Zakariyyah bin Yahya as-Saaji

Name:

زَكَرِيَّا بنُ يَحْيَى بنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بنِ بَحْر بنِ عَدِيِّ بنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بنِ أَبيضَ بنِ الدَّيْلَم بن باسِل بن ضَبَّةَ الضَّبِّيُّ، أَبُو يَحْيَى السّاجيّ البَصْرِيُّ، الشَّافِعِيُّ.

Zakariyyah bin Yahya bin Abdur Rahmaan bin Bahr bin Adee bin Abdur Rahmaan bin Abyad bin ad-Daylam bin Baasil bin Dabbah ad-Dabbee, Abu Yahya as-Saaji, al-Basari, ash-Shaafi’ee

Tabaqah: 13

Birth: 220 H

Death: 307 H

Teachers: Taaloot bin Abbaad, Abu ar-Rabee’ az-Zahraani, Ubaydullah bin Mu’aadh al-Anbari, Abdul Waahid bin Ghiyaath, Abdul A’la bin Hammaad an-Narsi, Muhammad bin Abi ash-Shawaarib, Abu Kaamil al-Jahdari, Moosa bin Umar al-Jaari, Sulemaan bin Dawood al-Mahri, Hudbah bin Khaalid al-Qaysi, Muhammad bin Moosa al-Harashi, Muhammad bin Bashshaar, his Father Yahya as-Saaji and many others.

Students: Abu Ahmed bin Adee al-Jarjaani, Abu Bakr al-Ismaa’eeli, Abdullah bin Muhammad bin as-Saqqa al-Waasiti, Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Ismaa’eel al-Mutakallim, Yoosuf bin Ya’qoob al-Bakhtari, Abu al-Qaasim at-Tabaraani, Abu Amr bin Hamdaan, Qaadhi Yoosuf al-Mayaanaji, Ali bin Lu’lu’ al-Warraaq, Abu ash-Shaykh bin Hayyaan and many others.

Status: Thiqah Thabat Imaam

Opinions of Ahl ul-Jarh wat Ta’deel:

1-    Imaam Ibn Abi Haatim ar-Raazi said: “He was a Thiqah person (who) knew the Hadeeth and the Fiqh; and he has many praise-worthy books on Rijaal (men of hadeeth), Ikhtilaaf al-Ulama (differences of the Scholars), and Ahkaam (rulings of Sharee’ah)”

[Al-Jarh wat Ta’deel by Ibn Abi Haatim: 3/601]

2-    Imaam Ibn Hibbaan has narrated eighteen (18) narrations from him in his Saheeh

3-    Imaam al-Haakim has declared his hadeeth to be “Saheeh ul-Isnaad”

[Mustadrak al-Haakim: 7194]

Note: Haafidh Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Qattaan al-Faasi rahimahullah wrote about him that: “He is disputed upon in hadeeth; a group has declared him Thiqah while others have declared him Da’eef”

4-    In answer to this, Imaam Dhahabi said: “He (i.e. Imaam as-Saaji) is one of the Athbaat, I don’t know of any Jarh on him”

[Meezaan al-I’tidaal: 2/79]

Haafidh Dhahabi also writes: “He is al-Imaam, al-Haafidh, the Muhaddith of Basrah…. He gathered and he authored”

[Tadhkirat ul-Huffaadh: 2/709]

He also said: “Al-Imaam al-Thabat, al-Haafidh, the Muhaddith of Basrah – its Shaykh and its Faqeeh…. And he was from the A’immah of Hadeeth”

[Siyar A’laam al-Nabula: 14/197]

Haafidh Dhahabi has also mentioned him in his book named “Dhikr man Yu’tamad Qauluhu fil Jarh wat Ta’deel (The mention of those whose saying is trusted in Jarh and Ta’deel)”

[419]

5-    Haafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaani has declared him “Thiqah Faqeeh”

[Al-Taqreeb at-Tahdheeb: 2028]

Haafidh Ibn Hajar also wrote in this answer to Haafidh al-Qattaan that: “Do not be confused by the saying of Al-Qattaan; he has gone too far with this saying; and no one has ever criticized As-Saaji, as pointed out by the author (i.e. Dhahabi); and he (i.e. As-Saaji) – along with his knowledge of Fiqh, Hadeeth, and his famous book in Ikhtilaaf, and his other book in al-Ilal – he is Aali al-Isnaad”

[Lisaan al-Meezaan: 3/337]

6-    Haafidh Ibn Katheer writes: “Zakariyyah bin Yahya as-Saaji is the Faqeeh (and) the Muhaddith; The Shaykh of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari in Sunnah and in Hadeeth”

[Al-Bidaayah wal Nihaayah: 11/150]

7-    Abu Amr bin Matr says: “Zakariyyah bin Yahya as-Saaji was the Faqeeh of Basrah”

[Sunan al-Kubra lil Bayhaqi: 5/81]

His Books:

The following are the famous books of Imaam Zakariyyah as-Saaji:

1-    Ilal al-Hadeeth

2-    Kitaab ad-Du’afa

3-    Ahkaam al-Qur’aan

4-    Ikhtilaaf al-Ulama

5-    Manaaqib ash-Shaafi’ee

Note: Imaam Ibn Adee has narrated about 178 testimonies of Imaam as-Saaji about the narrators of hadeeth in his outstanding book “Al-Kaamil”. He – rahimahullah – also used to observe some strictness with regard to Jarh and Ta’deel.

May Allaah have Mercy upon him.