Fifth – His personal relationships and their impact on his intellectual formation
Adh-Dhahabi maintained a close bond with three leading scholars of his time: Jamal ad-Din Abu’l-Hajjaj Yusuf (1) ibn ʿAbd ar-Rahman al-Mizzi, a Shafiʿi (654–742 AH); Taqi ad-Din Abu’l-ʿAbbas Ahmad (2) ibn ʿAbd al-Halim, better known as Ibn Taymiyyah al-Harrani (661–728 AH); and ʿAlam ad-Din Abu Muhammad al-Qasim (3) ibn Muhammad al-Barzali (665–739 AH). He remained their companion throughout their lives.
Within this group adh-Dhahabi was the youngest, while Abu’l-Hajjaj al-Mizzi was the eldest. Each of them would read to the others, so they were simultaneously teachers and peers.
Several factors tightened the bonds of their companionship: their early dedication to the study of hadith, their inclination toward Hanbali views, and their defence of that school—even though al-Mizzi and al-Barzali
(1) See al-Dhahabi, Muʿjam al-shuyukh, vol. 2, fol. 90; Tadhkirat al-huffaz, 2/1498; al-Husayni, al-Dhayl ʿala dhayl al-ʿibar, p. 229; al-Subki, Tabaqat, 6/251 (Cairo 1324 A.H.); Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 14/191-192; Ibn Nasir al-Din, al-Radd al-wafir, p. 128, and al-Tibyan, fol. 166; Ibn Hajar, al-Durrar, 5/233-237; Ibn Taghri Birdi, al-Nujum, 10/76; Ibn Tulun, al-Muʿizza, p. 10; Ibn al-Imad, Shadharath, 6/136; al-Kattani, Fihris, 1/107. See also the biographical sketch we prepared in the introduction to vol. 1 of Tahdhib al-kamāl.
(2) The life of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya has been recorded by most historians of his period, including al-Dhahabi. Works devoted to him alone include Ibn Nasir al-Din’s al-Radd al-wafir (Beirut, 1393 / 1973) and Ibn Qudama’s al-ʿUqud al-durriyya fi manaqib Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya. Modern studies comprise: Muhammad Kurd Ali, Tarjamat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (place and date of publication not given); Muhammad ibn Bahjat al-Baytar, Hayat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (Damascus, 1961); and Muhammad Abu Zahra, Ibn Taymiyya: Hayatuhu wa-ʿasruhu, araʾuhu wa-fiqhuhu (Cairo, 1952).
(3) See al-Dhahabi, Muʿjam al-shuyukh, vol. 2, fol. 25; Dhayl al-ʿibar, p. 209; al-Husayni, Dhayl Tadhkirat al-huffaz, p. 218; al-Subki, Tabaqat, 6/246 (Cairo 1324 A.H.); Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 14/185; Ibn Shakir, Fawat, p. 119; Ibn Hajar, al-Durrar, 3/321-323; Ibn Taghri Birdi, al-Nujum, 9/319; Ibn al-Imad, Shadharath, 6/124.