Who is the Muhaddith Ibnul A’arabi and what is the status of his Mu’jam?
Answer
Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad ibn Bishr was a pious Muhaddith and famous Sufi. He was born around the year 246 A.H and passed away in Makkah Mukarramah in the year 340 A.H.
He set out in the quest of knowledge and travelled to several places. He acquired Hadith from many Muhaddithun from all parts of the world, including Imams ‘Abbas ibn Muhammad Ad Duri, ‘Abdullah ibn Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal, Abu Dawud, Sa’dan ibn Nasr (rahimahumullah) and others.
In his Mu’jam alone, he has reported Hadith from over 460 Muhaddithun.
Imams Abu Bakr ibnul Muqri, Abu ‘Abdillah ibn Mandah, Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qayrawani were among his many students.
‘Allamah Dhahabi (rahimahullah) has described him as a senior and states that he had many elevated chains i.e. few links between him and Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
(Refer: Siyaru A’alamin Nubala, vol. 15 pg. 407-412 and introduction to his Mu’jam, edition of Dar Ibnul Jawzi)
His Mu’jam
The Hadiths in his Al Mu’jam vary in their levels of reliability and will have to be inspected individually. It is not possible to pass a blanket ruling on the authenticity of the Hadiths found therein.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar