When a single mistake leads you to become an Imam for the Ummah

How often we frown at ourselves when we make mistakes in life, and indeed how often we become disheartened when we fall into error! But yet how little we realise that sometimes it’s these small mistakes that shape our lives and renew our focus. The Qadr of Allah is certainly amazing in that a failure on one day can become the cause of our triumph on another day…

When a single mistake leads you to become an Imam (leader) for the Ummah…

The Story of Sibawayh: The Imam of Grammarians

- Name: ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Qinbar (Abu Bishr) originally from the lands of Persia, i.e. pre-safavid, Sunnah Persia. According to the scholars of Islam he was the greatest of Arabic linguists he was a Persian who lived in Basrah, Iraq, during the second half of the 8th century AD

Sibawayh was a laqab (nickname) given to him by his mother, meaning: ‘the scent of apples.’

Sibawayh at the beginning of his youth sought knowledge in the field of hadith. He studied with the likes of Hammad, the famous muhaddith in Basra, and it was here with Shaykh Hammad that a particular incident took place which changed Sibawayh’s entire focus…

One day Hammad (rahimahullah) asked him to read out a hadith and Sibawayh began by saying: “ليس من أصحابي أحد إلا ولو شئت لأخذت عليه ليس أبا الدرداء…” – however, he read Aba as: Abu in a state of raf’ (nominative) thinking that it was the Ism of Laysa. Hammad al-Basri corrected him and said, أخطأتَ يا سيبويه إنما هو استثناء – ‘You’re mistaken O’ Sibawayh, it is in fact an Exception,’ (i.e. meaning: ‘… except for Abu al-Darda’). So Sibawayh said, لأطلبنّ علما لا يُنازعني فيه أحد – ‘I will certainly seek knowledge [grammar] such that none can dispute with me therein.’

So he traveled to the learned scholars and grammarians of his time in Basra and studied extensively with the famous al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (who established ‘ilm al-’Aroodh) and other grammarians such as al-Akhfash. It was here that Sibawayh established the foundations of grammar for the people and wrote his huge scholarly work ‘al-Kitab.’ However, at the time, he did not release it to the people. It is stated that he would travel through towns and villages, sitting with the folks and recording their poetry as well as historical statements (handed down through tribes) in an attempt at gathering shawahid (linguistical evidences) for each point and argument that he mentioned in his book.

After his death, one of his students took it upon himself to make this book available to the public. Not only did his book benefit the people of Basra, but it thereafter became one of the greatest books on grammar to have ever been written in history, such that the people began to call it: Qur’an al-Nahw (the ‘Qur’an of Grammar’).

Sibawayh, rahimahullah died at the young age of 34, but despite that, the Ummah to this day has not stopped benefiting from his book and the knowledge which he left behind. جزاه الله عن الأمة خير الجزاء

… This really highlights out (particularly for the students amongst us) that sometimes you may wish for one thing but Allah has wished for something else – better than what you perceive. So be patient and ask your Lord for Tawfiq in all affairs and who knows, one day you may become a leader for the righteous in one thing or another!

NOTE: All remarkable and famous Iranian scientist who Iranian nationalists-Islamophobes and extreme Shi’ite Iranians love to present as “the Persian scientific service to mankind” and what not, were in almost every case Persians of tradtional Muslim-Sunni backround. Exactly, they – the Islamophobes – ironically back up the “superiority” of their culture with Muslim-Sunni scientists, among them the major Persian poets of the likes of Molana (Sunni), Saadi Shirazi (Sunni), Ferdowsi (Sunni), OMAR Khayyam (Sunni), or the likes of Sibawayh (Sunni), there is not one PRE-ISLAMIC Iranian personality worth to be mentioned let alone worth to be compared to these Muslim Iranians. Afterall, these Islamophobes claim that Islam did no service to Iran/Persia, where infact Islam brought up men like the Sunni Persians of the calibre of Sibawayh. Their last excuse is to claim that all these great men had no choice but to busy themselves with Islamic science/Arabic language. This is of course nothing but nonsense and in fact they insult those whom they claim to love, for can man achieve poetic perfection like Saadi (who praised Allah, his Messenger and his companions), Hafez ((who praised Allah, his Messenger and his companions), without real, sincere love and adherence to their faith? These ignorance potray these great men as hypocrites, and the plain truth is that sincerity only could make the Persian Muslim-Sunni figures of history to what they’ve actually become i.e. the most notable scientists of the world, amongst them Sibawayh the Persian, a non-Arab, who who mastered the Arabic language to such a degree that no Arab scholar in any part of the Arab world misses to mention the achievement of this man.

_____

Here a quote from the lisanularab.org forums:

In our time Kitab Sibawayh has not lost any of its greatness though it be among non-Muslims who in my view have more respect and have done more for Sibawayh and his Book than we Muslims living in the west. Take a look at this website entitled the “Sibawayhi Project” headed by a certain Michael G. Carter, the author of the 2004 publication “Sibawayhi” (Makers of Islamic Civilization). I have read parts of this book, and from what I have read I can only say that the author has nothing but praise for Sibawayh. As this is not the time and place to discuss the genius of Sibawayh, I can only say that Sibawayh was truly a maker of Islamic civilization and that in a big way. Everything that has been passed down to us of Arabic linguistics has its origin directly or indirectly in al-Kitab  [his major work] . It is difficult to believe that a Persian living only in the third Century of the Hijri calendar produced a book on Arabic grammar so sophisticated that it was not until the nineteenth century that Western scholars could only begin to appreciate Sibawayh’s achievement as there was nothing like it in the West at the time of its discovery. This is what Western scholars are themselves saying about traditional Arabic linguistics in general.

Arab Muslims paying homage to their Persian brother in faith, Sibawayh the MASTER OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE (as the banner says!)

One of the most notable and influencal figures of Islamic history about whom Imam Al-Dhahabi (Syrian/Shami of Turkistani descent) said:

قال الذهبي في بداية ترجمته :

( الإمام الأوحد البحر ، ذو الفنون والمعارف ، أبو محمد ، علي بن أحمد بن سعيد بن حزم بن غالب بن صالح بن خلف بن معدان بن سفيان بن يزيد ، الفارسي الأصل ، ثم الأندلسي القرطبي اليزيدي ) المصدر : سير أعلام النبلاء ( 18 / 184 ) .

Al-Dhahabi:

“The sea of knowledge, the man with skills and insight, Abu Mohammad, Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Saeed IBN HAZM ibn Ghalib Ibn Salih Ibn Khalf Ibn Madan Ibn Sufyan Ibn Yazeed, OF PERSIAN DESCENT, then Andalusian (Spaniard), Cordobian (Qurtubi).

[Siyar A'lam Al-Nubala' 184/ 18 of Imam Al-Dhahabi]

as to what Ibn Hazm means to Islam and Sunnah and what he achieved, then click >here<.

بسم الله و حمد لله والصلاة و السلام على رسول لله

اما بعد

سابق الفرس إلی الإسلام صحب النبي صلی الله عليه وسلم و خدمه و حدث عنه.

According to Bernard Lewis: “[Arab Muslims conquests] have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing,  the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism; by others  as a humiliating national defeat, the conquest and subjugation of the country by foreign invaders. Both perceptions are of course valid, depending on one’s angle of vision… Iran was indeed Islamized, but it was not Arabized. Persians remained Persians…… the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The work of Iranians can be seen in every field of cultural endeavor, including Arabic poetry, to which poets of Iranian origin composing their poems in Arabic made a very significant contribution. In a sense.

Only a few people and lands were explicitely praised by the Messenger of Allah Mohammad صل الله عليه و على آله و سلم amongst them are the noble people and land of Makkah, Madinah, Yemen, Al-Shaam (Syria, Jordan i.e. Lavent) and >>>the People of Persia<<<, the Guardians of the pure Sunnah (amongst them ALL the compilers of the “Kutub Sittah”!). To give you a glimpse of who the Guardians and compilers of the Sunnah and language and history were:

Let’s start with five Persian Sahabis (they deserve their own category):

1) Salman Al-Farsi رضي الله عنه – A Major Sahabi, well known, may Allah be pleased with him.

2) Firooz Al-Daylami رضي الله عنه . Also known as “Abu Al-Dhahhak” or “Abu Abdul-Rahman”.  A Persian from the descandants of Persian Zoroastrians who were sent by Kisra to Yemen (then ruled by the Persian Empire) who eventually converted to Islam. Those Persians in Yemen were known as “Abna Fares” (Sons of Persia), who settled in Yemen and normally had Arab Mothers and Persian Fathers. Yemen was ruled by Persians and even the king of Yemen was Persian back then who, with his people accepted Islam (among them Persians like Al-Daylami, Tawoos etc.). Daylamis are originally north Iranians (from Gilan). From his Ahadith:

من أحاديثه: قال فيروز: كنت في وفد إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من اليمن فقلت : يا رسول الله ! أنا من قد علمت: وجئنا من بين ظهراني من قد علمت ، ونحن حيث علمت فمن وليّنا ؟ قال : الله ورسوله ، قالوا : حسبنا. وعن فيروز الديلمي, أن وفد ثقيف قدموا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالوا: رأيناه يصلي في نعلين متقابلتين. رواه الطبراني في الأوسط ورجاله ثقات. قال: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: لَيُنْقَضَنَّ الإِسْلاَمُ عُرْوَةً عُرْوَةً ، كَمَا يُنْقَضُ الْحَبْلُ قُوَّةً قُوَّةً. وقال: أتيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقلت: يا رسول الله إني أسلمت وتحتي أختان. فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم اختر أيتهما شئت.(وطلق الأخرى)

He was a great Sahabi:

صفاته: كان من أجلاء الصحابة , بطلا مغوارا, من الشجعان المعدودين في الصحابة, ومع ذلك كان متواضعا منقادا للحق. وكان عاقلا حازما رضي الله عنه وعن جميع الصحابة والتابعين. اللهم اخذل من لعنهم وسبهم.

His virtues:

فضائله: عن أبي هريرة أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ذكر الأسود العنسي فقال: قتله الرجل الصالح فيروز الديلمي رجل من فارس. وفي رواية قال: رجل صالح من أهل بيت صالحين. قال ابن تيمية: كان رجلا صالحا, له في الإسلام آثار جميلة منها: قتل الأسود العنسي الكذّاب الذي ادّعى النبوةَ في عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

Al-Daylami was the brave Sahabi who killed the false Prophet “Al-Aswad Al-Unsi” (acc. to Ibn Taimiyyah). The Prophet praised him for that.

3) Salem the Mawla of Hudhayfah رضي الله عنهما – A Persian Sahabi, who was from The foremost, the first of the emigrants, a Badri, one of the first Sahaba. He accepted Islam before Salman Al-Farsi, for Salman accepted Islam in Madinah (did not witness the Makkan period at all). He was a highly respected and valued Muslim (among his fellow Muslims), who died while fighting against the forces of Musaylimah during the Wars of Apostasy.

Islamweb.net on

سالم مولى أبي حذيفة

There are some interesting narrations exposing the lies of one coin with two sides, the Rafidite Shi’ite clergy and the Islamophobic-Neo-Sassanid Iranian fashists, who both hold deep grudge for Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (Allah is well pleased with him) and both accuse him of being anti-Persian. They both do that by citing either weak/forged narrations or some narrations where they intentionally don’t mention the context. Like many sayings of Omar (Allah is pleased with him) in regards to the Persians were not directed at the Persian race, rather the Persians back then stand for the Sassanid’s, the tyrants who (before the Arabs!) attacked many Arab lands, even Yemen the motherland of the Arabs was ruled by a Persian king. Hence the Persians were viewed as a threat, and in fact history proofs that the Sassanids, especially in the later stage were not just enemies to their neighbours, but even to the Persians themselves who suffered from the caste division of the Sassanid nation that was backed by the corrupt priests of the Zoroastrians. The point is, there is not a single authentic narration where Omar or any companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) condemns the Persian race, and ironically there are narrations that Islamophobic Iranians and the Shia clergy never mention, among them narrations where Omar Ibn Al-Khattab praised Persian companions of the Prophet, made a Persian the new Wazir (basically the new King) of Persia (Omar during his Caliphate appointed Salman the Persian as the knew Wazir of Al-Mada’en the former capital of Persia) and he and the major companions of the Prophet (صل الله عليه و على آله و سلم) used to pray behind a Persian and this alone destroys the fairy tales and lies of the Shia clergy (who quote forged narrations) where Omar apparently prevented Persians to pray in the first line of the Prophet’s Mosque. This Sahabi, who was the master of the Qur’aa (Qur’an recitors) amongst the biggest Sahabah was no one less than Salem the Persian from “Estakhr” (a city, still located in the FARS/PERSIA province of south Iran).

Abdullah Ibn Omar, the son of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنهما), one of the major companions of the Messenger of Allah (صل الله عليه و على آله و سلم) said the following about Salem:

وعن ابن عمر ، قال : كان سالم مولى أبي حذيفة يؤم المهاجرين الذين قدموا من مكة حتى قدم المدينة ؛ لأنه كان أقرأهم .

“Salem was the client of Abu Hudhayfa and he was the IMAM of the Muhajir companions in Makkah and later in Madinah, this is because he was the best recitor (of the Qur’an) among them.”

Doesn’t sound really “Anti-Persian”, does it? This was the SON of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, and not just him, but basically the BEST companions of the Prophet used to pray behind a Persian because he could recite the Qur’an best!

As for the father of Abdullah i.e. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab himself:

الواقدي : حدثنا أفلح بن سعيد ، عن محمد بن كعب القرظي قال : كان سالم يؤم المهاجرين بقباء ، فيهم عمر قبل أن يقدم رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- .

Al-Waqidi narrated on the authority of Aflah Ibn Sa’eed, on Mohammad Ibn Ka’ab Al-Qaradhi, who said: Salem used to lead the Muhajir  companions in prayer in the Quba’ Mosque (the oldest mosque in the world. Its first stones were positioned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad صل الله عليه و سلم himself), among those (who prayed behind Salem) was Omar [...]

There are are also narrations were the Prophet paid his homage and utmost respect and love to Salem the A’jami (Persian).

حنظلة بن أبي سفيان : عن عبد الرحمن بن سابط ، عن عائشة قالت : استبطأني رسول الله ذات ليلة ، فقال : ما حبسك ؟ قلت : إن في المسجد لأحسن من سمعت صوتا بالقرآن ، فأخذ رداءه ، وخرج يسمعه ، فإذا هو سالم مولى أبي حذيفة ، فقال : الحمد لله الذي جعل في أمتي مثلك إسناده جيد . 

^This narrations has been narrated by the Mother of the Believers ‘Aaisha who says that the Prophet صل الله عليه و سلم thanked Allah for having the likes of Salem in his Ummah.

The Prophet صل الله عليه و سلم adised his Ummah to take the Qur’an from Salem in a Sahih Hadith:

“Learn the Qur’an from four persons: Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ud, Salem Mawla Abu-Hudhayfah, Ubayy ibn Kab and Muadh ibn Jabal.”

Omar ibn al-Khattāb suggested he would have designated Salim as his successor to the Caliphate had he still been alive. (Omar appointed Salman the Persian of the then capital of Persia “Al-Madain” i.e. he was practically the new king Persia, and Omar also wanted a Persian to be the Khalifa of the Muslim Ummah, yet some try to portray him as “Anti-Persian”).

Taha Husain, a 20th century Sunni Islamic scholar

“

When Umar was dying, he was questioned about his successor, and he said: ‘If Abu Obaida bin al-Jarrah were alive, I would have made him the khalifa. If Khalid bin al-Walid were alive, I would have appointed him the amir of the Muslims. And if Salim, the client of Abu Hudhaifa, were living today, then I would have designated him as your ruler.’ This Salim was a slave who came from Istakhar in Persia. He was emancipated, and became a ‘mawali’ (client) of Abu Hudhaifa. He was well-known for his piety. Many Muslims deferred to him in matters of Faith even in the times of Muhammad. Sometimes he led the Muslims in prayer also. He was killed in the Ridda wars during the khilafat of Abu Bakr. He was a devout and God-fearing man.[1]

”

Ali Asgher Razwy, a 20th century Shi’a Twelver Islamic scholar states:

“

It was really unfortunate for the umma that Salim was dead or else Umar would have made him his successor, and he might have made an excellent khalifa.[2]

”

He had contributed in all major battles, such as Badr, Uhud, Ahzab etc., so he is the Badrian companion of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be up on him).

Here the Arabic text:

أخبرنا الإمام أبو محمد عبد الرحمن بن محمد في كتابه ، وجماعة ، قالوا : أخبرنا حنبل بن عبد الله ، أنبأنا هبة الله بن محمد ، أنبأنا أبو علي بن المذهب ، أنبأنا أحمد بن جعفر ، حدثنا عبد الله بن أحمد ، حدثني أبي ، حدثنا عفان ، حدثنا حماد ، عن علي بن زيد ، عن أبي رافع أن عمر بن الخطاب قال : من أدرك وفاتي من سبي العرب فهو من مال الله . فقال سعيد بن زيد : أما إنك لو أشرت برجل من المسلمين ، لائتمنك الناس ، وقد فعل ذلك أبو بكر الصديق ، وائتمنه الناس ، فقال : قد رأيت من أصحابي حرصا سيئا ، وإني جاعل هذا الأمر إلى هؤلاء النفر الستة . ثم قال : لو أدركني أحد رجلين ، ثم جعلت إليه الأمر لوثقت به : سالم مولى أبي حذيفة، وأبو عبيدة ابن الجراح .

علي بن زيد لين فإن صح هذا ، فهو دال على جلالة هذين في نفس عمر ، وذلك على أنه يجوز الإمامة في غير القرشي ، والله أعلم .

[...] Omar Ibn Al-Khattab said: “whoever accompanied my death from a captive of the Arabs then he is from property of Allah.” Then Saeed Ibn Zayd said: “Uou, if u appointed from the Muslims a man, the people will trust you, Abu bakr did it and the people trusted him.” Then Omar said: “I seen from my companions a bad avarice, surely i make this matter (Caliphate) with six individuals of this group, then he said that  if one of two people would accompany me , then i make this matter to him , I would select it for him: Salim Mawla Ibn Abu Hudhayfa and ‘Ubaydallah Ibn Al-Jarrah”.

[The narration is Sahih and has many Shawahid and has been recorded by Imam Al-Dhahabi, Imam Ahmad, Ibn Katheer and also authenticated by Shaykh Ahmad Shakir]

Non Sahabis:

1. Hafidh Al-Hadith Abu Hatim Al-Razi (Persian from Isfahan).

A Major scholar and Muhaddith about whom Imam Al-Dhahabi said:

قال الإمام الذهبي : كان مِن بُحُور العِلم، طوَّفَ البلاد، وبرع في المَتن والإِسناد، وجمعَ وصَنَّفَ، وجَرَح وعَدَّلَ، وصَحَّحَ وعَلَّل.

He was an ocean of knowledge …. and excelled in Mutun (Text) and Isnad (chain of narrations i.e. a Master of Hadith science) ….

2. Imam Al-Tirmidhi (Persian from Khorasan, town of “Tirmiz” which is part of what is called today “Uzbekistan”. He wrote al-Jāmi‛ al-ṣaḥīḥ, popularly called Sunan al-Tirmidhi, one of the six canonical hadith compilations.

3. Imam Ibn Hazm Al-Zahiri (Persian from Andalus/Spain). >>Here our English article about him.<<

4. Imam Al-Hakim Al-Nisabouri (Persian from Nisabour/Khorasan in today’s north-east Iran).

He was a major Muhaddith and and this is what Ibn Kathir has to say about him (in Al-Bidayah):

قال عنه الحافظ ابن كثير في البداية والنهاية: وكان من أهل العلم والحفظ والحديث…وقد كان من أهل الدين والأمانة والصيانة والضبط والتجرد والورع…

“He [Al-Hakim] was from the people of knowledge, Hifdh and Hadith …

5. Imam Abu Jafar Mohammad ibn Jarir Al-Tabari (Persian from Tabaristan, todays Mazandaran/north Iran). He was a Mujtahid, historian and major Mufassir. His Tafsir “Jāmi` al-bayān `an ta’wīl āy al-Qur’ān, popularly Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī” is regarded as one of the best Tafasir ever. No Muslim household can afford to lack his Tafsir, let alone the Muslim scholars around the world.

6. Al-Allamah ibn Fares Al-Loghawi (Persian from the city of Qazwin/Iran). He was a poet, Faqih, Mufassir and Master of the Arabic language. He is known as “Ibn Fares” (Son of Persia).

This is what Al-Dhahabi has to say about him:

قال الإمام الذهبي : الإمام، العلاَّمةُ، اللُّغويُّ، المُحدِّث… كان رأساً في الأَدب، بصيراً بفقه مالك، مُناظراً مُتكَلِماً على طريقة أَهل الحقّ، ومذهبه في النَّحو على طريقة الكوفيِّين… جمع إِتقانَ العِلم إِلى ظَرْفِ أَهل الكتابة والشعر…
وكان من رُؤوس أَهل السُّنَّة المُجرَّدين على مذهب أَهل الحديث… وتخَرَّج به أَئمّة.

“He [Ibn Fares] is the Imam, the Allamah, the Loghawi (philogist), the Muhaddith … He was a Major scholar of the Ahl Al-Sunnah and his Madhab was the Madhab of the Ahl Al-Hadith …”

7. Sibawayh Al-Farsi (Another Persian from Shiraz). He was THE Master of the Arabic language and grammar. Another Persian Sunni who played a MAJOR role in Fiqh Al-Logha. No Arabic class ends without mentioning his name.  >>Here our English article about him.<<

8. Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Moussa al-Khosrojerdi al-Bayhaqi, البيهقي also known as Imam Al-Bayhaqi was a Persian Sunni scholar born 994 CE/384AH in the small town of Khusraugird near Bayhaq in Khurasan.

9. Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir al-Gilani (Persian Sunni scholar from north Iran/Gilan).

10. Al-Imam Nafi Al-Madani (Persian from the city of Isfahan who settled in Madinah and became the IMAM of the people of Madinah). Nafi` ibn `Abd al-Rahman, d. 169 H in Madina, the qari’ from who the two recitations of Warsh and Qalun (from the 7 Qira’at) branched off. 

Note: the Qur’an is revealed in seven SAHIH Ahruf (singular harf), Nafi the Isfahani Persian narrated TWO Qira’at (Warsh and Qalun), Abdullah Ibn Kathir al-Makki the Persian Imam of the QUR’AN RECITORS of MAKKAH who transmitted the readers (Harf) of  Al-Buzzi and Qunbul, Al-Kisa’i Al-Kufi (of Persian origin) who transmitted the readers of Al-Layth and Hafs Al-Duri and Hamza Al-Kufi who also was of Persian origin, he transmitted the readers of Al-Khallaf and Al-Khallad. So all in all, FOUR of the seven most authentic Ahruf were transmitted by Persian Tabi’een.

