A Life Sketch of Imâm Ibn Mâjah
Imâm Ibn Mâjah, ﷺ is a bright star that continues to shine to this day on the firmament of Hadîth sciences. He is counted among the greatest and most high-ranking Imâms of Hadîth. He has also the honor of being one of the six Imâms whose collections of Hadîth are widely popular among the Muslims.
Like other Imâms, he earned great fame for serving the Hadîth sciences and played an important role in the recording of Ahâdîth. His whole life he spent watering the garden of this science. To collect and record the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ, he traveled to several countries, learning from the greatest Hadîth scholars of his times and then gathering together those pearls in a single place for the benefit of later generations.
Ibn Mâjah was a great scholar of Hadîth, Qur'anic interpretation and history. Especially in the field Hadîth sciences, he was counted as a great memorizer of Ahâdîth and an expert in this field. For this very reason, Hâfiz Shamsuddin Muhammad Dhahabi, Hâfiz Ibn Hajar and other critics in the field of Hadîth sciences have acknowledged his leading position, high station, breadth of vision, and the ability to memorize Ahâdîth, extolling his academic and technical services in this field.
Name and Lineage:
Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid bin 'Abdullah Rab'i Al-Qazvini nicknamed Ibn Mâjah. He was a non-Arab. He was Rab'i because he belonged to the tribe of Rab'i and was called Al-Qazvini because he belonged to Qazvin (Iran). Various explanations have been given for his nickname. Allamah Zubaidi, writing in Tâjul-'Urus, has given several explanations for the nickname, one explanation being that Mâjah was his mother's name. Imâm Nawawi gives weight to this explanation. Shah 'Abdul-'Aziz Dehlavi in Bostânul-Muhadithin says: (The correct opinion is that Mâjah was his mother.) That is why the Arabic word for son (Ibn) is written with the Arabic letter alif to indicate that Ibn Mâjah qualifies Muhammad, not 'Abdullah. Anyhow, some scholars believe that Mâjah was his father's name. That is also the opinion of Hâfiz Ibn Hajar.
Birth and Early Education:
He was born in 209 AH corresponding to 824 CE. Yâqut bin 'Abdullah Al-Hamavi, quoting Ja'far bin Idris Târîkh Qazvin, wrote: Abu 'Abdullah died in the year 273 AH and I heard him say "I was born in 209 AH." Much of
Ibn Mâjah's childhood is unknown but it appears that, according to the practice of those days, after receiving his early education, he turned to the Hadith sciences in his own hometown first that had become by then the cradle of Hadith sciences.
Travels in Pursuit of Knowledge:
After learning from the teachers in his own home town and the towns nearby, he began his travels in 230 AH, when he was 21 or 22 years old, to other countries to acquire more of Hadith sciences. Ibn Jawzi writes in Al-Muntazim: "He travelled to Khorasan, Iraq, Hijaz, Egypt and Shâm and attended the gatherings of Hadith scholars." Imâm Hanbal writes: "He journeyed to Kufah and Basrah, Egypt, and Shâm. He also learned from the scholars of Makkah and Al-Madinah and, later, traveled to Baghdad that was in those times, according to Imâm Dhahabi, the 'home of chains of narration and memorization' (Dârul-Isnâdul-'Âli wal-Hifz), the seat of the caliphate and knowledge. But he never ceased or tarried but continued his journeys in quest of knowledge. Again he traveled to Damascus, Homs, Egypt, Isfahan, Ashkelon (seaport in SW Palestine) and Nishapur where he became a pupil of the stars and celebrities of Hadith sciences. This gives us a good idea of how hard he strove to learn Hadith sciences and, in his desire to collect Ahâdith, journeyed to distant seats of learning.
His Teachers:
Imâm Ibn Mâjah had the honor of learning Hadith sciences from a number of great scholars of his times including those of Makkah, Al-Madinah and Qazvin. Among those of Al-Madinah were Hâfiz Ibn Mus'ab Zubairi, Ahmad bin Abu Bakr Al-'Awfi and Hâfiz Ibrâhim bin Al-Mundhir. His Makkah teachers were Hâfiz Jalwâni, Abu Muhammad Hasan bin 'Ali Al-Khilâl, Hâfiz Zubair bin Bakkâr, the Judge of Makkah, Hâfiz Salamah bin Shabib, etc. Notable among his teachers in Qazvin were 'Amr bin Râfi' Bajali, Ismâ'il bin Tawbah and Muhammad bin Abu Khâlid Qazvini. He also studied under other prominent teachers like Jubârah bin Mughallis, Abu Bakr bin Abu Shaibah, Nasr bin 'Ali Nishapuri, Abu Bakr bin Khallâd Bâhili, Muhammad bin Bashshâr, Abul-Hasan'Ali bin Muhammad Tanâfisi and 'Ali bin Mundhir.
His Pupils:
The list of his pupils is very long. They are scattered far and wide, in Qazvin, Hamadan, Isfahan, Baghdad, and other places. Notable among them are 'Ali bin 'Abdullah Al-Falâni, Ibrâhim bin Dinâr Al-Jarshi, Ahmad bin Ibrâhim Qazvini, Hâfiz Abu Ya'la Al-Khalili and Abu 'Amr Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hakim Al-Madani Al-Isfahâni.
Narrators of Sunan Ibn Mâjah:
Among his closest students who had the honor of narrating Sunan Ibn Mâjah were Abul-Hasan Al-Qattân, Sulaimân bin Yazid, Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin 'Eisa, and Abu Bakr Hâmid Al-Abhari.
Recognition of his eminence by Scholars:
A great Hadith scholar, interpreter of Qur'ân and historian, his outstanding rank, especially in the field of Hadith sciences, has been acknowledged by scholars of Hadith sciences in every age.
– Imâm Dhahabi says: "Imâm Ibn Mâjah remembered Ahâdith by heart. He was a critic in the field of Hadith sciences, truthful, upright and a man of wide learning." Imâm Dhahabi wrote in Tadhkiratul-Huffâz: "He was a great memorizer of Ahâdith and a Hadith scholar and Qur'ân interpreter of Qazvin."
– Abu Ya'la Khalili said: "He was very trustworthy and an authority; and had a deep knowledge of Hadith sciences."
– Allamah Sindi said: "Among the Imâms of Hadith, he had a high rank, was pious and a trustworthy scholar by consensus."
Writings of Ibn Mâjah:
After completing his education, Ibn Mâjah turned to writing and composing and left behind three great works:
As-Sunan: The Sunan Ibn Mâjah is counted among the Sound Six (or, say, the Six Books) and ranks sixth. A detailed account can be seen in the following pages.
At-Tafsir: It was a large commentary on Qur'ân in which the Imâm had collected Ahâdith and comments of the Companions and Tâbi'in[1] supported with chains of narrations. Sayuti counted this commentary and that of Ibn Hâtim among the voluminous commentaries of Qur'ân. Ibn Kathir, in Al-Bidâyah, said the same thing.
At-Târikh: A great history book and a manifestation of his great scholarship and learning, Ibn Kathir called it a complete history while Ibn Khalkân, the famous historian, called it Târikh Malih (nice history).
It is a pity that the last two books are no longer extant.
Death:
The Imâm died on Monday, 22 Ramadân, 273 AH corresponding to 887 CE, aged 64. May Allâh forgive him and have mercy on him. Amen.
[1] Literally, the word means 'Followers' or 'Successors'. A technical term meaning those who saw and met a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ.
Hâfiz Abul-Fadl Muhammad bin Tâhir Maqdisi said, "I saw a book Ibn Mâjah authored on biographies and history of regions from the time of the Companions till his time. At the end of the book, there is a statement with the handwriting of his student Ja'far bin Idris that reads: Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid Mâjah died on Monday and was buried on Tuesday 22nd of Ramadân 273 AH. I heard him saying, 'I was born in the year 209 AH.' He was aged 64 years. The funeral prayer was performed on him by his brother Abu Bakr, and he was buried by his brothers, Abu Bakr and Abu Abdullah; and his son, Abdullah."
Some scholars said that Ibn Mâjah died in the year 275 A H.[1]
Many a poet wrote moving elegies on his death. Hâfiz Ibn Hajar, in Tahdhibut-Tahdhib, quoted a verse written by Muhammad bin Aswad Qazvini: "The loss of Ibn Mâjah weakened the columns of the throne of knowledge and shook up its pillars."
[1] Tahdhibul-Kamâl 27/40.
Ibn Mâjah's Book: As-Sunan
Ahâdith began to be put down in writing even during the era of the Prophet ﷺ but these Ahâdith were no better than compilations by individuals. Their purpose was just to put them down in writing, with no regard for order or sequence. Later, during the caliphate of 'Umar bin 'Abdul-'Aziz (99 AH-101 AH), the state undertook this task but most of the works in this field were the products of individual labor. During the second century of the Hijra calendar, famous books like Muwattâ' of Imâm Mâlik and Musnad of Imâm Shâfi'i were prepared but the third stage of recording Ahâdith, known as the Golden Age, came only in the third century AH. Many a collection was made in this age. These included the Six Books (Kutub Sittah), popularly known as the Sound Six (Sahah Sittah), Sunan of Ibn Mâjah being one of them and considered the last of them.
Sunan Ibn Mâjah began to be included in the Six Books by the end of the fifth century AH. Since then, in every succeeding age, it kept on growing in value and importance. With respect to soundness and strength, Sunan Ad-Dârimi, Sunan Ad-Dârâqutni and other books of Sunan were superior to Sunan Ibn Mâjah but they did not gain popularity like Sunan Ibn Mâjah.
It is to be noted that Sunan is a technical term used by scholars of Hadith sciences to denote a book of Ahâdith relating to legal rulings, from the Chapters of Purification (Abwâbut-Tahârah wa Sunanha) down to the Chapter on Wills (Kitâbul-Wasâya) in the same order as followed in books of Islamic jurisprudence.
How important and useful the Sunan Ibn Mâjah is, can also be gauged by the fact that when Ibn Mâjah showed his work to Imâm Abu Zar'ah, the latter remarked: 'If this book reached the public, all or most of the existing Jawâmi' would cease to be used. The words of Imâm Abu Zar'ah proved to be true to the last letter. Several Jawâmi', Musnads and Sunan were eclipsed by Ibn Mâjah's Sunan.
Hâfiz Ibn Hajar, writing in Taqribut-Tahdhib, termed the book Jâmi' Jaiyid (a good, comprehensive Hadith collection).
The book, As-Sunan by Imâm Ibn Mâjah was an excellent and beneficial work that stunned the scholars of his time.
