al-A'mash: One Interesting Character

['Abd al-Baari]

Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh,

One of the scholars who is most interesting to read about is the Tabi’i Sulayman bin Mihran (died 148 H), also known as al-A’mash (one who has weak vision). al-A’mash had quite an interesting personality, as he was very pious and knowledgeable while also having a rough, sarcastic attitude that makes one smile constantly while reading through his tarjamah.

Here are some funny incidents of his collected from ‘Siyar A’lam an-Nubala” (6/419-434) and ‘Hilyat al-Awliya” (5/54-70):

The governor ‘Isa bin Musa sent a notebook along with a thousand dirhams to al-A’mash for him to write down Hadith in it. So, al-A’mash wrote: ‘بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم, قل هو الله أحد’ (In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful: Say: ‘He is Allah, One’) and sent the book back to him. He sent to him, saying: “Do you think that I don’t know any Qur’an?” al-A’mash sent back, saying: “Do you think that I sell Hadith?” He kept the money for himself.

One time, a soldier wanted to cross a river. He came across al-A’mash, who was standing near the river, so he jumped on his back and had him walk through the water. When he jumped on al-A’mash, he recited ‘Glory to Him Who has provided this for us’ (سبحان الذي سخر لنا هذا - the supplication for riding a vehicle). When al-A’mash had gotten half way across the river, he threw the soldier off of his back, recited {“…My Lord! Cause me to land at a blessed landing-place, for You are the best of those who bring to land…“} [al-Mu'minun; 29] and left him in the river and ran away.

One day, Shabib bin Shaybah and his friends came by to see al-A’mash, and they stood at his door yelling: “O Sulayman! Come out!” From inside, al-A’mash said: “Who are you?” They replied: “We are {“…those who call you from behind the dwellings…”} [al-Hujurat; 4] So, al-A’mash replied: “And {“…most of them have no sense…”} [al-Hujurat; 4]

One time, he wore an inverted sheepskin, such that the wool was on the outside. Someone said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, why don’t you wear it so that the wool is on the inside? This would be warmer for you.” al-A’mash replied: “Why don’t you go suggest this to the sheep?”

:w:

[Re.TiReD]

lol the 3rd and 4th were funny! JazakAllah khayr akhee! ;D

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

:sl:

al-A'mash has to be my favorite Tabiee. He was an amazing person with such an interesting personality. :D

['Abd al-Baari]

:sl:

One day a stranger sat next to him during his narration session. The stranger did not know that Al-A'mash did not like any one to sit next to him while narrating.

Al-A'mash felt that someone sat next to him, so he continued to narrate, but every now and then would turn towards the stanger and spit at him

Now the problem was that all the other students were begging this stranger to put up with Al-A'mash spitting at him, because they were afraid that Al-A'mash would stop narrating Hadeeth to them if the stranger got angry.

So this poor man had to stay seated in his place putting up with Al-A'mash's spit for the entire session of Hadeeth!

:w:

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[Musaafirah]

Hehehe, he sounds like one funny character. I've seriously gotta read up on my history :D

[Güven]

lol MashaAllah!!! :ooh:


:w:

[Nájlá]

hehehe lol funny character hes got

[wildkat]

:sl:

One day a stranger sat next to him during his narration session. The stranger did not know that Al-A'mash did not like any one to sit next to him while narrating.

Al-A'mash felt that someone sat next to him, so he continued to narrate, but every now and then would turn towards the stanger and spit at him

Now the problem was that all the other students were begging this stranger to put up with Al-A'mash spitting at him, because they were afraid that Al-A'mash would stop narrating Hadeeth to them if the stranger got angry.

So this poor man had to stay seated in his place putting up with Al-A'mash's spit for the entire session of Hadeeth!

:w:

Okay, is it just me or does this just a bit weird?? I mean, if you dont want someone to sit next to you, why not just say "excuse me, can you sit with everyone else?" Why spit??!

I've never heard of this guy before and I dont mean to sound insulting but thats really not funny... just weird. ^o)

[Musaafirah]

^^Where'd you get that from? It's not in this thread is it? And no it doesn't sound funny :-\

[Nájlá]

^its bro Abdul Baari's second post sis

but yeh its actually wired poor man i would not have helped it i would have just went mad.

[wildkat]

Phew.. I was expecting you guys to start attacking me for that lol

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

Okay, is it just me or does this just a bit weird?? I mean, if you dont want someone to sit next to you, why not just say "excuse me, can you sit with everyone else?" Why spit??!

I've never heard of this guy before and I dont mean to sound insulting but thats really not funny... just weird. ^o)

It's true..I've heard it in lectures as well. Taking into account al-A'mash's personality, I find it quite funny and not wierd! But yeah, poor guy. It's just who al-A'mash was I guess. Plus it shows all of their love for hadeeth, even the person, that he would sit and let himself get spit on to acquire more ahadeeth.

Here's another interesting tidbit about him:

Jareer bin Abdilhameed said:

Whenever students of Hadeeth asked Al-A'mash about a Hadeeth which he had forgotten, he used to sit in the sun, and put his fingers in his eyes and keep rubbing them, and rubbing them, until he remembered the Hadeeth. Later, he would go and answer those who asked him.

Abu Nu'aim said in his Hilyah 5/47.

[Intisar]

:sl: Forgive me for thinking it's funny that someone would put up with getting spit on....imsad

[Nájlá]

heres more thats if u dont mind akhi Abdul Baar

1 - al-A'mash went out to a some neighborhood one day, and some people came up to him to ask him regarding Hadith. His companions said to him: "Won't you narrate to these poor souls?" al-A'mash replied: "Who would hang pearls on pigs?"

2 - Some people came to al-A'mash one day, and he came out of his house to greet them, saying: "Were it not for the fact that there were people in my house that I hate more than you, I wouldn't have come out to see you." Abu Dawud al-Ha'ik asked him: "Abu Muhammad, what is your opinion on praying behind al-Ha'ik?" al-A'mash replied: "No problem, as long as one doesn't have wudu'." He also asked: "What do you say about accepting his testimony?" al-A'mash replied: "Only if it is accompanied by testimony from two trustworthy people."

3 - 'Abdullah bin Idris said to al-A'mash: "What prevents you from getting a haircut?" He replied: "The cuppers talk too much." So, he said: "I will bring you to a cupper who will not say a word to you until he finishes cutting your hair." He brought him to a Junayd, a cupper who was also a Muhaddith. So, 'Abdullah warned him not to talk to al-A'mash, and he agreed. However, when he had cut half of al-A'mash's hair, he said: "O Abu Muhammad, what is the status of the hadith of Habib bin Abi Thabit regarding menstruation?" So, al-A'mash got up, screamed, and ran away, sitting for a month with only half of his hair cut.

[wildkat]

It's true..I've heard it in lectures as well. Taking into account al-A'mash's personality, I find it quite funny and not wierd! But yeah, poor guy. It's just who al-A'mash was I guess. Plus it shows all of their love for hadeeth, even the person, that he would sit and let himself get spit on to acquire more ahadeeth.

Oh come on, would you put up with being spat at? Anyways, as I understand it, the dude only sat there cos everyone else begged him to! And about his personality.. spitting at people, its hardly islamic is it?? And its not funny.

[Nájlá]

lol ok the man is dead

my allah have mearcy on him and grant him jannah. ameeen

[wildkat]

heres more thats if u dont mind akhi Abdul Baar

1 - al-A'mash went out to a some neighborhood one day, and some people came up to him to ask him regarding Hadith. His companions said to him: "Won't you narrate to these poor souls?" al-A'mash replied: "Who would hang pearls on pigs?"

Oh my god, thats like worse than the spitting one!! If someone came up to you asking questiions, and you're a man of knowledge, hello, its like your obligation to help them, whether they be rich or poor right???

Lets not forget what happened when the prophet (SAW) got annoyed with the that old man, who kept interrupting him while he was talking to Qurayshi leaders.. Allah revealed a whole surah to tell him off!! And if this is Muhammad (SAW) we're talking about here, how can this guy come out with something like he did and think it acceptable???!!

[alcurad]

not everything that was mentioned about the scholars is correct, just as not every hadeeth is saheeh.


notice how the names rhyme

The governor ‘Isa bin Musa

One day, Shabib bin Shaybah
:w:

this leads me to think the stories were mentioned for fun, but aren't necessarily true...

[BlissfullyJaded]

:sl:

Erm...let's not pick any ulama, especially the tabi'een? Were those people poor, as in not wealthy? I don't think any salaf would say that type of thing about teaching the poor, so something was not appropriately explained there, especially given in the first post he asked "Would I sell the hadeeth?", so clearly he wasn't teaching for money.

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

:sl:

C'mon everybody, lets not forget this is a scholar from the Tabieen. He had a different personality than what we're accustomed to reading and he did what he thought was right.

Oh come on, would you put up with being spat at? Anyways, as I understand it, the dude only sat there cos everyone else begged him to! And about his personality.. spitting at people, its hardly islamic is it?? And its not funny.

As I remember, he had a rule that no one is supposed to sit next to him and he was very strict on that. Some of our Salaf had certain things that they wanted to be their way, especially when it came to their circles. Imaam Malik for example would not tolerate any one speaking when he was teaching. One can question that and ask "Is it Islamic that he would not want anyone to speak when there could be questions in the audience?" al-A'mash was known for his piety and knowledge, if he had a certain way of things, I think we can excuse that. Plus, remember that he was hard of sight, so he maybe only suspected someone was there and didn't know he was actually spitting towards a person! And it isn't a question of whether I would tolerate that or not, as I have never even experienced sitting next to a great Muhaddith, let alone met one!!

