2.3.9 - Learning Hadith and Sirah (before 586/1190)

In addition to studying and memorizing Quran, Muhammad also learned the Hadith with the Narrator Abdul-Rahman al-Suhaili (died 581/1185), who read on him his book “Rawd al-Anef”, that is a commentary on the famous book of “Sirat Ibn Hisham”. He was also attended with Ibn Zarqun (died 586/1190) who read al-Shatibi’s book al-Taqassi, and he issued for his a general certificate.

He also read with Shaykh Abdul-Haq al-Azdi al-Eshbili, known as Ibn al-Kharrat (died 581/1185), who is the author of a large number of Hadith books, including “Great Rules”, “Middle Rules” and “Minor Rules”. Shaykh Abdul-Haq was the companion of Shaykh Abu Madian, who has great influence on Ibn al-Arabi as we will see in the following chapter. Therefore, there is no doubt that he was influenced by his mystical tendencies, and he narrated after him some of the Hadith, including those concerning the Most Beautiful Names, their number and how they were counted [Futuhat: II.302].

Ibn al-Arabi, in his early learning, was not particularly interested in the hadith, until he saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in a promising vision that he narrated in the treatise on “Visions”:

Before I started learning, some of my friends had arranged, and I was incited, to read the books of opinion, while I am not aware of this. Then, I saw myself in a dream, as if I were in a wide space and a group running after with knifes in their own arms, and they wanted to kill me, and had no refuge until I saw the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, standing on a hill, so I turned to him and he threw his arms on me and held me tight and said to me, “My beloved, hold on me to be safe,” and I looked at these enemies but I did not see them on earth. From that time I worked to restrict myself on studying Hadith [Visions, the Beyazit manuscript. 1686].

The Greatest Shaykh also narrated in this same treatise, in which he narrates some of the visions he saw in a dream that benefit the seekers and the educated, so he said that he saw Imam Malik Ibn Anas al-Asbahi, the famous imam of Hijra, he saw him in a dream with a white robe being dragged behind him on the ground for twelve cubits (indicating his great honor for working on Hadith), standing on a door called the door of opening. He said to him: O Malik, what I should read? He said: Do you like to read opinion books? Muhyiddin then saw a person who was working in opinion books, and as he looked at him he was standing on a dustbin searching in it and looking away from Malik. Muhammad then said to the imam: “O Malik, I am afraid that opinion books will lead me to what they led this person to!” Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, smiled and said to him, “I believe, my son, you have to restrict yourself to the hadith and acting according to it.” [Visions, the Beyazit manuscript. 1686].

Thus, Shaykh Muhyiddin began to pay attention to the hadith and he wrote many unique books on that, including: “The Holy Hadith”, “Abbreviation of Tirmidhi”, “Abbreviation of Bukhari”, “Abbreviation of the Prophet Muhammad’s Biography”, “Abbreviation of al-Muhalla”, “Abbreviation of Muslim”, “ The Book of the Forty Long Hadiths”, “The Book of Forty in the Mutaqabilat”, “The Lamp in the Combination of the Sihah,” “The Niche of Lights in the Hadith Narrated after God”, but most of these books are still un-printed manuscripts, some of which has not been found.

The Greatest Shaykh also narrated after many men and he is amongst the narrators of the book Sunan al-Tirmidhi, as he was authenticated by Shaykh Abu Shujaaa in Mecca in 598, as we will see in chapter IV. The Greatest Shaykh also mentioned in some of his books his many Ways of narrators [see his introduction to the book of Presenting the Righteous]. Al-Ajlouni, the author of the book “Revealing the Invisibility”, citing Shaykh al-Hijazi al-Waiz, the commentator on the “Small Collection” of Suyuti, that Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi is counted amongst the memorizes, those who memorize at least one hundred thousand hadith.

It should be noted that in Sufism, some Shaykhs have their own way of transmitting and correcting the hadith, although they do not commit anyone in their transmission and do not negate what is true of the hadith in al-Sihah and others, even if they find it not correct by way of disclosure (see section 3.2.7 of Chapter III).