If the hadith scholars of the third century AH are mentioned, then Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani al-Najm. All the authors of the six books: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah narrate on the authority of their sheikhs on the authority of Abd al-Razzaq.
If the hadith scholars of the third century AH are mentioned, then Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani al-Najm, all the authors of the six books: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah narrate on the authority of their sheikhs on the authority of Abd al-Razzaq, so between them and Abd al-Razzaq there is one narrator, and between Abd al-Razzaq and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, there are only three narrators. He narrates on the authority of his sheikhs, the followers of the Successors, on the authority of the Successors, on the authority of the Companions, so he narrates on the authority of Ma`mar, on the authority of Qatada, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, on the authority of Malik, on the authority of Nafi`, on the authority of Ibn Umar, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ata` ibn Abi Rabah, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, on the authority of Hisham ibn Hassan, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, on the authority of Muammar, on the authority of Hammam ibn Munabbih, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, and on the authority of al-Thawri, on the authority of Abu Ishaq al-Subaie, on the authority of al-Baraa ibn Azib.
Al-Dhahabi said: Abd al-Razzaq bin Hammam al-Hafiz al-Kabir, the scholar of Yemen, Abu Bakr al-San’ani, The Sheikh of Islam, and the modernist of the time, was cited as evidence by all the companions of Sahih books. He was truthful and reliable in following the hadith of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. He sought knowledge when he was twenty years old, and he traveled in pursuit of knowledge to the Hijaz, the Levant, and Iraq. He wrote a lot of things, and compiled Al-Jami’ Al-Kabir, which is a treasury of knowledge.
His student, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, said: Abd al-Razzaq wrote two-thirds of the knowledge!
Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Masry said: I said to Ahmed bin Hanbal: Have you seen someone with better hadith than Abd al-Razzaq? He said: No.
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The number of Abdul Razzaq’s sheikhs reached 78 sheikhs, the most famous of whom are: Hisham bin Hassan, Abdul Malik bin Abdul Aziz bin Jurayj, Muammar bin Rashid, Abdul Rahman bin Amr Al-Awza’i, Sufyan Al-Thawri, Sufyan bin Uyaynah, Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak, Ubaid Allah bin Omar Al-Amri, Hushaym bin Bashir, Al-Fudayl bin Ayyad, Abu Bakr bin Ayyash, the famous reciter, and the imams Malik bin Anas and Abu Hanifa. Muqatil bin Sulaiman, the author of interpretation.
Abdul Razzaq said: I stayed with Muammar bin Rashid for eight years.
Abu Zar’ah al-Dimashqi said: I said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Did Abd al-Razzaq memorize the hadiths of Muammar? He said: Yes.
Sana’a judge Hisham bin Yusuf al-San’ani, Rafiq Abd al-Razzaq, said about seeking knowledge: Abd al-Razzaq was the most knowledgeable of us and memorized us.
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Students of knowledge used to travel from various countries to Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani to write his hadiths, and the number of his famous students reached 111, including: Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma’in, Ali ibn al-Madini, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dahli, Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Kawsaj, Abu Khaythamah Zuhair ibn Harb, Abd ibn Humaid, Muhammad ibn Rafi` al-Naysaburi, and Ahmad ibn Saleh al-Masry.
Although Abd al-Razzaq memorized, when great hadith memorizers traveled to him, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Ma`in, they were keen to write down hadiths about him from his preserved originals that he wrote from his sheikhs, and they did not write any of them from him from his memorization. They would copy them from his books and then Abd al-Razzaq would read them to them from his book while they looked at their books in which they had copied those hadiths, so they wrote down his hadiths – which were very numerous – with such precision and investigation.
Ahmed bin Hanbal said: We wrote the books of Abd al-Razzaq in the correct manner, that is, in the correct manner, by narrating from its origins.
Ahmed bin Hanbal said: There was no well in the village of Abd al-Razzaq, so we used to go two miles early to perform ablution and carry water with us.
I said: Our sheikh, Judge Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Omrani, the scholar and mufti of Sana’a, told us about the location of the village of Abd al-Razzaq, which is now a ruined village located east of the capital, Sana’a, in an area called Hamra al-Alab, south of Mount Nuqum. I visited it and saw in it a small mountain, on its eastern side there is the grave of Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani, and next to the grave is a ruined mosque without a roof or walls, of which nothing remains except the mihrab.
