Brief biography of Ibn Is-haaq As-Saghaani
Fatwa No: 281779

Question

Asalamu alakium dear shiekh can you please provide a short biography on who Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-SaghaniWas and can you also mention an excerpt from a source that further talks about Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Saghani Jazakallahu khyran

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

Muhammad ibn Is-haaq As-Saghaani is also known as "As-Saaghaani"; both spellings are correct. A group of scholars wrote biographical entries on him, among them Ath-Thahabi in his book Siyar A‘laam An-Nubalaa'. He said about him:

"The Imaam, the Haafith (great Hadeeth scholar), the Quran reciter, the decisive word, Abu Bakr, Muhammad ibn Is-haaq ibn Ja‘far. It is said that his grandfather's name is Muhammad As-Saaghaani and was later Al-Baghdaadi. Born around 180 AH, he was endowed with vast and profound knowledge and traveled a lot (in pursuit of knowledge). He narrated reports on the authority of Yazeed ibn Haaroon, ‘Abd Al-Wahhaab ibn ‘Ataa’, Abu Badr Shujaa‘ ibn Al-Waleed, Muhaadhir ibn Al-Muwarri‘, Ya‘la ibn ‘Ubayd, Rooh ibn ‘Ubaadah, Ahwas ibn Jawaab, Sa‘eed ibn Abi Maryam, ‘Abd Al-A‘la ibn Mus-hir, Al-Aswad ibn ‘Aamir, Abu Al-Yamaan, Sa‘eed ibn ‘Aamir Adh-Dhibi‘i, Ja‘far ibn ‘Awn, Abu An-Nadhr, Yahya ibn Abi Bakeer, ‘Abdullaah ibn Yusuf At-Tinneesi, and many others. 

His reports have been cited by Muslim, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i, Abu ‘Umar Ad-Doori – who was one of his teachers, Ibn Maajah, ‘Abdaan Al-Ahwaazi, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Sa‘eed, Abu ‘Awaanah, Ibn Abi Haatim, Ahmad Al-Bardeeji, Muhammad ibn Makhlad, Al-Muhaamili, Ismaa‘eel As-Saffaar, Abu Sa‘eed ibn Al-A‘raabi, Abu Al-‘Abbaas Al-Asamm and others. The last of them was Shujaa‘ ibn Ja‘far Al-Ansaari. Al-Asamm said: "My father asked him which tribe he belonged to and he replied, 'My grandfather was once in the desert; a man stopped him and invited him to Islam. He embraced Islam and cut off the Zunnaar (a belt customarily worn by Christians then)." Ibn Abi Haatim said about him: "He is accurate and truthful." ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan ibn Khiraash described him as trustworthy and reliable.Abu Al-Hasan Ad-Daaraqutni described him as "highly and impeccably trustworthy." Abu Muzaahim Al-Khaaqaani said: "Abu Bakr As-Saghaani was the Yahya ibn Mu‘een of his day." An-Nasaa’i described him as "trustworthy." Abu Bakr Al-Khateeb said: "As-Saghaani was one of the accurate, firm, trustworthy reporters; his religiosity was solid, and he was known for following the Sunnah and for narrating on the authority of so many reporters." Ahmad ibn Kaamel said: "He passed away on the seventh of Safar, 270 AH. " [Siyar A‘laam An-Nubalaa’]

Other authors who wrote biography entries on him are Al-Khateeb in his book Tareekh Baghdad, Al-Mizzi in his book Tahtheeb Al-Kamaal, and others.

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa