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Sahih Bukhari | Sahih Muslim | Abu Dawud | Shmail -la- Termizi | Malik Mouta | Fiqh-us-Sunnah | Extra(40 Hadith Qudsi, Novi's Hadiths etc) |
The Hadith : Shamaa-il Tirmidhi.
English Translation by Shaykhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya.
Introduction.
Sunan Shamaa-il of Imam Tirmidhi is a collection on the physical description and character of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW), also known as the sunnah. The reports of the Prophet's sayings and deeds are called ahadith. Imam Tirmidi lived a couple of centuries after the Prophet's death and worked extremely hard to collect his ahadith. Each report in his collection was checked for compatibility with the Qur'an, and the veracity of the chain of reporters had to be painstakingly established.
The Shamaa-il of Imam Tirmidhi has a collection of 397 ahadith and is divided into 55 chapters on the physical description and character of our beloved Prophet (SAW... Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam). It has been printed on numerous occasions and many commentaries have been written on it. The English translation and commentary is of the Khasaa-il Nabawi Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam by Shaykhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya Rahamatullahi 'Alayhi. It will enable a Muslim to achieve a link and connection with the one whom Allah Ta'aala has made as a mercy unto mankind, and most certainly Allah has spoken the truth when He mentions in His Book:
"Verily, you (0 Muhammad) are of a very high (noble) character".
A Muslim can truly claim his love for Prophet(SAW), if he attempts to follow the manner and life-style of the messenger of Islam. We are given such an opportunity, after the reading of this book, for it enlightens the reader with the intimate aspect of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam's) life.
As yet, there is no complete translation of Imam Tirmidhi's Jami' in the English language, whereas a complete English translation of Sahih Bukhari was undertaken by Muhammad Muhsin Khan and published in nine volumes in 1971 by the Islamic University of Madina, Saudi Arabia. Likewise the entire Sahih Muslim was rendered into English by 'Abd al-Hamid Siddiqi and published in four volumes in 1976 in Lahore, Pakistan. These are the well known contributions in the field of Hadith by Muslim scholars.
NOTE : THIS COLLECTION BY IMAM TIRMIDHI IS ONLY ON THE PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTER OF THE PROPHET (SAW).
Background.
Imam Tirmidhi's Jami' is an important collection of Hadith. A few statements of eminent scholars of Hadith regarding the worth of his collection are mentioned. Imam Tirmidhi said that he compiled this book and presented it to the learned of Hijaz, Iraq and Khurasan, and they were pleased with it, and whosoever has this book in his home, it is as though he has the Prophet (S.A.W.) speaking to him there. 'Abd Allah b. Muhammad al-Ansari (d.481 A.H.), the Shaikh-al-Islam (teacher) of Herat, is reported to have said that, in his opinion Tirmidhi's Jami' is more beneficial than Bukhari and Muslim's collections, since their compilations are for the scholars, whereas Imam Tirmidhi's Jami' is for both the scholars and the laity.
Imam Tirmidhi began the study of Hadith at the age of twenty, and from the year 235 A.H. he traveled widely, in pursuit of learning Hadith, to Hijaz, Kufa and Basra. Tirmidhi heard Hadith from the following most eminent traditionists, Imam Qutaiba b. Sa'id, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim and Imam Abu Dawud.
Imam Bukhari's extreme regard for Imam Tirmidhi is evidenced in his statement, "I have benefited more from you than you have benefited from Me". The high respect in which Imam Tirmidhi was held, is evident by the fact that Imam Bukhari received a few traditions from him. Imam Tirmidhi narrated one tradition from Imam Muslim in the "Chapter of Fasting" in his Jami'. Imam Tirmidhi also received traditions from Imam Abu Dawud, one of which is in the "Chapter on Hagiology" in his Jami'.
Imam Bukhari's influence on Imam Tirmidhi is apparent in the field of jurisprudence. In that he (Imam Tirmidhi), generally abstained from mentioning Abu Hanifa's (d.150 A.H.) name. This procedure was used by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih. Furthermore, Imam Tirmidhi used Imam Bukhari's Kitab al-Tarikh as a source and standard for mentioning the discrepancies in the text of the traditions or the transmitters. Imam Tirmidhi in a personal statement lavished great praise upon Imam Bukhari by declaring him as being the most learned person in Iraq or Khurasan in the science of discrepancies of Hadith.
Imam Tirmidhi has maintained the following conditions:
1. The traditions of any narrator who persistently commits errors in transmitting a Hadith or is considered weak due to his unmindfulness or weak memory, will not be cited in evidence.
2. It is not permissible to narrate a Hadith from persons who fabricate traditions.
3. The ahadith in the Jami' are divided in four categories. The first category consists of those ahadith which fulfill the conditions of Imam Bukhari and/or Imam Muslim. The second category consists of those ahadith which comply with the conditions of Imam Abu Dawud or Imam Nasa'i. The third category are those ahadith that have certain discrepancies either in the text or Sanad. The fourth type of traditions are those mentioned by Imam Tirmidhi, in spite of their weakness, as some jurists relied on them. Imam Tirmidhi was the only one amongst the six canonical traditionists, who quotes ahadith from the fourth category unhesitatingly, whilst Imam Abu Dawud also quotes from the fourth category but confines himself to the famous reporters of this category. The reporters who belong to the fourth category are persons who are truthful but have the tendency to speculate.
4. Imam Tirmidhi has applied the term Mursal Hadith where a reporter between the successor and the Prophet (SAW) is missing or where a reporter other than a companion is missing. To the later traditionists, the second type of Hadith is known as Munqati' (broken). Even a Mursal Hadith is valid according to Imam Tirmidhi when supported by a Hadith with an uninterrupted Sanad. In Imam Tirmidhi's opinion the majority of the scholars when classifying a tradition as Mursal consider it as weak. They have done so because Mursal narrations are narrated through either reliable or unreliable reporters and due to this doubt a precautionary stance is taken by classifying Mursal as weak.
5. Imam Tirmidhi accepts a Hadith conveyed by the usage of 'an (from), if the reporter is proved to be the contemporary of the one from whom he is reporting, unlike Bukhari, who as already mentioned, requires the meeting of both persons as well.
6. Imam Tirmidhi did not specify several conditions for the acceptance of Ahadith, since he included those traditions that were utilized by the jurists.
Brief Biography of Imam Tirmidi.
Imam Tirmidhi's Ism (proper name) was Muhammad. His Nasab (full name including his genealogical chain) was: Muhammad b. 'Isa b. Thawra b. Musa b. al-Dahhak. Imam Tirmidhi's Kunya (honorific name) was Abu 'Isa. Certain scholars raised objections regarding his kunya, since there is a tradition in the Musannaf of ibn Abu Shaiba, (a particular type of Hadith book) where Prophet Muhammad (SAW) reprimanded someone whose name was Abu 'Isa by saying that Isa had no father, implying that it was not becoming to keep the kunya Abu 'Isa. Hence the question arises regarding Tirmidhi's doing so. The permissibility for this practice is established in Sunan Abu Dawud, where it is narrated that Muqhira b. Sh'uba (d.50 A.H.) who was a companion of the Prophet (SAW), had the kunya Abu 'Isa. Once, 'Umar b. Khattab (d.24 A.H.) the second Caliph of Oslam rebuked him by saying, "Does it not suffice you to be called Abu 'Abd AllAh". Mughira replied, "It was the Prophet (SAW) of Allah who gave me this kunya". This incident proves that the prohibition was abrogated since the Hadith in which the Prophet (S.A.W.) prohibited the usage of the kunya was prior to the one in which he gave permission for its usage, hence the permission coming after the prohibition abrogates it.
Moulana Muhammad Yusuf Binnawri (d.1397 A.H.), a commentator, on the Jami', said that Imam Tirmidhi was born in Bugh in the year 209 A.H. He belonged to the Banu Sulaym tribe, hence he was called Sulami. His native town Bugh is a few miles from Tirmidhi and is considered a suburb of Tirmidh. Therefore he was known as Tirmidhi and Bughi, both places being in Khurasan, which is presently a province in North Eastern Iran, and it is with the nisba (linking him to his place of origin) Tirmidhi, that he is well known. The aforementioned biographer of Imam Tirmidhi does not mention any details of his parents. Imam Tirmidhi is reported to have said that his grandfather belonged to Marw but he subsequently moved to Tirmidh. Likewise, no mention is made of Tirmidhi's early life or occupation.
Teachings.