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Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani has a large book printed under the name Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani, which contains nearly twenty thousand hadiths, and he has a book of interpretation printed in three volumes containing 3,755 narrations in interpretation, which Abd al-Razzaq narrates with his chains of transmission on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and on the authority of the Companions and Followers.
Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani, may God have mercy on him, died in Sana’a in the year 211 AH and he was 85 years old.
About Abdul Razzaq’s work:
A book compiled by Abd al-Razzaq, printed in 11 large volumes, edited by the hadith scholar Habib al-Rahman al-Azami al-Hindi. This book included (19,418) chain of narrations, some of which were prophetic hadiths, and some of which were narrations on the authority of the Companions or the Successors and their followers. It was arranged by Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani in (31) books. Each book included a number of chapters, and in each chapter Abd al-Razzaq narrated, with its chains, some raised hadiths and narrations. The first book in it is the book of purity, then the book of menstruation, the book of prayer, the virtues of the Qur’an, zakat, fasting, rituals, jihad, battles, marriage, divorce, sales, testimonies, oaths, vows, drinks, obligations, and other things.
At the end of the book, Jami’ Muammar bin Rashid Al-Basri was printed, then Al-San’ani, who died in the year 154 AH. Jami’ Muammar includes (1614) hadiths and narrations, all of which were narrated by Abdul Razzaq Al-San’ani on the authority of his sheikh, Muammar bin Rashid, on the authority of his sheikhs among the followers.
Abd al-Razzaq’s work is one of the largest collections of the Sunnah of the Prophet, and the hadiths and traces in it we find in other hadith books. The hadith that Abd al-Razzaq narrates in his work may be found in Sahih al-Bukhari or in Sahih Muslim via Abd al-Razzaq with the same chain of transmission and text. Because Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate the hadiths of Abd al-Razzaq through their sheikhs on the authority of Abd al-Razzaq, and we also find many of the hadiths of Abd al-Razzaq in the Musnad of his student Ahmad ibn Hanbal with the same chain of transmission and text.
An example of this: Abd al-Razzaq al-San’ani said in his Musannaf (2644): On the authority of Muammar, on the authority of al-Zuhri, on the authority of Sa`id ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ((If the imam says: {Not those with anger upon them, nor those who go astray}, then say: Amen, for the angels say: Amen, and the imam says: Amen, then whoever agrees with his assurance is assured. The angels forgave him his previous sins.)
Then Abd al-Razzaq (2645) said: On the authority of Muammar, on the authority of Hammam ibn Munabbih, that he heard Abu Hurairah say: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, so he mentioned something similar to the hadith of al-Zuhri.
Abdul Razzaq narrated this hadith through two paths. The first path was between him and the Messenger and had four narrators, and the second path was between him and the Messenger and had three narrators.
This hadith was narrated by Ahmad bin Hanbal on the authority of Abd al-Razzaq, and he said in his Musnad No. (7660): Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us, saying: Muammar narrated to us on the authority of al-Zuhri on the authority of Ibn al-Musayyab on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: ((If the imam says: {Not those with wrath upon them nor those who go astray}, then say: Amen, for the angels say: Amen, and if the imam says: Amen, then whoever agrees with his assurance is the assurance of the angels. He will be forgiven for his previous sins.)
This hadith was narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih On the authority of Abd al-Razzaq, who said (410): Muhammad ibn Rafi’ narrated to us, saying: Abd al-Razzaq narrated to us, saying: Muammar narrated to us, on the authority of Hammam ibn Munabbih, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, on the authority of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, with a similar example.
Al-Bukhari narrated it through a different path than Abd al-Razzaq, and he said in his Sahih: (782): Abdullah bin Maslamah told us on the authority of Malik on the authority of Sumi, the client of Abu Bakr, on the authority of Abu Salih al-Samman, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ((If the imam says: {Not those upon whom wrath is incurred, nor those who go astray}, then say: Amen, for whoever’s words agree with the words of the angels, his previous sins will be forgiven)). It was followed by Muhammad bin Amr, on the authority of Abu Salamah, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and Na’im al-Mujmar, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him. Bukhari’s words ended.
May God have mercy on Imam Abdul Razzaq Al-Sanani, and may God reward him well for the hadiths he preserved for us.