Imaam Sufyaan bin Uyaynah bin Abi Imraan al-Hilaali al-Makki

Name:

سفيان بن عيينة بن أبى عمران : ميمون الهلالى ، أبو محمد الكوفى ، المكى ، مولى محمد بن مزاحم

Sufyaan bin Uyaynah bin Abi Imraan: Maymoon al-Hilaali, Abu Muhammad al-Koofi, al-Makki, client of Muhammad bin Muzaahim

Birth: 107 H

Tabaqah: 8 (From the middle level of Taba Taabi’een)

Death: 198 H in Makkah

Age: 91

Narrations narrated in: Bukhaari –Muslim – Abu Dawood – Tirmidhi – Nasaa’ee – Ibn Maajah.

Status: Thiqah Haafidh Faqeeh Imaam Hujjah and a Mudallis

Opinion of Scholars:

1-   Yahya bin Muthanna said that: “Someone asked a question to Ibn al-Mubaarak in the presence of Ibn Uyaynah, so he said: “We are prohibited to talk in the presence of our Akaabir (Elders)”

[Taareekh Dimashq: 27/64]

2-   Imaam Ibn al-Mubaarak said, Sufyaan ath-Thawree was asked about Ibn Uyaynah so he said: “He is a unique personality, and I have no doubt on that”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/461]

3-   Imaam Abdur Rahmaan bin Mahdi said: “Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah knows the ahadeeth of Hijaaz more than anyone.”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 1/32]

4-   Imaam Abdur Razzaaq bin Hammaam as-Sana’aani (The Author of Al-Musannaf) said: “I have not seen, after Ibn Jurayj, anyone more eloquence than Ibn Uyaynah”.

[Siyar: 8/464]

5-   Imaam Abu Haatim ar-Raazi said: “Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah is a Thiqah Imaam. He knows the ahadeeth of Amr bin Deenaar more than Shu’bah. The expert and precise among the students of Zuhri are Maalik and Ibn Uyaynah”.

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/464]

6-   Imaam Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Ijlee said: “Ibn Uyaynah is Precise and Thiqah in hadeeth. The narrations narrated by him are approximately seven thousand (7000) in number, but he did not have ahadeeth in writing.”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/458]

7-   Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal said: “I do not know anyone who has more knowledge of Sunan than Sufyaan.”

[Siyar: 8/458]

8-   Imaam Ali ibn al-Madeeni said: “There is none more precise among the students of Zuhri than Ibn Uyaynah”

[Siyar: 8/458]

9-   Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ee said: If Maalik and Ibn Uyaynah were not there then the knowledge of Hijaaz would have vanished. Sufyaan is a companion of Imaam Maalik in many of his Shuyookh. He lived 20 years after the death of Imaam Maalik, and it is said that he heard ahadeeth from seventy (70) Taabi’een

[Fath ul-Baari: 1/10]

He also said: “I have never seen a person who has more interest in knowledge than Sufyaan bin Uyaynah. I have never seen a person more careful in giving Fatwa than Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah, and neither have I seen a person explaining a hadeeth better than him”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 1/32]

10-         Bahaz bin Asad said: “I have never seen anyone like Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah. It was said to him, “even Shu’bah was not like him?” so he replied: “No, even Shu’bah does not equate him”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/458]

11-         Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal said while putting his hand on the ground: “There is no one remaining on this earth equal (in deen, Thaqahat, and Leadership) to Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah”

[Taareekh Baghdaad: 9/180]

12-         Imaam Yahya al-Qattaan said: “There is none remaining among my teacher except Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah, and Sufyaan is an Imaam since the last 40 years”.

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/464]

13-         Imaam Muhammad bin Sa’d said: “He is Thiqah, Thabat, Katheer ul-Hadeeth, Hujjah.”

[Tabaqaat al-Kubra: 6/41]

14-         Imaam Ibn Hibbaan said: “He is one of the Huffaadh, Muttaqineen…”

[Ath-Thiqaat: 6/404]

15-         Imaam Dhahabi said: “He is one of the Thiqah Scholars. The Ummah has unanimously agreed upon taking hujjah from him.”

[Meezaan ul-I’tidaal: 2/170]

16-         Imaam Ibn Hajar said: “He is Thiqah, Haafidh, Faqeeh, Imaam, and Hujjah”.

