Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak

Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʿAbdullāh Ibn al-Mubārak ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Ḥanẓalī at-Tamīmī, the great scholar, ḥadīth master and ascetic, was born in 118AH/736CE in Merv. He was an avid learner who travelled and studied with many prominent tābiʿūn (students of the Companions ) such as Awzāʿī, Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, Layth ibn Saʿd, Mālik ibn Anas, Sufyān ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and Ḥammād ibn Zayd. He died in Hīt at the age of 63 while returning from battle in 181AH/797CE and became famous for his book, Kitāb az-Zuhd wa’r-Raqāʾiq. Ibn al-Mubārak was unique among his contemporaries in that he acquired and combined all praiseworthy qualities within himself. He was a ḥadīth scholar, a jurist, an ascetic, a worshipper, a pilgrim, a mujāhid, a poet, a linguist and an extremely generous man. Ibn Ḥibbān said, ‘All praiseworthy qualities were found in him. During his time, no scholar in the world possessed such qualities together.’ (Ibn Ḥibbān, Thiqāt, 7:7–8.)