We have already mentioned that Shu’bah ibn Al-Hajjaj was nicknamed as the “King of Hadith” and that he was instrumental in shaping the Hadith discipline which attained its summit when Al-Bukhari finalized his Sahih collection. When a branch of scholarship starts to take shape, the early contributors have a particularly important role to play. They are the ones that begin to establish its rules and methods of investigation and study. These may undergo some changes as time passes and they are felt to need either some tightening or relaxation as situations demand.
The Hadith discipline is a special case, as it remains practically unique to Islamic civilization. Certain aspects of its methodology are found in other cultures, because report verification and authentication is needed in human society. However, it does not exist as a discipline of well-defined methodology anywhere other than the Islamic civilization. This is due to the fact that the Hadith is a major part of the Islamic faith, and its verification and authentication ensures that we follow the path God requires us to follow. When we study how this discipline developed in its early days, we find that Shu’bah ibn Al-Hajjaj was a major figure laying down principles and rules that remained applicable in future generations. We will have a brief look at his role.
Shu’bah was meticulous in establishing the chain of transmission of every Hadith. To do this, he had to persist in requesting his teachers to give their full chain of transmission. This was at times irritating to a teacher who might want to convey the message of the Hadith as it is clear in its text, but Shu’bah insisted on adding the chain of transmission because it is the first route to establish the authenticity of the Hadith. Besides, he was the first scholar in Iraq to look carefully into the case of every Hadith reporter to establish whether he was reliable or not. While he did not invent this, because it started much earlier than his time, he was the one to give this aspect considerable attention. Thus he facilitated the way for later scholars who carried this work further, such as Yahya Al-Qattan, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Maeen.
We have already mentioned that Shu’bah was keen to learn the Hadith directly from scholars. He would not be satisfied to take their written collections. Rather, he preferred to hear the Hadith directly from scholars. Moreover, he tried always to hear each Hadith more than once. He says: “I do not report a single Hadith from one scholar unless I had been to see him more than once. If I report ten Hadiths from one scholar, then I attended him more than ten times ... and if I report 100 Hadiths from a scholar, it means I had seen him more than 100 times, except for Hayyan Al-Bariqi from whom I heard some Hadiths and when I went to see him again, he had already died.” This is an important aspect of Shu’bah’s scholarship, verifying not only his own learning, but also his teachers’ accuracy.
Shu’bah was selective in teaching the Hadith. He chose his students from among those whom he knew to be dedicated to the study of this discipline. There are several reports about his refusal to teach even a single Hadith to different people. In each case, he explained that the person concerned did not have the right approach to the study of Hadith. Most importantly, he would not teach those who would exaggerate, or add something of their own, giving an impression that the addition is part of the Hadith.
Shu’bah was known to always teach the Hadiths he knew by heart. In this he relied on his memory, which was exceptional. Even if he was teaching Hadiths that he had written in a book, he would not look at his book, but rely only on his memory. This is a different level of education than what we know today when people rely on what is written and published. But then few in our time are those who devote themselves totally to a particular speciality, always seeking to attain perfection. It is such a desire that emanated itself to his students whom he would encourage to learn from other scholars, attending their circles and documenting what they teach of Hadith.
As a main contributor to the development of Hadith discipline, Shu’bah was clearly convinced that it was a scholar’s duty to state his conclusions about Hadith reporters, making known who is reliable and who is not. If a reporter is graded as unreliable, the reason for reaching such a conclusion should be stated as well. When it was suggested to him that grading people as poor, unreliable, weak, liar, fabricator, etc., is like backbiting them, he said that this was false. Indeed, to have such grading is part of knowing our faith: only in this way we know whom to accept and whom to reject. Indeed, to refrain from such grading for fear of backbiting is tantamount to favoritism. On the other hand, Shu’bah warned against accepting any views concerning the poor grading of reporters unless the reason for classifying them as poor are clearly stated. He points out that there may be jealousies or competition to influence the views of one scholar concerning his contemporaries.
Shu’bah’s views on the rules of the Hadith disciplines were taken up by his students and later scholars, and became part of the study of Hadith. Several hundred Hadith reporters studied under him, and reported his Hadiths. When Hadith scholarship attained its zenith at the time of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Maeen and Al-Bukhari, Shu’bah’s role was considered as a landmark in the development of this branch of Islamic studies. Indeed, such great scholars would consider any reporter approved by Shu’bah to be reliable. This is a great testimony from the best of scholars.
Shu’bah died in 160 AH. May God shower His mercy on him. (Concluded)
Arab News Islam 25 November 2002
