Question
Can you provide a brief bio on Hakim At Tirmidhi (rahimahullah)?
At first I thought that he is the compiler of Mustadrak Al Hakim and Sunan Tirmidhi.
Answer
Imam Hakim Tirmidhi (rahimahullah) was a Muhaddith who lived in the third century of Islam. There is a difference of opinion regarding his date of birth and date of demise.
He had authored several books, many on the topic of Tasawwuf, and embarked on several journeys to attain knowledge.
His most popular Hadith book is: Nawadirul Usul. (The authors of Sunan Tirmidhi and Mustadrak Hakim are different Muhaddithun).
‘Allamah Dhahabi (rahimahullah) has used the following adjectives under the biography of Hakim Tirmidhi:
Imam, Al Hafiz, ‘Al ‘Arif, Az Zahid, Al Muhaddith Abu ‘Abdillah Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hasan ibn Bishr At Tirmidhi.
In Tarikhul Islam, after defending him, Hafiz Dhahabi (rahimahullah) says, ‘He is a leader in Hadith’.
He took Hadith from over 200 teachers. Among them are the following senior scholars who were also the teachers of the authors of the Sihah Sittah:
Qutaybah ibn Sa’id, ‘Ali ibn Hujr, Sufyan ibn Waki’, Ya’qub ibn Shaybah and others
Some of his students were:
Qadi Abu Muhammad Yahya ibn Mansur, Abu ‘Ali Al Hasan ibn ‘Ali Al Juzajani, Ibn Abil Ward; a colleague of Harith Al Muhasibi and Sariy As Saqati.
He passed away around the year 290 A.H aged between 80 and 90.
(Refer: Tarikhul Islam, vol. 12 pg. 814-816, Siyaru A’alamin Nubala, vol. 13 pg. 439-442, Tadhkiratul Huffaz, vol. 2 pg. 645, Tabaqatush Shafi’iyyah, vol. 2 pg. 245, Lisanul Mizan, vol. 7 pg. 386-389, Majmu’ul Fatawa, vol. 2 pg. 231 and Prelude of Nawadirul Usul, Minhaj edition)
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar