The Biography of Imam Ibn Khuzaymah: The Imam of Imams and Hadith Master

“And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allāh,

from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.” (Quran 35:28)

Peace be upon you, and Allah's ﷻ mercy and blessings.

“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”

“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)

...of the worlds, and blessings upon the most noble of prophets and messengers,

our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his family, companions, and followers.

Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to a new episode

of this series, 'Biography of an Imam'.

My talk with you today, and my meeting, will be

about the Imam, the memorizer, the trustworthy, the Imam of Imams and Sheikh al-Islam,

the author of excellent works, and the one who followed the path of the Salaf in creed,

the surging ocean, the great scholar who is unmatched in presenting proofs and unrivaled in debate,

who gathered diverse branches of knowledge, and whose status rose so high that the rising stars fell short of it,

delegations flocked to his domain, and none but the most wretched avoided him,

fatwas were carried from him by land and sea, traversing the earth far and wide,

and his knowledge spread, guiding through every dark adversity,

And you continue as a guiding light, followed by the guides.

How could it not be, when he is the Imam of Imams?

This is the title the scholars agreed upon for him.

Surely you know him; he is Imam Ibn Khuzaymah al-Naysaburi,

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah ibn al-Mughirah ibn Salih ibn Bakr,

Abu Bakr al-Sulami al-Naysaburi al-Shafi'i.

Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) was born in the year 223 AH in Naysabur,

Naturally, he began seeking knowledge in his youth, focusing on hearing Hadith and fiqh,

and he excelled in both until he became an exemplar of vast knowledge and precision.

It was said he drank Zamzam water during Hajj, intending to gain beneficial knowledge,

as if Allah ﷻ had opened the springs of knowledge and wisdom in his heart.

And that is why he narrated a hadith about this,

may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him. The authentic hadith states: "Zamzam water is for whatever it is drunk for."

Ibn Khuzaymah was truly one of the world's unique scholars,

in understanding, intelligence, memorization, and intellect,

alongside asceticism and turning away from the world and its adornments.

He would not save anything,

and he would spend everything he owned on the people of knowledge,

to the extent that it was mentioned of him

that he could not distinguish between ten and twenty,

He might give ten thinking it was five.

Therefore, the upbringing of Ibn Khuzaymah (RH)

with such qualities and in this manner

heralded the birth of a scholar among the great and exemplary scholars.

Therefore, Ibn Khuzaymah

focused on reciting to the Sheikhs

and traveling to scholars, which is a sunnah, as we always mention,

a practice of the people of knowledge: traveling in pursuit of knowledge.

Moses (AS) traveled to Al-Khidr (AS), and Companions (RA) traveled in search of...

knowledge of Hadith. Therefore, he toured the regions and traveled far and wide

to hear Hadith and meet scholars.

He went to the regions and countries that were hubs for scholars and knowledge,

such as the Hijaz—of course, Makkah and Madinah—as well as the Levant,

and also Egypt and Iraq.

He met a very large number of scholars,

and a large number of students also studied under him during these travels.

For this reason, for example, among the most famous students of Ibn Khuzaymah (RH), in fact, was al-Bukhari (RH)

and Muslim (RH) as well—among the students of Ibn Khuzaymah (RH).

and they narrated from him, but not in the Sahihayn; not in the Sahihayn.

As for him, he learned from a group, meaning a vast number of people,

from a vast number of people. For example, al-Muzani (RH), the student of al-Shafi'i (RH), he learned from him; he was one of his teachers.

And I will mention a story of his with...

with Al-Muzani.

Ibn Hibban says: "I have not seen on the face of the earth

one who masters the craft of the Sunan, memorizes their authentic wordings and additions,

as if all the Sunan were before his eyes, except Muhammad ibn Ishaq."

And Al-Daraqutni says: "Ibn Khuzaymah was an imam, firmly established, without equal."

And Ibn Abi Hatim was asked about him — it was said to Ibn Abi Hatim: "What do you say about Ibn Khuzaymah?"

He said: "Woe to you! He is the one who should be asked about us, not us about him. He is an imam to be followed, trustworthy and truthful."

And Abu Ali Al-Naysaburi says: "Ibn Khuzaymah would memorize the fiqh-related hadiths as a reciter memorizes a surah."

And Al-Hakim Al-Naysaburi, speaking about Ibn Khuzaymah, says:

"He was the imam of the people of the East in his time in knowledge, precision, and mastery."

And Abu Ishaq Al-Shirazi said: "It was said of him

the Imam of Imams, who combined fiqh and Hadith.

And Ibn Surayj said, mentioning Ibn Khuzaymah:

“He used to extract the subtle points from the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with tweezers.”

Meaning by 'subtle points', the rare issues, the precise issues,

the benefits that no one else might notice. This is the meaning.

Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) was distinguished by the excellence of his writing,

and therefore, this beauty and success in his writings, SubhanAllah, had a reason,

which he mentioned about himself. He said: “Whenever I wanted to write something, I would pray Istikhara,

until it was opened for me therein, and then I would begin.”

