Ishaq ibn Rahwayh

Ishaq bin Ibrahim bin Makhlad bin Rahwayh Abu Ya'qub al-Hanzali al-Marwazi (Arabic: إسحاق بن إبراهيم بن مخلد بن راهويه أبو يعقوب الهَنْظَليّ المَرْوَزِيّ, 777-778 - 855 CE) commonly known as Ishaq ibn Rahwayh (romanizationed: Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, exegete, and theologian. A close friend of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, he accompanied him on his travels to seek knowledge and he was also a teacher of Imam Bukhari and inspired him to compile the Sahih al-Bukhari.

Imam Ishaq ibn Rahuyah
إِسْحَاق بْن رَاهُوْيَه
Title	Shaykh al-Mashriq ('Shaykh of the East') - Sayyid al-Huffaz ('master of the Huffaz')
Personal life
Born	161 AH / 777–778 CE Merv, Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate
Died	14/15 Sha'ban 238 AH, 29/30th January 853 CE (aged 74-75) Nishapur, Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate
Era	early Abbasid era
Region	Khorasan
Main interest(s)	Jurisprudence hadith exegesis theology
Notable work(s)	Al-Musnad
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Independent
Creed	Athari[1]
Muslim leader
Influenced by Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak Sufyan ibn Uyayna al-Shafi'i
Influenced Muhammad al-Bukhari Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Ibn Khuzayma al-Darimi al-Nasa'i Dawud al-Zahiri
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)	Isḥāq إسحاق
Patronymic (Nasab)	bin Ibrahim bin Makhlad bin Rahwayh بن إبراهيم بن مخلد بن راهويه
Teknonymic (Kunya)	Abū Yaʿqūb أَبُو يَعْقُوب
Toponymic (Nisba)	Al-Ḥanẓalī al-Marwazi ٱلْحَنْظَلِيّ المَرْوَزِيّ

Origin of the Name

His father was born on the road to Makkah, so the people of Merv used to call him Rāhūyah ("road-born") and hence he was called Ibn Rāhūyah (Son of Rāhūyah).^[2]: 366

Biography

Ishaq ibn Rahwayh was born in Merv, now Mary, Turkmenistan in the year 161 AH / 777-778 CE. He belonged to the tribe of Banu Hanzala. He studied first in Khorasan and then set off on his journey at the age of thirteen. He is reported to have studied in the Hijaz, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, most especially in Baghdad, which he visited several times, before settling permanently in Nishapur where he passed away.^[3]: 408

Among his most often listed as his teachers are the traditionists Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 797) in Khorasan, Ibn 'Ulayya (d. 809) and Sufyan ibn ʽUyaynah (d. 814) in the Hijaz and Waki' ibn al-Jarrah (d. 812) and Yahya ibn Adam (d. 818) in Iraq. Ibn Rahwayh was also a contemporary and colleague of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and a teacher of Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i.^[3]: 408

He was the leading scholar of his era, who also used to issue Fatwas.^[2]: 369 He reportedly memorized seventy thousand hadith by heart.^{[3]: 407 [2]: 373}

Appearance

He used to dye his hair with Henna.^[2]: 375

Death

He died on the night on 14 or 15th of Sha'ban 238 AH / 29 or 30 January 853 CE, at the age of 74–75.^[2]: 377 Many people wrote Elegies to mourn for his death.^{[2]: 371–372 [4]: 201}

Influence

Ishaq influenced Bukhari to compile Sahih al-Bukhari.

Bukhari narrates, "We were with Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh who said, "If only you would compile a book of only authentic narrations of the Prophet." This suggestion remained in my heart so I began compiling the Sahih."^[5][6]

Works

The following works are listed in Ibn al-Nadim's Fihrist:^[7]

• Al-Musnad (كتاب المسند)
• The Book of Sunan in Fiqh (كتاب السنن في الفقه), Lost work
• The Book of Tafsir (كتاب التفسير), Lost work