A Forgotten Muhaddis from the Fourth Century of Hijra: Ibn al-Sakan and His Work al-Sunan al-sıhāh al-ma'sūra

Abstract

Ibn al-Sakan, one of the prominent hadith scholars of the 4th AH (10th AD) century, has not been given the recognition he deserves in the history of hadith studies. One of the primary reasons for this is that the works he authored, which were considered significant in their fields, have not survived to later periods or the present day. From a young age, Ibn al-Sakan dedicated himself to the study of hadith. During his time, he traveled through regions between the rivers Jayhun and Nile within the Islamic world, studying under more than forty renowned teachers, some of whom were quite famous. Eventually, he settled in Egypt. During his scholarly travels, he studied Sah & imacr;h al-Bukh & amacr;r & imacr; from its famous narrator Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firabri in Khorasan, brought it along with other works to Egypt, and transmitted these works and the hadiths he compiled with his own unique isnads. Sah & imacr;h al-Bukh & amacr;r & imacr; was first taught in Egypt by Ibn al-Sakan, and through him, it reached the Maghreb and Andalusia. He also authored works in Egypt such as al-Sunan al-sih & amacr;h al-ma'th & umacr;rah comprised of authentic hadiths; al-Hur & umacr;ff & imacr;asm & amacr;'al-sah & amacr;ba a fundamental source in the field of sah & amacr;ba biographies and al-Du'af & amacr; wa al-matr & umacr;k & imacr;n dealing with weak narrators. Ibn al-Sakan was a hadith scholar of the same caliber as figures like Ibn al-Jar & umacr;d, Ibn Khuzaymah, Abu Aw & amacr;na, Q & amacr;sim ibn Asbagh and Ibn Hibb & amacr;n, who also compiled and authored works with the sole purpose of gathering authentic hadiths during the first half of the 4th AH (10th AD) century, following the example of Bukh & amacr;ri and Muslim from the 3rd AH (9th AD) century. In the sources, when referring to him, he is described with praise as a H & amacr;f & imath;z (one who has memorized many hadiths), Imam (a leader in the field of hadith), Hujjah (a reliable authority in hadith whose narrations are used as proof), Mutqin (one who is meticulous and precise in hadith education and teaching), Thiqah (trustworthy), Kathir al-hadith (one who has learned many hadiths), W & amacr;si' alrihlah (one who traveled extensively to learn hadiths), Musannif (an author in the field of hadith), Kabir al-sha'n (one with great prestige among the hadith scholars) and Ahad al-aimmah (one of the leading hadith scholars). The work that brought him fame al-Sunan al-sih & amacr;h al-ma'th & umacr;rah, was written during the first half of the 4th AH (10th AD) century, considered one of the most productive periods in hadith literature. Many scholars who mentioned the work and cited it said that it was written with the purpose of collecting authentic hadiths and that its narrations were authentic. Ibn al-Sakan himself mentioned this in the introduction he wrote for his work. Ibn Hazm, when listing works composed of authentic hadiths, mentioned al-Sunan al-sih & amacr;h al-ma'th & umacr;rah immediately after the works of Bukh & amacr;ri and Muslim. It is estimated that the work contains around 5.000 hadiths. Ibn al-Sakan's works were especially studied and used as sources by many scholars in the Maghreb and Andalusia during the 5th AH (11th AD) and 6th AH (12th AD) centuries. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Abd al-Barr, Ibn As & amacr;kir, Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili, Ibn Bashkuw & amacr;l, Ab & umacr; Ali al-Ghass & amacr;ni and Ibn alQatt & amacr;n al-F & amacr;si are just a few of them. His works were more well-known in North Africa and Andalusia, and when we examine the citations of Eastern scholars from him, it becomes clear that nearly all of them were through Maghrebi and Andalusian scholars. This can be seen in some works of scholars like Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Mughultay ibn Kilij, al-Zayla'i, Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Ibn Hajar al-Asqal & amacr;ni and Badr al-Din al-Ayni. All three of Ibn al-Sakan's works survived until around the year 600 AH (1203 AD), but there is no definitive information that they continued to exist after this date. After this period, those who cited these works used those sources written in the 5th AH (11th AD) and 6th AH (12th AD) centuries, that had referenced Ibn al-Sakan. Despite this, some sources and social media platforms today claim that the manuscripts of these works have survived to later centuries, even to the present day, but so far, no one has been able to provide definitive proof of this. Because Ibn al-Sakan's works did not survive beyond the 6th AH (12th AD) century, he was forgotten and did not receive the attention he deserved, and he was not the subject of scholarly research or studies. Apart from brief biographical information found in classical sources, no scholarly studies or research have been conducted on him in either the East, the West, or in our country. The most significant scholarly article written about him in Turkish is the approximately 300 word entry on Ibn al-Sakan in the Diyanet Islam Encyclopedia. The lack of scholarly attention to Ibn al-Sakan has led to a series of errors regarding him and his works. Some manuscripts in libraries have been mistakenly attributed to him, and this error is still being repeated. Although his works have not survived to the present day, some library catalogs falsely claim that the manuscripts have survived, and his work al-Sunan al-sih & amacr;h al-ma'th & umacr;rah has been mistakenly presented as the first work with isnads removed, even though it was actually compiled with isnads. These errors have been repeated in both the Arabic and Persian Islamic Encyclopedias as well as in the Ibn al-Sakan entry of the Diyanet Islam Encyclopedia. In this article, Ibn al-Sakan, who has remained in history and awaits further research, has been brought to light. His works have been made known in terms of their content and characteristics, and a series of errors stemming from the lack of sufficient research on him and his work al-Sunan al-sih & amacr;h al-ma'th & umacr;rah have been corrected.