He himself said about the book: "I showed this book to Abu Zur'ah Râzi. He checked it and said, 'I think if people lay their hands on this book, all or most of other great compiled works will become unnecessary.'"[1]
[1] Tahdhibul-Kamâl 1/173.
The book was published and is popularly known among students of knowledge as Sunan Ibn Mâjah.
There was also an old edition of the book printed in Egypt in whose cover was written: 'Sunan Al-Mustafa by Ibn Mâjah'. However, there is no authentic proof for correctness of this latter name, and no one has ever called the book of Ibn Mâjah with this name.
As for the first name Sunan Ibn Mâjah, it is inconceivable that author could give his work this name. For, the custom is that the author gives his book a name and then adds 'by so-and-so'. It is not in the habit of the scholars to ascribe their books to themselves in a genitive construction. It is even unimaginable.
There is a very old and authorized manuscript of Sunan Ibn Mâjah that dates back to year 601 AH. The manuscripts had writings of a number of scholars including Ibn Qudâmah and Imâm Mizzi, in this manuscript, Ibn Mâjah's work is called As-Sunan li Ibn Mâjah. This is the correct title of the work.
One should not say that there is little difference between the title Sunan Ibn Mâjah that means 'the Sunan of Ibn Mâjah', or As-Sunan li Ibn Mâjah that means 'the Sunan collected by Ibn Mâjah'. For, in the second title, what normally comes to mind is that you are talking about the Sunan (traditions) of Allâh's Messenger ﷺ while in the first title, the reader will think that you are talking about the Sunan of Ibn Mâjah and not that of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. Also, if you compare between the two titles, you will realize that the respect the second title commands in the hearts is greater than that of the first one.
All this is in addition to the fact that the author did not title his work Sunan Ibn Mâjah. Therefore, books and opinions of their authors in giving titles to their books should be respected. It follows then that, Ibn Mâjah's book should be called 'As-Sunan by Ibn Mâjah', especially when printing the work.
It is, however, strange that though this book has been published several times, the correct title did not appear in the cover of any of these editions. What is more astounding is the fact that one of the editors of the book, Dr. Muhammad Mustafa A'zami adopted the authorized manuscript in which this title appeared. Yet, he disregarded this title.
While the scholars might be excused if they refer to Ibn Mâjah's work as Sunan Ibn Mâjah in their normal conversations, this usage should not be condoned if it is written on the cover of the book.
The Work's Printed Editions:
The work of Ibn Mâjah was first printed in 1233 AH in India. One volume of it was printed. The printing was then discontinued until the year 1273 AH when the second volume was printed, also in India. The work was republished once again in Lahore, India in 1311 AH.
In 1313 AH, it was published in Cairo. It was this Cairo edition that has in its margins the commentary of Sindî.
The book was published several times thereafter, the latest and most recognized of these editions is the one edited by Muhammad Fuwâd 'Abdul-Bâqî published in 1373 AH. It is the edition recognized by most scholars whenever they wanted to quote a Hadîth from Ibn Mâjah's collection. This edition was reedited by Dr. Muhammad Mustafa A'zami and published again in 1404 AH.
General Information on Sunan Ibn Mâjah:
It has been pointed out earlier that the work is published in two volumes. It consists of thirty-two books on knowledge and Fiqh, and of one thousand five hundred and fifteen (1515) chapters.
According to Muhammad Fuwâd 'Abdul-Bâqî's edition, it consists of four thousand three hundred and forty-one Ahâdîth; and according to A'zami's it consists of four thousand three hundred and ninety-seven Ahâdîth.
Ibn Mâjah started his collection with 'the Book of Sunnah', which is alternatively called 'the Introduction'. Indeed, this book with which he started his work is one of the most beautiful and most wonderful introductions for such a work. This is because; the collection itself is about the Sunnah and its fundamentals. It is therefore, very appropriate to start by discussing the Sunnah.
In this wonderful introduction, Ibn Mâjah mentioned many chapters. If he were to separate them, each of them would have been like individual Sunnah books such as As-Sunnah by Abdullah bin Ahmad, As-Sunnah by Lalkâ'i and As-Sunnah by Ibn Abu 'Âsim.
Ibn Mâjah then mentioned chapters that deal with the virtues of the Prophet's Companions such as Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, 'Ali and others. He then mentioned chapters concerning the Khawârij and Jahmiyyah.
In the Book of 'Aqidah', Imâm Ibn Mâjah mentioned chapters concerning a person who introduced good practice or bad practice; a person who revived a Sunnah that was extinct; and the virtue of a person who learnt the Qur'ân and taught others.
These and other chapters mentioned by Ibn Mâjah are like fundamentals
and principles of the science of Sunnah that should be inevitably read by whoever wants to learn the Sunnah or is keen about the Prophet's practice.
The first Hadith in the Sunan by Ibn Mâjah is as follows:
Ibn Mâjah narrated with his Isnâd that goes to Abu Hurairah ﷺ who narrated that the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said: "Whatever I have commanded you, do it; and whatever I have forbidden you, refrain from it."[1] This statement from Allâh's Messenger ﷺ seems like an interpretation of Allâh's Word, "And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)." (Al-Hashr 59:7)
Starting the book with this Hadith also has its significance. The comprehensiveness of the Hadith in the sense of its command that the Prophet ﷺ should be followed is an indication that the 'Book of Sunnah' is the best and the most beautiful thing the compilation can be started with.
The last Hadith in the Sunan by Ibn Mâjah is the one he reported with his Isnâd to Abu Hurairah ﷺ that the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said, "There is no one among you who does not have two abodes: An abode in Paradise and an abode in Hell. If he dies and enters Hell, the people of Paradise inherit his abode. This is what Allâh says, "These are indeed the inheritors." (Al-Mu'minun 23:10)[2]
Though this Hadith is one of those ones that only Ibn Mâjah narrated to the exclusion of the other five collectors, it is authentic. The other five collectors are: Bukhârî, Muslim, Abu Dâwud, Tirmidhi and Nasâ'î.
One of the wonderful lessons this Hadith teaches is that entering Paradise is the goal of all slaves and the consequence of all their actions. Ibn Mâjah concluded his collection with this Hadith to indicate this and that it is the end of whoever followed the Allâh's pleasure. It also indicates though the misguidance of those who deviated from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ may hurt the Ahlus-Sunnah in this world, they will be comforted on the Day of Resurrection. For, they shall inherit in Paradise the places of the inhabitants of Hell. The recompense shall be according to the deeds.
They were hurt by these people's abandonment of the religion and the Prophet's Sunnah in this world, so Allâh rewarded them for that by making them happy in the Hereafter and making them inherit places in Paradise allocated to the dwellers of Hell.
Further, it is also authentically reported from the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ that he said, "The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets
[1] Ibn Mâjah (1); Albânî classified it as Sahih.
[2] Ibn Mâjah (4341); Albânî classified it as Sahih.
did not leave behind Dinar or Dirham, rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken a great share.”[1] The legacy the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ left behind is his Sunnah. Those who inherited it in this world are the scholars who follow his Sunnah and act upon it. Therefore, they deserved to be exclusively described as ‘the inheritors’ in the above Verse.
This should not be surprising; for, in this world, they inherited the legacy of knowledge left behind by the Prophets; and, in the Hereafter, they shall inherit the abodes of Paradise.
The above explanation is an attempt at finding reason for Ibn Mâjah's concluding his collection with this Hadith.
Concerning describing the Sunan Ibn Mâjah as collection of Ahâdith that deal about Fiqh issues - in line with the definition of latter scholars who defined Sunan as a collection of Ahâdith arranged according to Fiqh chapters - we do not believe that this description is accurate enough. This is because; the Sunan collections, in addition to their inclusion of chapters on Fiqh, also include chapters that are unrelated to Fiqh. Therefore, it is better to define them as ‘the Sunan collections are books that mostly consist of Ahâdith arranged according to Fiqh chapters.’
For example, Sunan Abu Dâwud consists of Ahâdith about Mahdi, and this has nothing to do with rules of Fiqh.
There are also books in Ibn Mâjah's collection that have nothing to do with rules of Fiqh such as ‘Chapters on the Interpretation of Dreams’, ‘Chapters on Asceticism’ and ‘Chapters on Tribulations’.
The Chapters on Asceticism, which is the last part of the collection, consists of Ahâdith that describe the Day of Resurrection and its horrors, description of the Prophet's Water Fountain, and mentioning of the Prophet's intercession. Ibn Mâjah then mentioned Ahâdith about description of Hell-Fire and then description of Paradise.
It is therefore clear that Ibn Mâjah's collection does not consist of chapters of Fiqh only but also comprises other chapters of knowledge.
The Sunan Ibn Mâjah is the sixth of the six major collections of Ahâdith. Others are: Sahih Bukhârî and Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dâwud, Sunan Tirmidhi, and Sunan Nasâ'î. Hâfiz IbnʔAsâkir made a collection of parts of each of the Hadith of the collection and Mizzi did the same on all its narrators.
However, Ibn Salâh and Nawawî did not make a mention of Ibn Mâjah's
[1] Ibn Mâjah (223); Albânî classified it as Sahih.
collection in their works. They did not regard it as one of the major collections. They regarded the major collections as only the five, following the way of the earliest scholars of Hadith and methodology of the many of latter scholars. When some of these scholars realized that Ibn Mâjah's collection is immensely useful and strong in terms of Fiqh and they realized that it included many Ahâdith that are not in the Murwatta of Imâm Mâlik, they included it among the major collections making them six.
The first Imâm to include Sunan Ibn Mâjah to other five collections is Abul-Fadl Muhammad bin Tâhir bin 'Ali Maqdisi in his work, Atrâful-Kutub As-Sittah. He was followed in doing so by Hâfiz Abdul-Ghani bin 'Abdul-Wahid bin 'Ali bin Surur Maqdisi in his work, Al-Kamâl fi Asmâ'ur-Rijâl, which is a work about the narrators of the six major collections, and summarized under the name Tahdhibul-Kamâl by Hâfiz Jamâluddin Abu Hajjâ Yusuf bin Abdur-Rahmân Al-Mizzi.
There were scholars such as Razin bin Mu'âwiyyah 'Abdari and Athiruddin Abu Sa'âdat Mubârak bin Muhammad - otherwise known as Ibn Athir Al-Jazari Ash-Shâfi'i - who counted Muwatta' Imâm Mâlik as the sixth of major collection in place of Sunan Ibn Mâjah. 'Abdari did so in his work Tajrid while Ibn Athir did so in his work Jâmi'ul-Usul.
There were also eminent scholars such as Ibn Salâh, Nawawi, Salâhuddin 'Alâ'i and Hâfiz Ibn Hajar 'Asqalâni who believed that it would have been more preferable to count Sunan Dârimi as the sixth of the major collections instead of Sunan Ibn Mâjah.[1]
Date of Composition:
Ibn Mâjah left his home town in 230 AH in quest of Ahâdith and died in 264 AH. It was during this intervening period that he composed his Sunan and showed it to Abu Zar'ah. This leads us to infer that Ibn Mâjah wrote his Sunan between 230 AH and 264 AH.
Number of Narrations and Their Degree of Soundness:
According to Abul-Hasan Qattân, the Sunan Ibn Mâjah contains 32 Books, 1510 chapters and 4000 Ahâdith while, according to Muhammad Fuwâd 'Abdul-Bâqi, it contains 37 Books, 1560 chapters and 4341 Ahâdith. The latter opinion has more weight.
According to Fuwâd 'Abdul-Bâqi's research, of the additional 1339 Ahâdith, called Zawâ'id of Sunan Ibn Mâjah, 428 Ahâdith are Sahih, 199 Hasan, 613 Da'if and 99 Munkar (Denounced) and Maudu' (Fabricated). Shaikh Nâsiruddin in his book Da'if Ibn Mâjah, counts 948 Ahâdith as Da'if.
[1] See Ar-Risalah Al-Mustatrafah, p. 11.
Ibn Mâjah's Conditions Regarding the Ahâdith of His Collection:
We did not find that Imâm Ibn Mâjah wrote any introduction to his book in which he explained the conditions he followed and the methodology he used in compiling his book As-Sunan. He neither did that at the beginning of the book, as most scholars did, nor in a separate booklet, as some of them, such as Abu Dâwud did.
Also, we did not know of any scholar who gave any assessment to Ibn Mâjah's collection that its Ahâdith are generally authentic, as it happened with the collection of Nasâ'i and those of others. As a result, we could not say that Ibn Mâjah stipulated that he would include only authentic Ahâdith in his collection. In fact, the reality of his book indicated the contrary. What the study showed is that Ibn Mâjah's collection contains greater number of Weak Ahâdith and greater number of narrations that can be described as fabricated - though these are very few - than any of the other five collections.
How then can we know the conditions Ibn Mâjah followed in compiling his book and the methodology he used? To start with, two things should attract the attention of the reader of Ibn Mâjah's collection:
One: Ibn Mâjah was greatly keen on compiling as many Ahâdith as he could as long as they are explicitly related to detailed branches of Fiqh. He was enthusiastic about mentioning evidences for detailed Fiqh issues. That is why his book was praised in this aspect. Ibn Kathir described Ibn Mâjah's collection in his book, Ikhtisâr 'Ulumul-Hadîth, as 'a good and useful work, strongly chaptered in Fiqh.'
While making exhaustive compilation of these evidences of Fiqh, he was compelled to collect as many Ahâdith as he could regardless of authenticity or weakness of the Ahâdith. Perhaps, some scholars of Ibn Mâjah's time used to cite some of these Weak narrations as proofs and he wanted to bring out to our knowledge their chains so that we could know their status.
Two: It is related to the first factor - Ibn Mâjah has additional Ahâdith over those of the other five collections. These additions are many. If one was to consider the number of Ahâdith of the two Sahih collections and then those of the other three collections, namely Sunan of Abu Dâwud, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i, and he was to consider the fact that the other three collectors also arranged their collections according to Fiqh chapters without stipulating that they collected only authentic narrations; he would realize that Ibn Mâjah still had more exclusively additional Ahâdith than any of the other five collectors. The number of these additional Ahâdith is one thousand five hundred and fifty-two (1552) Ahâdith, according to the book Miftah Az-
Zujājah by Imām Busairi. This number is undoubtedly great.
In the light of the above two clear factors - namely that Ibn Mājah was enormously concerned about branches of Fiqh and collecting proofs on detailed Fiqh issues and that he had more exclusively additional Ahādīth than any of the other five collectors - we can then be able to answer the question: What was the methodology of Ibn Mājah and what was his purpose of compiling the book?
It is now clear to us that the purpose of Ibn Mājah was to bring to us chains of transmitters of reports cited as basis of the rules of Fiqh regardless of the degree of authenticity or otherwise of the chains.
Works Concerning Narrators of Sunan Ibn Mājah:
1. Imām Dhahabi wrote biographies for narrators of Sunan Ibn Mājah whose narrations were not collected by Bukhārī and Muslim. He named this work, Al-Mujarrad fi Rijāl Sunan Ibn Mājah. The work has been published twice.
2. Dr. Abdullah Murād 'Ali's thesis, Al-Matrुकunal-ladhina fee Ikhrāji lahum Ibn Mājah; this is a contemporary work.
3. There is also another work in this regard by Dr. Sa'di bin Mahdi Al-Hāshimi. It is published by Islamic University of Al-Madinah in 1402 AH.
Distinguishing Qualities of Sunan Ibn Mājah:
The Sunan of Ibn Mājah possesses some distinguishing qualities that kept it apart from other books of Ahādīth, made it outstanding and popular and called the attention of scholars in all ages. Here are those distinguishing qualities:
— The style is excellent. The titles of chapters are in harmony with the Ahādīth listed under them. There is no confusion or meshing or disorder. The chapters follow each other in the same order as in the books of Islamic jurisprudence, and the Ahādīth, too, are well-ordered—a quality that poses no difficulty in deriving legal rulings.
