Yoonus bin Yazeed al-Aylee

Name:

يونس بن يزيد بن أَبي النجاد، ويُقال: يونس بْن يزيد بْن مشكان بْن أَبي النجاد الأيلي، أَبُو يزيد القرشي، مولى معاوية بْن أَبي سفيان، وهو أخو أَبِي علي بْن يزيد، وعم عنبسة بْن خَالِد بْن يَزِيد.

Yoonus bin Yazeed bin Abi al-Nijaad, and it is said: Yoonus bin Yazeed bin Mushkaan bin Abi al-Nijaad al-Aylee, Abu Yazeed al-Qurashi, Mawla Mu’aawiyah bin Abi Sufyaan, and he is the brother of Abu Ali bin Yazeed, and the uncle of Anbasah bin Khaalid bin Yazeed

Tabaqah: 7 – From the Major Taba Taabi’een

Death: 159 H according to the authentic saying in Egypt

Narrated by: Al-Bukhaari – Muslim – Abu Dawood – Tirmidhi – Nasaa’ee – Ibn Maajah

Teachers: Ikrimah Mawla Ibn Abbaas, Imraan bin Abi Anas, Al-Qaasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhri, Naafi’ Mawla Ibn Umar, Hishaam bin Urwah, Abu Ali bin Yazeed al-Aylee (his brother), Ataa bin Abi Muslim and others.

Students: Baqiyyah bin al-Waleed, Buhlaul bin Raashid, Jareer bin Haazim, Rishdayn bin Sa’d, Sulemaan bin Bilaal, Abdullah bin al-Mubaarak, Abdullah bin Wahb, Abdur Rahmaan bin Amr al-Awzaa’ee, Layth bin Sa’d, Muhammad bin Fulayh bin Sulemaan, Al-Mufaddal bin Fadaalah, Wakee’ bin al-Jarraah, and others.

Status: Thiqah

Opinions of Ahl ul-Jarh wat Ta’deel:

Those who praised him:

1-    Imaam Ali ibn al-Madeeni said, I asked (Imaam) Abdur Rahmaan bin Mahdi about Yoonus bin Yazeed al-Aylee, he replied: “Ibn al-Mubaarak used to say: His book is Saheeh”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 9/248, Chain Saheeh]

Imaam Abdullah bin al-Mubaarak also said: “I did not see anyone narrating from Zuhri better than Ma’mar, except that which Yoonus has narrated, for verily Yoonus used to write everything”

[Al-Ilal by Imaam Ahmed: 4/180, Chain Saheeh]

2-    Imaam Abdur Rahmaan bin Mahdi also said: “And I say, his Book is Saheeh”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 9/248, Chain Saheeh]

3-    Imaam Ali bin Abdullah al-Madeeni said: “The most firm (Athbat) of all people in narrating from Zuhri are: Sufyaan bin Uyaynah and Ziyaad bin Sa’d, then Maalik, Ma’mar, and Yoonus from his book”

[Al-Ma’rifah wal Taareekh: 2/138, Chain Saheeh]

4-    Abu Bakr bin Abi Khaythamah said: I heard Yahya bin Ma’een saying: “Ma’mar and Yoonus are both knowledgeable about the hadeeth of Zuhri”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 9/248, Chain Saheeh]

Abbaas bin Muhammad ad-Dauri said that Imaam Yahya ibn Ma’een said: “The most firm (Athbat) of all people in narrating from Zuhri are: Maalik bin Anas, Ma’mar, Yoonus, Aqeel, Shu’ayb bin Abi Hamzah and Ibn Uyaynah”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 9/248-249, Chain Saheeh]

Uthmaan bin Sa’eed ad-Daarimi said, I asked Yahya ibn Ma’een: Is Yoonus bin Yazeed more beloved to you or Aqeel? So he replied: “Yoonus is Thiqah…”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 2/249, Chain Saheeh]

5-    Imaam Bukhaari has narrated about 248 narrations from him in his Saheeh.

6-    Imaam Muslim bin al-Hajjaaj has narrated about 278 narrations from him in his Saheeh.

This means that he was Thiqah according to both Bukhaari and Muslim

7-    Ahmed bin Saalih al-Misri al-Jeeli said: “We do not give preference to anyone over Yoonus in narrating from Zuhri …”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 2/249]

8-    Imaam Abu Zur’ah ar-Raazi said: “There is nothing wrong in him”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 2/249]

9-    Imaam Abu al-Hasan al-Ijlee said: “He is Thiqah”

[Thiqaat: P. 60]

10-          Imaam Ibn Khuzaymah has narrated from him in his Saheeh

[H. 75, 218, 265….. etc]

11-          Imaam Ibn Hibbaan mentioned him in ath-Thiqaat

[1183]

Imaam Ibn Hibbaan has also narrated from him in his Saheeh

[See, H. 991, 1173, 1767…. etc]

12-          Imaam Haakim al-Neesaaboori has authenticated several narrations of Yoonus, e.g. at one place, he said: “This chain is Saheeh upon the conditions of Shaykhayn”

[Al-Mustadrak: 1/611 H. 1621]

13-          Imaam Shams ud-Deen adh-Dhahabi said: “He is al-Imaam, Ath-Thiqah, al-Muhaddith…”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 6/297]

14-          Haafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaani said: “He is Thiqah except that he would err a little in his narration from Zuhri and in narrating from other than Zuhri, he would make mistakes (as any other Thiqah narrator)”

[Taqreeb: 7919]

At another place, Ibn Hajar said: “He is declared Thiqah by the Jumhoor”

[Fath al-Baari: 1/442]

Those who criticized him:

1-    Imaam Wakee’ said: “I saw Yoonus al-Aylee and he had weak memory”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel: 9/248, Chain Saheeh]

Imaam Dhahabi said: “And Wakee’ opposed by saying: He has weak memory”

[Meezaan al-I’tidaal: 4/484]

2-    Imaam Ibn Sa’d said: “He is pleasing in Hadeeth, many (of them), and he is not Hujjah, he sometimes would come up with Munkar things”

[Tabaqaat al-Kubra: 7/520]

Imaam Dhahabi said: “He is Thiqah Hujjah, Ibn Sa’d opposed in his saying: ‘He is not Hujjah’”

[Meezaan: 4/484]

3-    Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal is reported to have said: “Yoonus makes a lot of mistakes in narrating from Zuhri, and Aqeel makes less mistakes than him”

[Tahdheeb al-Kamaal: 32/555]

However, this saying is narrated in Tahdheeb al-Kamaal without any chain. Thus, it is not proven.

Similarly, it is said that Abu Zur’ah ad-Dimashqi said, I heard Abu Abdullah Ahmed bin Hanbal saying: “There are Munkar narrations in the hadeeth of Yoonus narrated from Zuhri”

[Tahdheeb al-Kamaal: 32/555]

However, this saying is chain-less as well.

Similarly, the saying of Abu al-Hasan al-Maymooni from Imaam Ahmed is also narrated without any chain in Tahdheeb al-Kamaal.