MUSJIDUL HAQ

Download PDF: [S] May Allah keep them Young Forever

This is that that special Du’a which the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – made for the Muhadditheen of this Ummah. We will present a few of them:

1. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hafz Kabeer

His name is Ahmed bin Hafz and his title is “Abu Hafz.” His son, Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Hafz is also known by the title of “Abu Hafz” and since this is the case, his father is referred to as “Abu Hafz Kabeer” and the son is known as “Abu Hafz Sagheer.” Both the father and son are recognized as eminent authorities in both Hadith and Islamic law.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hafz Kabeer – may Allah be pleased with him – is one of those eminent Islamic scholars through whom the science of Hadith gained prominence in Bukhara. He is also among the most senior students of both Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad Ash Shaybani – may Allah be pleased with them. He was among the leading authorities in Hanafi Fiqh in Bukhara and it is mentioned that the number of students who attended his classes cannot even be counted.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Hafiz ibn Hajr Asqalani Shafi – may Allah be pleased with him – mentions that, “The great Imam Bukhari also had the honour of attending the classes of this giant of the Ahle Sunnah wa Jamaah.” In fact, Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hafz – may Allah be pleased with him – used to say about his young student that, “This (young man) would become famous (in all parts of the world).”

He was also a contemporary of Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Shafi – may Allah be pleased with him – and lived many years after the great Imam had passed away. He was also noted for his immense piety and Ibadah and many miracles are attributed to him. He passed away in 217 A.H. (Muqaddimah Al Jawaahir Al Madeeyah).

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Ishaq Hirawi

His full name is Ebrahim bin Abdullah and was originally from Herat but later settled in Baghdad Shareef. He is also one of the teachers of Imam Tirmidhi, Imam ibn Majah – may Allah be pleased with them –  etc. and is also one of the special students of Imam Haythim – may Allah be pleased with him – who is one of the special students of Imam Abu Hanifah – may Allah be pleased with him.

He had also stated that there is not a Hadith Shareef from Imam Haythim – may Allah be pleased with him – which he has not heard more than twenty times from his eminent teacher.

Imam Hafiz Zehbi – may Allah be pleased with him – mentions that, “He was extremely truthful and a true Zaahid and used to keep fast in abundance. He was extremely pious and one of the most eminent of his era. He passed away in the month of Ramadan in 244 A.H. and was over 90 years old. (Tadkirah Al Huffaz)

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a

His full name is Ubaidullah bin Abdul Karrim bin Yazeed bin Furukh Makhzumi and he was orginally from Rayy. In the field of Hadith, Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him – was considered as equal in status to Hadrat Imam Bukhari – may Allah be pleased with him. Among his students were such giants as Imam Muslim, Imam Tirmidhi, Imam Nisaa’i, Imam ibn Majah – may Allah be pleased with them.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him – travelled to all parts such as Mecca Shareef, Madina Shareef, Iraq, Syria, the Hejaz, Khuraasan, Egypt, etc. seeking knowledge of Hadith. He had memorised nearly a one hundred thousand Ahadith from Imam Abu Bakr Abi Shaybah Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him. He also did the same when attending the classes of Imam Ebrahim bin Moosa Razi Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him.

The former has mentioned that he had never met someone who was able to memorize so many Ahadith as Imam Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him. In fact, once someone took an oath that if Imam Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him – did not know one hundred thousand by memory, then his wife would be given a divorce. When this person approached the great Imam and revealed his oath, the great Imam replied that he could return to his wife because he had certainly memorized even more than a hundred thousand Ahadith!

Once, Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Ahmed bin Hambal – may Allah be pleased with him – declared, “If it my opinion that there are nearly seven hundred thousand Sahih Ahadith and this young man (Imam Abu Zarr’a), has memorized six hundred thousand of them.”

In fact, he was also the cousin of Imam Abu Hatim Razi – may Allah be pleased with him – whose immense knowledge is well-known in Islamic history.

In spite of this, Imam Abu Hatim Razi – may Allah be pleased with him – had stated, “There is no Muhaddith either in the East or West who understands and recognizes my Ahadith (or the ones recorded by me) than Imam Abu Zarr’a. In fact, the great Imam had also once mentioned that he knows one hundred thousand Ahadith as easily as a person remembers Surah Ikhlas.”

In his era, Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him – was renowned as the Ameerul Mo’mineen in the science of Hadith. He was also noted for his piety and his many miracles. In fact, when he passed away, a miracle also took place.

At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by some of the greatest scholars of his era such as Imam Abu Hatim Razi, Imam Muhammad bin Muslim, Imam Manzar bin Shazaan – may Allah be pleased with them –  etc. They also had the intention to give him the Talkeen but due to their immense respect and reverence for him no one had the bravery to suggest this to him.

Finally, everyone decided to mention the Hadith which describes the importance of reading the Kalimah at the time of passing so that he could remember this himself. This was started by Imam Muhammad bin Muslim – may Allah be pleased with him – when he started to mention the sanad of this Hadith. He narrated that, “It has been mentioned to me by Dhuhaak bin Mukhallid Abdul Hameed from Jafer and he stopped at that stage.” Everyone else also kept silent.

At that moment, Imam Abu Zarr’a – may Allah be pleased with him – continued to complete the Sanad and the words of the Hadith and the moment he mentioned the Kalimah in this Hadith Shareef, he passed away at that precise moment. This was a clear example of the eminence of this great scholar that his last words in this world were from the Hadith Shareef itself. He passed away in 200 A.H. on the 26^th of Zil Hajj. (Tadkirah Al Huffaz, Tahzeeb)