الرحلةThe Journey

محمد بن إسحاق بن خزيمة

Ibn Khuzaymah (RH)

Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah

Also known as: Ibn Khuzaimah, Imam al-A'immah

223–311 AH · 838–924 CE

Hadith Shafi'i Fiqh

Shafi'i hadith master of Nishapur, called Imam al-A'immah, compiler of Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah.

Ibn Khuzaymah was born in Nishapur and began studying hadith as a boy. He travelled to Rayy, Iraq, al-Sham, al-Jazira and Egypt, where he studied with al-Muzani and al-Rabi' al-Muradi, students of al-Shafi'i. Back in Nishapur he led its scholars for decades and was given the title Imam al-A'immah, "the imam of imams". Al-Dhahabi reports that al-Bukhari and Muslim themselves narrated from him outside their two Sahihs.

His Sahih, of which only part survives, gathers hadith he judged authentic and is often ranked just after the two Sahihs; his student Ibn Hibban carried on his method. His Kitab al-Tawhid collects the reports on the divine attributes, and later theologians differed over some of its readings. He was known for his generosity and for joining fiqh to hadith within the Shafi'i school.

Open on the map →

Life journey

  1. 838 CE Nishapur نيسابور
  2. 856 CE Baghdad بغداد
    Travelled to Rayy, Baghdad, Basra and Kufa for hadith; the years of his travels are approximate.
  3. 860 CE Fustat (Old Cairo) الفسطاط
    Studied in Egypt with al-Muzani and al-Rabi' al-Muradi.
  4. 865 CE Nishapur نيسابور
    Died 924 CE · 311 AH
    Returned to Nishapur, where he taught until his death.

Teachers

  • al-Rabi' al-Muradi (RH) 790–884 CE
    Ibn Khuzaymah heard hadith and al-Shafi'i's works from al-Rabi' in Egypt.
  • al-Muzani (RH) 791–878 CE
    Ibn Khuzaymah studied with al-Muzani in Egypt and narrated from him.

Key works

  • Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah صحيح ابن خزيمة
    The Authentic Collection of Ibn Khuzaymah
    Hadith he judged authentic, arranged by legal topic; only part of it survives.
  • Kitab al-Tawhid wa Ithbat Sifat al-Rabb كتاب التوحيد وإثبات صفات الرب
    The Book of Divine Oneness and the Attributes of the Lord
    Hadith reports on God's oneness and attributes, with their chains.

Places in their life

al-Mustansiriyyah, an Abbasid college of 1233, Baghdad
al-Mustansiriyyah, an Abbasid college of 1233, Baghdad
Photo: Taisir Mahdi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As, al-Fustat
The Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As, al-Fustat
Photo: لا روسا, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
  • Taj al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Travel years are approximate. Check al-Dhahabi's report that al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from him.