11. Ikrama Mawla ibn Abbas. (one of the MAJOR Tabi’in and student of Ibn Abbas).

12. Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī (1058 – 1111) (Persian: ابو حامد محمد ابن محمد الغزالی), known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia (modern day Iran) was a Persian and major scholar

13. Sulayman Ibn Mehran (Al-A’mash) – A Major scholar of the Salaf Al-Salih. A Muhaddith and Faqih, a Persian from North Tehran/Damavand (who then moved to Kufa/Iraq) and student of Said Ibn Jubayr who was regarded as one of the leading members of the Tabi‘in, a student of Abdullah Ibn Abbas, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah صل الله عليه و سلم

Uyaynah (a leading member of the Salaf) said about him:

يقول عيينة: سبق الأعمش أصحابه بأربع خصال: كان أقرأهم للقرآن، وأحفظهم للحديث، وأعلمهم بالفرائض.

“Al-A’mash surpassed his companions in four things:”He was the most versed in the Qur’an, the strongest in Hifdh Al-Hadith and the most knowledgable in the Fara’idh (compulsory deeds).”

Al-Dhahabi said:

قال الذهبي: كان رأسا في العلم النافع والعمل الصالح.

“He was one of the leading persons in beneficial knowledge and righteouss deeds.”

14.  Tawoos Ibn Kaysan – A Persian who was sent by Kisra to Yemen (then ruled by the Persian Empire). He eventually became Muslim when the Prophet صل الله عليه و سلم sent his noble Companions to Yemen to preach Monotheism (Islam). Among them were: Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Mu’adh Ibn Jabal رضي الله عنهم

Tawos the Persian was a giant among the Tabi’is (Salaf) and a student of the Sahabi Abdullah Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما . It is not known from which Persian town he was from, but what is known is that he was Persian from Fars (Heartland of Persia).

Imam Al-Dhahabi about him:

وقال الذهبي: طاووس ابن كيسان، الفقيه القدوة عالم اليمن، أبو عبد الرحمن الفارسي، ثم اليمني الجندي الحافظ. كان من أبناء الفرس الذين جهزهم كسرى لأخذ اليمن له، فقيل: هو مولى بحير بن ريسان الحمير

“Tawoos Ibn Kaysan, the Faqih, the scholar of Yemen, Abu Abdurrahman Al-Farsi … from the sons of Persia …”

Ibn Kathir reports that Tawoos met 50 Sahabis, he was a student of Ibn Abbas and mostly reported from Ibn Abbas who said about him:

قال ابن عباس: إني لأظن طاووسًا من أهل الجنة.

“I think that Tawoos will be from the people of Paradise”.

15. Al-Nasā’i. full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā’ī. A Persian from Khorasan. 

His book known as Sunan Al-Nisai which is taught around the globe in every Islamic institute and which possesses a virtue of being one of the Sihah Sitah (the six books generally taught in hadith).

16. Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zuṭā ibn Marzubān^[2] (Persian/Arabic:نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان), better known as Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, (699 — 767 CE / 80 — 148 AH) – He was a Persian, his family were originally Persians from Kabul, todays capital of Afghanistan.

His ancestry is generally accepted as being of non-Arab origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian, Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, records a statement from Abu Hanifa’s grandson, Ismail bin Hammad, who gave Abu Hanifa’s lineage as Thabit bin Numan bin Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin. The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abu Hanifa’s grandfather and great-grandfather are thought to be due to Zuta’s adoption of the Arabic name (Numan) upon his acceptance of Islam and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia, with the later meaning a margrave refers to the noble ancestry of Abu Hanifa’s family as the Sasanian margraves of Kabul. Those stories maintain for his ancestors having been slaves purchased by some Arab benefactor are, therefore, untenable and seemingly fabricated. The widely accepted opinion, however, is that he was of Persian ancestry.

17. Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah IMAM al-Bukhari (Persian/Arabic: محمد بن اسماعيل بن ابراهيم بن مغيره بن بردزبه بخاری), popularly known as Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, (196-256AH / 810-870AD), was a Sunni Islamic scholar of Persia. He authored the hadith collection named Sahih Bukhari, the most authentic of all hadith compilations.

His Persian Grandfather was a Majoosi and died upon Majoosism. His father converted to Islam. Imam Al-Bukhari was Persian from Khorasa/Bukhara which is today located in Uzbekistan.

18. Abul Husayn IMAM Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim ibn Warat al-Qushayri al-Nishaburi (Arabic: أبو الحسين مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيشابوري‎; Persian: مسلم نیشابوری; lived c. 206–261 AH/c.821-875 CE) was the author of the second authentic sahih collection of hadith, Sahih Muslim. He was not a Persian, rather an Arab of the Qushayri tribe, but as Ibn Al-Khaldoon said: “Most scholars of the Sunnah were either Persians OR they have been brought up in Persia. Imam Muslim has been brought up in Persia, in fact he was a Nishaburi (a city still located in the Khorasan part of Iran).

He was born and raised in Persia/Khorasan (town of Nisabur), he was of Arab origin, from the Qushayri tribe.

19. Abū ʻAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Rabʻī al-Qazwīnī (Arabic: ابو عبد الله محمد بن يزيد بن ماجه الربعي القزويني‎), (824 CE/209 AM—887/273) commonly known as Ibn Mājah, was a medieval scholar of hadith. He compiled the last of Sunni Islam‘s six canonical hadith collections, Sunan Ibn Mājah. He was of Arab origin from Qazwin.

Note: Qazwin is maybe more than a hour away from Tehran and it used to be a major fortress of the Ahl Al-Sunnah. Major scholars emerged from there, here are some:

عباقرة قزوين:

اشتهرت مدينة قزوين في فن الحديث منذ القرن الثالث الهجري، وكان يعيش فيها كثير من المحدثين؛ لذلك سموا هذه المدينة بـ « باب الجنة ».

وأما الذين عاشوا فيها:

الأول : محمد بن سعيد بن سابق ابو عبدالله الرازي المتوفی 120 هـ

الثاني : الحافظ علي بن محمد بن ابي الحسن الطنافسي المتوفی 233 هـ

الثالث : عمور بن رافع ابي حجر البجلي المتوفی 237 هـ

الرابع : اسماعيل بن توبه ابو سليمان القزويني الحنفي المتوفی 247 هـ

الخامس : الإمام المحدث ابن ماجة – رحمهم الله –

وهناك كثير من المحدثين والفقهاء الذين عاشوا في قزوين ونيّروا بأسمائهم صفحات مجيدة من تاريخ فارس.

20. Abu Dawood Sulayman ibn Ash`ath Azdi Sijistani (Persian/Arabic: ابو داود سليمان بن اشعث السجستاني), commonly known as Abu Dawud, was a noted Persian (of Arab origin) collector of prophetic hadith, and wrote the third of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan Abu Dawood.

He was born in Sistan, in east of Iran, (then Persia) and died in 889 in Basra.

_______________

Remember these are just glimpses, there are many more, the likes of:

Abu Ya’la Al-Qazwini (north-west Iran) Al-Hanbali, Abu Na’im Al-Isfahani the Persian (one of the biggest Sunnah scholars ever, who wrote an extensive rebuttal of the Rafidah sect under the name: الإمامة والرد على الرافضة ), Ibn Khuzaymah Al-Nisaburi, Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi (from Persia/Amol), Sarkhasi, Abu Hamid Al-Toosi (todays Mashad), Farabi, Abu Ali Al-Farsi (Master of the arabic language), Imam Dawod Ibn Ali Al-Isfahani also known as Abu Sulayman the FOUNDER of the Zahiri Madhab, Abu Naim Al-Isfahani, Yahya Ibn Wathab, Ibn Al-Mundhir Al-Nisaburi, Shahab Al-Deen Ahmad Ibn Hussein known as Abu Shuja’, a big Shafi’i scholar from Persia/Isfahan, Abul-Qasim Al-Rafi’i Al-Qazwini (Persian Shafi’i scholar from Qazwin), Imam Baghawi (with the notorious Tafsir Al-Baghawi), Imam Wahed (Tafsir Wahed), Ibn Marawiyah Al-Isfahani, Abdullah Ibn Omar Baydhawi (Tafsir Baydhawi), the two major Tabi’een of Iraq, Hassan Al-Basri and Ibn Sireen who both were of Persian origin, Imam Thalabi, known for his Tafsir Thalabi, Abdul-Karim Shahrestani (Khorasani) known for his masterpiece called:”Al-Melal wa Al-Nahl”, Abu Bakr Ibn Abdurrahman Al-Jorjani (from Gorgan/Persia), a schlar of Sarf and Nahu (Arabic Grammer), Imam Al-Suyuti the Egyptian of Persian origin, Imam Layth bin Sa’ad the famous jurist and founder of the Layth Madhab in Egypt who was of Persians origin from Isfahan, Abu Ishaq Al-Shiraz (Persian from Shiraz), one of the biggest Shafi’i scholars ever, Firozabadi, another major Shafi’is scholar, Imam Al-Haramayn Abdul-Malik Al-Juwayni, Imam Al-Tabarani, Nafi` the Mawla of Ibn `Umar [most likely a Persian according to al-Dhahabi], Junayd Al-Baghdadi the Persian … etc etc.

Note: The scholars compiled books such as:

طبقات المحدثين باصبهان والواردين عليها  (The scholars of Isfahan/Isbahan), solely to collect all the names of the Sunnah scholars from Persia/Isfahan, for they used to be in such a massive number, that scholars considered it beneficial to write books just about the details of Isfahani scholars. Almost no Aqidah/Fiqh/Hadith book can be found without mentioning one of the thousands of giant Isfahani-Shirazi-Rai (old name for Tehran), Toos/Khorasan Sunnah scholars. And what we’ve mentioned is like a drop in the ocean, there are many more, and in fact the Persians always used to be Shafi’is and some were Hanafis, and these schools are based upon the works of Persian Sunnah scholars, in fact the major scholars of Islam and many major Tabi’in, even some Sahaba were Persians. So Sunnah belongs to Iran, just like it belongs to other Muslims lands, maybe even more.

We leave you with this beautiful conversation, for even the Kings during the time of the Salaf were shocked, realising that almost each and every scholar of Islam was of Persian origin:

This is a narration by Ibn al-Salah in his Muqaddima on the Hadith sciences from `Ata’ that the latter was asked by the Caliph Hisham ibn `Abd al-Malik in al-Rusafa:

NOTE: Mawla does not mean SLAVE. Slave in arabic means “‘Abd”. Mawla is a close friend AND servant and most Mawla’s back then were PERSIANS. Thus Mawla = Persian.

- “O `Ata’! Do you know anything about the foremost scholars in the world?”
- “Yes, Commander of the Believers.”
- “Who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Madina?”
- “Nafi` the Mawla of Ibn `Umar [most likely a Persian according to al-Dhahabi].”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl Makka?”
- “`Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Yaman?”
- “Tawus ibn Kaysan.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Yamama?”
- “Yahya ibn Abi Kathir.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Sham?”
- “Makhul.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Jazira?”
- “Maymun ibn Mihran.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl Khurasan?”
- “Al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “No! A Mawla.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Basra?”
- “Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin.”
- “Were they Mawlas or Arabs?”
- “No! Mawlas.”
- “Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Kufa?”
- “Ibrahim al-Nakha`i.”
- “Was he a Mawla or an Arab?”
- “An Arab!”
Hearing which, Hisham said:
- “Had you not said an Arab I think I would have expired on the spot.”

