| Al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr As-Siddiq | |
|---|---|
| Died | 106AH,[1] 108AH[2] |
| Region | Muslim scholar |
| Main interests | hadith, fiqh and tafsir[2] |
| Influences | Ibn Abbas[2] |
| Influenced | Abu'z-Zinad 'Abdullah ibn Dhakwan[2] |
Al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (Arabic: قاسم بن محمد) (d. 106 AH[1] or 108 AH[2]) was an important jurist in early Islam. He is considered the fourth in the Naqshbandi Golden Chain of Sufi masters. Naqshbandis also consider him to have passed the chain to his grandson Ja'far as-Sadiq. Al-Qāsim shouldn't be confused with the prophet Muhammad's son Qasim ibn Muhammad.
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See also
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| The Seven Fuqaha of Medina |
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Part of a series on the |
| 1st millennium AH |
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| 2nd millennium AH |
Contents |
Al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was born on a Thursday, in the holy month of Ramadan, on 36 / 38 AH (approximately).
Shaykh Qāsim ibn Muhammad descended from Abu Bakr As-Siddiq on his father’s side and from Ali ibn Abi Talib on his mother’s side. He was the grandson of the first Caliph Abu Bakr, and the son of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, one of Ali's earliest supporters. His mother was the daughter of Yazdgerd III, the last king of Persia. Moreover, his daughter Farwah bint al-Qasim was the mother of the sixth Shi'a Imam, Ja'far as-Sadiq. One of his sons was Abdu r-Rahman. Besides, he was the nephew of Aishah bint Abi Bakr.[2]
Al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr was one of the seven most famous jurists in Medina, and was considered as the most knowledgeable among them. He was highly influential in disseminating early traditions of hadith, fiqh (jurisprudence) and tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur'an.
He was a pious imam and was very knowledgeable in the narration of the Traditions. Abu Zannad said, “I never saw anyone better than him in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s). In our time no one is considered perfect until he is perfect in following the Sunnah of the Prophet and Qasim is one of the perfected men.”
He learned hadith and fiqh from his aunt and from Ibn Abbas. He was a transmitter of hadith and criticised the use of a hadith if its text was put before the Quran and established Sunnah.[2]
He was among The Seven Fuqaha of Medina[2] who were largely responsible for the transmission of knowledge from Medina and were the source of much of the information of Islam and the Sunnah available today.
He left and went to al-Qudayd, a place between Makkah and Madinah on the 9th of Muharram, where he passed on to the next life. The year was 108 (or 109) AH/726 CE, and he was seventy years old.
Abdu r-Rahman ibn Abi Zannad said that his father mentioned, “I did not see anyone who knew the Sunnah better than al-Qasim.”
According to the 11th-century Hilyat al-Awliya: “He was able to extract the deepest juristic rulings and he was supreme in manners and ethics.”
Imam Malik narrated that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, considered the fifth rightly-guided caliph, said, “If it were in my hands, I would have made al-Qasim the caliph in my time.”
Sufyan said, “Some people came to al-Qasim with charity which he distributed. After he distributed it, he went to pray. While he was praying, the people began to speak negatively about him. His son said to them, ‘You are speaking behind the back of a man who distributed your charity and did not take one dirham from it for himself.’ Quickly his father scolded him saying, ‘Do not speak, but keep quiet.’” He wanted to teach his son not to defend him, as his only desire was to please God. He had no concern for the opinion of people.
Yahya ibn Sayyid said, “We never found, in our time in Madinah, anyone better than al-Qasim.” Ayyub as-Saqityani said, “I have not seen anyone better than Imam Qasim. He left 100,000 dinars behind for the poor when he passed away, and it was all from his lawful earnings.”
His student, Abu'z-Zinad 'Abdullah ibn Dhakwan said about him [2]:
The Sunni Imam Malik related that Umar Ibn Abdul-Aziz said [2]: