourished and many people came to it from the Ansar (Helpers) of Madinah and the tribes of Mudar, Rabi’ah, and al Azd. Its first governor was ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwan radiya Llahu ‘anhu himself. He passed away in the year 17 AH.[4] Thereafter its governor was al Mughirah ibn Shu’bah radiya Llahu ‘anhu for a short period. Then ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu dismissed him in the same year and sent Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu as governor[5] with a group of Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, which included Anas ibn Malik, ‘Imran ibn Hussain, Hisham ibn ‘Amir, and others radiya Llahu ‘anhum.[6] Through them, knowledge and education began.[7]
In the first half of the first century, Basrah was not comparable to the city of Kufah in terms of scholarly activity, unlike the second half thereof. A good scholarly movement began there, especially the movement of narrating and spreading Hadith at the hands of Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Therefore, I will present two great Companions who settled there in the first half; however, they did not have the influence of Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu in Kufah. They were Abu Musa al Ash’ari and ‘Imran ibn Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. Then I will present Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu, who influenced Hadith narration there in the second half of the first century.
1. Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu (d. 44 AH)
He was one of the scholars, jurists, and judges among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu said about him:
صبغ في العلم صبغة
He was dyed (i.e. excelled) in knowledge.[8]
Al Sha’bi considered him as one of the scholars among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum;[9] however, he did not spread knowledge there as Ibn Mas’ud did in Kufah, despite his early stay there. He settled there in the year 17 AH when ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu sent him as its governor and he remained there as governor until the year 29 AH. Thus, it was a good period where he could establish a strong class of the Tabi’in there. However, his occupation with conquests and Jihad prevented him from devoting himself to that, as I see it. He undertook many conquests during his governorship and it is as if he did not spend a single full year in Basrah. He conquered Ahwaz in the year 17 AH. Then he conquered Edessa, Samsat, Harran, Nasibin, parts of al Jazirah, Gundeshapur, and Sus. Thereafter, he conquered Ramahurmuz in the year 18 AH. In the year 19 AH, he besieged Tustar for a year and a half. Some say for two years, until it was conquered in the year 20 AH. Then he participated in the attempt to conquer Istakhr in the year 21 AH.[10] It seems that ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu was impressed by Abu Musa’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu administrative and leadership personality, so he retained him as governor throughout that period and he bequeathed before his death, in the year 23 AH, that Abu Musa radiya Llahu ‘anhu should be retained for another four years. This is something that ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not bequeath for any other governor. Therefore, Abu Musa radiya Llahu ‘anhu remained active and motivated in conquests during the reign of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. In the year 24 AH, he fought with the people of Basrah and conquered Ray. In the year 27 AH, he participated in the conquest of Arjan and Darabgerd. He concluded his conquests during his governorship of Basrah with the conquest of Isfahan—according to what some historians say—in the year 29 AH,[11] the year in which ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu dismissed him from the governorship of Basrah. This military activity in Madinah indicates the sincerity of ‘Umar’s foresight in his narration regarding Ribat[12] and Jihad in Basrah, endorsing Abu Musa for its governorship.[13]
From all of this, Abu Musa’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu occupation with Jihad and conquests becomes evident, as if this was his main occupation. Therefore, he did not have a strong scholarly influence on its people. However, despite this, he did not abandon teaching there, as some narrations are reported about him teaching its people. From amongst this is the statement of Abu Raja’ al ‘Utaridi, discussing the gatherings of Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu:
تعلمنا القرآن في هذا المسجد يعني مسجد البصرة وكنا نجلس حلقا حلقا وكأنما أنظر إليه بين ثوبين أبيضين
We learned the Qur’an in this Masjid, i.e. Masjid of Basrah. We would sit in circles. It is as if I am looking at him wearing two white garments.[14]
Likewise, the statement of Ibn Shawdhab who said:
كان أبو موسى إذا صلى الصبح استقبل الصفوف رجلا رجلا يقرئهم
When Abu Musa performed the Fajr Salah, he would face the rows and teach the people Qur’an one by one.[15]
Qatadah narrates from Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu who said:
بعثني الأشعري إلى عمر فقال لي كيف تركت الأشعري قلت تركته يعلم الناس القرآن فقال أما إنه كيس ولا تسمعها إياه
Al Ash’ari sent me to ‘Umar who asked me, “How did you leave al Ash’ari?
I replied, “I left him teaching Qur’an to the people.”
He said, “He is an intelligent person but do not mention it to him.”[16]
However, this knowledge did not spread extensively from him in Basrah, unlike his dissemination of it in Kufah when he settled there after his relocation from Basrah in the year 29 AH where Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu was well-known[17] and had a strong influence on its people.
That is why the Kufans counted him among their jurists. Al Aswad ibn Yazid stated:
لم أر بالكوفة أعلم من علي وأبي موسى
I have not seen anyone more learned than ‘Ali and Abu Musa in Kufah.[18]
Masruq narrates:
كانت الفتيا في أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في ستة عمر وعلي وابن مسعود وأبي بن كعب وزيد بن ثابت وأبي موسي فكان نصفهم لأهل الكوفة علي وابن مسعود وأبو موسى
Six of the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would issue fatwa: ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Ibn Mas’ud, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Zaid ibn Thabit, and Abu Musa. Half of them belonged to the people of Kufah i.e. ‘Ali, Ibn Mas’ud, and Abu Musa.[19]
It is noted here that he placed Abu Musa among the people of Kufah alongside Ibn Mas’ud and ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. Al Sha’bi al Kufi also held this view.[20]
Perhaps for all these reasons, narrations from him were few in Basrah and many in Kufah. None of the famous and senior narrators of Basrah narrated from him except Abu ‘Uthman al Nahdi, who narrated a few narrations from him which he may have heard from him in Kufah before he moved to Basrah.[21] Amongst the latter class, al Hassan al Basri also narrated from him from Abu ‘Uthman; however, al Hassan did not hear directly from him.
As for Kufah, his narrations spread through his son Abu Burdah, the scholar and judge of Kufah,[22] as he narrated about 100 ahadith[23] out of 176 of his narrations found in the nine books.[24]
Following him is also his son Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa al Ash’ari, who narrated 9 ahadith from him, and he is also Kufi.[25]
Hence, the Kufans have the right to attribute him to them, not the people of Basrah.[26]
2. ‘Imran ibn Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu (d. 52 AH)
‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu sent him to Basrah with Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu in the year 17 AH to teach them Fiqh. Al Hassan would take an oath that no one had come to Basrah better than ‘Imran Ibn Hussain.[27] However, his impact on teaching in Basrah was not great. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he was not on the same level as Ibn Mas’ud and Abu Musa radiya Llahu ‘anhuma in Fiqh. He embraced Islam in the seventh year after Hijrah and fought alongside the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He did not settle in Madinah after embracing Islam, but rather he would go back and forth from Madinah to his tribe.[28] Therefore, Ibn Hazm considered him to be one of the medium-class Companions in issuing fatawa,[29] or perhaps it is because his activity in spreading knowledge did not appear except from those in his circle. Hence, Ibn Hibban states in his biography:
حديثه عند أهلها أي البصرة
His ahadith were with its people, i.e., Basrah.[30]
Most of the narrations of ‘Imran radiya Llahu ‘anhu were from the people of Basrah, and with a specific group of them. We do not find anyone who narrates from him outside Basrah except al Sha’bi.[31] Perhaps the person most attached to him and who transmitted from him was the pious, worshiping scholar, Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdullah al Shikhkhir. From their biographies, the close relationship between them becomes evident. In fact, ‘Imran radiya Llahu ‘anhu would confide some of his secrets to him, such as his statement to him during his final illness:
إنه كان تسلم علي فإن عشت فاكتم علي وإن مت فحدث به إن شئت
They—meaning the angels—are greeting me. If I live, conceal it and if I die, mention it if you desire.[32]
From amongst ‘Imran’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu students,[33] Mutarrif narrated the most according to my exploration of his ahadith in the six books; followed by Abu Raja’ al ‘Utaridi and Abu al Muhallab.[34] It can be gauged here that Mutarrif does not have a significant relationship with any of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum from Basrah other than ‘Imran radiya Llahu ‘anhu, which also limited his circle, even though he remained in Basrah as a teacher for a long time, more than thirty years.[35]
Perhaps this could also be due to his temperament of being extremely cautious at times. He is reported to have said:
سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أحاديث وحفظتها ما يمنعني أن أحدث بها إلا أن أصحابي يخالفوني فيها
I heard narrations from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and memorised them. Nothing prevents me from narrating them except that my companions would disagree with me about them.[36]
3. Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu (d. 93 AH)
He served the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam for a long time. He narrated from Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, Ubayy, and a group of others radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Al Hassan, al Zuhri, Qatadah, Thabit, and Humaid narrated from him.
He came to Basrah in the year 17 AH and resided there for about 76 years, teaching Fiqh and Hadith. He was the last of the prolific narrators of the Companions of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to pass away. Therefore, the junior Tabi’in acquired from him. In fact, some of them even accompanied him for a long period. Thabit al Bunani said:
صحبت أنسا أربعين سنة
I accompanied Anas for forty years.[37]
Therefore, his death meant the loss of much of the knowledge directly connected to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam at a time when opposing opinions began to spread and become famous. Qatadah narrates:
لما مات أنس بن مالك قال مورق العجلي ذهب اليوم نصف العلم قيل كيف ذاك قال كان الرجل من أهل الأهواء إذا خالفنا في الحديث قلنا تعال إلى من سمعه من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم
When Anas ibn Malik passed away, Muwarriq al ‘Ijli said, “Today, half of knowledge has gone.”
Someone asked, “How is that?”
He explained, “When any of the people of desire would disagree with us in Hadith, we would say, ‘Come, let us go to the one who heard it [directly] from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.’”[38]
His most astute companions were al Zuhri, then Qatadah, then Thabit, as stated by Abu Hatim.[39] Yahya al Qattan preferred Hamid al Tawil to Thabit.[40]
Al Hakim states in Ma’rifat ‘Ulum al Hadith:
وأصح أسانيد أنس مالك بن أنس عن الزهري عن أنس
The most authentic chain of Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu is Malik ibn Anas — from al Zuhri — from Anas.[41]
Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his students had special activity in Basrah. Perhaps the most prominent in status were three:
a. Qatadah ibn Di’amah al Sadusi, (d. 117 AH)
He is the one who narrated the most ahadith from Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He would travel outside Basrah, so he learned from the scholars of Madinah. The most prominent of those whom he learned from there was Sa’id bin al Musayyab. He stayed with him for eight days. On the third day, he said:
ارتحل يا أعمى فقد أنزفتني
Go, blind man, for you have exhausted me.
Ibn al Musayyab confessed:
ما أتاني عراقي أحفظ من قتادة
No Iraqi came to me with better memory than Qatadah.[42]
His relation with Ibn al Musayyab illustrates his great memory.
‘Imran ibn ‘Abdullah, states:
لما قدم قتادة على سعيد بن المسيب جعل يسئله أياما وأكثر فقال له سعيد أكل ما سألتني عنه تحفظه قال نعم سألتك عن كذا فقلت فيه كذا وسألتك عن كذا فقلت فيه كذا وقال فيه الحسن كذا حتى رد عليه حديثا كثيرا فقال سعيد ما كنت أظن أن الله خلق مثلك
When Qatadah came to Sa’id ibn al Musayyab, he began questioning him for more than a few days. Sa’id said to him, “Do you memorise everything that you ask me about?”
He said, “Yes. I asked you about such-and-such and you said such-and-such about it, and I asked you about such-and-such and you said such-and-such about it. Al Hassan said this about it.” He narrated to him many ahadith.
Thereupon Sa’id said, “I did not think that Allah created someone like you.”[43]
Regarding the strength of his memory, he said:
ما قلت لمحدث أعد علي وما سمعت أذناي قط شيئا إلا وعاه قلبي
I never asked any Muhaddith to repeat for me and my ears never heard anything except that my heart preserved it.
Ahmed said:
كان قتادة أحفظ أهل البصرة لا يسمع شيئا إلا حفظه وقرئت عليه صحيفة جابر مرة فحفظها
Qatadah possessed the best memory among the people of Basrah. He did not hear anything without memorising it. Jabir’s treatise was read to him only once and he memorised it.[44]
He was one of those who did not mention the chain of transmission for his ahadith for a period of time, as was the custom of some of the Tabi’in, as I mentioned previously. Then he started mentioning his chain of transmission. Hammad ibn Salamah states:
كنا نأتي قتادة فيقول بلغنا عن النبي عليه السلام وبلغنا عن عمر وبلغنا عن علي ولا يكاد يسند فلما قدم حماد ابن أبي سليمان البصرة جعل يقول حدثنا إبراهيم وفلان وفلان فبلغ قتادة ذلك فجعل يقول سألت مطرفا وسألت سعيد بن المسيب وحدثنا أنس بن مالك فأخبر بالإسناد
We would go to Qatadah and he would say, “The narration from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam reached us, the narration from ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu reached us, and the narration from ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu reached us.” He would hardly mention the chain of transmission.
When Hammad ibn Abi Sulaiman came to Basrah, he started saying, “Ibrahim narrated to us, so-and-so and so-and-so narrated to us.” This reached Qatadah. Thereafter, he also started saying, “I asked Mutarrif, I asked Sa’id bin al Musayyab, and Anas bin Malik narrated to us.” He mentioned the chain of transmission.[45]
b. Thabit al Bunani (d. 123 AH)
He was one of Anas’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu frequent students. He was thiqah and dabit (precise) in narration, even though he was a pious worshipper.
‘Ali ibn al Madini said:
حدثني عبد الرحمن أو بهز عن حماد بن سلمة قال كنت أسمع أن القصاص لا يحفظون الحديث فكنت أقلب الأحاديث على ثابت أجعل أنسا لابن أبي ليلى وبالعكس أشوشها عليه فيجئ بها على الاستواء أروى الناس عنه حماد بن سلمة
‘Abdul Rahman or Bahz narrated to me from Hammad ibn Salamah who said, “I would hear that storytellers do not memorise Hadith. Therefore, I would alter the ahadith by Thabit, assigning Anas to Ibn Abi Layla, and vice versa, to confuse him. He would mention them correctly.” Hammad ibn Salamah narrated the most from him.[46]
This incident displays that testing narrators is old in Hadith criticism. Details of that will come in due course.
c. Humaid al Tawil, (d. 143 AH)
The number of his narrations from Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu is 263.
Among those who acquired knowledge from Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu are al Hassan al Basri and Muhammad ibn Sirin, but they did not narrate as much from him as those who were mentioned above. Perhaps that is because they acquired abundantly from others, so they were not among those who specialised in Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Most of their knowledge came from outside Basrah. Muhammad ibn Sirin learned Fiqh from the people of Kufah and he was nurtured by students of ‘Abdullah. Al Hassan al Basri acquired from the people of Madinah and gained much knowledge in the battles.[47]
[1] I benefitted a lot in this subject from my research Madrasat al Basrah al Hadithiyyah fi al Nisf al Awwal min al Qarn al Awwal al Hijri: Dirasah fi Asbab al Ta’akhkhur al ‘Ilmi ‘an Madrasat al Kufah. (The Hadith School of Basrah in the first half of the first century AH: A study of the reasons for the Scholarly delay from the School of Kufah), published in Tasawwur Magazine, volume 6, edition 1, pg. 450 onwards.
[2] Some historians believe that the founding of Basrah was in the year 16 AH, but most historians see it as the year 14 AH. Refer to al ‘Ali, Salih Ahmed: al Tanzimat al Ijtima’iyyah wa al Iqtisadiyyah fi al Basrah fi al Qarn al Awwal al Hijri (Social and Economic Organizations in Basrah in the First Century After Hijrah) pg. 36.