“Muhammad is the noblest of the Arabs and `Ajam. Muhammad is the best of those who trod the earth.” (Al-Busiri)

And Muhammad the Messenger of Allah صل الله عليه و سلم  said in his farewell pilgrimage, after he escalated the platform, he praised Allah then said — as was narrated in “al-Targheeb” book for “al-Monthery”- :

(O people, your God is only one and your father [Adam] is one, NO preference to an Arabian for a non-Arabian, or to a red-colored for a black-colored , preference is only by Taqwa (PIETY).

Note: Ahl Farsi (people of Persia) are obviously those who represent 900 YEARS of Sunni Persian history, not the last 500 YEARS of Safawi-Rafidism that was introduced by the Turkish-Azeri Safawi dinasty, for the Salaf witnessed Sunnah Persians ONLY. As for their praise:

فضل الفرس / اهل فارس

The Virtues of the Persians

(The People of Persia)

Excerpts by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah

رحمه الله

more to download:

- Shorter Arabic Version – فضل الفرس

- Imam Muslim dedicated an entire chapter with the title:

‘فضل الفرس’ (The Virtues of the Persians)

- طبقات المحدثين باصبهان والواردين عليها  …

…  massive book, over 1000 pages, solely compiled to collect all the names of the Sunnah scholars from Persia and it’s heartland Isfahan. The giants of the Salaf and the later scholars who followed them used to be in such a massive number, that scholars considered it beneficial to write entire books just about the details of Isfahani scholars. Almost no Aqidah/Fiqh/Hadith book can be found without mentioning one of the thousands of Isfahani-Shirazi-Rai (old name for Tehran), Toos/Khorasani etc. Sunnah scholars.

It is said that Salman Al-Farisi and Ikrimah [from the major Salaf and Mawla of Ibn 'Abbas) were both from Isfahan/Isbahan.Verlily the marks of Islam were found in Isbahan [Isfahan/Persia] more than in other places, which is why the Hafith Abdulqadir Al-Rahawi said,

‘I didn’t see a place after Baghdad with more Hadiths than Isbahan.’

[Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in 'Iqtidha Al-Sirat Al-Mustaqim li-mukhalifati Ashabi Al-Jahim']

Revelation Of The Qur’an In Seven Ahrûf

It is a well-known fact that there are seven different Ahrûf in which the Qur’an was revealed. In the Islamic tradition, this basis can be traced back to a number of hadîths concerning the revelation of the Qur’an in seven Ahrûf (singular Harf). 

To read more on the Seven Ahruf, CLICK HERE.

As for what most Muslims are not aware of, most Ahruf, to be precisely we are talking about FOUR of the SEVEN existing authentic Ahruf were narrated by Persian scholars of the Salaf Al-Saleh.

Here the seven Ahruf:

Orange marked ones:

1. Al-Imam Nafi Al-Madani (Persian from the city of Isfahan who settled in Madinah and became the IMAM of the Qura’ in Madinah). Nafi` ibn `Abd al-Rahman, d. 169 H in Madina, the Qari’ from who the two recitations of Warsh and Qalun (from the 7 Qira’at) branched off (Warsh is being recited in the Islamic Maghreb …)

2.  Abdullah Ibn Kathir al-Makki the Persian Imam of the QUR’AN RECITORS of MAKKAH who transmitted the readers (Harf) of  Al-Buzzi and Qunbul.

3. Hamza Al-Kufi who also was of Persian origin, he transmitted the readers of Al-Khallaf and Al-Khallad.

4. Al-Kisa’i Al-Kufi (of Persian origin) who transmitted the readers of Al-Layth and Hafs Al-Duri.

So all in all, FOUR of the seven most authentic Ahruf were transmitted by Persian Tabi’een.

He is Abu’l-Qasim al-Junayd b. Muhammad b. al-Junayd al-Khazzâz al-Baghdadi, born in Baghdad around 215 and lived most his life in that capital until he died in 298 AH. Junayd of Baghdad (Persian: جنید بغدادی) was one of the most famous of the early Persian Muslim ascetics originally from the city of Nahawand in Persia.

The word ‘Junayd’ derives from the word ‘JUND’ which is originally a Persian word (Kund) and which entered the arabic language like many other Persian words:

جُنَيْد

اسم علم مذكر، وهو مصغر تصغيراً عربياً لكلمة “جُند”، وهماً منهم أن جند مفردة. وجند كلمة فارسية الأصل من “كُنْد”. اشتهر الاسم بين المتصوفة تشبهاً بالصوفي الزاهد جنيد البغدادي (ت 297هـ).

He was from the EARLY generation of Muslim ascetics (also known as Sufis, though this is NOT a Shar’ee term), that was praised by scholars like Ibn Taiymiyyah, Al-Dhahabi, Ibn Al-Qayyim etc. UNLIKE the later generation AND >>> today’s generation of Sufism <<< which is nothing but heresy, chanting and superstitions.

Here a biography of this TRUE ascetic Muslim, Sunni, Salafi scholar of Islam:

The following is a beautiful article about his creed …

The Creed and Methodology of Imaam Junayd AS-SUFI as-Salafi

His teachers were his maternal uncle Sari al-Saqati and al-Harith al-Muhasibi, two scholars of the past known for their great piety, Abu Thawr the student of Imam al-Shafi’i, Abu ‘Ubayd al-Harawi the multi-fold scholar, Muhammad al-Qassâb, Abu Bakr al-Qantari and Yahya b. Mu’adh al-Razi, all of them called Sufis, and others.

All his teachers were in general upright men and had sound beliefs – Insha’Allah. Take for example his maternal uncle, the famous Sari al-Saqati who is claimed falsely today by pseudo-Sufis.

Sari al-Saqati was famous for his Wara’, i.e. abstinence for the world. The fame of his abstinence reached even Imam Ahmad, who remarked concerning him:

“Oh you mean the Shaykh who is well-known for his scrupulousness about food?”

al-Junayd, the nephew of Sari who was his first teacher, related that his uncle asked him once to whose assembly he was going when he left him.

Junayd said: “To that of al-Harith al-Muhasibi.”

Sari al-Saqati then said: “Ok, go and accept his learning and his discipline, bu beware of his Kalâm and refutations of the Mu’tazilah!”

Junayd added,

“As I was going out I heard Sari say: ‘May Allah make you traditionalist who is a sûfi, and not a sûfi who is a traditionalist!’”

Abu Talib al-Makki explained this as: knowledge of the tradition and Sunnah should come first, and afterwards practicism of ascetiscism and devotion.

Being well-grounded in orthodox ‘Aqidah is important before one wants to become a devotee. For this reason, many claiments to Tasawwuf are spoken ill of and the name ‘tasawwuf’ was first looked up with suspicion, nowadays it is put on a par with heresy and innovation. May Allah protect us from heresies and innovations!

Anyway, here you can see that Sari al-Saqati cared about his family’s religious condition, or better conviction: he advised his nephew and warned him for al-Muhasibi’s involvement into Kalâm and debating the Mu’tazilites. Instead, he encouraged him to take from al-Harith ‘the One who Counts’ (lit. al-muhâsibi that is: the accountable, who reckons himself) the discipline for which al-Harith was known for; such as his devotion, piety, modesty, restraint etc.

Al-Harith al-Muhasibi was a pious scholar, knowledgeable in many sciences, except that his involvement into forbidden and blameworthy sciences, as infected by the Mu’tazilites with whom he debated, made him a paria at the end of his life. He was criticized heavily by the Imam Ahmad, which was justified. His books such as the Fahm al-Qur’an contain innovative stances on the Attributes of Will (i.e. the sifât al-ikhtiariyyah), which he took directly from the Mu’tazilites or from Ibn Kullâb who was prominent for negating such Attributes.

Junayd al-Baghdadi was in fact warned for Kullabite and Mu’tazilite doctrines, and as such was orthodox in beliefs. He said personally:

“I studied Fiqh according to the Madhhab of such authorities on Hadith as Abu ‘Ubayd and Abu Thawr, and later I associated with al-Harith al-Muhasibi and Sari b. Mughallas. That has been the reason of my success, because our knowledge must be controlled by going back to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Whovere has nor learned the Qur’an by heart and has not studied Hadith, and has not learned jurisprudence before embarking on Sufism, is a man who has no right to lead.”

This is sound ‘tasawwuf’, if with Tasawwuf is meant: purifying the heart, performing a lot of devotions, regularly remembering Allah, taking the Prophet’s outward example in clothing etc. It means also having sound convictions, for deeds will rise to Him and accepted if well-grounded beliefs are sound. If one believes in the unification of man with Allah, and we seek refuge from such blasphemy, whatever prayer performed or remembering directed to Allah, it will be rejected and you shall enter the Fire without a doubt!

Junayd al-Baghdadi passed one day by a group of Mutakallimun who were speaking in a negative mode about Allah, the Exalted. That is: they were discussing the Creator in a negative theology as the Mu’tazilites, Ash’arites and many other sects do, i.e. mentioning the sifât al-salibiyyah in detail and broadly by speculations.

Junayd asked: “Who are these people?”

He was answered: “These are people who use proofs to sho that Allah has none of the Attributes in order of that which is created and no signs of imperfection.”

Junayd then answered: “To deny a fault which could not possibly exist [for Allah], is a fault [of judgement itself]!”

He means: to say for example that Allah is not inside the creation, outside the creation, not above, nor below, not left, nor right, He is not this or that.. etc. is a fault in itself, for Allah, the Exalted, should not be described as such.

Unfortunately, al-Harith al-Muhasibi felt in some of that too. For this reason the great Hafidh Abu Zur’ah al-Razi said:

“Beware of these books because they are full of innovation and are misleading!”

Junayd seem to keep away of that. Al-Muhasibi was accustomed to debating and intercourse with people, while writing them down when returning back home. Junayd was of a different nature when it came to dealings with the people, as inherited from Sari al-Saqati and his likes. He would often say to al-Harith al-Muhasibi, his early teacher after Sari:

“My delight is in solitude, but you [al-Muhasibi] expose me to the rough and tumble of society.”

Sari al-Saqati, his maternal uncle who warned him for al-Muhasibi’s involvement with the Ahl al-Kalâm, said to his young nephew:

“O Abu’l-Qasim! I see you are beginning to spend your time with the common people.”

Junayd saved himself from falling into innovations and doubts, and would not be persecuted as al-Muhasibi was by Imam Ahmad and his followers.

Junayd said: “Security is achieved only by those who consciously seek it, who do not set themselves up in opposition, who renounce the temptation to seek after what knowledge of Islam forbids.”

As such, it is no surprise to see the scholars of fairness and in-depth knowledge such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciple the Imam Ibn al-Qayyim speak highly of this true saint. Indeed, the statements sûfis made about him such as ‘Shaykh al-Tariqa’ are justified, in so much he was truly upon a path that was orthodox and of which he was a leading personality.

And how filled with anger was Ibn ‘Arabi and each and every Ittihâdi Zindiq when they saw the statement of this Imam:

“Our doctrine is the separation of the eternal from that which was originated” (ifrâd al-qadîm ‘an al-muhdath)

- a refutation of those people who are supporters of Wahdat al-Wujûd. And for this reason Ibn ‘Arabi burst out against this Sunnite. There is no might nor power then with Allah!

Such a statement of Junayd about Allah’s Tawhid was expressed by the Imam because of the first Ittihadi and Hululi people that became prominent. It was in Junayd’s time that this evil came out. When this happened in Baghdad, the orthodox scholars supported by the Caliph came out against the sûfis who supported these false beliefs.

It happened that an Imam stood up, the Malikite Qadi Isma’il b. Ishaq, who was a student of Ahmad b. Hanbal and other eminent scholars. He was also a descendant of the great Basran scholar Hammad b. Zayd and considered in his time the Imam of the Maliki Madhhab. The scholar who made much effort against them was the Hanbalite Ghulam al-Khalil.

All sufis it is said were accused of heresy in public, incl. the Imam Junayd. But Junayd was known in public for his devotion, sound beliefs and intellectual standing as a jurist. Then again, some people accused him of that and he had to be confronted with the authorities so that they could question him. When he stood in court he said that he was simply a jurist, and thus pardoned. The rest were however questioned more. At the end, most were freed too after being questioned and none has been hurt in any way as the Mu’tazilites did to the Sunnis before. Such was justice, and through it Junayd was freed of all blames of heterodox beliefs.

It is said that when al-Hallâj, the notorious pantheist and thé example of Ibn ‘Arabi and his likes, separated himself after a conflict with Abu ‘Uthman ‘Amr al-Makki, a pious sufi with sound beliefs, he came to Junayd.

The latter asked him for what purpose he had come, to which al-Hallâj replied: “For the purpose of associating with the Shaykh.”

Junayd replied: “I do not associate with madmen! Association demands sanity; if that is wanting, the result is such behaviour as yours towards Sahl b. Abdallah al-Tustari and ‘Amr.”

Sahl b. Abdallah al-Tustari is a pious sufi with sound beliefs. Indeed, the Salimiyyah sect that has been found by Ibn Sâlim and his son, both students of Sahl, is based upon statements, acts etc. from the latter. And most of it is sound and agreeable, except a small part not. But in general, their doctrines about Allah, the Exalted, and His Attributes is sounder than that of the later Ash’arites and far better than the Mu’tazilites. Abu Talib al-Makki, author of the Qut al-Qulub, and Abu ‘Ali al-Ahwazi, author of the refutation of Abu’l-Hasan al-Ash’ari, are considered Salimites.

As for ‘Amr al-Makki? Well, his sound beliefs are also a matter we can confirm without fear. It is ‘Amr, the former teacher of al-Hallâl, who said about this unbeliever who left him later:

“If I could meet him, I would kill him with my own hand!”

Junayd was of sound beliefs, agreeable to the Sunnah. This is bared by his teachers, the advises of his teachers against Kalâm and the Mu’tazilah (who were the only people then who interpreted away Allah’s Rising, for al-Harith and Ibn Kullab never ever did that), his relationship with al-Harith al-Muhasibi, with that of other personalities such as al-Hallâj, his views about men like Sahl al-Tustari (who kissed Abu Dawud al-Sijistani’s tongue because of the sunan that flowed from his lips), ‘Amr al-Makki, Ibn Surayj and many more.

Junayd authored also many works, that is: rasa’il. Junayd’s Rasa’il are famous, like al-Muhasibi’s books. Many of his Rasa’il are about Tawhid.

The famous statement cited above, i.e. the separation of Allah from all that his created, is cited by Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri, the Ash’arite sufi, in the beginning of his book famous al-Risalah fi al-Tasawwuf. Ibn Taymiyyah wrote a commentary on the Risalah, in two volumes: Kitab al-Istiqama. It is one of the most excellent books I ever read on ‘tasawwuf’ containing so much Fawa’id. He mentioned al-Qushayri’s quotation and commented upon it, against al-Qushayri’s understanding and that of other Kullabite-Ash’arite scholars who deny the Attributes of Will. If one desires knowledge about Junayd’s beliefs, take recourse to that splendid book. Therein is also mentioned that the Sufis in general, from the earliest day until the second half of the 5th century were upon sound beliefs; only after Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami and his likes the Kullabiyyah (or Ash’ariyyah) influenced heavily the sufis, until al-Qushayri’s Risalah sealed it with the impression that Sufism and Ash’arism are twins that are not separable of each other. Truth dictates otherwise, as I’ve referred more than once how sound sufis opposed the Ash’arites.

However, we must not free Junayd of possible mistakes. As many sufis, he has some sayings that are problematic somehow. That is mostly because of his style and that of his colleagues.

After this introduction, let me say what I could find on Allah’s Rise or Establishing upon the Throne or whatever is indicative of that from the tongue of Junayd, may Allah have mercy upon him:

In the Kitab al-Mithâq ascribed to Junaud al-Baghdadi he says after the Basmala, the Hamd, the Testimony etc. the following within the text under the chapter:

“On Divinity: ..then Allah added to this the testimony of the power of His Glory, the extent of His Splendour, the display of His Conquest, the Height of His Elevation, the Dominion of His Sovereignty, the intensity of His Awe, the Nobility of His Majesty, the splendour of His Rule. He is unique by these qualities and thus allows Himself to be distinguished. He is Magnified and Exalted by His Greatness!”

This is sufficient for his affirmation of al-‘Uluww.

There is also a statement ascribed to Ibn al-A’rabi, concerning Istiwa’. It is said that Ibn Abi Duwad, the Mu’tazilite, went to him or made someone ask him if Istiwa’ could mean Istawla of something alike. Thereupon Ibn al-A’rabi denied that and silenced the man.

I think this is the linguist Ibn al-‘Arabi who lived in Ahmad’s days, and not the student of Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, the Tunesian Ibn al-A’rabi who authored the Tabaqat al-Nussak who was also a close student of Junayd born in 247 and died in 341 AH.

Anyway, Junayd had sound beliefs when it came to Allah’s Names and Attributes. This can be seen in the statements reported from him and from his writings, beside his association with other Sunnites and the passage of his life.

And Allah Knows best!

Abu Zayd ‘Abdurrahman bin Mohammad bin Khaldun

(May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH) was a Tunisian Arab of Hadhrami/Yemenite descent. He is a major muslim scholar (among his students: Ibn Hajar!) historiographer and historian and the following are his records On the Persians (Persia back in Ibn Khaldun’s time was nearly completely Sunni, as it was until 500 years ago):

• As Ibn Khaldun suggests, it is a remarkable fact that with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars…in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs:

“Thus the founders of (Arabic) grammar were Sibawaih [Al-Shirazi] and after him, al-Farsi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar…great jurists were Persians*… only the Persians ['Ajams] engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus …

the truth of the statement of the prophet becomes apparent, ‘If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it“… [Sahih Muslim]. The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians ['Ajams], left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians ['Ajams] and Persian countries, Iraq, Khorasan and Transoxiana (modern Central Asia), retained their sedentary culture.

Source: Muqaddimah, Translated by Franz Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 [Arabic]; R.N. Frye (p.91). 

________

Arabic Original:  الفصل الثالث والأربعون في أن حملة العلم في الإسلام أكثرهم العجم

* To have a glimpse of the great Islamic Persian scientists and scholars, then visit:

-The Giants of Persia – The carriers of knowledge (language, Tafsir, Hadith etc)  

Note: Allaamah Abdurrahman bin Khaldun was praised throughout Islamic history by major scholars (like Ibn Hajar), yet recently (since the emerge of a disease called NATIONALISM) Arab nationalists (just like Persian Nationalists who attack Salman the Persian/Al-Farsi …) attacked Ibn Khaldun for his ‘Anti-Arab statements’. Indeed, Ibn Khaldun (just like the Qur’an Al-Kareem) did not put the A’raabis (desert-dwelling Arabs) in a good light. However, what the Arab Nationalists (just like the Persian Nationalists and extremist Shi’ites) missed is that Ibn Khaldun (AND the Qur’an) are not talking about the ARABS (العرب) , rather they are talking about the A’raab (الأعراب) i.e. the desert-dwelling-Arabs, and it is known that the main figures of Islam, including the PROPHET (peace be upon him) and his companions  were NOT Beduins/A’raab/desert-dwellers neither did the majority of the Arabs unto this day. Hence among the major scholars of our times were scholars like Shaykh Bakr bin Abdillah Abi Zayd (may Allah have mercy upon him) who refuted those who badmouthed Ibn Khaldun and accused him of being a racist (?) and berberian bigot (although he is more Arab than most Arabs of our time could ever be!).

Here what Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd said in his defence:

وقد تتابع الغلط على ابن خلدون أيضاً في أنه يحط على العرب من أنهم أهل ضعن ووبر لا يصلحون لـملك ولا سياسة وابن خلدون كلامه هذا في ” الأعراب ” لا في ” العرب ” فليعلم.

Ahmad Kasravi (29 September 1890 – March 11, 1946), was an Iranian intellectual (Ancient Languages, history, Politics, religion, and Philosophy) and one of the few Iranian intellectuals who instead of having a biased and vitriolic stance towards Islam, actually came to the conclusion that Islam is a UNIVERSAL (for Arabs, Persians, Whites, Blacks etc.) religion, the only true monotheistic religion (yet, ironically Iranian nationalist Anti-Islamic Hate-Mongers quote him day and night to prove the falshood and superstitions of Shi’ism, yet they do not mention that this man basically converted to Islam and Sunnah, for the was a staunch defender of Islam, albeit being secular in his political thoughts). Yet, like every sane and educated man, and especially Iranian who knows Iranian Islamic  history (Buyids, Safavids etc.) – realised the corruption of the polytheist and pagan sect of twelver Shi’ism …

… that was basically nothing but a mix of personality cult (endless graves, tombs. shrines and Images of Imams and “Ayatollahs”), hatred towards the bulk of the Prophet’s companions and Zoroastrian-Safavid influenced elements.

The most amazing fact is that a man born in the 90′s of the NINTEENTH CENTURY (1890!) struggled to his utmost ability (with no Internet, no satellite channels, no books en masse etc.) in a COMPLETELY Rafidite-Shi’ite ruled country and environment and proved without a shadow of a doubt that Shi’ism is based on polytheism (personality cult in form of prayers etc.) AND superstitions (“twelfth hidden Mahdi” along with the well-superstition and Khoms in his name >>>).

Yet, we still have people in this age who seriously believe that Shi’ism is a valid Islamic sect or worse; “The school of Ahl Al-Bayt”. (This is like saying and believing that Catholisism is the “school of taught” of Jesus son of Mary!!!).

Keeping in mind that he was a former Shia student makes it even more unbelievable:

Ahmad Kasravi, in is Shia-Mullah youth …

According to Kasravi, Islam was the guiding torch of the people in the pursuit of welfare, yet at the hands of the Shi’a it had become the source of their deception and misfortune.

Him having converted to Islam and Sunnah (Ahl Al-Sunnah) has been admitted by some “Ayatollahs” in the most hateful way possible (look at their grudge, and how they considers reverting to Sunnah as APOSTASY!):

^The book is “مع موسوعات رجال الشيعة” “Ma’a Mawsou’at Rijal al-Shi’ah” by al-Sayyed al-’Allamah [Ayatullah] ‘Abdullah Sharaf al-Deen , in part one where he talks about “al-Tharee’ah fi Tasaneef al-Shia”, pages 13-14:

translation:

PAGE -13-

In al-Tharee’ah page 33: “The contemporary historian al-Sayyed Ahmad al-Tabrizi al-Kasrawi [Persian: Kasravi].”

The author of “al-Mawsou’at” comments on the above: I say: “And it seems he (author of al-Tharee’ah) forgot and made a mistake may Allah have mercy on him because this man (Kasravi) is not compatible with the book because he is a Murtadd (apostate) as is known to all, he also has a great enmity towards this religion and this is why he got killed.

[sonsofsunnah.com comment: Exposing and renouncing Rafidi Shi'ite heresies and superstitions = Enmity towards Islam!]
PAGE -14-

The author of “al-Mawsou’at” says: ”And this book was mentioned in vol 17 page 270, we also forgot to say that Ahmad Kasravi had translated this book from Farsi to Arabic when he was a top official in Khuzestan (Ahwaz, Arab area of south-east Iran), at around this time the man (Kasravi) had began to embrace Sunnism (means being Sunni) [...] And he wrote some lines towards the end talking about the split of the Shia between Sheikhi and Mushtari’i, wanting to belittle them, then after several years Kasravi published his books against the Shia like al-Tashayyu’u wal-Shia.”
“So it is strange how he (author of al-Tharee’ah) forgot and made the mistake of listing his works, even after he became Murtadd (apostate!!!) and got killed…”

- end -

Explanation: Basically this Rafidi Shia scholar called Sharaf al-Deen wrote the book “Ma’a Mawsou’at Rijal al-Shi’ah”, this book comments on other books of Shia Rijal (a Hadith science) like “al-Tharee’ah fi Tasaneef al-Shia” which apparently is by “Agha Bozorg Tehrani”. This book “al-Tharee’ah” lists all the Shia books and their authors and it seems that the writer of al-Tharee’ah included Kasravi and addressed him respectfully by saying “The contemporary Historian and Master(Sayyed) Ahmad al-Tabrizi al-Kasrawi” this made Sharaf al-Deen angry so he started criticizing Tehrani for including him among the Shia authors, he called Kasravi a Murtadd (apostate) and an enemy of the religion simply because he converted to Ahlul-Sunnah, he also stated that it is well known that he was killed because he converted to Sunnah and criticized Shi’ism. 

Here some onlind quotes about him:

Although Kasravi had written an important book called Shari’at Ahmadi on the osul and foru’ of Islam and Shi’ism, he gradually began to question not only the role and legitimacy of the clergy, but even the basis of Shi’ism. He distinguished two different types of Islam: the Islam of the pious Prophet and the Islam of all the various sects that had emerged from the spread of the religion. According to Kasravi, the two were opposed to one another. Existing Islam was an institution run by the clerics, beneficial to no one and the source of great misfortune. The object of religion, he argued, was to secure the welfare of the people by finding solutions to their daily problems such as poverty, unemployment, and ill health. These he believed, were the acts which would please God.

^Truly, you have spoken the truth, for the “Ayatollahs” (in fact, AYADOLLAR$) are busier than ever in collecting the Khoms (in fact, KHOM$) of their gullible followers in the name (as “deputies of the hidden Imam”!!!) “Sahib Al-Zaman” (The OWNER of the TIME, i.e. Shia Mahdi!):

According to Kasravi, the clergy did not perform their expected role. Instead of functioning as the enlightened shepherd who would lead his flock to spiritual and material felicity, they misled the people, perpetrated ignorance, deprivation and superstition.

Kasravi reproached the clergy on several counts. He derided their role in deepening the animosity between Shi’i and Sunni Muslims.

He attacked the custom of building shrines for the Imams and characterized their worship as idolatry.

 He accused the clergy of deceiving the people by encouraging them to go on pilgrimages (“Ziyarat” to shrines) as a means of attaining salvation or as a guarantee for the realization of a miracle. Kasravi argued that a reward could be expected only for a useful act. The lavish expenditure on pilgrimage, he maintained, was best spent on feeding and clothing the hungry and the poor. Kasravi revolted against what he called the cult of personality of Shi’i Imams which had led to the Shi’i custom of ‘people worshipping’. Thus Kasravi claimed that the faith had to be cleansed from all its impurities and called for a return to its original essence [Tawhid/Monotheism]. Many of Kasravi’s above-mentioned criticisms of Shi’i rituals and practices as well as his view on the role of the traditional clergy, later found its echo in modernist Islamic circles and especially in the works of Ali Shariati.

The polytheist nature and FALSE ascription of the twelver sect to the Prophet’s Household (peace be upon them all) has become more and more clear to the Muslims worldwide:

Utter Shirk (Rafidi Shi’ism) Playlist >>>

Kasravi, who at first seemed to be a reformer of Shi’ism, later hardened his position and became anti-Shi’i. In his book Shi’igari, ‘The practice of Shi’ism’, he bases his refutations of Shi’i beliefs on the Qur’an, the practice of the Prophet and Imam Ali. Throughout the book he remains highly respectful and reverential towards Imam Ali, Imam Hossein and their original followers.

 According to Kasravi, the Shi’i practice of dissimulation of one’s real beliefs (Taqiyyah explained – understand 12er Shi’ism) when survival is at stake, was in fact a means of deception which legitimized falsehood. The safavid rulers who wished to prove their Shi’i zeal went to extremes to uphold established Shi’i rituals and rites. With the active collaboration of the clergy, they accentuated those aspects which Kasravi believed to be impurities. They institutionalized the custom of insulting Abu Bakr, Omar, and Osman, thereby deepening the hatred between Shi’a and Sunnis. It was also during their time that Islam became synonymous with observing certain formal rituals such as attending and weeping at mourning sessions (rowzeh-khani), going on pilgrimages and petitioning the imams with prayers. Later, Shari’ati too identified Safavid Shi’ism as a ‘polytheistic’ religion. Kasravi’s attack on the practices of certain Islamic jurists (faqaha) and the Safavids, under whose rule Shi’ism became Iran’s official religion and the Shi’i clergy obtained power and prestige, was a challenge to the dominant perception of Islamic practices. Kasravi, however, was very careful not to question or negate any of the three fundamental basis for Islam, namely monotheism, prophethood and resurrection.

From the Shi’i community’s point of view, Kasravi crossed the Rubicon when he attacked the authenticity of certain essential pillars of Twelver Shi’i thought and insulted certain highly revered Shi’i infallibles. He rejected the commonly held belief that the first three caliphs had usurped the position of Imam Ali. He challenged the concept of imamate, or the right of Imam Ali and his male lineage to the religious and temporal leadership of the Islamic community. Kasravi rejected the infallibility of the Twelve Imams, ridiculed the existence of the Twelfth Imam and consequently the central Shi’i notion of his occultation and his promised return on earth. His criticism was no longer directed at one or another member of the clergy, certain practices or rituals, but the content, object and raison d’etre of the Shi’i faith. His discourse had become anti-Shi’a. Having had a traditional clerical education, Kasravi must have anticipated the traditional response of the clerical community to his discourse.

The “hidden twelth” of the Shia is NOT the MUSLIM Mahdi, at best he is THE Antichrist:

The Dajjal, the Shia “Mahdi” & the masonic nature of the Safawi-Rafidi Republic

Kasravi’s criticism of the mechanical, superstitious, ahistorical and dogmatic nature of Shi’ism, as it was practised in his day, left an undeniable mark on the Muslims who sought to modernize their religion. Kasravi’s tumultuous life and his fate also indicated the extent and limitations of an open attack on certain rituals and practices, the clergy, and ultimately certain fundamentals of the faith.

A prolific writer, Kasravi was very critical of both the Shi’a clergy and of the policies of the central government. His outspoken ways would lead him to have many supporters and critics starting from the Reza Shah period.  His views earned him many powerful enemies such as Ayatollah Khomeini (Khomeini in his book, Kashf al Asrar (Key to the Secrets), that “all those who criticized Islam” are mahdur ad-damm). He was eventually KNIFED by Navvab Safavi‘s followers during his trial. The Rafidite Shi’ite regime of Khomeini did not miss to remember Ahmad Kasravi bya dedicating a METRO station’s name to Navvab Safavi, the terrorist Sunni hater:

The Rafidah clergy were so scared of him, the biggest “Ayatollahs” back then, including the FOUNDER of the new Hawzah in Qom, Ayatollah Borujerdi who issued a Fatwah for killing Kasravi (along with other “Ayatollahs” like Khomeini, Al-Sadr and others)!

Have a guess who is a “critic of Islam” according of those who are busy collecting Khom$ and delude their followers with a “12th hidden Imam” who receives letters in a well in Qom …

Anyway, on March 11, 1946, while being tried on charges of “slander against Islam,” Kasravi and one of his assistants were knifed and killed in open court in Tehran by followers of Navvab Safavi, a Shi’a extremist cleric who had founded a terrorist organization called the Fadayan-e Islam (literally Devotees of Islam). The same group had failed in assassinating Kasravi earlier in April 1945 in Tehran.

Hence he joined the club of those lions who destroyed the false foundations of twelver Shi’ism to such a degree, that the Ayadollar$ in their desperation resorted to knifing (Kasravi) and even bombing (Shaykh Ehsan Elahi Zaheer).

He influenced the likes of Ayatollah Borqei (you have to read his self written biography. He mentions how more than 200 Ayatollahs of Qom issued FATWAS that declared that Borqei is an Apostate Jew! The Ayadollar$ who must had been freaked out and scared to death of a personality like him, hence they declared him a Jew/Zionist/Apostate, simpley because of him leaving twelver Safavid Shi’ism.

And Abul-Fadhl Borqei was not the only intellectual and scholar who left the heresies and superstitions of twelver Shi’ism, great man were to follow him like:

Mostafa Husseini Tabatabai

And it does not stop here, here a list with books and articles of dozens of Sunni Iranians who left Shi’ism and embraced Monotheism and Sunnah (Islam):

Aqeedeh.com The Guided ones/هدايت يافتگان

May Allah forgive Ahmad Kasravi’s shortcomings (secular delusion) and accept him among the martyrs and join him with the Prophets, scholars, Sahabah and Ahl Al-Bayt in the Hereafter.

His funeral (written in Persian: “God is with us”!)

===============

His books are availible in ARABIC and PERSIAN only. If you are REALLY interested in his books and if you want to support the Da’wah then contact us and spend in the way of Allah collectively and let us translate them. There are translation companies in Egypt for instance, they are affordable and specialised in translating from Arabic to English.

He wrote many books (a book refuting Sufism, BAHAISM etc.), but the one(s) related to our topic are called:

his Bio:

مختصرى درباره احمد كسروي

____

شیعه گری-Shia-Gari (Shi’ism) – FARSI/PERSIAN

^This is the book where he destroyed Rafidite Shi’ism COMPLETELY, beginning from Imamate, ”divine leadership of Ali bin Abi Talib” and the biggest myth i.e. the “hidden Imam”.

Arabic version:

Al-Ramhurmuzi (Persian: Ramhormozi 265-290 hijri), the Imam, the skilled Hafidh, the Muhaddith of the Persians, Abu Ahmad, Al-Hassan Ibn Abdul-Rahman Ibn Khalal Al-Farsi Al-Ramhurmuzi Al-Qadhi (the Judge), composer of the book ” المحدث الفاصل بين الراوي والواعي ” (Al-Muhaddith Al-Fasil bayn Al-Rawi wa Al-Wa’i) in the science of Hadith.

It is said that Al-Rumhurmuzi was the FIRST PERSON ever who had categorised the science of Hadith system (terms etc.). Although (according to some) it is more correct to say that it was Imam Al-Tirmidhi (from Persia/Khorasan city of Termez).  A contemp. scholar of today named Shaykh Abdallah Al-Sa’ad says that if we were precisely  then Imam Al-Shafi’i (in his book “Al-Risalah”) already set some basics for the science of Hadith (as have others like Ibn Hibban etc.), yet Imam Al-Ramhurmuzi basically set a complete scheme hence he is normally referred to the fist person ever who had categorised the different science of Hadith. This is acknowledged by one of the Kings of Hadith science Imam Al-Hafidh bin Hajr who said:

ذكر الحافظ ابن حجر ـ رحمه الله ـ في النخبة أن أوّل مَنْ صنّف في هذا العلم هو : أبو محمد الرَّامهرمزي (الحسن بن عبد الرحمن بن خلاد المتوفى نحو [360] هـ) ..صاحب (المحدث الفاصل بين الراوي والواعي)

Al-Hafidh bin Hajr – may Allah have mercy upon him – mentions in “Al-Nakhbah” that the first person who had classified this science [of Hadith] was Abu Mohammad Al-Ramhurmuzi (passed away in Hirji 360 [...].

Therefore Al-Ramhurmuzi stands out because he was the FIRST ever who had written an entire book SOLELY about the science of Hadith, hence he is referred to as the “first”, may Allah have mercy upon him.

His famous book:

________________

Here a beautiful clip where a Kuweiti scholar proves the corruptness of the Rafidite sect and the proud of every Muslim when it comes to the science of Hadith (i.e. Al-Ramhurmuzi):

and the praise of the scholars for them:

more picture and articles …

to understand why such sayings used to be said about Persia and the Persians, visit the following links and articles:

The Service of the people of Persia to Islam

MUST-READ:

Notable Hadith Scholars – Abu Hatim al-Razi - by  Sheikh Abdul Mohsin Bin Hamad Al-Abbad – Professor at the Faculty Of Shari’a, Islamic University of Madinah Al-Munawwarah.

Aqidah of the Salaf by Abu Zurah Ar-Razi (d. 264 H.)

The Creed of the Two Raazee Imaams – Aboo Zur’ah (d. 264 H.) and Aboo Haatim (d. 277 H.)

One of the most famous quotes of Abu Zur`a Al-Razi in regards to the Rafidha Shia:

We are delighted to present you another gem of Persia (you won’t  find a SINGLE equivalent to these great Sunni personalities who enriched the Islamic Ummah for around 900 years of Sunni-Persian history. The decline began with the Safavids and the emergence of Rafidite Shiism  that is ruling Iran up to this day i.e. for less than 500 years and it did not produce anything but heresy and ignorants of the basics of Islam, starting from the language to everything else), a servant of the Ahl Al-Sunnah and the Arabic language (quite amazing how the biggest linguists of the Arabic language were mostly Persians, like the Master of the Masters of the Arabic language, Sibawayh>>>):

  عبد الله بن جعفر بن دَرَسْتَوَيْه الفارسي

 (258-347 هـ)

Abdallah bin Jafar bin Darastawayh (more correctly: دُرُسْتويه‌ Dorostavei) bin Al-Marzban Al-Farsi the Grammarian (proper classical persian name) – 258-347H

Ibn Darastawayh, Abu Mohammad, the Imam, the Allamah, the Shaykh of ‘Nahu’ (Arabic grammar) i.e. the Nahawi, he Lughawi (master of all sciences of the Arabic language), the Adeeb, born 285 after Hijri (i.e. in the pre-Safavid, Sunni Persia) in Fasa (فَسا), Persia (back than a city as big as Shiraz today) and was hence known as the Persian (Al-Farsi) and the Fasawi (from Faas). His name (Darastawayh/Dorostavei) is made of two words,

‘dorost’ (which means correct in Persian) and ‘awayh’/'aveyh’ (there are difference of opinions regarded the real meaning of this old-persian word, most say it means ‘scent’, and Allah knows best). His father himself was from the major Muhadditheen of his time and Ibn Darastawayh used to travel with his father for the sake of knowledge when he was around twelve years old.

Among those who narrated from him: Imam Al-Daaraqotni, Ibn Shaheen, Ibn Mandah, Ibn Ruzqawiyyah etc. Ibn Darastawayh compiled a number of books, among them:

- ‘Al-Irshad’ (about Arabic grammar)

- ‘Al-Hijaa”

- ‘Sharh Al-Faseeh’

- ‘Ghareeb Al-Hadeeth’

- ‘Adab Al-Kateb’

-’Al-Mathkoor wa Al-Mu’annath’

- ‘Al-Maqsood wa Al-Mamdood’

- ‘Al-Ma’aani fi Al-Qira’aat’

He was one of the top grammarians of the Arabic language in Basra (back then one of the main centres of Nahu/grammar) where many top grammarians graduated from.

قال الخطيب : في هذا نظر ؛ فإن جعفر بن درستويه من كبار المحدثين

Al-Khateeb (Al-Baghdadi) said in regards to him: ‘[...] Jafar Ibn Darastaway was from amongst the major Muhadditheen’.

As Ibn Khaldun suggests, it is a remarkable fact that with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs (mainly Persians):

“Thus the founders of (Arabic) grammar were Sibawaih [Al-Shirazi] and after him, Al-Farsi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar… great jurists were Persians*… only the Persians ['Ajams] engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus …

the truth of the statement of the prophet becomes apparent, ‘If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it“… [Sahih Muslim] [...]/

Source: Muqaddimah, Translated by Franz Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 [Arabic]; R.N. Frye (p.91). 

There is loads about him in Arabic, here a Persian article:

ابومحمد عبدالله‌ بن‌ جعفر بن‌ درستويه‌ بن‌ مرزبان‌ فارسى‌ فَسَوي‌ 

ویکی خرافات Wiki Khorafat a new excellent facebook page by the Iranian Sunni community exposing the heresies of twelver Shi’ism from Kulayni to Khomeini, provided by scans (some unique stuff to be found there since some late Shia stuff hasn’t even been translated into Arabic yet). Khorafat is in Arabic as in Persian means ‘superstitions’. In sha Allah we will make this post sort of a sticky by making a banner for it on the right sidebar and from time to time we will upload the scans+English translations, In sha Allah. Here the link so far:

ویکی خرافات

Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mughīrah ibn Bardizbah (proper old Persian name) al-Ju‘fī (Mawla of the Ju’fi’s, not an Arab Ju’fi himself) al-Bukhārī, in short: Imam Al-Bukhari. This great personality really needs no long introduction, every Muslims knows him. He was born after the Jumu’ah prayer on Friday, 13 Shawwal 194 AH (19 July 810) in the city of Bukhara in Khorasan (in present-day Uzbekistan, back then there was no such country as ‘Uzbekistan’, the area he was born was called Khorasan and ALL of Khorasan was part of Iran and all Khorasanis today are Persian speakers, be it in Iran, Afghanistan etc.).

Imam Al-Bukhari’s great-grandfather was Al-Mughirah and his father was Bardizbah who is the last known ancestor of Bukhari according to most scholars and historians. He was a Magian and died as such. As-Subki is the only scholar to name Bardizbah’s father, who he says was named Bazzabah (Persian: بذذبه‎). Little is known of Bardizbah or Bazzabah, except that they were Persian and followed the religion of their people. Hadeeth scholars mention that “Bardizbah” is Persian for ‘farmer’.

Giant amongst the scholars of the Ahl Al-Sunnah such as Imam Al-Dhahabi (who hailed from a Turkmenistani backround) also confirmed the Persian backround of Imam Al-Bukhari in his ‘Siyar Al-A’lam Al-Nubalaa’:

الذهبي - سير أعلام النبلاء – الطبقة الرابعة عشرة – ابو عبدالله البخاري – مولده ونسبه

[ النص طويل لذا إستقطع منه موضع الشاهد ]

- أبو عبد الله البخاري ( ت ، س ) : محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم بن المغيرة بن بردزبه ، وقيل بذدزبه ، وهي لفظة بخارية ، معناها الزراع أسلم المغيرة على يدي اليمان الجعفي والي بخارى ، وكان مجوسياً ، وطلب إسماعيل بن إبراهيم العلم

الذهبي - تاريخ الإسلام – الجزء : ( 19 ) – رقم الصفحة : ( 242 )

[ النص طويل لذا إستقطع منه موضع الشاهد ]

- فصل : نقل إبن عدي وغيره أن مغيرة بن بردزبه المجوسي جد البخاري أسلم على يد والي بخارى يمان الجعفي جد المحدث عبد الله بن محمد بن جعفر بن يمان الجعفي المسندي ، فولاؤه للجعفيين بهذا الاعتبار.

Same goes for Ibn Hajar Al-’Asqalani:

إبن حجر - مقدمة فتح الباري – رقم الصفحة : ( 478 )

[ النص طويل لذا إستقطع منه موضع الشاهد ]

- …. ذكر نسبه ومولده ومنشئه ولا ومبدأ طلبه للحديث : هو أبو عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم ابن المغيرة بن بردزبه الجعفي …. وبه جزم إبن ماكولا وقد جاء في ضبطه غير ذلك وبردزبه بالفارسية الزراع كذا يقوله أهل بخارى وكان بردزبه فارسياً على دين قومه ثم أسلم ولده المغيرة على يد اليمان الجعفي ….

The greatest scholars of Ahl Al-Sunnah have praised Imam Al-Bukhari and testified that he is of Persian origin (and this is an answer to some loose articles around the net that vehemently try to claim that he was an Arab!):

محمد بن إسماعيل بن إبراهيم بن المغيرة بن بردزبه وقيل: بذدزبة ، وهي كلمة فارسية معناها ( الزرَّاع ) ، أسلم جده المغيرة على يدي اليمان الجعفي فنسب إليهم ولاءً .
وينظر لذلك : ( تهذيب الكمال ) للمزي (24/430 ترجمة 5059) ، و( سير أعلام النبلاء ) للذهبي (12/391 ترجمة 171) ، و( تهذيب التهذيب ) للحافظ ابن حجر (3/508 ) .

و أبو عبدالله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الفارسي – رحمه الله – كانت ولادته ببخارى عام 194هجرية”

Some interesting notes: Imam Al-Bukhari and his student Imam Tirmithi were not Arabs. Both of them were Persian Khorasanis. During their casual day to day life they would communicate in Persian … in the market place and with neighbors. In fact, Imam Al-Bukhari used one Persian word in his Sahih between two Hadeeths … some say a slip of the tongue perhaps.

And here some of his interesting views (surely he can’t be accused of ‘Wahhabism’, since he lived over 1000 years before the so called founder of Wahhabism was even born!):

Imam Bukhari declared:

“I don’t see any difference between praying Salah behind a Jahmi or a (Shia) Rafidhi and a Christian or a Jew. They (Jahmis/Rafidhis) are not to be greeted, nor are they to be visited, nor are they to be married, nor is their testimony to be accepted, nor are their sacrifices to be eaten.”

(Khalq Af’aalul-’Ibaad, p.14)

Many important and influencial ‘Arab’ personalties in the Gulf are actually of Persian descent (including high ranking politicans and businessmen in KSA, UAE and Bahrain). Among them is the Islamic preacher Nabil Al-Awadhi (from Kuwait). He is not just beloved in the Arab and Islamic world, but particularly in south Iran where he is actually from. Shaikh Nabil Al-‘Awadhi’s ancestors immigrated from the Persian Sunni-Shafi’i town of Evaz (to this day fully Sunni and ethnic Persian) to Kuwait

(as many Persian Sunnis of the south did). The ‘Al-Awadhi’s are are very respected family, not just in Kuwait but in all of the Khalij, including Bahrain (where they are known as Sunni ‘Ajams i.e. Sunni Persians). They are known as well educated people, businessmen and in the case of Nabil Al-‘Awadhi, Islamic preachers.

The sad news is that the Kuwaiti parliament stripped Shaikh Nabil Al-‘Awadhi of his Kuwaiti passport (Shia members of the Kuwaiti parliament are very powerful, and have always wanted to get rid of this outspoken Islamic preacher who has exposed the crimes of Iran and Hezbollat in Syria).

We have already written an article about the Persian origin of the great Muslim scholar Ibn Hazm of Andalusia. The following great article by the bellandalus blog sheds some more light on more famous Persian Sunni scholars of Andalusia

There really needs to be a comprehensive book or article written about the migration of Persians to al-Andalus in the early medieval period and their impact on the cultural and intellectual developments there. It is a little-known fact that there were several waves of migration (primarily of scholars) from the central Islamic lands to the Iberian peninsula between 800 and 1100. The evidence for such a phenomenon definitely exists and we can even trace the origins of a few key personalities, such as Ziryab (d. 857) and Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), back to the Iranian plateau. For the latter, the great fourteenth-century historian al-Dhahabi notes:

“The sea of knowledge, the man with skills and insight, Abu Mohammad, Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Saeed ibn Hazm ibn Ghalib ibn Salih ibn Khalf ibn Madan ibn Sufyan ibn Yazid, of Persian descent, then Andalusi (Spanish), Cordoban (Qurtubi).”

قال الذهبي في بداية ترجمته :

 الإمام الأوحد البحر ، ذو الفنون والمعارف ، أبو محمد ، علي بن أحمد بن سعيد بن حزم بن غالب بن صالح بن خلف بن معدان بن سفيان بن يزيد ، الفارسي الأصل ، ثم الأندلسي القرطبي اليزيدي ( المصدر : سير أعلام النبلاء  18 /184

Another important scholar of Persian descent in al-Andalus was ‘Abd al-Aziz ibn Ja’far al-Farisi. The following is the entry about him taken from the famous biographical dictionary, the Kitab al-Silla, written by the Andalusi scholar Ibn Bashkuwal (d. 1183):

“His name was: Abd al-Aziz ibn Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Khuwast al-Farisi al-Baghdadi.

He lived in Anda (?) in al-Andalus and was known as Abu al-Qasim.

While in the East, he learned from the scholars Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Razzaq al-Tammar, Ismail al-Saffar, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Naqqash and others. Among those who narrated [hadith] from him was Abu al-Walid ibn al-Faradi (d. 1012), the Qadi of Valencia, who met him in that city in Rabi al-Awwal of 400 A.H. [October 1009]. He had first arrived in al-Andalus as a merchant in the year 350 A.H. [961]. According to Hakam ibn Muhammad, he had been born in Rajab of 320 A.H. [932].

He was among the most distinguished scholars, having studied many of the sciences and specializing in Qur’anic sciences and the interpretation of visions. He narrated [hadith] from Abu Zayd al-Marwazi, Abu Ishaq al-Qurtubi, Abu Bakr al-Abhari, Abu Bakr al-Baqillani, Abu Tamam the legal theorist, Abu Bakr al-Adfawi, Abu Ahmad al-Samiri, al-Hasan ibn Rashiq, [Abu al-Hasan Ali] al-Daraqtuni, and Ibn al-Ward. He departed from Denia by ship in 1036, with the intention of sailing for the East. However, he was killed by the Christians en route. This was in 427 A.H. [1036], at which point he was nearly 100 years old.”

[Ibn Bashkuwal, Kitab al-Silla (Cairo, 2008), Vol. 2: 21-22]

The Kitab al-Silla contains literally dozens of more entries for various scholars of Persian origin who lived in al-Andalus. If I come across any others particularly worthy of mention, I’ll definitely share.

In short: Yes and no. Depends on how one would define Persian (only by origin or place of birth etc.). This article here has caught our attention. It is well written but not very precise so we’d like to share some more light on this issue, particularly since it is misused by many extremist Shias try turn the tables and accuse the Ahlus-Sunnah of having been shaped by Majoos (Zoroastrians). A ridiculous claim (since Muslims do not accuse Shias of being Semi-Majoos/Zoroastrians due to the fact that ALL of the four compilers of their major hadith books were of Persian descent, rather because of Zoroastrian traditions having entered and shaped Shi’ism!) considering the Majoosi nature of (particularly) post-Safavid Shi’ism (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE).

All the compilers of the well known six hadith books (al-kutub as-Sittah) were either born or raised in greater  Persia/Khorassa, cities such Bkhara (which today lies in the man-made borders of Uzbekistan) where Imam Al-Bukhari (an ethnic Persian who mastered Arabic and the sciences of Islam, unlike the Shia Ayatollats who have mastered neither) the Persian was from were and are still Persian speaking cities, it’s just the political borders that separates them from other Persian speaker.

HOWEVER, not all of them were ethnic Persians (Imam Muslim from the Persian-Khorassani city of Nishabour was an Arab of Qurashi descent acc. to the soundest opinion), however, they all were either born or raised in Persia, hence they too confirm the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon them):

Abu Huraira reported: We were sitting in the company of Allaah’s Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) that Sura al-Jumu’a was revealed to him and when he recited (these words):” Others from amongst them who have not yet joined them,” a person amongst them (those who were sitting there) said: Allaah’s Messenger! But Allaah’s Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) made no reply, until he questioned him once, twice or thrice. And there was amongst us Salman the Persian. The Prophet of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) placed his hand on Salman and then said: Even if faith were near the Pleiades, a man from amongst these would surely find it.

(Source:Sahih Muslim, CHAPTER: THE MERITS OF THE PEOPLE OF PERSIA. Note how Imam Muslim who himself was Arab Qurashi from the Persian town of Nishabour made a WHOLE CHAPTER for basically one Hadith in the praise of the Persians!)

Here a list about the six compilers:

1. Imam (Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mughīrah ibn Bardizbah (proper old Persian name) al-Ju‘fī (Mawla of the Ju’fi’s, not an Arab Ju’fi himself, only by Wala’) Al-Bukhari (810–870). An ethnic Persian (according to major scholars such as Al-Dhahabi) from the ancient Persian Khorassani city of Bukhara (located in modern-day Uzbekistan).

2. Imam (Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī) Muslim (815–875): He hailed from Nishapour (Nishabur). The nisbah of “al-Qushayri” signifies Muslim’s belonging to the Arab tribe of Banu Qushayr, members of which migrated to the newly conquered Persian territory during the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate. He was a real Qushairi Arab and not just by wala’ (alliance)

3. Imam Abu Dawud (Sulaymān ibn al-Ashʿath al-Azdi Al-Sijistani, 817–889): Originally from “Sijistan” ( (located in modern-day Iran)) of Arab descent from the Azd tribe.

4. Imam (Abu Isa Muhammad) Al-Tirmidhi (824–892): Termez is a Persian Khorassani town (located in modern-day Uzbekistan). Imam Al-Tirmidhi belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Sulaym (hence the nisbat “as-Sulami”). His grandfather was originally from Marw (Persian: Merv), but moved to Tirmidh (Termez), it is not clear if he was an actual Arab or a Mawla. The ancestors of Persians who accepted Islam attributed themselves to various Arab tribes by way of wala’ (alliance) i.e. they could carry an Arab trime as a title but were actually not of Arab descent (like Imam Al-Bukhari and many other Salaf who were of Persian origin yet carried Arab tribe names).

5. Imam (Ahmad Ibn Shu’ayb) Al-Nasa’i (829–915): He was born in the Persian town of Nasa’ in Khorassan (located in modern-day Turkmenistan). As for Imam Al-Nasa’i then he was most likely of Persian origin from Khorassan, although he might have been of Arab origin like many Arabs who settled in Khorassan.

6. Imam (Abu Abdillah Ahmad Al-Rabi’i) Ibn Majah (824–889): originally from Qazvin (located in modern-day Iran) of Arab descent.The Sahabi Bara’a Ibn Azeb opened Qazwin during the era of Othman. Today it’s a dumpster of shirk and Rafidi superstition, but back then (even before the Safavids, i.e. less than 500 years ago i.e. during the Sunni Persian era) it was a major city were people spoke Arabic (!), it was a fortress of the giants of this Ummah, Qur’an, Tafsir, Arabic grammar, there are THOUSANDS of major Shafi’i and Hanafi scholars who hailed from Qazwin. Persians and Arabs, but the most famous person from Qazwin is a HADITHIST of ARAB origin, namely: Ibn Majah Al-Qazwini AL-RABI’I.

We’d like to finish this post with the beautiful introduction of the bellandalus blog:

“If knowledge were located in the Pleiades (a constellation of stars), the Persians would surely attain it”–Prophet Muhammad

It is a little known fact that all six of the authors/compilers of the major books of Sunni ḥadīth—works that are together known as the Siḥāḥ al-Sitta—were of Persian/Iranian origin. Interestingly, these eminent figures are only six of hundreds of other Iranian scholars who were central to the shaping of the Sunni religious and intellectual tradition. In a scheme of Islamic history which is dominated by Arabo-centrism and in a contemporary world in which the association between Iran and Shi’ism is so central that one cannot think of one without the other, this fact of the Persian origin of some of the most important figures of authority in Sunni Islam becomes increasingly relevant in challenging the dominant narratives and assumptions which continue to pervade the historical understanding (and contemporary vision) of Islam and Iran.

The famous Imam Muhammad Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (853–944 AD) was a Persian (some mention that he was a descendant from the Sahabi Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari) Sunni from the ancient Persian city of Samarqand. Samarqand is located in Uzbekistan today (but used to be part of the Persian empire), however, the ancient Persian-Tajik parts of Uzbekistan are still Tajik-Persian to this very day, cities such as Bokhara (where Imam Al-Bukhari is from) and Samarqand (where many major scholars were from).

Tajik Persians (over 30% of Afghanistan’s population), the absolute majority of the inhabitants of Tajikistan and a minority in Uzbekistan and some other Asian states are a majority Sunni people. They are the Khorassani Persians of the east, the brothers of the Persians in the west (what is known as Iran today).

Imam al-Tabari (Rahimahullah) said,
“I am amazed by the one who reads the Qur’an but doesn’t understand it, how can he enjoy its recitation.”

Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (Persian: محمد بن جریر طبری, Arabic: أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري) (224–310 AH; 839–923 AD), was a prominent and influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Qur’an (known as the IMAM of the Mufassirin) from Tabaristan, modern Mazandaran in Iran, from the city of Amol. A polymath who on such subjects as poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine. Amongst his teachers were Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Razi, another Persian giant of knowledge, a Hadithists from Ray (today’s Tehran which used to be a stronghold of many Ahl al-Hadith!). Amongst his teachers was also Muhammad bin Dawud al-Zahiri, the founder of the Zahiri Madhab who was from Isfahan (heartland of Persia!). 

Unknown to many: Imam al-Tabari wa well-versed in four of the five Sunni legal schools (except the Hanbali school with which he had a lot of differences) before founding his own independent, yet eventually extinct, school, the Tabari Madhab (that did not reach us just like many other Madhabs). Imam al-Tabari is not to be confused with another Persian al-Tabari, namely Muhammad bin Jarir bin RUSTUM. Rafidis usually misuse the narrations of the Rafidi one (ascribing it to Imam al-Tabari).

He is one of the most influencial Sunni scholars ever, his Tafsir is amongst the most ancient Tafsirs available, a gem of Persia who enriched the Ummah like many other Persian Sunni scholars. He died in Baghdad on February 17, 923. May Allah have mercy upon him.