Oh my god, thats like worse than the spitting one!! If someone came up to you asking questiions, and you're a man of knowledge, hello, its like your obligation to help them, whether they be rich or poor right???

Like I said, our scholars were human, and they had a personality and they had a way they liked to do things. Some scholars disliked to teach whilst walking or in the open. They disliked to narrate hadeeth in a manner they thought would be disrespectful. For example, Imaam Malik would only narrate hadeeth after taking a shower, wearing proper clothes, and putting on scent in order to honor the hadeeth that he carried within his chest. So if they thought highly of themselves, it was not because they were arrogant, but because they did not want to lower the knowledge that Allaah had given them. They wanted to give it its right.

Someone else that disliked to teach whilst walking (I believe) was Nafi', one of the teachers of Imaam Malik. He disliked it very much, so much so that Imam Malik had to hide (when he was young and still seeking knowledge) and then act as if he just bumped into him to get him to answer questions. These were people of knowledge and from the Salaf, and they had their way about things. We can safely assume that they did not think what they were doing anything that would displease Allaah. If it were so, they would not have done it. Of course, this doesn't mean that we can do what they did, we're no where near their level.

Lets not forget what happened when the prophet (SAW) got annoyed with the that old man, who kept interrupting him while he was talking to Qurayshi leaders.. Allah revealed a whole surah to tell him off!! And if this is Muhammad (SAW) we're talking about here, how can this guy come out with something like he did and think it acceptable???!!

I think that this is an unfair comparison. We cannot compare the Messenger (salalahu alayhi wa sallam) to what someone later did.

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

:sl:

Subhanallah, I really didn't give this Imaam his due right in my last post and I know I obviously still cannot but here's some more insight about him:

He was known as 'al-Mushaf', because of how precisely and perfectly he remembered the ahadeeth with their Sanad. If one were to pick up one any of the six major books of hadeeth and was to look at the Isnaads, al-'Amash would be there at least once every ten pages.

The reason behind him being very stringent in narrating ahadeeth was because of the era he lived in. That time was the era of the preservation of the hadeeth, and naturally everyone wanted in because if you were able to narrate even a small amount of ahadeeth, your name would go down in history books as a narrator of hadeeth. This is true, because until today we have knowledge about so many men that narrated hadeeth, so much so that scholars wrote volumes and volumes about them.
This obviously meant automatic fame. So naturally, people wanted that and many people started learning ahadeeth for the wrong reasons. Therefore, al-'Amash was very very selective about his students and would only teach those students he thought were actually sincere as opposed to wanting fame. This explains the story of why he hired a dog to guard his house from the students who came for hadeeth, and also why the students forced the poor man to put up with being spit on so that Al-'Amash would continue narrating for them. It used to be said that to get Al-'Amash to narrate hadeeth is like trying to pull out his teeth, meaning it would be so hard to get him to narrate.

His character may not have been the best, but the fact is he still one of the greatest Imaams. Some scholars even said that out of the many scholars of hadeeth and the many great narrators, one of the men that Allaah caused the ahadeeth to be preserved through was Al-'Amash rahimullah.

[Ummu Sufyaan]

wa alaykum us-Salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

jazakallahu khair...

Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh,

One time, a soldier wanted to cross a river. He came across al-A’mash, who was standing near the river, so he jumped on his back and had him walk through the water. When he jumped on al-A’mash, he recited ‘Glory to Him Who has provided this for us’ (سبحان الذي سخر لنا هذا - the supplication for riding a vehicle). When al-A’mash had gotten half way across the river, he threw the soldier off of his back, recited {“…My Lord! Cause me to land at a blessed landing-place, for You are the best of those who bring to land…“} [al-Mu'minun; 29] and left him in the river and ran away.


:w:

too cute!

[Re.TiReD]

One time, al-A’mash went out in the morning and passed by the mosque of Bani Asad. They were about to start praying, and he went inside and prayed. The imam recited ‘al-Baqarah’ in the first rak’ah, and recited ‘Al ‘Imran’ in the second. When he finished, al-A’mash said to him: “Will you not fear Allah? Did you not hear that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “Whoever leads the people in prayer should go easy, as there are those behind him who are old, weak, and have needs to tend to.”” So, the man said: “Allah Said: {“…and it is heavy except on those who have khushu’…”} [al-Baqarah; 45] So, al-A’mash said: “I am a messenger sent from those who have khushu’ telling you that you are heavy.”

;D