Nasa?i, Al- (830–915)
NASA˒I, AL- (830–915)
Al-Nasa˒i, Abu ˓Abd al-Rahman Ahmad b. ˓Ali b. Shu˓ayb, a compiler of one of the six authoritative Sunni hadith collections, lived between 830 and 915. Unfortunately, very little is known of his early life, but like the other compilers, he was known to have traveled extensively "in search of knowledge" (Ar. talab al-˓ilm) in order to hear traditions from the prominent traditionists of his time. He settled for a while in Egypt and then later made his way to Damascus, where he was reportedly ill-treated on account of his pro-˓Alid and anti-Umayyad sentiments. Some sources suggest that the venue was instead Ramla, in Palestine. Because of his untimely death, he has been regarded as a martyr. His collection, Kitab al-Sunan, contains over five thousand hadiths. Unlike the other five collections, al-Nasa˒i's Sunan does not include a chapter on the excellences of the Qur˒an (Ar. fada˒il al-Qur˒an), although he composed an independent treatise on the topic. Also lacking in his Sunan are eschatological traditions. Al-Nasa˒i is credited with nine other works, among which are a compilation of hadiths on the virtues of ˓Ali and a rijal work that assessed the reliability of various hadith transmitters.
See alsoHadith.
Asma Asfaruddin