al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyya (Imam al-Tirmidhi)

About the author

Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi: One of the great hadith masters of the third Islamic century, Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi (209-279 AH / 824-892 CE) was born in the region of Tirmidh, on the banks of the Oxus in what is now southern Uzbekistan. Like the leading traditionists of his generation, he traveled across Khurasan, Iraq, and the Hijaz in pursuit of hadith, studying under al-Bukhari, whom he held in particular esteem, as well as other masters of the age. Later in life he lost his sight, and he died in Tirmidh. His landmark work is al-Jamiʿ, widely known as Sunan al-Tirmidhi, counted among the six canonical collections of Sunni hadith. It is distinguished by his practice of grading the reports he cites, often with his signature phrase hasan sahih, and of recording the differing legal opinions of the Companions and early jurists, which makes the book a resource for fiqh as well as hadith. He is equally beloved for al-Shamaʾil al-Muhammadiyya, a gathering of narrations describing the Prophet's physical appearance, character, dress, worship, and daily conduct, a work that has been read and commented upon for centuries. He also composed al-ʿIlal on the hidden defects of narrations. Scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya regarded him as an independent jurist, and his legacy endures across the Muslim world.