محمد بن حبان البستي
Ibn Hibban (RH)
Muhammad ibn Hibban al-Busti
Also known as: Ibnu Hibban, Abu Hatim al-Busti, al-Busti
c. 270–354 AH · c. 884–965 CE
Hadith Shafi'i Fiqh
Hadith master of Bust in Sijistan, compiler of Sahih Ibn Hibban and of major books on narrators.
Ibn Hibban was born around 884 in Bust in Sijistan, in today's Afghanistan. He spent decades travelling for hadith across Khurasan, Transoxiana, Iraq, al-Sham and Egypt, and wrote that he had taken hadith from more than two thousand teachers. Among them were Ibn Khuzaymah in Nishapur, whose method he followed, and al-Nasa'i in Egypt. He served as judge in Samarkand and Nasa, then taught in Nishapur, where al-Hakim studied with him, and in 951 he returned to Bust. There he gave his house as a school, with a library and lodgings for students, and he died there in 965.
His Sahih gathers hadith he judged authentic in an unusual arrangement of 'divisions and kinds'; a later rearrangement by Ibn Balban, al-Ihsan, made it easier to use, and it is often ranked with Ibn Khuzaymah's just after the two Sahihs. His Kitab al-Thiqat and Kitab al-Majruhin, on reliable and weak narrators, remain basic references in narrator criticism. Al-Hakim described him as a vessel of knowledge in fiqh, language, hadith and preaching. Some of his statements drew opposition in his lifetime, which al-Dhahabi later judged unfair.
Life journey
- c. 884 CE Bust بست
- 905 CE Nishapur نيسابورStudied with Ibn Khuzaymah during his long travels for hadith; the years are approximate.
- 910 CE Fustat (Old Cairo) الفسطاطStudied with al-Nasa'i in Egypt.
- 930 CE Samarkand سمرقندServed as judge in Samarkand, and later in Nasa; the years are approximate.
- 946 CE Nishapur نيسابورTaught in Nishapur, where al-Hakim studied with him.
- 951 CE Bust بستDied 965 CE · 354 AHReturned home in 951 and gave his house as a school with a library and lodgings for students; died there in 965.
Teachers
- al-Nasa'i (RH) 830–915 CEIbn Hibban heard hadith from al-Nasa'i in Egypt.
- Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) 838–924 CEIbn Hibban studied with Ibn Khuzaymah in Nishapur and followed his method in his own Sahih.
Students
- al-Hakim al-Naysaburi (RH) 933–1014 CEAl-Hakim studied with Ibn Hibban in Nishapur and wrote the account of his life that later biographers rely on.
Key works
- Sahih Ibn Hibban المسند الصحيح على التقاسيم والأنواعThe Authentic Collection of Ibn HibbanHadith he judged authentic, arranged by 'divisions and kinds'; best known in Ibn Balban's rearrangement, al-Ihsan.
- Kitab al-Thiqat كتاب الثقاتThe Book of Reliable NarratorsA large dictionary of narrators he judged trustworthy, arranged by generation.
Places in their life
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Photo: لا روسا, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' (entry on Ibn Hibban)
- Taj al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra (entry on Ibn Hibban)
- Yaqut al-Hamawi, Mu'jam al-Buldan (entry on Bust)