Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (10/491)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

His father, Sallam, was a Byzantine slave owned by a man from Herat.

It is related that one day he passed by while his son, Abu ʿUbayd, was in the elementary school with the master’s son, so he said to the teacher, “Teach al-Qasim, for he is quick-witted.” (1)

Abu ʿUbayd was born in the year 157 AH.

He heard ḥadith from Ismaʿil ibn Jaʿfar, Sharik ibn ʿAbd Allah, Hushaym, Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash, Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah, Abu Bakr ibn ʿAyyash, ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, Saʿid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Jumahi, ʿUbayd Allah al-Ashjaʿi, Ghundar, Hafs ibn Ghiyath, Wakiʿ, ʿAbd Allah ibn Idris, ʿAbbad ibn ʿAbbad, Marwan ibn Muʿawiyah, ʿAbbad ibn al-ʿAwwam, Jarir ibn ʿAbd al-Hamid, Abu Muʿawiyah al-Darir, Yahya al-Qattan, Isḥaq al-Azraq, Ibn Mahdi, Yazid ibn Harun, and many others—until the chain descends to his contemporary Hisham ibn ʿAmmar and those of similar rank.

He recited the Qur’an to Abu al-Hasan al-Kisaʾi, Ismaʿil ibn Jaʿfar, and Shujaʿ ibn Abi Nasr al-Balkhi, and he received the variant letters from a number of scholars.

He studied the Arabic language under Abu ʿUbaydah, Abu Zayd, and others.

He produced refined works that travellers carried far and wide. He also authored a treatise on the Qur’anic readings which I have not seen, and he was counted among the foremost independent scholars.

Among his writings are: Kitab al-Amwal (The Book of Wealth), a large volume which we have heard with an unbroken chain; Kitab al-Gharib (2), likewise transmitted; Kitab Fadaʾil al-Qurʾan (The Virtues of the Qur’an), which has reached us; Kitab al-Tuhur (Purification); Kitab al-Nasikh wa-l-Mansukh (The Abrogating and the Abrogated); Kitab al-Mawaʿiz (Admonitions); and Kitab al-Gharib al-Musannaf on the science of

(1) This pronunciation is characteristic of the non-Arab dialect. See: al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, 2:403; al-Suyuti, Inbah al-Ruwat, 3:12. (2) That is, the work Gharib al-Hadith, published in India in 1384 AH / 1964 CE in four volumes.

كَانَ أَبُوْهُ سَلاَّمٌ مَمْلُوْكاً رُوْمِياً لِرَجُلٍ هَرَوِيٍّ. يُرْوَى: أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ يَوْماً وَوَلَدُهُ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ مَعَ ابْنِ أُسْتَاذِهِ فِي المَكْتَبِ، فَقَالَ لِلْمُعَلِّمِ: عَلِّمِي القَاسِمَ، فَإِنَّهَا كَيِّسَةٌ (١) . مَوْلِدُ أَبِي عُبَيْدٍ: سَنَةَ سَبْعٍ وَخَمْسِيْنَ وَمائَةٍ. وَسَمِعَ: إِسْمَاعِيْلَ بنَ جَعْفَرٍ، وَشَرِيْكَ بنَ عَبْدِ اللهِ، وَهُشَيْماً، وَإِسْمَاعِيْلَ بنَ عَيَّاشٍ، وَسُفْيَانَ بنَ عُيَيْنَةَ، وَأَبَا بَكْرٍ بنَ عَيَّاشٍ، وَعَبْدَ اللهِ بنَ المُبَارَكِ، وَسَعِيْدَ بنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الجُمَحِيَّ، وَعُبَيْدَ اللهِ الأَشْجَعِيَّ، وَغُنْدَراً، وَحَفْصَ بنَ غِيَاثٍ، وَوَكِيْعاً، وَعَبْدَ اللهِ بنَ إِدْرِيْسَ، وَعَبَّادَ بنَ عَبَّادٍ، وَمَرْوَانَ بنَ مُعَاوِيَةَ، وَعَبَّادَ بنَ العَوَّامِ، وَجَرِيْرَ بنَ عَبْدِ الحَمِيْدِ، وَأَبَا مُعَاوِيَةَ الضَّرِيْرَ، وَيَحْيَى القَطَّانَ، وَإِسْحَاقَ الأَزْرَقَ، وَابْنَ مَهْدِيٍّ، وَيَزِيْدَ بنَ هَارُوْنَ، وَخَلْقاً كَثِيْراً. إِلَى أَنْ يَنْزِلَ إِلَى رَفِيْقِهِ: هِشَامِ بنِ عَمَّارٍ، وَنَحْوِهِ. وَقَرَأَ القُرْآنَ عَلَى: أَبِي الحَسَنِ الكِسَائِيِّ، وَإِسْمَاعِيْلَ بنِ جَعْفَرٍ، وَشُجَاعِ بنِ أَبِي نَصْرٍ البَلْخِيِّ. وَسَمِعَ الحُرُوْفَ مِنْ طَائِفَةٍ. وَأَخَذَ اللُّغَةَ عَنْ: أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، وَأَبِي زَيْدٍ، وَجَمَاعَةٍ. وَصَنَّفَ التَّصَانِيْفَ المُونِقَةَ الَّتِي سَارَتْ بِهَا الرُّكبَانُ. وَلَهُ مُصَنَّفٌ فِي القِرَاءاتِ لَمْ أَرَهُ، وَهُوَ مِنْ أَئِمَّةِ الاجْتِهَادِ. لَهُ: كِتَابُ (الأَمْوَالِ) ، فِي مُجَلَّدٍ كَبِيْرٍ، سَمِعْنَاهُ بِالاتِّصَالِ، وَكِتَابُ (الغَرِيْبِ (٢)) مَرْوِيٌّ أَيْضاً، وَكِتَابُ (فَضَائِلِ القُرْآنِ) وَقَعَ لَنَا، وَكِتَابُ (الطّهُوْرِ) ، وَكِتَابُ (النَّاسِخِ وَالمَنْسُوْخِ) ، وَكِتَابُ (المَوَاعِظِ) ، وَكِتَابُ (الغَرِيْبِ المُصَنَّفِ فِي عِلْمِ

(١) وهذه لهجة الاعاجم. انظر " تاريخ بغداد " ٢ / ٤٠٣، وإنباه الرواة " ٣ / ١٢. (٢) أي: " غريب الحديث " وقد طبع سنة ١٣٨٤ هـ - ١٩٦٤ م بالهند في أربع مجلدات.