Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj

Shuʿba bin al-Ḥajjāj
Title	King of Hadith
Personal
Born	85 AH Wāsiṭ
Died	160 AH Baṣra
Religion	Islam
Main interest(s)	Hadith studies

This article is about 8th Century Islamic Scholar. For the Qira'at transmitter, see Shu'bah.

Shuʿba bin al-Ḥajjāj bin al-Ward, Abū Busṭām al-ʿAtakī (Arabic: شُعْبَة بِن الحَجَّاْج بِن الْوَرْد أَبُو بُسطام الْعَتَكِي) (c. 85–160/704–776 AH/CE) was an early, devout Muslim, who was known for both his knowledge of poetry and of ḥadīth. His scrupulousness in ḥadīth transmission, alongside other scholars such as Sufyān al-Thawrī, is understood to have laid the foundation for the concretization of ḥadīth sciences.

Biography

Shuʿba bin al-Ḥajjāj was born with a speech impediment (althagh) sometime between the years 80–86 AH, though likely 85, in Wāsiṭ, a historical city located on the west bank of the Tigris River in central ʿIrāq. He then moved to Baṣra as a child, where lived, studied, and later died in 160/776 AH/CE due to plague. Another famous scholar and ḥadīth transmitter, Sufyān al-Thawrī, called Shuʿba "commander of the faithful concerning ḥadīth" (amīr al-mu'minīn fī al-ḥadīth), but Shuʿba himself is quoted by Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī as saying "By God, truly in poetry I am more sound than in ḥadīth." He was instrumental in transmitting ḥadīth, and is understood to be one of the first individuals mentioned as a zāhid amongst the early ḥadīth transmitters. Although Abū Ḥanīfa and ʿAbd Allāh bin Ṣāliḥ al-ʿAjlī al-Kūfī levelled critiques against his transmissions. It is mentioned in al-Dhahabi's Tārīkh al-Islām that Shuʿba studied masāʿil (juridical affairs) under both Anas Ibn Mālik and Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, but not much is known of his juridical endeavors. However, his appearance in the ḥadīth transmitted by individuals such as Sufyan al-Thawri, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj and al-Bukhari show the prominent place he held in the early circles of ḥadīth transmitters and other scholars. Furthermore, there are many reports that mention the devotion of Shuʿba, including: helping the poor, avoiding ostentatious displays of knowledge and wealth, and participating in renunciatory acts.