Kufa was considered as a major centre for Hadith Sciences from the time Caliph 'Umar (d.24 A.H.) sent 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (d.32 A.H.), the sixth person to embrace Islam, as a tutor to the people of Kufa. The approximate number of students who attended ibn Mas'ud's discourses were 4,000. Besides ibn Mas'ud, there were other illustrious companions of the Prophet (SAW) who resided in Kufa, prominent among them being Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (d.52 A.H.), Salman al-Farsi (d.35 A.H.), 'AmmAr b. Yasir (d.37 A.H.), Huzaifa b. Yaman (d.35 A.H.) and S'ad b. Abu Waqqas (d.55 A.H.). Therefore, on one occasion referring to Kufa, 'Ali b. Abu Talib (d.40 A.H.), the fourth Caliph of Islam remarked, "The companions of ibn Mas'ud are the lanterns of this Umma (Muslim community)". Since the famous traditionists were stationed in Kufa, Imam Bukhari said that he cannot even count how often he accompanied the traditionists to Kufa and Baghdad. That Kufa was a major centre of learning and contained many scholars is evident from the fact that Tirmidhi reported traditions from forty-two Kufan teachers. In his compilation he used more reportings of Kufan teachers in comparison to the number of reportings used of teachers from any other town.
Baghdad was also considered as a major centre of learning. A.J. Wensinck has mentioned that Ahmad b. Hanbal (d.241 A.H.) was Tirmidhi's teacher. According to the most reliable sources, Tirmidhi never went to Baghdad and did not attend any lectures of Ahmad b. Hanbal. Furthermore, Imam Tirmidhi, whenever narrating a sanad wherein the name of Ahmad b. Hanbal is mentioned, always names a transmitter between himself and Ahmad b. Hanbal, that is, Imam Tirmidhi never directly narrated from Ahmad b. Hanbal anywhere in the Jami'. Hence, a meeting between the two was highly improbable.
Another great centre of learning was Basra. The companions of the Prophet (SAW) who resided here, were Anas b. Malik (d.91 A.H.), 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas (d.68 A.H.) and 'Imran b., Husain (d.52 A.H.). During the time of Imam Tirmidhi, Zayd b. Akhzarn (d.257 A.H.) was the famous traditionist of Basra. He was the teacher of Imam Bukhari, Imam Nasa'i, Imam Abu Dawud, Imam Tirmidhi and Imam ibn Maja. Other famous traditionists of Basra were 'Abbas 'Anbari (d.246 A.H.), Muhammad b. Bashshar Bundar (d.252 A.H.), Muhammad b. al-Muthanna (d.252 A.H.) and Muhammad b. M'amar (d.250 A.H.). Each of the six canonical traditionists attended the discourses of the above mentioned traditionists.
Imam Tirmidhi's native land Khurasan was also considered as an intellectual capital. It was known as Madina al-Rijal - "The City of Men", referring to the large number of traditionists who resided there.
Special Attributes.
Imam Tirmidhi was a man of strong memory. James Robson mentions an interesting story which illustrates his power of committing traditions to memory. Once on the way to Makka, Imam Tirmidhi met a traditionist from whose traditions he had previously copied out two parts. Thinking he had these notes with him, he questioned the traditionist about the traditions, which he had noted, but discovered that instead of his notes, he had brought some blank sheets of paper. Nonetheless he continued his questions with these sheets in his hand, and after a while the traditionist noticed that they were blank and rebuked him, whereupon Imam Tirmidhi assured him that he knew the traditions by heart. The traditionist was not convinced of his genuineness, even though Imam Tirmidhi recited the traditions to him, so Imam Tirmidhi asked him to recite some other traditions. The traditionist recited forty traditions which Imam Tirmidhi repeated without making a single error, thus showing his remarkable power of committing traditions to memory.
Moulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d.1323 A.H.), a commentator on the Jami' said that Imam Tirmidhi was born blind. This opinion is erroneous since al-Dhahabi (d.748 A.9) and the majority of the scholars agree that his blindness occurred during the latter portion of his life and he remained blind for two years. Hence he was commonly referred to as al-Darir (blind). His blindness is usually attributed to his weeping over Imam Bukhari's death (d.256 A.H.) or his excessive weeping for the fear of Allah.
Death.
Imam Tirmidhi died in Bugh on the 13 Rajab 279 A.H. at the age of seventy (To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return). Imam Tirmidhi was considered by the scholars to be Imam Bukhari's successor is distinct in the words of the traditionist 'Umar b. 'Alaq, "When Bukhari died he left no one in Khurasan who compared with Tirmidhi in knowledge, memory, piety and asceticism".
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