[Taqreeb: 1/245]

Imaam Sufyaan and Tadlees

1-   Ali bin Khashram said: “We were with Ibn Uyaynah, so he mentioned [a hadeeth of] Zuhri. It was said to him, “Did Zuhri narrate this hadeeth to you?” He remained silent on that. He (Ibn Uyaynah) again mentioned [a hadeeth of] Zuhri, so it was said to him, “Did you hear this hadeeth from Zuhri?” Then he said: “No, I did not hear this hadeeth from Zuhri neither did I hear from the person who heard it from Zuhri, rather I heard this hadeeth from Abdur Razzaaq, who heard this hadeeth from Ma’mar, who then narrated from Zuhri”. Imaam Haakim has narrated this narration

[Fath ul-Mugheeth: 1/183]

2-   Imaam Nasaa’ee mentioned him in his book of Mudallis narrators. [Dhikr ul-Mudalliseen: 1/124]

3-   Imaam Abu Haatim ar-Raazi called him a Mudallis and said: “If it gets known that a Mudallis only used to commit tadlees from thiqah narrators then his narrations will be accepted even if he does not affirm his hearing, and such a narrator on this earth is only Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah. Even though he used to do tadlees but he only did tadlees from Thiqah narrators. There is no narration of Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah in which he committed tadlees and did not affirm his hearing in the same hadeeth at another place. Thus, despite this defect – of adm-e-Sarahat, his hadeeth is accepted. This is like accepting the narration of Ibn Abbaas from the Prophet, which he did not hear from him”.

[Al-Sunan al-Abayn by Fahari: 151]

4-   Imaam Ibn Hibbaan said: “This quality is only found in Ibn Uyaynah that even though he used to commit tadlees, but he only committed tadlees from Thiqah and Haafidh narrator. There is not even one narration of Sufyaan in which he committed tadlees and did not affirm his hearing from thiqah narrator in that same hadeeth in another place. The similitude of this is the narrations of Young Sahaabah who only used to do tadlees from other Sahaabah.

[Al-Nakat Ala Ibn as-Salaah: 2/72]

5-   Imaam Dhahabi said: “Verily, Sufyaan is famous for his tadlees. When he used to narrate those ahadeeth of Zuhri which reached him through some other routes, he would drop the name of that source who narrated it to him (and narrate it directly from Zuhri), but he only used to commit tadlees from those narrators who are thiqah according to him.”

6-   Haafidh Salaah ud-Deen al-‘Alaa’ee said: “Imaam Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah is famous for committing a lot of tadlees but only from Thiqah narrators.” [Jaami at-Tahseel: 1/86]

7-   Haafidh Ibn Hajar said mentioned him among the second level of Mudalliseen and said: “He used to commit Tadlees, but he did not commit tadlees except from Thiqah narrators” [Tabaqaat ul-Mudalliseen: 1/32]

8-   Sabt Ibn Al-Ajmee mentioned him in his book of Mudallis narrators and said: “He did not commit tadlees except from Thiqah” [al-Tabiyeen li Asmaa ul-Mudalliseen: 1/28]

9-         Jalaal ud-Deen as-Suyooti mentioned him in his book of Mudalliseen and said: “He is famous with it”

[Asmaa ul-Mudalliseen: 1/53]

Even though, Imaam Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah may commit tadlees only from Thiqah narrators, but it is also known that there are many Mudallis narrators in his Shuyookh as well. So there is a high possibility of Tadlees upon Tadlees i.e. it is possible that the Thiqah person he dropped may have committed tadlees himself. Therefore, his An'Ana is also not acceptable.

Imaam Sufyaan and Ikhtilaat

1-   Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ammaar al-Mawsali narrated from Yahya bin Sa’eed al-Qattaan who said: “Be the witness to Allaah that Sufyaan ibn Uyaynah’s memory got deteriorated on 197 Hijri, so the one who narrated from him in this condition, thus his sama is nothing”

[Al-Mukhtalateen: 1/45]

2-   Imaam Dhahabi rejected the accusation of Ikhtilaat on Imaam Ibn Uyaynah (in which he is correct), and he said: “As for the saying of Yahya bin Sa’eed al-Qattaan which has reached us that he said: ‘Be the witness that Ibn Uyaynah’s memory deteriorated in 197 Hijri’ is a strange and unlikely thing. This saying is not correct because Yahya al-Qattaan died in 198 Hijri before the arrival of the delegation coming from Hajj, so who informed him about the Ikhtilaat of Sufyaan and when did this (unknown) man meet him? (Nothing is known about that). Therefore, Sufyaan is hujjah in absolute sense (Mutlaqan) and the narrations narrated by him are present in all the books of ahadeeth” [Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 8/465]

Imaam Dhahabi further said: “I consider such a saying from Yahya al-Qattaan to be far-fetched and I consider it to be the mistake of Ibn Ammaar, because Qattaan died before the arrival of the delegation of hajj in 198 H, which could have brought him the news of Hijaaz, so when would Qattaan have gotten the time to hear the news of Sufyaan’s ikhtilaat and give its testimony, when he had already tasted death. May be he heard this news during 197 H, (even if that is the case, then) Yahya al-Qattaan is very strict (Mutashaddid) regarding the narrators of hadeeth, and (thus) Sufyaan is Thiqah in absolute sense” [Meezaan ul-I’tidaal: 2/170]