Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (13/246)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ saying:

“When Ḥaykān—that is, Ibn al-Duhlī—was killed, people abandoned both ḥadith and the study sessions; in Nīshāpūr no one even dared carry an inkwell. Then Allah blessed us with the arrival of Sarī ibn Khuzaymah. We gathered, intending to go to him, but could not reach him. So we turned to Abū ʿUthmān al-Hīrī the ascetic. The people assembled around him; he took an inkwell in his hand and we picked up ours. None of the innovators dared come near us. Sarī came out, dictated to us, and Ibn Khuzaymah made his selections.”

Al-Ḥākim said: “I also heard al-Ḥasan ibn Yaʿqūb say:

‘I have never seen a gathering more splendid than the session of Sarī ibn Khuzaymah, nor a shaykh more dignified than he. The students would sit before him as though birds were perched upon their heads, and he would narrate only from his own autograph manuscript.’”

Sunqur al-Zaynī (1) in Aleppo informed us; ʿAlī ibn Maḥmūd informed him; Abū Ṭāhir al-Salafī informed him; al-Qāsim ibn al-Faḍl informed him; Yaḥyā ibn Ibrāhīm informed him; Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb the ḥāfiẓ informed him, saying: Sarī ibn Khuzaymah narrated to us; Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; Wuhaib narrated to us; Ayyūb narrated to us from Abū Qilābah, from Thābit ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever swears—falsely—by a religion other than Islam is as he has said; whoever kills himself with something will be punished with that very thing in Hell; cursing a believer is like killing him; and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief is like killing him.” (2)

He died—I believe—in 275 AH.

(1) His biographical notice is found in the author’s Mashyakha, manuscript “Kh,” folio 55. (2) The chain of transmission is sound. The tradition is also reported by: al-Bukhari, Ṣahih, 1:468-469, Book of Faith, chapter “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam,” through Ma‘la b. Asad from Wahib with this same isnad; Muslim, Ṣahih, no. 110, Book of Faith, chapter “The grave prohibition of a person killing himself,” through several routes from Abu Qilaba, from Thabit b. al-Dahhak; as well as by Abu Dawud (no. 3257), al-Tirmidhi (no. 2636), and al-Nasa’i, 7:5-6.

مُحَمَّدَ بنَ صَالِحٍ يَقُوْلُ: لَمَّا قُتِلَ حَيْكَان -يَعْنِي: ابْنَ الذُّهْلِيِّ- رَفَضُوا الحَدِيْثَ وَالمَجَالِسَ، حَتَّى لَمْ يَقْدِرْ أَحَدٌ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ بِنَيْسَابُوْرَ مِحْبَرَةً، إِلَى أَنْ مَنَّ اللهُ عَلَيْنَا بِوُرُوْدِ السَّرِيِّ بنِ خُزَيْمَةَ، فَاجتَمَعنَا لِنَذْهَبَ إِلَيْهِ، فَلَمْ نَقْدِرْ، فَقَصَدْنَا أَبَا عُثْمَانَ الحِيْرِيَّ الزَّاهِدَ، وَاجتَمَعَ النَّاسُ عِنْدَهُ، فَأَخَذَ هُوَ مِحْبَرَةً بِيَدِهِ، وَأَخَذْنَا المَحَابِرَ بِأَيْدِيْنَا، فَلَمْ يَقْدِرْ أَحَدٌ مِنَ المُبْتَدِعَةِ أَنْ يَتَقَرَّبَ مِنَّا، فَخَرَجَ السَّرِيُّ، فَأَملَى عَلَيْنَا، وَابْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ يَنْتَخِبُ. قَالَ الحَاكِمُ: وَسَمِعْتُ الحَسَنَ بنَ يَعْقُوْبَ يَقُوْلُ: مَا رَأَيْتُ مَجْلِساً أَبْهَى مِنْ مَجْلِسِ السَّرِيِّ بنِ خُزَيْمَةَ، وَلاَ شَيْخاً أَبْهَى مِنْهُ، كَانُوا يَجْلِسُوْنَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، وَكَأَنَّمَا عَلَى رُؤُوْسِهُم الطَّيْر، وَكَانَ لاَ يُحَدِّثُ إِلاَّ مِنْ أَصْلِ كِتَابِهِ ﵀. أَخْبَرَنَا سُنْقُرُ الزَّيْنِيُّ (١) بِحَلَبَ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بنُ مَحْمُوْدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو طَاهِرٍ السِّلَفِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا القَاسِمُ بنُ الفَضْلِ، أَخْبَرَنَا يَحْيَى بنُ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بنُ يَعْقُوْبَ الحَافِظُ، حَدَّثَنَا السَّرِيُّ بنُ خُزَيْمَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوْسَى بنُ إِسْمَاعِيْلَ، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوْبُ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتِ بنِ الضَّحَّاكِ: عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: (مَنْ حَلَفَ بِمِلَّةٍ غَيْرِ الإِسْلاَمِ كَاذِباً، فَهُوَ كَمَا قَالَ، وَمَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ بِشَيْءٍ، عُذِّبَ بِهِ فِي جَهَنَّمَ، وَلَعْنُ المُؤْمِنِ كَقَتْلِهِ، وَمَنْ رَمَى مُؤْمِناً بِكُفْرٍ، فَهُوَ كَقَتْلِهِ (٢)) . تُوُفِّيَ - أَظُنُّهُ -: فِي سَنَةِ خَمْسٍ وَسَبْعِيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ.

(١) ترجمته في " مشيخة " المؤلف: خ: ق: ٥٥. (٢) إسناده صحيح، وأخرجه البخاري ١ / ٤٦٨، ٤٦٩ في الايمان: باب من حلف بملة سوى الإسلام من طريق معلى بن أسد، عن وهيب بهذا الإسناد، وأخرجه مسلم (١١٠) في الايمان: باب غلظ تحريم قتل الإنسان نفسه من طرق عن أبي قلابة، عن ثابت بن الضحاك، وأخرجه أبو داود (٣٢٥٧) والترمذي (٢٦٣٦) والنسائي ٧ / ٥، ٦.