— The chapters are well-ordered and well-arranged. There is no repetition, a quality lacking in other basic Hadīth books.
— The book, though brief, is comprehensive with respect to legal rulings. It is for this quality of comprehensiveness that Ibn Hajar, in Taqribut-Tahdhīb, called it a 'good Jāmi'.
— On several occasions he identified those Ahādīth that are Gharīb (Unfamiliar). Of course, Tirmidhi is famed for having already done so, yet Ibn Mājah's work in this field, namely, identifying Ahādīth in some special chapters and ruling them as Gharīb is unique. We do not find it
in other books.
– There were some Ahādīth specific to some particular town, there being no narrator of those Ahādīth in other towns. But Ibn Mājah, while recording, gives the name of the town the narrator of a particular Hadīth belongs.
– Ibn Mājah added 482 Sahīh Ahādīth to his Sunan that do not exist in the other five books of Hadīth.
– There are 3002 common Ahādīth existing in both Sunan Ibn Mājah and the other five books but Ibn Mājah recorded them with quite different channels of narration. This multiplicity of channels of narration has further strengthened Ahādīth, a distinguishing quality of Sunan Ibn Mājah, a quality that is not found in other books.
– There are 1339 Ahādīth in Sunan Ibn Mājah that do not exist in the other Five books. Hadīth scholars have also recorded them as Zawā'id (additions or supplements). It is owing to those Zawā'id that the Sunan of Ibn Mājah has been elevated to the position of 'the sixth of the Six'.
Position of Sunan Ibn Mājah among the Six Collections:
Allāh, High and Exalted has appointed for the Sunnah well-versed and learned scholars who shall protect it against the distortions of extremists, arrogation of liars and misinterpretations of the ignorant. These scholars devised various ways of recording the Sunnah in order to preserve it. One of the best results of these efforts, the most authentic, the most accurate and the most well-accepted by all and sundry is 'the Sahīh', collected by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismā'il Bukhārī. This is followed in terms of accuracy and acceptance by Sahīh collected by Abu Husain Muslim bin Hajjāj Nishapuri.
These two collections are then followed by 'the Sunan' collected by each of: Abu Dāwud Sulaimān bin Ash'ath Sijistānī, Abu 'Eisa Muhammad bin 'Eisa Tirmidhī, Abu Abdur-Rahmān Ahmad bin Shu'aib Nasā'i and Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazid who is also known as Ibn Mājah Qazvini; though he did not attained the status of the other five.[1]
Rāfi'i (d. 623 AH), said in his book, At-Tadwin about Ibn Mājah's collection: "Ibn Mājah's collection, As-Sunan can be mentioned along with the two Sahīh collections and the Sunan collection of each of Abu Dāwud, Nasā'i and Tirmidhī."
[1] Tahdhibul-Kamāl 1/147.
As it has been pointed out earlier, there was a controversy among the scholars as to which of the three collections - Sunan Ibn Mâjah, Muwatta' Imâm Mâlik and Sunan Dârîmî - should be counted as the sixth of the six major collections. This controversy was widened by Majduddin Ibn Taimiyyah's argument that Musnad of Imâm Ahmad deserved to be counted instead of Sunan Ibn Mâjah.
This controversy was, however, brought to a logical end by the latter scholars; that is by incorporating all the suggested books and raising the major collections to nine. Hence, we have the basic five collections: Sahîhs of Bukhârî and Muslim, the Sunan collected by each of: Abu Dâwud Sulaimân bin Ash'ath Sijistânî, Abu 'Eisa Muhammad bin 'Eisa Tirmidhi and Abu Abdur-Rahmân Ahmad bin Shu'aib Nasâ'î with the addition of Sunan of Ibn Mâjah. Added to the list are: Muwatta' of Imâm Mâlik, Sunan of Dârîmî and Musnad of Imâm Ahmad.
These nine collections are therefore the major basic collections of Hadîth upon which the latter scholars finally agreed.
Ibn Hajar, in his work An-Nukât, did mention the reason that made Ibn Tâhir to count Sunan Ibn Mâjah as the sixth collection as opposed to Muwatta' by Imâm Mâlik. He said, "Ibn Tâhir and others counted Sunan Ibn Mâjah as the sixth collection as opposed to Muwatta' because; Muwatta' contains fewer fully-connected additions to the Hadîth of the five collections whereas Sunan Ibn Mâjah contains more and more. Therefore, the intention of the scholars in choosing Sunan Ibn Mâjah was to maximize the number of Ahâdîth."
In the above statement, Ibn Hajar mentioned the clear reason for the scholars' choosing of Sunan Ibn Mâjah as opposed to Muwatta' of Imâm Mâlik though it is indisputably clear that Muwatta' is more recognized and more authentic in terms of its contents than Sunan Ibn Mâjah. However, by choosing Sunan Ibn Mâjah, the scholars were adding a great number of Ahâdîth - more than one thousand five hundred additional Ahâdîth - to the treasure of Sunnah.
Sunan Ibn Mâjah's Rank among Hadîth Books:
Initially, only four were chosen from among the many Hadîth books by Ibn Sakan and Ibn Mandah and called them the 'Four Bases' that included Sahîh Bukhârî, Sahîh Muslim, Sunan Abu Dâwud and Sunan An-Nasâ'î. Later on, Sunan Tirmidhi was also included in them and a new term 'the Five Bases' was coined. Towards the end of the fifth century AH, Hâfiz Abul-Fadl Muhammad bin Tâhir Al-Maqdisi added Sunan Ibn Mâjah to the Five Bases, calling it the sixth of the Six (Sâdisus-Sittah) and by writing his book Shurutul-A'immaus-Sittah (The conditions laid down by the six Imâms)
included it permanently in the Six Books. Later on, Hâfiz 'Abdul-Ghani Al-Maqdisi, writing in his book Al-Kâmil, followed the same line that was laid down by Ibn Tâhir.
The Scholars' Interest in Sunan Collections:
The scholars showed great interest in Sunan collections. They transcript it, quoted it, memorized it, narrated it, commented on it and explained the situations of its narrators.
• One of these scholars is Imâm Hâfiz Muhammad bin Tâhir bin 'Ali bin Ahmad the well-traveled scholar and the author of many books. He was born in Jerusalem.
Salafî narrated that he heard Muhammad bin Tâhir saying: "I wrote the two Sahîhs of Bukhârî and Muslim and Sunan Abu Dâwûd seven times for wages. And I wrote Sunan Ibn Mâjah ten times at Ray."
Ibn Tâhir also said, "I discharged blood while urinating twice in the cause of seeking Ahâdîth: Once in Baghdad and the other time in Makkah. That was due to my walking barefooted in extreme heat. I never rode any mount in the cause of seeking Ahâdîth and I used to carry my books on my back. Also, I never begged anyone for anything while I was a student of Hadîth. I only used to live upon whatever came to me."
It was also reported that Ibn Tâhir would walk continuously for a day and a night; for he was endowed with the strength to do so.
Abdullah bin Muhammad Ansârî Harawi said, "A student of Hadîth should be fast at reading, writing and walking. Allâh endowed this young man - meaning Ibn Tâhir - with these qualities."
Shujâ' Dhuhli said, "Ibn Tâhir died when he arrived for Hajj on Friday 28th or 29th of Rabî'ul-Awwal 507 AH."[1]
• Sakhâwi said, "Hâfiz Ibn Hajar read the entire Sunan Ibn Mâjah in four sittings; Sahîh Muslim in four sittings, Sunan An-Nasâ'i Al-Kabir in ten sittings, and each sitting was approximately of four hours. He also read Mu'jam At-Tabarâni As-Saghîr in a single sitting between Zuhr and 'Asr prayers - And this is his fastest."[2]
The scholars had shown great interest in the books of Sunan. The lesser the number of narrators of a book and the closer its chains of narrators to the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, the higher the status of that book, as long as the reports are authentic. That is why the scholars paid
[1] Siyar A'lâm An-Nubala' 19/361.
[2] Khulâsah Al-Afkar fî A'yan Al-Qarn Al-Hadi 'Ashar 1/46.
greater attention to some Ahâdîth whose chains of narrators are shorter. For instance, they paid greater attention to Ahâdîth whose Isnâd consist of one, two or three narrators.
As for Isnâd with only three narrators in the chains, Imâm Shâfî'i recorded a number of them in his Musnad. Imâm Ahmad also has a lot of them in his Musnad. Bukhârî has about twenty of them; and Abu Dâwud and Tirmidhi have one each. As for Ibn Mâjah, he has about five of them but each of his narrators is accused of lying. Tabarâni in his Mu'jam also has a few of these Isnâd.
As for Imâm Mâlik, he has reports in his Muwatta' with only two narrators in their Isnâd. Imâm Abu Hanîfah also has narrations with only one narrator between him and the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. However, these reports are rejected because; the fact is that Abu Hanîfah never heard anything from any of the Prophet's Companions. It then follows that one or more narrators must have been dropped between him and the Companions he is reported to have narrated from.
The Scholars' Interest in Sunan Ibn Mâjah:
It is in the habit of the scholars to read and memorize Sunan books. One of the most prominent among such scholars is Abu Zur'ah Maqdisi. The great scholar, who was well-versed in Hadîth was Tâhir bin Muhammad bin Tâhir bin 'Ali Shaibâni Al-Maqdisi Al-Râzi Al-Hamdâni. He was born in Ray.
'Umar bin 'Ali Al-Qurashi said, "I started reading Sunan Ibn Mâjah to Abu Zur'ah when he came for Hajj. He said: 'I heard the book from Abu Mansur Miqwâmi, and it was from a copy written by my father.'" Al-Qurashi then said, "We then confirmed that he had Ijâzah (i.e., certificate of approval) from Miqwâmi."
Abu 'Abdullah Dubaithi said, "Abu Zur'ah died in the year 566 AH at Hamdân."[1]
Another prominent scholar in this regard is Muhammad bin Shâfî'i bin Muhammad bin Tâhir Nishapuri who was also known as as-Sinawbari, the jurist. He visited Baghdad and lived there for sometime. While he was there, he narrated Sunan Ibn Mâjah to people.[2]
[1] Siyar A'lâm An-Nubala' 20/504.
[2] Târîkh Dimashq 53/244.
Scholars Who were Unable to Acquire Sunan Ibn Mâjah:
1. 'Ali bin Ismâ'il bin Abbâs bin Qarqin Al-Ba'li (d. 772 AH).[1]
2. Hâfiz 'Allâmah Shaikhul-Islam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Husain bin 'Ali bin Musa Al-Khazrujardi Khorasani Al-Baihaqi. He was a great scholar. His knowledge was blessed and he has many useful works to his credit. He did not have any of Sunans of Nasâ'i, Tirmidhi or Ibn Mâjah. He died in the year (458 AH).[2]
Explanatory Commentaries on Ibn Mâjah:
Like the other Five Books, in view of the usefulness, importance and fame of Sunan Ibn Mâjah, many notable commentaries and marginal notes have been written on it. Some of them are:
1. The first known commentary on Sunan Ibn Mâjah is the one done by the Egyptian Hâfiz Abu 'Abdullah 'Alâ'uddin Mughaltâ'i bin Qalij bin 'Abdullah Bakjari Al-Misri (d. 762 AH). He named his work Al-I'lam bi Sunnatihî 'Alaihîs-Salâm. The author died before he could complete it. It still remains in manuscript and unedited, and it is in four volumes.
2. Mâ Tamassu minhul-Hâjah min Sunan Ibn Mâjah: An eight-volume commentary, written by Shaikh Sirâjuddin 'Umar bin 'Ali bin Al-Mulaqqin in 801 AH, on Zawâ'id of Ibn Mâjah. The book explains the odd words and describes difficult names and surnames with accuracy.
3. Some authors mention a book called Mâ Tamass ilayh Hâjah liman Yutâlih Sunan Ibn Mâjah. This book was written by one of the Indian scholars, Muhammad Abdur-Rashid Nu'mâni. The impression the title of the book gives is that it is about Ibn Mâjah's methodology and other necessary things a readers should know about Sunan Ibn Mâjah. But, sadly, the book is mostly devoid of that. It was only written in response to an issue that affects the Hanafites only. The only important thing the book has is that it made a mention of spurious Ahâdîth.
4. Ad-Dibajah fee Sharh Sunan Ibn Mâjah is a five-volume work by Kamaluddin Muhammad bin Musa Ad-Damiri, the author of the famous Hayâtul-Haivân Al-Kubra; he died in the year 808 AH.
5. Allâmah Jalâluddin Suyuti also had a commentary on Sunan Ibn Mâjah. It was printed along with a very old edition of Sunan Ibn Mâjah in New Delhi. Suyuti's commentary is called: Misbah Az-Zujajah. However, I do not know whether or not this name is authentic.
6. Sharh Sunan Ibn Mâjah by Ibn Rajab Hanbali (d. 795 AH); we know
[1] Ad-Durar Al-Kaminah fee A'yân Al-Mi'ah Ath-Thaminah 1/350.
[2] Siyar A'lâm An-Nubala' 18/163.
nothing about this commentary except that Sindi quoted from it in his own commentary on Sunan Ibn Mâjah.
7. Sharh Ibn Mâjah: The work of Shaikh Burhânuddin Halabi. According to Imâm Shaukânî, it is a very delicate and refined commentary.
8. Misbah Az-Zujâjah fi Zawâid Ibn Mâjah by Busairi (d. 840 AH). The unique feature of this work is that Busairi edited those narrations that Ibn Mâjah exclusively recorded. He then classified each of these narrations in terms of its authenticity or otherwise. It should be pointed out that this Busairi is different from the one who wrote a poetry in which the Prophet ﷺ was excessively praised and which is recited all over the Muslim world. We ask Allâh for guidance.
9. Kifâyatul-Hâjah fi Sharh Ibn Mâjah: Marginal notes by Shaikh Abul-Hasan Muhammad bin 'Abdul-Hâdi Sindi, a twelfth century AH scholar (d. 1138 AH). In his marginal notes, 'Allâmah Sindi explains odd words, gives correct spellings of words and, in particular, writes on declension inflections of words. It is a bit more comprehensive than 'Allâmah Suyuti's marginal notes.
10. Raf'ul-Hâjah 'an Sunan Ibn Mâjah: A translation and commentary by Maulâna Wahiduz-Zamân.
11. Injâhul-Hâjah: Marginal notes by Shaikh 'Abdul-Ghani Al-Mujaddadi Dehlavi.
12. Ta'liq Sabt Ibnul-'Ajami: A nice commentary on Sunan Ibn Mâjah by Hâfiz Sabt Ibnul-'Ajami.
13. Injâzul-Hâjah bi Sharh Sunan Ibn Mâjah: A very useful and comprehensive commentary written in Arabic by famous Pakistani scholar, Shaikh Muhammad 'Ali Janbâz. He documented and referenced each Hadith, gave his ruling on its soundness or weakness, wrote a brief biographical note on the narrators of each Hadith, gave accurate names of narrators and places, and quoted Ahâdith similar in meaning to the respective Hadith. Moreover, while writing his commentary, he mentioned the Madhhab of each school of Islamic jurisprudence, quoting from their authentic books and, after an objective analysis of the arguments of each jurist in the light of Qur'ân and Sunnah, mentioned the preferred opinion. At the end of each volume, there is also a list of famous biographies. The foregoing qualities make this commentary very useful, excellent and comprehensive. But it is still incomplete. The commentary on about half the book running into six volumes has already been published. May Allâh help the author complete his work and reward him for his labor. Amen.