Question
Kindly provide a brief biography of Imam Muhammad ibn Sirin (rahimahullah).
Answer
Imam Muhammad ibn Sirin (rahimahullah) was an extremely pious, knowledgeable and prominent Tabi’i. He was born in Basrah, in the year 33 AH, and also passed away therein.
He was raised as a cloth merchant and had slight difficulty in his hearing. This did not stop him, however, from becoming one of the greatest scholars of his time. Not only was he a Faqih (master in jurisprudence) but he was also a meticulous Muhaddith, who reported Hadiths verbatim. He had great depth when it came to the various branches of Din and was renowned for his exceptional skill of interpreting dreams.
Amongst his esteemed teachers were the likes of: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah, Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas, Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Umar (radiyallahu ‘anhum) and others.
His students comprised of great ‘Ulama such as ‘Allamahs: Ayyub As-Sakhtiyani, Qatadah, Sa’id ibn Abi ‘Arubah and others (rahimahumullah).
Imam Muhammad Ibn Sirin had many other siblings amongst whom were Hafsah, Anas, Ma’bad, and Yahya (rahimahumullah).
He passed away in the year 110 AH.
(Refer: Siyaru A’alamin Nubala, vol. 4 pg. 606 onwards, Tadhkiratul Huffaz, vol. 1 pg. 62, Number: 74, Taqribut Tahdhib, Number: 5947, and Al-A’alam, vol. 6 pg. 154)
And Allah Ta’ala knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Farhan Shariff
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar