📘 ❞ Knowledge Mandates Action ❝ كتاب ــ أحمد بن علي بن ثابت

عن كتاب Knowledge Mandates Action:
Aef Bri Biography of the Authora

He was the Shaikh, the Imaam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin 'Alee bin Thaabit, better known
as Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadee, the author of many books, the most famous of which
was Taareekh Baghdad. 1
He was born in the year 392H. His father was the khateeb (lecturer) of (the village of)

Darzijaan, from the noblemen of 'Iraq.2 He had high hopes for his son of his (Al-
Khateeb), so he narrated Hadeeth to him while he was still young, in the year 403H.

Afterward, Al-Khateeb desired to seek knowledge of the Science of Hadeeth, so he
traveled for that purpose to the different regions (of 'Iraq). He excelled in his studies,
wrote books and collected narrations. And he was at the forefront in all of the
disciplines of the Science of Hadeeth.
He heard from a large amount of reliable Hadeeth Scholars in various lands, such as
Baghdad, Basrah, Naisapur, Asbahaan, Dinawar, Hamdaan, Koofah, the Haramain
(two holy cities of Makkah and Madeenah), Damascus, Jerusalem and other places.
He arrived at Syria in 451H and lived there for eleven years.
Many of the great scholars of Hadeeth reported from him, such as his teacher Abu
Bakr Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Barqaanee, the Shaikh of Baghdad.
Ibn Makoolaa said:
"Abu Bakr Al-Khateeb was one of the last prominent figures whom we witnessed
having knowledge, memorization, precision, accuracy in (reporting) the Hadeeth of
Allaah's Messenger, mastery concerning its defects and chains of narration, and
knowledge of its authentic and weak, as well as its solitary, rejected, and discarded."

Then he said: "There wasn't found amongst the people of Baghdad, after Ad-
Daaraqutnee, anyone like him."

He wrote on the subject of Fiqh and gained mastery in it. Then he preoccupied
himself with Hadeeth, and he achieved supremacy in that. He was also eloquent in
speech, loud-voiced

4 Translator's Note: One of the amazing stories from Al-Khateeb's legacy, which brought him
widespread fame and reputation as an authority in Hadeeth, was the incident when he was called on by
his colleague, Ibn Al-Muslimah, minister to the Khaleefah, Al-Qaa'im bi-Amrillaah, to verify a letter
that the Jews claimed was from Allaah's Messenger, written by the hand of 'Alee bin Abee Taalib and
witnessed by several Companions, which abolished the tax (jizyah) imposed upon the Jews of Khaibar.
After reviewing the document, Al-Khateeb said: "This is a forgery." When asked how he came to that
conclusion, he responded: "Due to the testimony in it of Mu'aawiyah bin Abee Sufyaan, since
Mu'aawiyah became Muslim on the Day of the Conquest of Makkah (i.e. Ramadaan, 8H) while
Khaibar was conquered in 7H. The document also contains the testimony of Sa'ad bin Mu'aadh, and he
died during the battle against Banu Quraidhah, which occurred two years before Khaibar." Upon
hearing this, the minister Ibn Al-Muslimah rejected the document and ordered the tax to be collected
from the Jews of Khaibar. And the status of Al-Khateeb grew and became widespread to the point that
the Khaleefah heard of him and granted him permission to dictate narrations in the Central Mosque of
Al-Mansoor.

❰ له مجموعة من المؤلفات أبرزها ❞ Knowledge Mandates Action ❝ ❱

Iqtidaaul‘Ilm al‘Amal By AlKhateeb AlBaghdaadee. This is the second book in the Classical Knowledge Series , which is a collection of selected scholarly works from the past that deal with the subject of religious knowledge. The first book in this blessed series was “The Book of Knowledge” written by Imaam Abu Khaithamah Zuhayr bin Harb AnNasaa’ee Died 234H , may Allah have mercy on him. Since that book served as an introduction to knowledge, its virtues, merits and manners, it seemed proper that the second book be dedicated to the next level of knowledge, which is its result and outcome, and that is righteous deeds. And what better work to present on this subject than the classic and wellknown treatise of the distinguished Imaam, AlKhateeb AlBaghdaadee, ’Iqtidaaul‘Ilm al‘Amal’ .