Allahu Akbar. He said: “I would go in, pray, and seek the guidance of Allah ﷻ.”

SubhanAllah, he was granted success in these writings.

To the extent that Abu Abdullah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi said:

says about Ibn Khuzaymah:

"His virtues are too famous to be contained in this place,

and his works exceed 140 books, excluding the Masa'il."

And the compiled Masa'il are more than 100 volumes.

And of course, among his most important works is Kitab al-Tawhid,

and Ithbat Sifat al-Rabb, and Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah.

Ibn Khuzaymah was asked: "From where were you given this knowledge?"

He said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

'Zamzam water is for whatever it is drunk for,'

and when I drank it, I asked for beneficial knowledge."

He says: "I asked for beneficial knowledge."

So his works exceed 140 books, may Allah Almighty have mercy on him.

And of course, this book of his, al-Tawhid, which is unparalleled,

was criticized in one of its passages,

well-known to Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah scholars,

and "Who is he who has never done wrong, and who is he who has only good deeds?"

He is not a prophet; he is a scholar among scholars.

Infallibility belongs only to the Prophet ﷺ.

Of course, among the works by which Allah Almighty benefited the people of Islam is Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah,

Ibn Khuzaymah. By the way, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah...

...he did not stipulate authenticity in it,

he did not stipulate authenticity, as evidenced by

the fact that through his chapters—because Ibn Khuzaymah's chapters are fiqh,

his chapters are fiqh. I believe, and Allah knows best, there is an academic thesis, if I am not mistaken,

on the fiqh of Ibn Khuzaymah through the chapters in his Sahih.

However, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah did not stipulate authenticity, so it is not like al-Bukhari and Muslim,

as evidenced by the fact that throughout the chapters, when he mentions hadiths, he says, 'If it is authentic.'

What does 'if it is authentic' mean?

Meaning, he did not assert the authenticity of the hadith.

And he would also say: "And in it is a narrator about whom there is some doubt in my heart."

This indicates that he doubted this narrator.

Therefore, it is a mistake now for some students of knowledge

that all hadiths in Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah are authentic—this is incorrect.

Pay attention to this, may Allah ﷻ bless you.

Of course, Ibn Khuzaymah was famous for—along with knowledge, action, asceticism, piety, and devotion—

he was renowned for generosity and openhandedness. He was generous, may Allah have mercy on him,

to the extent that he would give away his clothes in charity out of his intense love for charity.

Muhammad ibn al-Fadl says: "My grandfather, Abu Bakr"—who is Ibn Khuzaymah—

He says, "My grandfather Abu Bakr would not save anything he could spend; rather, he spent it on the people of knowledge."

It was said that Ibn Khuzaymah hosted a grand banquet in a garden, gathering the poor and rich,

and brought in all the food and sweets available in the town.

Al-Hakim said: "It was a memorable day with so many people, fit only for a great ruler."

He was also ascetic (RH), to the point that he was once told:

"If only you had some clothes tailored for yourself to adorn yourself with,"

he replied, "I do not ever recall owning more than two shirts."

He had one shirt he wore and another at the tailor's. If he took off the one he wore and gave it away,

they would go to the tailor and bring the other shirt.

Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) is the Imam of Imams.

He also went through the trials and tribulations that befell the major scholars.

You know, my brothers and sisters, that trials are one of Allah's universal, decreed laws for creation,

and trials befall prophets, scholars, and saints due to Allah's ﷻ love for them.

"If Allah loves a people, He tests them."

Imam Ibn Khuzaymah's fame had spread far and wide, so it was natural for envy to stir,

especially since he had firm and strong stances against

the people of desires and innovations of his time.

So it was very natural for there to be envious, cunning,

and plotting people who would harm Ibn Khuzaymah (RH).

Of course, there was a man from the people of desires and innovations named Mansur al-Tusi.

This Mansur al-Tusi used to attend the gatherings of Ibn Khuzaymah,

not for the sake of Allah nor to seek knowledge, but to seek discord and misinterpret his words.

Envy consumed him, and he began to plot, scheme,

and plan to cause division between the Sheikh, Ibn Khuzaymah, and his students.

Because, subhan Allah, four of Ibn Khuzaymah's students became prominent scholars in his era,

meaning they became imams among the students of Ibn Khuzaymah.

This did not please this innovator,

so he began to devise a great plot,

to pit the scholar against his students.

So this man joined with another person

also from the people of desires, called Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Wa'iz,

together with this innovator. They agreed on the details of the conspiracy,

which was to spread rumors and propagate lies,

and to accuse Ibn Khuzaymah's students

of delving into matters of creed.

Of course, Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) had a rule for his students:

"Delving into Kalam is forbidden, and delving into argumentation is forbidden."

He used to forbid them from that.

He would strictly forbid them, saying: "No one should delve into kalam."

This innovator, Mansur al-Tusi, seized this opportunity,

and then went to the Sheikh, to the Imam of Imams, Ibn Khuzaymah (RH),

and told him that so-and-so—of course, approaching him in a certain way—

hold a corrupt belief and delve into the science of kalam,

and they say... meaning, he mentioned to him things related to the issue of Speech,

the Speech of Allah ﷻ, which is indeed an issue discussed in books of creed,

Its basis is: is speech—

is speech among what Allah ﷻ wills?

Meaning, speech in its essence is an attribute of the Essence of Allah ﷻ,

but He speaks whenever He wills.

They say, "No"—meaning, these people of innovation say: "If He speaks, then this is something originated."

And this, of course, Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah forbid such a belief.

So this man told him that they were saying this.

Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) gathered his students, blamed them, boycotted them, and said:

"Did I not forbid you from delving into such a matter?"

Of course, some of the students denounced this,

Some students had even gained favor with the ruler, as they were eloquent, pleasant

in companionship, and they were prominent, senior students.

Of course, alienation began between Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) and his students,

and things got worse with the interference of some parties,

until Ibn Khuzaymah (RH), who was over eighty years old,

of age, grew weary of this situation and was distressed.

Things reached the point that he wrote a statement on this for his students,

and summoned these four. Of course, he...

had previously forbidden sitting with them,

when he was told that they persisted in this.

Generally, Al-Tusi did not remain in this state,

but rather kept striving in tale-bearing,

slandering here and there, and inciting [people],

even though he came in the guise of a student of Ibn Khuzaymah (RH).

Therefore, this clamor and this fitnah were exploited in a bad way,

and Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) was harmed [by it].

Some scholars stepped forward to make peace between Ibn Khuzaymah and some of his students,

and this did not please the people of innovation and desires.

It was said that a statement was written regarding their creed,

and that Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) signed it, affirming its correctness and soundness,

but this statement was deposited with Al-Hafiz Al-Hayri

so that no further dispute would remain after that.

But it was said that not a day had passed since the reconciliation,

before Al-Tusi and those like him rushed to

Ibn Khuzaymah, saying, "They have betrayed you, and they changed your words and signature on this record."

So Ibn Khuzaymah demanded that the document and the seal be returned,

for he was extremely angry.

But of course, the matter did not go through.

And Ibn Khuzaymah, praise be to Allah, was upon the creed of the righteous Salaf from the Companions and Successors,

and the name of Ibn Khuzaymah remained,

while all those other names disappeared, because Ibn Khuzaymah, as it appears, had a great relationship with his Lord,

and was sincere to Allah ﷻ, as we deem him.

And his works remained, praise be to Allah; people still benefit from their shade.

And this is, in fact, a lesson for every prominent figure, every scholar, and every student of knowledge

to incline towards tranquility and deliberateness,

and not to rush into such matters,

but rather adhere to the words of Allah ﷻ: "O you who...

“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Quran 49:6)

...regretful."

These lessons, circles, and this knowledge,

truly stir up envy in opponents or people of desires.

Therefore, a person should be careful. The more rational one is,

the more deliberate, the more one postpones, and the more one seeks shade under tranquility,

the better the outcome will be.

As for prejudgment or haste, I believe it is harmful and not beneficial.

Of course, Ibn Khuzaymah (RH),

after a life full of knowledge and teaching,

and also protecting the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ,

defending this Sharia, and guarding its domain,

and establishing matters of creed from which people still benefit,

he met his Lord ﷻ in the year 311,

three hundred and eleven years after the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ,

having entered his...

ninety, or on the verge of it—meaning in his late eighties, it was said eighty-eight years,

and Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Therefore, Ibn Khuzaymah (RH), the Imam of Imams,

one of the world's leading scholars in fiqh, knowledge, memorization, and deduction,

has many stories and situations,

And I will mention in conclusion what happened in the gathering of

Al-Muzani (RH). Al-Muzani was a student of Al-Shafi'i.

Ibn Khuzaymah was one of Al-Muzani's students.

An Iraqi man came and asked Al-Muzani,

saying to him:

"How do you know that the types of homicide are three,

when only intentional and accidental homicide are mentioned in the Quran?"

Al-Muzani remained silent.

So Ibn Khuzaymah stood up and said:

"There is such and such regarding this."

Because the Iraqi was saying to Al-Muzani: "How do you have this from Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud'an?"

And he, of course, is weak.

So Ibn Khuzaymah said, "It has narrations from Ayyub, and from so-and-so, and so-and-so."

The Iraqi was amazed and said, "Who is the teacher, you or he?"

He said to al-Muzani, "I am asking you, arguing with you — who is the teacher, you or he?"

He said, "He is, when it comes to hadith," or something similar.

This shows al-Muzani's praise for Ibn Khuzaymah (RH),

may Allah be pleased with him, and gather us with him in the Gardens of Delight with the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous.

O Allah, Amen. I will meet you in a future session, by the will of Allah Exalted,

with another figure from the giants of the people of knowledge.

Until then, I entrust you to Allah, Whose trusts are never lost.

And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.