أبو داود السجستاني
Abu Dawud (RH)
Abu Dawud al-Sijistani
202–275 AH · 817–889 CE
Hadith
Compiler of Sunan Abi Dawud, one of the six major hadith collections.
Abu Dawud was a student of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and travelled throughout the Muslim world collecting hadith. He is reported to have written down 500,000 narrations and selected about 4,800 for his Sunan.
His Sunan focuses on hadith used as legal evidence and became one of the six canonical collections (al-Kutub al-Sittah). In his letter to the people of Makkah he explained his method, including how he indicated weakness in the reports he included.
Life journey
- 817 CE Sijistan (Zaranj) سجستانTravelled widely in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and the Hijaz.
- 885 CE Basra البصرةDied 889 CE · 275 AHSettled in Basra at the request of its governor to revive its scholarship.
Teachers
- Imam Ahmad (RH) 780–855 CEAbu Dawud was a close student of Ahmad and recorded his answers in Masa'il al-Imam Ahmad.
Students
- al-Tirmidhi (RH) c. 824–892 CEAl-Tirmidhi narrated from Abu Dawud.
Key works
- Sunan Abi Dawud سنن أبي داودThe Sunan of Abu DawudLegal hadith; one of the six canonical collections.
Sources
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
- al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
The Basra year is approximate.