Imam al-Dhahabī
شمس الدين محمد بن أحمد الذهبي
al-Ḥāfiẓ · al-Muʾarrikh
Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Dhahabī
- Birthplace
- Damascus, Syria
- Madhhab
- Shāfiʿī in fiqh, Atharī in ʿaqīdah
- Reference
- Wikipedia ↗
Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — the monumental biographical dictionary of Islamic scholarship, from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Dhahabī's own era. A working-scholar reference used for seven centuries.
Al-Dhahabī was the great historian and biographer of Sunni Islam. Born in Damascus, he studied hadith with over a thousand teachers across Syria, Egypt, and the Hijāz, and dedicated his life to the sciences of rijāl (the biographies and integrity of hadith transmitters) and tārīkh (the history of the tradition).
His magnum opus, Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — Biographies of Eminent Nobles — is a roughly forty-volume work that traces the lives of the most significant scholars, narrators, statesmen, and saints from the Prophet's ﷺ generation through the 8th Islamic century. It is one of the most cited works in the Islamic biographical tradition, still consulted daily by scholars working with hadith, tafsīr, fiqh, and the chain of transmission. His Tārīkh al-Islām is a parallel grand history, and his works on the ḥuffāẓ and the critique of transmitters remain standard references.
- Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Biographies of Eminent Nobles)
- Tārīkh al-Islām al-Kabīr (The Great History of Islam)
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl fī Naqd al-Rijāl (The Scale of Justice on the Critique of Transmitters)
- Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ (Memorial of the Hadith Masters)
- Al-Kāshif fī Maʿrifat man lahu Riwāya fī al-Kutub al-Sittah
Al-Dhahabī's Siyar is, without exaggeration, the reference work on Islamic scholarly history. Seven centuries after his death, any serious student of hadith or Islamic biography still begins with him.
Imam al-Dhahabī, from the books.
-
"He saw a man crying and asked, "What makes you cry?" The man replied, "I do not cry for any worldly gain I achieved from you, but I cry for the knowledge I used to gain from you." He said, "Do not cry for it, for indeed..." Abraham, peace be upon him, was on the earth when there was no knowledge, and God granted him knowledge. If I die, seek knowledge from four: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Salman al-Farisi, Abdullah ibn Salam, and Uwaimir Abu al-Darda."
— Volume 1
-
"is in the fire. The worst form of pride is being arrogant towards the servants of Allah due to one's knowledge and considering oneself superior because of virtue. Such pride will not benefit them in their knowledge. Whoever seeks knowledge for the hereafter will be humbled by it, his heart will soften, and his soul will be subdued."
-
"This distinction helps us understand the texts regarding its permissibility and condemnation. Argumentation and dispute mean the same thing. Some have said, I have not seen anything that diminishes faith nor diminishes manliness nor occupies the heart more than contention. If you say, There must be contention for a person to claim his rights, the answer is as Al-Ghazali, May Allah have mercy on him, responded, The blameworthy contention is only for one who disputes with falsehood and without knowledge, like an attorney who takes on a dispute before knowing where the truth lies, and he argues without knowledge."
-
"Allah will cast him into the fire. This was narrated by al-Tirmidhi. Furthermore, the Prophet, Peace be upon him, said, Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it, a bridle of fire will be placed upon him on the day of resurrection. Among the supplications of the Messenger of Allah, Peace be upon him, was, O Allah, I seek refuge in you from knowledge that does not benefit. He also said, Whoever learns knowledge but does not act upon it will only increase in arrogance."
-
"world with a garment and sustenance, and take a weak house like the house of the spider. Then say, O soul, this is your dwelling, so die. The Thirty-Eighth Major Sin, Learning for the World and Concealing Knowledge Allah, the Exalted, says, Indeed it is only those who have knowledge among his servants who fear Allah. This refers to those who have knowledge of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."
