Shu’bah ibn Al-Hajjaj ibn Al-Ward Al-Azdi was known as as the ‘King of Hadith’, because he was instrumental in shaping the Hadith discipline and raising its academic standards.
Shu’bah is often mentioned by his first name only, because he is so well known that he could not be confused with any one else having the same name.
Shu’bah was born in 82 or 83 AH, corresponding roughly to 701 CE, in a village called Nahr Bustan, close to the city of Wasit in southern Iraq. He spent his early years in Wasit and began his studies there, before leaving for Basrah, which was a main center of learning at the time. Shu’bah’s father was a former slave, and he died when Shu’bah was still young. Apparently his father was perhaps interested in reporting Hadith. His mother guided his upbringing and education, and she apparently had some education in Hadith. She used to direct her son to the teachers under whom he should study. Shu’bah reports: “My mother once told me: ‘Here is a woman who reports the Hadiths she heard from Aishah. Go and attend her circle to learn her Hadith.” He did as his mother told him and she was pleased with him. The woman in question was called Shumaysah Umm Salamah.
His mother married twice after the death of Shu’bah’s father. Her last husband was Hushaym ibn Al-Qassim, a rich man who wanted to look after her four sons. Shu’bah had one son called Saad, who was classified as reliable by Hadith scholars, but he reported very little from his father. Shu’bah’s three brothers helped him to look after himself and his family, so that he would devote all his time to his studies. Thus, we see that Shu’bah belonged to a family that was moderately interested in the study of Hadith, in one way or another, but Shu’bah was the only major scholar it produced.
As a person, Shu’bah was known for his modest life. In fact, he sought nothing of the comforts or pleasures of this world. He lived at barely subsistence level, although he could have had a very easy and comfortable life had he so wished. The fact is that he cared very little for such comforts, paying all his attention to his scholarship. He was keen to put his learning in practice. Thus, as he read many Hadiths encouraging voluntary fasting and night worship, he used to fast frequently, and offered voluntary worship at all times. Similarly, he learned from the Hadiths that it was better to spend little on one’s food and to spare money for charity. He implemented that, depriving himself of all luxuries and spending all his money in charity. One of his students reports: “Shu’bah saw me wearing a new shirt. He asked me how much I paid for it. When I said that I bought it for 8 dirhams, he said: ‘Do you not fear God when you walk around with a shirt that costs so much? It would have been infinitely better for you to buy a shirt for four dirhams and to give the other four to the poor.’” But he would not have given this advice without first implementing it himself. Numerous are the reports by later scholars confirming this. In fact, young children in poor areas used to call him ‘Father,’ when they saw him, because they were used to get from him whatever money he carried. His student, Abu Al-Waleed Al-Tayalisi, says: “I have never seen a more generous person than Shu’bah.”
Shu’bah started his learning with an emphasis on studying the Arabic language and literature, particularly grammar and poetry. He excelled in both and learned by heart volumes of poetry. He was exceptional in his mastery of Arabic. Indeed he advised his students who wished to learn the Hadith that attaining a good standard of Arabic was indispensable for them. Indeed, Al-Asma’ie, a main figure in documenting Arabic poetry, used to attend Shu’bah’s circle regularly, because he felt that he could learn from Shu’bah something new in his own specialization.
When Shu’bah had attained a high standard in Arabic literature and excelled in poetry, he turned with full dedication to the study of Hadith. We do not have any report explaining this switch, except for one by Shu’bah himself that says that he once passed by Al-Hakam ibn Utaybah as he was teaching Hadith, reporting every Hadith with its chain of transmission. Shu’bah felt strongly attracted to this type of study and embarked on it, devoting to it all his time. But he also studied Fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, and excelled in it. Ibn Hazm says: “Shu’bah was an excellent scholar of Fiqh, but his devotion and fear of making mistakes kept him away from giving rulings on questions that could have been put to him.”
But Shu’bah’s interest was in Hadith. He enjoyed every aspect of the study of Hadith. He is reported to have said: “What is more enjoyable than to sit with a scholar who had met other scholars, and to consult him and draw out his knowledge?”
Shu’bah lived at a time when the discipline of Hadith study was still taking shape. He followed a highly scholarly method in making sure of the authenticity of any Hadith he reports. He says: “I went to Ya’la ibn Ata’, and he told me: ‘Take my Hadiths and go away.’ I said: ‘No. I want to learn it all by heart from you personally.’ I continued to frequent his place.” This shows how keen Shu’bah was to listen to the Hadith directly from his teachers. When an easier way was offered to him, which was to have it written down for him, he refused, because he would then miss out on direct learning from the teacher, and to have it repeated to him until he had memorized it.
Shu’bah traveled much in pursuit of his study of Hadith. One of his trips took him to Madinah in 118 AH, when he learned that Nafi’ had died a year earlier. On this trip Shu’bah attended Imam Malik’s circle and learned many Hadiths from him. Malik was at the time only 27 years of age, and he was younger than Shu’bah, but this did not prevent Shu’bah from studying under him. Shu’bah also traveled twice to Baghdad. One of these trips was when he was an acknowledged scholar of Hadith. He held in Baghdad a circle lasting forty sessions, teaching in each session one hundred Hadiths, to make a total of 4000 Hadiths.
However Shu’bah’s main trip was the one that took him from Basrah to Kufah, then to Makkah, and to Madinah before going back to Basrah. His purpose was to make sure of one particular Hadith. The point was that he wanted to ascertain the chain of transmission of this Hadith, so that he would be absolutely sure of its authenticity, because he would not transmit a Hadith unless he was sure that it was authentic. However, at his last stop, Basrah, he concluded that one of its transmitters was unreliable.
As a scholar of Hadith, Shu’bah was meticulous in his reporting. He would only report a Hadith if he was absolutely certain of its authentic transmission. Later scholars confirm that if Shu’bah reported a Hadith through any transmitter, then that transmitter should be classified as reliable, because Shu’bah would not report from anyone he considered unreliable. This was a practice that he set out for later Hadith scholars.
