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ONE OF THE LEADING SCIENTIST OF THE HADIS WORLD – IMAM ABU ISA TERMIZI

         Hadith (الحديث) is a message about the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In this case, they reflect various religious and legal aspects of the life of Muslim communities.

The hadiths reflect the words of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that is, His kavl (Arabic); His (good or bad) attitude or decision (to someone or something), that is – His takrir (Arabic); His behavior and morality, that is – His tiynat (Arabic); His image, character or appearance, image or sign, description, that is, His wasf; His action or verb (with someone or to something), that is – His feal (Arabic).

The combination of these qualities makes up the Sunna, which perfects Islam and is highly respected as a custom among Muslims and, in turn, expresses the content of the same Sharia principles. Hadiths are usually transmitted orally to others through the Companions of the Prophet. ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

The use of hadith began during the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Each hadith should have its continuous chain of narrators, that is, its isnad, and at the beginning of this isnad, one of the first Companions of the Prophet should stand. ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). For the hadith to be reliable, that is, authentic, it is necessary not only to have an unbroken chain of narrators but also to confirm with proof that each narrator is a person who is trustworthy, truthful, mentally reliable and has a perfect memory. If the hadith narrator does not possess such qualities, then the hadiths he has told are not considered reliable. Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If someone says that he told a hadith that I did not tell, let him prepare a place for himself in hell.” Of course, such words did not go unnoticed by the rest. Undoubtedly, the Qur’an and Hadith are the basis for the improvement of Islam.

If we talk about hadithologists, then one of the first among the hadithologists was Imam Abu Isa at-Tirmizi after Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. His full name was Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Savra ibn az Zahhak as – Sullami At Termizi (824-892), who was born in 824 in Termez. From the young age, he was raised by many teachers in the theological schools of Bukhara and Khorasan, as well as Iraq and Hijaz.

He was one of the most powerful hadith narrators, and he remembered tens of thousands of hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Among the teachers of Imam Abu Isa At-Termizi were – Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Ali ibn Hajar, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, Suwaid ibn Nasr and others. It is worth mentioning that during his travels he had met and learned from the collection of hadiths from renowned scholars of his time, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Daud.

Regarding the classification of hadiths, it should be noted that before Imam Abu Isa At-Termizi, hadiths were mainly divided into reliable and weak hadiths. Practicing this science, he was one of the first to divide the hadith into other layers, such as “Hassan,” that is, good, beautiful; and not reliable, that is, hadiths that came to us from other storytellers than from the Companions of the Prophet. ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). His collection of hadiths, called as (جامع الترمذي) “Jame at -Termizi”, is one of the six greatest hadith books of the Islamic world with the same content as “Qutub al-Sitta.” Imam Abu Isa at -Termizi composed this collection in the years 260-270 according to the Hijri calendar. The author calls his book “Al-Jame al-Kabir”, but many fans are accustomed to call this book (سُـنَن الترمذي) “Sunan at-Termizi”. Sunni scholars consider this book one of the most authoritative sources on the science of hadith.

Gathering his collection of hadiths as a book, Imam Abu Isa at -Termizi is divided and gives a title for each chapter, and then gives examples of several hadiths, respectively. Then they give the opinions of scholars on Islamic Sharia on a particular issue. The book focuses on Islamic jurisprudence and is used to draw any conclusions and fatwas. Another remarkable fact is that Imam Abu Isa at-Termizi was fully aware of the meaning and content of all authentic hadiths and their texts, as well as their history. That is why he was the most skilled at adopting Sharia laws on their basis.

Thus, the book of hadith, recreated by the noble memory and pen of Imam Abu Isa at – Termizi – “Jome at-Termiziy” (جامع الترمذي), became an important source for various scholars of Islamic theology to express their views in a reasonable and justified form.

This book of hadith, both at one time and in later times, was commented on by many famous scholars, the most famous of which was Abu Bakr ibn al – Arabi and his book (عارضة الأحوذي في شرح الترمذي – Ariza al – Ahwazi fi sharҳ at – Tirmidhi). The book of As – Suyuti “Hutul Mugtazi” and the book of Safi ar – Rahman al – Mubarakfuri – “Tuhfat ul-Ahvaz”.

The contemporaries of Imam Abu Isa at-Termizi wrote the following memoirs about him: In particular, Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari said:

“I have received more benefit from you than you from me in communicating with you.”

Musa ibn Alak writes this: “When Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari died, it was not possible to find such a person in terms of knowledge, power of memory, nobility and modesty, except for Imam Abu Isa at-Termizi.”

One of his students, al-Hakim Abu Ahmad, wrote of his teacher as follows: “… Then I lived in Khorasan. After the death of Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, it seemed to me that there was no man left who would provide support, except for Imam Abu Isa at-Termizi in the science of memorization, asceticism, and piety. Imam Abu Isa at – Termizi suffered greatly from this tragedy, his eyesight was greatly impaired and he lived like this until the end of his life.

Most books written by Imam Abu Isa al-Termizi have survived to this day. These books include: “Al-Shamoil an-nabiy Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam” (“The appearance and appearance of the Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him”), “Al-Ilal fil-hadith” (“Defects in hadiths”), “Risola fil – hilof Val – greedy”, (Debate about the hadith contradictions), “At – Tarikh”, (“History”), “Kitab uz – zuҳd”, (“Book of asceticism”), “Kitab ul – asmo wal – Kuno “, (” The book about names and kuny “), etc.

The book “Shamoyli Muhammadiyah”, or in other words, “Ash – Shamoyil an-nabaviya” (“The appearance and appearance of the Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him”) is dedicated to the personal life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)) This book gives a relatively complete description of his appearance, image, biography, and remarkable qualities. This book has long attracted the attention of many Islamic scholars and scholars of Islamic history.

RUSTAMOV O. Yu. Ph.D. assistant professor
YUSUPOV N.O. Master of SamSIFL

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