Ibn Hibban

Muḥammad ibn Hibbān al-Bustī (c. 270–354/884–965) was a Muslim Arab scholar, polymath and a prominent Shafi'i traditionist, ḥadith critic, evaluator of rijal, compiler and interpreter of hadith. He was a prolific writer and well-versed in numerous Islamic fields such as fiqh (reaching the level of Ijtihad) as well as in the sciences of astronomy, medicine, history and other disciplines.

Biography Birth Ibn Hibban was born in 270 AH (884 CE) in Bust or Bost in present-day southern Afghanistan (former name of Helmand province capital was Bost or Bust, its new name is Lashkargah).

Education Imam Ibn Hibban grew up in the city of Bust, where he spent his childhood and early youth, then left for education. In thirst for knowledge, this imam was travelling countries from Transoxania and reaching far as Egypt. During these intense travels, he had numerous teachers whom he narrated from.

Teachers He studied Islamic sciences with many prominent scientists of the time, such as: Al-Nasa'i Al-Hasan ibn Sufyan Abu al-Ya'la al-Mosuli Al-Husayn ibn Idris al-Harawi Abu al-Khalifa al-Jamhi Imran ibn Musa ibn Madzhashi' Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Sufi Ja'far ibn Ahmad al-Dimashqi Ibn Khuzaymah

Career Ibn Hibban became judge in Samarkand for a time and built a Khanqah in the town; and in 340 A. H./951 A. D. he went to his birth town, Bust and built there a madrasah for his students, in which they were given stipends.

Students His most famous students became leading scholars of their time:

Theology When returning to Sijistan, after studying in Nishapur with Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban was opposed by some of the Hanbalis as he taught that God does not have limits, rejecting their belief in al-Hadd lillah (limits for God).

One of his enemies, al-Sulaymani (d. 404/1014) claimed that Ibn Hibban owed his appointment to Samanid vizier Abu al-Tayyib al-Mu'sabi for whom he wrote a refutation of the Karmatis.

Reception Al-Hakim, his student, the author of the Al-Mustadrak, said: “Abu Hatim Al-Basti Al-Qadi was one of the vessels of knowledge in language, jurisprudence, hadith and preaching, and among the wise men. He was classified, and he came out of the classification in the hadith that had not preceded him."

Al-Dhahabi said: "The imam, the scholar, the hafiz, the majestic, the sheikh of Khorasan… the author of the famous books."

Works Khatib al-Baghdadi recommended 40 books of his for study.