Al-Uqud al-Durriyya - Ibn Abd al-Hadi - (الكتاب/33)

Al-Uqud al-DurriyyaIbn Abd al-Hadi

and his intellect burned brightly, his hearings of hadith were abundant(1); his shaykhs numbered more than two hundred, and in tafsir his knowledge reaches the furthest limit. As for his memorization of hadith, its transmitters, and the sound and the weak reports, he has no equal. Concerning his transmission of fiqh and the legal views of the Companions and Followers—let alone the four schools(2)—he too stands without peer.(3) His grasp of the various religions and sects, the principles of creed, and kalam is likewise unsurpassed. He possesses a sound command of the Arabic language; his Arabic(4) is exceedingly strong, and his knowledge of history and biography is truly astonishing.

As for his courage, striving in jihad, and boldness, these surpass description and outstrip any praise. He is one of the paragons of liberality to whom proverbs are attached, yet he practiced asceticism and was content with little in food and dress.

Al-Dhahabi said elsewhere, after mentioning the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him): “He was a marvel of intelligence and quick comprehension,(5) a leading authority in knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah and the points of disagreement, an ocean in transmitted sciences. In his age he was the unique man of his time in learning and renunciation, courage and generosity, in commanding right and forbidding wrong, and in the sheer number of his writings.

He studied and mastered, excelled in hadith and fiqh, and became qualified to teach and issue fatwas when he was seventeen years old [ق 11]. He outstripped others in tafsir, in usul, and in every other field of knowledge

(1) B and Q read “wa-samaʿan” (and through oral audition). (2) K reads “al-madhahib” (the legal schools). (3) B and K have “fa-laysa fihi” (there is none in it), whereas F reads “fa-laysa lahu nadhir” (it has no equal). (4) K adds “ʿarabiyyah” (Arabic). Al-Dhahabi will later state: “He had a far-reaching mastery of Arabic, sarf (morphology), and lughah (lexicography).” (5) The base text has min (of).

وسماعاته (١) من الحديث كثيرة، وشيوخه أكثر من مائتي شيخ، ومعرفته بالتفسير إليها المنتهى، وحفظه للحديث ورجاله وصِحّته وسقمه فما يُلْحَق فيه. وأما نقله للفقه ومذاهب الصحابة والتابعين ــ فضلًا عن مذاهب (٢) الأربعة ــ فليس له فيه نظير (٣). وأما معرفته بالملل والنِّحَل، والأصول والكلام، فلا أعلم له فيه نظيرًا، ويدري جملةً صالحة من اللغة، وعربيته (٤) قويّة جدًّا، ومعرفته بالتاريخ والسِّيَر فعجبٌ عجيب!! وأما شجاعته وجهاده وإقدامه، فأمرٌ يتجاوز الوصف ويفوق النعت. وهو أحد الأجواد الأسخياء الذين يُضْرَب بهم المثل، وفيه زهد وقناعة باليسير في المأكل والمَلْبس. وقال الذهبيُّ في موضع آخر ــ وقد ذكر الشيخ ﵀ ــ: كان آيةً في (٥) الذكاء وسُرْعة الإدراك، رأسًا في معرفة الكتاب والسنة والاختلاف، بحرًا في النقليات. هو في زمانه فريد عصره علمًا وزهدًا، وشجاعةً وسخاءً، وأمرًا بالمعروف ونهيًا عن المنكر، وكثرةَ تصانيف. قرأ وحصَّل، وبرع في الحديث والفقه، وتأهَّل للتدريس والفتوى وهو ابن سبع [ق ١١] عشرة سنة. وتقدَّم في علم التفسير والأصول وجميع علوم

(١) (ب، ق): «وسماعًا». (٢) (ك): «المذاهب». (٣) (ب، ك): «فليس فيه»، (ف): «فليس له نظير». (٤) (ك): «عربية». وسيأتي قول الذهبي: «وله يد طولى في معرفة العربية والصرف واللغة». (٥) الأصل: «من».