Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar

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Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Saffar
Personal Information
Full NameAbu Ja'far Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. Farrukh al-Saffar al-Qummi
ResidenceQom
Death290/902-3
Scholarly Information
ProfessorsIbrahim b. Hashim al-Qummi, Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid al-Barqi, Ahmad b. Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Ash'ari, Ahmad b. Hasan b. Ali b. Faddal,


Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Farrūkh al-Ṣaffār al-Qummī (Arabic: ابو جَعفَر محمد بن حَسَن بن فَرّوخ صَفّار قُمی ), an Imami hadith scholar and jurist, and a contemporary and companion of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a).

Al-Saffar is reported to have compiled several hadith works. The famous book Basa'ir al-darajat, a hadith collection on the theme of Imamology, is attributed to him.

Life

Al-Saffar, also known as al-A'raj (the Lame), was one of the Iranian mawlas (servent) of 'Isa b. Musa b. Talha al-Ash'ari[1] hence, his epithet al-Ash'ari.

The date of his birth is not known, but he passed away in 290/902-3 during the Minor Occultation.[2]

According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, he was a companion of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a). The main evidence for this claim is the correspondences between him and the Imam (a),[3] which can further indicate that, in addition to being a companion, he was a representative of the Imam (a).

Scholarly Status

Al-Saffar was one of the most prominent hadith scholars of Qom. The scholars of rijal have mentioned him as a reliable and great scholar.[4]

He was also a prominent jurist of his time. One of his jurisprudential opinions which is reported in the sources is the permissibility of saying Farsi prayers in qunut.

Works

Basa'ir al-darajat

Al-Saffar's most well-known work is Basa'ir al-darajat al-kubra fi fada'il Al Muhammad, known as Basa'ir al-darajat, which is a hadith collection on the theme of imamate.

His other works, as recorded by al-Najashi, are the following:[5]

  • Kitab al-Salat
  • Kitab al-Wudu
  • Kitab al-Jana'iz
  • Kitab al-Siyam
  • Kitab al-Hajj
  • Kitab al-Nikah
  • Kitab al-Talaq
  • Kitab al-'Itq wa al-tadbir wa al-mukatiba
  • Kitab al-Tijarat
  • Kitab al-Makasib
  • Kitab al-Sayd wa al-dhaba'ih
  • Kitab al-Hudud
  • Kitab al-Diyat
  • Kitab al-Fara'id
  • Kitab al-Mawarith
  • Kitab al-Du'a
  • Kitab al-Mazar
  • Kitab al-Radd 'ala al-ghulat
  • Kitab al-Ashraba
  • Kitab al-Marwa
  • Kitab al-Zuhd
  • Kitab al-Khums
  • Kitab al-Zakat
  • Kitab al-Shahadat
  • Kitab al-Malahim
  • Kitab al-Taqiyya
  • Kitab al-Mu'min
  • Kitab al-Iman wa al-nudhur wa al-kaffarat
  • Kitab al-Manaqib
  • Kitab al-Mathalib
  • Kitab Ma ruwiya fi Sha'ban
  • Kitab Ma ruwiya fi awlad al-a'imma
  • Kitab al-Jihad
  • Kitab Fadl al-Qur'an

As the titles of his works indicate, he was more concerned with jurisprudence, though some of his works had theological themes.

Moreover, he had a collection of questions from Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) and the Imam's (a) answers, which was extant at least until the time of al-Shaykh al-Saduq.

Teachers and Students

Apart from Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a), al-Saffar quoted hadiths from prominent hadith transmitters, such as:[6]

  • Ibrahim b. Hashim al-Qummi
  • Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid al-Barqi
  • Ahmad b. Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Ash'ari
  • Abi Ishaq al-Khafaf
  • Ahmad b. Ishaq b. Sa'd
  • Ahmad b. Hasan b. Ali b. Faddal
  • Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa b. Abd Allah al-Ash'ari
  • Ayyub b. Nuh
  • Hasan b. Ahmad b. Salma al-Kufi
  • Ali b. Hasan al-Wasiti
  • Imran b. Musa
  • Fadl b. Amir
  • Fadl b. Ghanim
  • Muhammad b. Sandi
  • Muhammad b. Abd al-Hamid al-Ta'i
  • Muhammad b. Isa b. Abd Allah al-Ash'ari
  • Muhammad b. Isa b. Abid al-Yaqtini
  • Haytham b. Abi Masruuq al-Nahdi
  • Ya'qub b. Zayd

And the following hadith transmitters quoted hadiths from him:[7]

Notes

  1. Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 354.
  2. Jabbārī, Maktab-i ḥadīthī-yi Qom, p. 195.
  3. Ṭūsī, al-Fihrist, p. 221.
  4. Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 357.
  5. Najāshī, Rijāl al-Najāshī, p. 357.
  6. Khoeī, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth, vol. 15, p. 257.
  7. Khoeī, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth, vol. 15, p. 257.

References

  • Anṣarī, Ḥasan. Tabārshināsi kitāb-i baṣāʾir al-darajāt wa huwiyyat-i nivīsanda-yi ān. Māh-i Dīn, No 143. Summer 1388 Sh.
  • Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa fī aḥkām al-sharīʿa. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1412 AH.
  • Jabbārī, Muḥammad Riḍā. Maktab-i ḥadīthī-yi Qom. Qom: Intishārāt-i Zāʾir, 1384 Sh.
  • Khoeī, Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim al-. Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth. Beirut: 1989.
  • Najāshī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Rijāl al-Najāshī. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1416 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, [n.d].
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥaasn al-. Al-Rijāl. Edited by Jawād Qayyūmī al-Iṣfahānī. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1415 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Jawād Qayyūmī al-Iṣfahānī. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1417 AH.