- Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān al-Madani, the tutor
An eminent imam, ḥadith master, and trustworthy transmitter. His kunya was Abū Muḥammad—though some said Abū Ḥārith. A native of Madinah and the tutor of the children of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.
It is said that he was a client (mawla) of the tribe of Ghifār; others held he was a client of Banū ʿĀmir; still others, a client of the household of Muʿayqīb al-Dawsī.
He saw ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, and Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn affirmed that he actually heard from both of them.
He narrated from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Hurmuz al-Aʿraj, Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Nāfiʿ ibn Jubayr, Nāfiʿ the client of Ibn ʿUmar, Nāfiʿ the client of Abū Qatādah, al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, and his companion Ibn Shihāb.
He would also report from those of a lower tier, such as Ibn ʿAjlān, Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd, and several others.
He was counted among the leading authorities on transmitted knowledge.
Those who reported from him include ʿAmr ibn Dīnār—who was older than he—Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, who was of his own generation, Ibn ʿAjlān, Ibn Isḥāq, Ibn Jurayj, Maʿmar, Mālik, Sulaymān ibn Bilāl, Ibn ʿUyaynah, al-Dārāwardī, Ḥammād ibn Zayd, Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd, Abū Ḍamrah al-Laythī, and many others besides.
Muṣʿab ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “He was the client of a woman from Daws and a scholar. ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, while serving as governor—meaning of Madinah—took him into his personal circle and would learn from him. Later al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik summoned him and appointed him tutor to his son ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Walīd.”
Ṣāliḥ combined mastery of hadith, jurisprudence, and exemplary character.