{"id":10552,"date":"2026-01-02T00:37:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imuslim.us\/?p=10552"},"modified":"2026-01-02T00:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:37:56","slug":"abu-dawud-the-faqih-and-scholar-of-hadith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imuslim.us\/?p=10552","title":{"rendered":"Abu Dawud: The Faqih and Scholar of Hadith"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Abu<\/a>

Abu Dawud was an authority in memorizing, comprehending and ranking of hadiths.<\/p><\/div>\n

He is Sulaiman ibn Al-Ash`ath ibn Is-haq ibn Bashir ibn Shaddad Abu Dawud<\/strong> Al-Azdi As-Sijistani from Sijistan, known today as Sistan<\/a>, the\u00a0compiler of the well-known collection of hadith entitled\u00a0\u201cSunan Abu Dawud\u201d which comes in degree and renown after Sahih Al<\/strong>-Bukhari<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and Sahih Muslim<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. Abu Dawud<\/strong> was one of the most knowledgeable scholars of the Hadith of the Prophet<\/strong> (peace be upon him)<\/a>, its fiqh<\/em> (jurisprudence), deficiencies, texts and chains of narrators throughout the Islamic history.<\/p>\n

The scholars of his time recognized his high scientific status, as indicated by some narrations. It is reported that Sahl ibn `Abdullah At-Tastury came to Abu Dawud<\/strong> and said, \u201cO Abu Dawud, I want something from you.\u201d He said, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Sahl said, \u201cOn a condition that you say that you will fulfill it if possible.\u201d Abu Dawud replied in the affirmative. Sahl said, \u201cGet out your tongue with which you narrated the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) so that I kiss it.\u201d Abu Dawud accept that and Sahl kissed his tongue.<\/p>\n

His Birth and Early Life:<\/h2>\n

Abu Dawud was born in Sijistan in 202 A.H. in the outset of the golden scientific century which witnessed the rise of Imams of Hadith, such Al-Bukhari<\/a>, Muslim<\/a>, Yahya ibn Ma“in, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, At-Tirmidhi and many others. He grew up fond of knowledge, especially Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), aided by his unique talent of memorization that helped him committing great deal of hadiths to memory. Thus, in a very early age Abu Dawud<\/strong> collected lots of hadiths<\/strong> in a short time.<\/p>\n

His Pursuit of Knowledge:<\/h2>\n

Just as all Hadith students, Abu Dawud toured the Islamic regions and cities pursuing Hadith wherever it was. In 220 A.H. Abu Dawud traveled to Baghdad when he was only 18, and two years later he moved to the Levant. These early journeys helped him get high chains of transmitters, even higher than those of Imam Muslim<\/a><\/strong> at sometimes. He moved to many different places narrating and collecting the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi said, \u201cHe narrated from the people of Iraq, Khurasan, the Levant, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Sheikhs and Students:<\/h2>\n

Ibn Hajar said, \u201cIt is said that the Sheikhs of Abu Dawud in his book \u201cAs-Sunan\u201d and other books were about 300 persons.\u201d Among his renowned sheikhs were Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma“in, `Uthman ibn Abu Shaybah, Is-haq ibn Rahawayh, Sulayman ibn Harb, Abu Al-Walid At-Tayalisi, Qutaybah ibn Sa`ad, Sa`id ibn Mansur, Abu Ja`far An-Nufaili, Zuhayr ibn Harb, Abu Isma`il Al-Bukhari<\/a> and many others.<\/p>\n

Notably, Abu Dawud accompanied Imam Ahmad<\/strong> for a long time and loved\u00a0him so much. He was so fascinated with Imam Ahmad to the extent that he would mimic him in his appearance and speech. This companionship with Imam Ahmad helped\u00a0him acquire the knowledge of Fiqh in addition to Hadith. Abu Dawud\u00a0compiled a book on the questions and replies from Imam Ahmad entitled \u201cMasa’il<\/em> Ahmad\u201d. He presented his book As-Sunan to Imam Ahmad and he praised it.<\/p>\n

As for his students, the list is endless. Among them were Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi, Abu “Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa’i, Abu Bakr Al-Khallal, Isma“il ibn Muhammad As-Saffar, Abu Bakr ibn Dawud Al-Asfahani, Abu `Uwanah Al-Asfarayini, Muhammad ibn Nasr Al-Mirwazi and Abu Bakr Yahya As-Suli.<\/p>\n

Those who narrated his book As-Sunan<\/em> from him are 9 narrators, including Abu At-Tayyib Al-Ashnani, Abu `Isa Ar-Ramly, Abu `Ali Al-Lu’lu’i, Abu Bakr ibn Dasah At-Tammar, Abu Sa`id ibn Ziyad Al-A`rabi, Abu Al-Hasan ibn Al-`Abd Al-Ansari, Abu Usamah Ar-Ru\u2019ami and Abu Salim Al-Haludi. It is reported that Imam Ahmad narrated one hadith from him, something that Abu Dawud would boast of.<\/p>\n

His Books:<\/h2>\n

In addition to his most renowned book As-Sunan<\/strong>, Imam Abu Dawud wrote a lot of books such as Al-Marasil<\/em>, Masa\u2019il Al-Imam Ahmad<\/em>, An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh<\/em>, Al-Qadr<\/em>, Az-Zuhd<\/em> and many others.<\/p>\n

Scholarly Praise:<\/h2>\n