Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (6/282)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Hamid al-Bahrani—reporting from his father—said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Salim told me, on the authority of his brother Muhammad:
“I came to al-Zuhri to read before him and listen to his narrations, whereupon he exclaimed, ‘You ask me while Muhammad ibn al-Walid al-Zubaydi is here among you, and he has absorbed everything of knowledge that is within me?!’

Ali ibn al-Madini, Abu Zurʿah, and al-Nasaʾi declared him reliable. Ali added, ‘soundly precise.’

Duhaim said: ‘Shuʿayb ibn Abi Hamzah is reliable and firmly accurate; his reports resemble those of ʿUqayl, yet al-Zubaydi ranks above him.’

Abu al-Yaman narrated to me: Al-Zuhri was once consulted on a legal issue and responded, ‘Why do you ask me when al-Zubaydi is present among you?!’

ʿAli ibn ʿAyyash informed me: ‘Al-Zubaydi was in charge of the Bayt al-Mal (state treasury), and al-Zuhri admired him, placing him ahead of all the people of Hims.’

Baqiyyah reported from al-Zubaydi, who said: ‘I stayed with al-Zuhri for ten years at al-Rusafah—that is, the Rusafah of Hisham in Syria.’

Ibn Saʿd remarked: ‘Al-Zubaydi was the most knowledgeable person in Syria regarding fatwa and hadith, and he was trustworthy—God willing.’

I (the author) say: He was a peer of al-Awzaʿi in scholarship.

Muhammad ibn ʿAwf al-Taʾi said: ‘Al-Zubaydi is among the trustworthy of the Muslims; if a chain reaches you in which al-Zubaydi narrates from al-Awzaʿi, hold fast to it.’

Abu Dawud al-Sijistani related that al-Awzaʿi said: ‘Among al-Zuhri’s disciples, none was more accurate than al-Zubaydi.’ Abu Dawud then added: ‘There is no error in his narrations.’

Ibn Hibban wrote: ‘He was one of the precise memorisers; he lived with al-Zuhri for ten years until he had absorbed most of his knowledge, and he belongs to the first tier of al-Zuhri’s students.’

I (the author) further comment: How can someone who stayed with al-Zuhri in the Hijaz for only a few days be compared to one who lived with him in his own homeland for ten years? No one surpasses al-Zubaydi in standing or in mastery of al-Zuhri’s knowledge. Yet he passed away early, and thus little of his learning became widely transmitted.

سُلَيْمَانُ بنُ عَبْدِ الحَمِيْدِ البَهْرَانِيُّ: عَنْ أَبِيْهِ، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ سَالِمٍ، عَنْ أَخِيْهِ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: أَتَيْتُ الزُّهْرِيَّ أَقرَأُ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَسْمَعُ مِنْهُ، فَقَالَ: تَسْأَلُنِي وَهَذَا مُحَمَّدُ بنُ الوَلِيْدِ الزُّبَيْدِيُّ بَيْنَ أَظهُرِكُم، وَقَدِ احْتوَى عَلَى مَا بَيْنَ جَنْبِيَّ مِنَ العِلْمِ؟! وَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بنُ المَدِيْنِيِّ، وَأَبُو زُرْعَةَ، وَالنَّسَائِيُّ: ثِقَةٌ. زَادَ عَلِيٌّ: ثَبْتٌ. وَقَالَ دُحَيْمٌ: شُعَيْبُ بنُ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ: ثِقَةٌ، ثَبْتٌ، يُشبِهُ حَدِيْثُه حَدِيْثَ عُقَيْلٍ، وَالزُّبَيْدِيُّ فَوْقَه. حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو اليَمَانِ، قَالَ: سُئِلَ الزُّهْرِيُّ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ، فَقَالَ: كَيْفَ وَعِنْدَكُمُ الزُّبَيْدِيُّ؟! وَأَخْبَرَنِي عَلِيُّ بنُ عَيَّاشٍ، قَالَ: كَانَ الزُّبَيْدِيُّ عَلَى بَيْتِ المَالِ، وَكَانَ الزُّهْرِيُّ مُعجَباً بِهِ، يُقَدِّمُه عَلَى جَمِيْعِ أَهْلِ حِمْصَ. وَرَوَى: بَقِيَّةُ، عَنِ الزُّبَيْدِيِّ، قَالَ: أَقَمْتُ مَعَ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَشرَ سِنِيْنَ بِالرُّصَافَةِ -يَعْنِي: رُصَافَةَ هِشَامٍ بِالشَّامِ-. قَالَ ابْنُ سَعْدٍ: كَانَ الزُّبَيْدِيُّ أَعْلَمَ أَهْلِ الشَّامِ بِالفَتْوَى وَالحَدِيْثِ، وَكَانَ ثِقَةً - إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ -. قُلْتُ: كَانَ مِنْ نُظَرَاءِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ فِي العِلْمِ. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ عَوْفٍ الطَّائِيُّ: الزُّبَيْدِيُّ مِنْ ثِقَاتِ المُسْلِمِيْنَ، فَإِذَا جَاءكَ الزُّبَيْدِيُّ عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ، فَاسْتَمْسِكْ بِهِ. وَقَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ: قَالَ الأَوْزَاعِيُّ: لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الزُّهْرِيِّ أَثْبَتُ مِنَ الزُّبَيْدِيِّ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَبُو دَاوُدَ لَيْسَ فِي حَدِيْثِهِ خَطَأٌ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ حِبَّانَ: كَانَ مِنَ الحُفَّاظِ المُتقِنِيْنَ، أَقَامَ مَعَ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَشرَ سِنِيْنَ، حَتَّى احْتَوَى عَلَى أَكْثَرِ عِلْمِه، وَهُوَ مِنَ الطَّبَقَةِ الأُوْلَى مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ. قُلْتُ: أَيْنَ مَنْ يُقِيْمُ مَعَ الزُّهْرِيِّ بِالحِجَازِ أَيَّاماً، إِلَى مَنْ أَقَامَ مَعَهُ فِي وَطَنِه عَشرَ سِنِيْنَ؟! مَا فَوْقَ الزُّبَيْدِيِّ فِي الجَلاَلَةِ وَالإِتقَانِ لِعِلْمِ الزُّهْرِيِّ أَحَدٌ أَصلاً، وَلَكِنَّهُ مَاتَ قَدِيْماً، فَلَمْ يَنتَشِرْ عَنْهُ كَثِيْرُ عِلْمٍ.