The transmitter's teachers, a source to know him better; Example: A survey of the teachers of Abul Mufaḍḍal al-Shaybani

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D student of Quran and Hadith Studies, University of Tehran, Farabi College, Qom, Iran, (corresponding author).

2 Associate Professor of the Quran and Hadith Department, Farabi College, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
It seems that regardless of the Rajali sources, there are other evidences that can reveal other aspects of the transmitters' personality in some cases. One of these evidences is the examination of transmitter’s Hadith Chains of tradition (Silsilah Sanad) and the contents of the hadiths of the transmitter; So that even in the sources of Rajali, sometimes the exact same method has been used to judge the transmitter.
One of the most important aspects of analyzing the Sanads of a transmitter is the examination of his teachers and Shaykhs. It seems that the knowledge and analysis of the transmitter's teachers can be a document - although weak - to discover significant points about the transmitter from various aspects, including his personality, interests and religious affiliations. This article seeks to analyze the hadith documents of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal - one of the most active muhaddiths in the Shia and Sunni hadith fields - and by focusing on the analysis of his teachers, to examine these three axes in a more detailed understanding of him and to explore a new path in discovering his personality traits, independent of the Rijali sources.
Materials and Methods
 In the beginning, you must collect the names of the transmitter's teachers, and for this purpose, one should not be limited to the authoritative sources that list the names of the transmitter's teachers, but one should consider all the hadith’s Sanads, etc., in which the transmitter's name is mentioned, and thus compile the list of his teachers completely. Then, the teachers that he narrated a lot from should be separated from the other teachers because it's much more likely that the transmitter is influenced by the first group. And in general, we have to examine each and every one of his teachers from different respects such as religion, mindset, Hadith approaches, interests, personality, and if possible, compare them with the documents left by the transmitter himself to clarify the gravity of their influence on him.
Results and Findings: Some of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal's teachers who probably had an impact on his personality are as follows: Muhammad bin Ṣaliḥ Ijli Sawi, who was the teacher of literature and etiquette of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal and his first teacher. There are traces of Imamism in him, which is very noteworthy. However, among his many teachers, it seems that he has remarkable similarities with his teacher, Ibn Uqda, in various points, such as: intellectual confrontation with Ahl al-Hadith despite interacting with them in the transmission of hadiths, interest in writing on some special topics, fascination with collecting as many hadiths as possible and reaching the rank of "Hāfiẓ" and similarities in religious affiliations. Considering the set of these similarities, it seems that his influence from Ibn Ughda cannot be denied, and no other hadith figures can be found who has this volume of various evidences in influencing Abu al-Mufaḍḍal. Also, Abu al-Mufaḍḍal has been student of a considerable number of followers of various religions and schools of thought, some of these teachers were among the great figures in that religion. Such a thing at this level is rarely seen in the Imami Muhaddiths.
Conclusion
By looking at all the teachers of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal and comparing their approaches, the following points about Abu al-Mufaḍḍal become clear: Considering Ijli Sawi's affiliates with Imamiya and that he was the teacher of etiquette and literature of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal, the probability of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal's affiliates with Imamiya - at least in the early stages of his life - is high. However, among the numerous teachers of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal, he is probably the most influenced by Ibn Ughda, including in the following issues: how to interact with Ahl al-Hadith, hadith approaches and some religious tendency. The amount of religious diversity among Abu al-Mufaḍḍal's teachers is very high, and this probably can be an indication of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal's religious tolerance and his great interest in reaching the position of "Hāfiẓ". The analysis of Abu al-Mufaḍḍal 's teachers shows that even if he was an Imami, apparently he was not trained in the hadith schools of the Imamiyyah, and as a result, in his etiquettes, he did not resemble the Imami hadith scholars much, and because he received hadiths from different schools of thought, such as the Zaydiyyah and the Ashab al-Hadith, he probably received some influences from them - at least in the Ulum al-Hadith and its methods - however, he had serious differences with the Ashab al-Hadith, both in terms of thought and method.

Keywords

References

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Hadith Research
Volume 17, Issue 2 - Serial Number 34
34
December 2025
Pages 201-232

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