[3] Al Tabari: Tarikh al Rusul wa al Muluk, 3/591.
[4] This is what Al Dhahabi was inclined to. Thereafter he said:
وقيل مات سنة خمس عشرة
It is said that he passed away in the year 15 AH. (Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 1/306.)
[5] Yaqut al Hamawi: Mujam al Buldan, 1/433.
[6] Al Tabari: Tarikh al Rusul wa al Muluk, 4/71.
[7] For details, study the origin of Basrah and its growth, the political, social, and economic conditions and their impact on the conquests, and the scholarly situation therein in Dr. Amin al Qudat: Madrasat al Hadith fi al Basrah, pg. 23–95. I will not go on mentioning lengthy details here.
[8] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/61; al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/388.
[9] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/22.
[10] Refer to all these conquests in Khalifah ibn Khayyat: al Tarikh, pg. 135, 139, 140, 144, 147, 150; Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/75–77.
[11] Khalifah ibn Khayyat: al Tarikh, pg. 157, 159, 161.
[12] To guard the Muslim territories.
[13] Ahmed Snubar: Madrasat al Basrah al Hadithiyyah fi al Nisf al Awwal min al Qarn al Awwal al Hijri: Dirasah fi Asbab al Ta’akhkhur al ‘Ilmi ‘an Madrasat al Kufah, published in Tasawwur Magazine, volume 6, edition 1, pg. 450–451.
[14] Al Hakim: al Mustadrak ‘ala Sahihayn, 2/264; Abu Nuaim: Hilyat al Auliya’, 1/256.
[15] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/67; al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/389.
[16] Ibn Sa’d narrated it in al Tabaqat, 2/345 from Hammad ibn Usamah and Wahb ibn Jarir — from Hisham al Dastawa’i — from Qatadah — from Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Narrators are all thiqah (reliable), as stated by Sheikh Shu’ayb in his commentary on Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/390.
[17] Al Fasawi: al Ma’rifah wa al Tarikh, 2/345, which contains the statement of Abu Musa:
مجلس كنت أجالسه ابن مسعود أوثق في نفسي من عمل سنة
A gathering in which I used to sit with Ibn Mas’ud is stronger to me than actions of a whole year.
Musnad Ahmed, Hadith: 19497 and it contains the narration of Shaqiq:
كان عبد الله وأبو موسى جالسين وهما يتذاكران الحديث
‘Abdullah and Abu Musa would sit and discuss Hadith.
Abu Musa’s reverence of Ibn Mas’ud has been mentioned in many narrations.
[18] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/63; al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/388.
[19] ‘Ali ibn al Madini: al ‘Ilal, pg. 41; Ibn Abi Khaythamah: al Tarikh, 2/392-393; Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 32/63.
[20] Ibn Abi Khaythamah: al Tarikh, 2/397.
[21] Abu ‘Uthman al Nahdi moved from Kufah to Basrah after 60 AH following the killing of al Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He would say:
لا أسكن بلدا قتل فيه ابن بنت رسول اله صلى الله عليه وسلم
I do not want live in a city where the son of the daughter of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was killed. (Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/98).
[22] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 5/5 onwards.
[23] Half of them were narrated by his sons: 14 of them were narrated by his son Burayd and 9 by his son Sa’id. All of this is by looking at Tuhfat al Ashraf. Refer to al Mizzi: Tuhfat al Ashraf bi Ma’rifat al Atraf, 6/392, 434, 459.
[24] This is in the nine books only; otherwise, he narrated more than that. Al Dhahabi stated in Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/399–400:
وله في مسند بقي ثلاثمثة وستون حديثا وقع له في الصحيحين تسعة وأربعون حديثا وتفرد البخاري بأربعة أحاديث ومسلم بخمسة عشر حديثا وكان إماما ربانيا
He has three-hundred and sixty ahadith in Musnad Baqi. He has forty-nine ahadith in Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Al Bukhari documents four ahadith exclusively while Muslim documents fifteen ahadith exclusively. He was a pious Imam.
[25] Al Mizzi: Tuhfat al Ashraf, 6/467; al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 5/6; Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 12/41, wherein he mentioned the difference of opinion regarding his hearing from his father and that Imam Ahmed did not regard that hearing to be correct, contrary to Abu Dawood.
[26] Ahmed Snubar: Madrasat al Basrah al Hadithiyyah fi al Nisf al Awwal min al Qarn al Awwal al Hijri: Dirasah fi Asbab al Ta’akhkhur al ‘Ilmi ‘an Madrasat al Kufah, published in Tasawwur Magazine, volume 6, edition 1.
[27] See his biography by Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 4/287; Ibn al Athir: Usd al Ghabah, 4/269; al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/508-512; Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 8/125–126.
[28] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/508.
[29] Ibn Hazm: al Ihkam fi Usul al Ahkam, 5/91-93. Ibn Hazm did not consider any of the Companions of Basrah among the frequent narrators, as he considered Anas, ‘Imran, and Abu Bakrah to be among the medium-class.
[30] Ibn Hibban: al Thiqat, 3/288.
[31] Al Mizzi: Tahdhib al Kamal, 22/321.
[32] Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 4/289.
[33] This is a precaution from including al Hassan al Basri, as he narrated more than Mutarrif from ‘Imran, but he is not one of his students. Al Hassan is famous for narrating mursal narrations from this class.
[34] I explored this from the master’s thesis submitted by the researcher Jamil al Kilani under the title: al Sahabi al Jalil ‘Imran ibn Hussain wa Marwiyyatuhu fi al Kutub al Tis’ah Ma ‘Ada Musnad Ahmed (The Great Companion ‘Imran ibn Hussain and his Narrations in the Nine Books except Musnad Ahmed), which he presented at the University of the Holy Qur’an in Sudan in 2003. It does not mention numbers, but he wrote the biography of ‘Imran radiya Llahu ‘anhu, then he mentioned his ahadith and referenced them. I embarked on investigating as to whom among the Tabi’in narrated from ‘Imran. I found that al Hassan narrated the most, as he narrated 13 ahadith, except that he did not hear directly from ‘Imran. Then Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdullah, who narrated 9 ahadith, then Abu al Muhallab, who narrated 5 ahadith, and then Abu Raja’ al ‘Utaridi, who narrated 4 ahadith. Then I came across a master’s thesis submitted under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Nur Saif at Umm al Qura University in Makkah in the year 1400-1401 AH, titled: Marwiyyat al Sahabi al Jalil ‘Imran ibn Hussain fi Musnad al Imam Ahmed (Narrations of the Great Companion ‘Imran ibn Hussain in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed) by the researcher ‘Abdur Rahman Muhammad Siraj. However, I did not investigate the Tabi’in in it, and perhaps it is broader and more comprehensive than the first treatise, as it contains more than 160 ahadith of ‘Imran, other than what he mentioned in the first appendix. In the first, there are only 66 ahadith. However, what I mentioned from the first treatise is sufficient, in my view, to explain the extent of the relations.
[35] It is reported in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, 4/291 and al Mujam al Kabir of al Tabarani, 18/103, Hadith: 189 from al A’mash – from Hilal ibn Yasaf, who said:
قدمت البصرة فدخلت المسجد فإذا أنا بشيخ أبيض الرأس واللحية مستند إلى أسطوانة في حلقة يحدثهم فسألت من هذا قالوا عمران بن حصين
I came to Basrah and entered the Masjid. I saw an old man with white hair of the head and beard, leaning against a pillar in a gathering, narrating Hadith to them. I asked, “Who is this?”
They replied, “‘Imran ibn Hussain.”
This means that there was teaching and transmission of Hadith taking place, but this did not constitute a strong scholarly school, as will become clear in due course.
[36] Al Tabarani: al Mujam al Kabir, 18/105, Hadith: 195. Al Haythami states in Majma’ al Zawa’id wa Manba’ al Fawa’id, 1/141 Hadith: 606:
ورجاله موثقون
Its narrators are trustworthy.
Refer to another narration, which contains the same notion, in Musnad Ahmed, 33/123, Hadith: 19893. Its narrators are reliable; however, there is some discontinuity in the chain of transmission.
[37] Al Bukhari: al Tarikh al Kabir, 2/160; Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 2/3.
[38] Al Bukhari: al Tarikh al Kabir, 2/28.
[39] Ibn Abi Hatim: al Jarh wa al Ta’dil, 2/449.
[40] Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 2/3.
[41] Al Hakim, Ma’rifat ‘Ulum al Hadith, pg. 55. Hafiz Ibn Hajar states in al Nukat, 1/259:
وهذا الذي ذكره الحاكم قد ينازع في بعضه ولا سيما في أسانيد أنس رضي الله تعالى عنه فان قتادة و ثابتا البناني أقعد وأسعد بحديثه من الزهري ولهما من الرواة جماعة فأثبت أصحاب ثابت البناني حماد بن زيد وأثبت أصحاب قتادة شعبة وقيل غيره وإنما جزمت بشعبة لأنه كان لا يأخذ عن أحد ممن وصف بالتدليس إلا ما صرح فيه ذلك المدلس بسماعه من شيخه
Some of what al Hakim mentioned may be disputed, especially in the chains of transmission of Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu, as Qatadah and Thabit al Bunani had firmer knowledge and understanding regarding his ahadith than al Zuhri. A group of narrators narrate from them. Thabit al Bunani’s most astute companion is Hammad ibn Zaid and Qatadah’s most astute companion is Shu’bah. Some scholars differ. I assert Shu’bah, because he would not narrate from anyone who was described as mudallis (a narrator who leaves out his teacher) except when that mudallis clearly stated that he heard it from his Sheikh.
[42] Al Mizzi: Tahdhib al Kamal, 23/506-507.
[43] Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/230.
[44] See his biography by al Dhahabi in Tadhkirat al Huffaz, 1/92. Among the benefits of his biography is al Dhahabi’s statement in Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 5/271:
وهو حجة بالإجماع إذا بين السماع فإنه مدلس معروف بذلك وكان يرى القدر نسأل الله العفو ومع هذا فما توقف أحد في صدقه وعدالته وحفظه ولعل الله يعذر أمثاله ممن تلبس ببدعة يريد بها تعظيم الباري وتنزيهه وبذل وسعه والله حكم عدل لطيف بعباده ولا يسأل عما يفعل ثم إن الكبير من أئمة العلم إذا كثر صوابه وعلم تحريه للحق واتسع علمه وظهر ذكاؤه وعرف صلاحه وورعه واتباعه يغفر له الله ولا نضلله ونطرحه وننسى محاسنه نعم ولا نقتدي به في بدعته وخطئه ونرجو له التوبة من ذلك
He is a Hujjah (Authority) by consensus when he declares hearing from his Sheikh, as he is a mudallis—infamous for that. He held views regarding Qadr. We ask Allah for forgiveness. Despite this, no one questioned his honesty, integrity, and memory. Perhaps Allah will excuse people like him who got embroiled in innovation with the intention of glorifying the Creator and declaring His transcendence and strive for it. Allah is the Judge, Just, and Gracious over His servants. He is not questioned about what He does. Then, if a great Imam of knowledge is such that his good deeds are abundant, his pursuit of the truth is known, his knowledge is widespread, his intelligence is apparent, and his righteousness, piety, and adherence are known, then Allah may forgive him. We will not declare him to be deviant, discard him, and forget his good traits. Yes, we will not follow him in his innovation and mistake and we anticipate for him to repent from that.
[45] Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/230.
[46] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 5/220 onwards.
[47] Ahmed Snubar: Madinat Riwayah la Madinat Fiqh, a study into the Hadith and Fiqhi impact of Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu in Basrah, published in Tasawwur Magazine, volume 6, edition 2, pg. 1505–1506.