Ibn Abū Dāwūd

He is the Imām, al-‘Allammah, al-Hāfidh, the Shaikh of Baghdad, Abu Bakr bin Sulaymān bin al-Ash’ath bin Bashir bin ‘Amr bin ‘Imrān al-Azdī as-Sijistānī. Known aserious poi Ibn Abī Dāwūd

He was born in Sijistān in the year 230H and he died in the year 316H at 86 years of age and left behind 8 children. His teachers include but are not limited to his father, Imām Abū Dāwūd, (رحمه الله) the famous scholar of Hadith and compiler of Sunan Abū Dāwūd, Shaikh Ahmad bin Saalih (رحمه الله), Shaikh Muhammad bin Bashhār (رحمه الله) and Nasr bin ‘Ali (رحمه الله). Imām adh-Dhahabī (رحمه الله) states about him in Siyar A’lam an-Nubulā, “He had many teachers from Khurasān, the Hizāz, Iraq, Egypt, Shām, Asbahān and Persia” [13/222-223]

His students include but are not limited to Ibn Hibbān (رحمه الله), Abū Ahmad al-Hakīm (رحمه الله), and ad-Dāraqutnī (رحمه الله). Imām Abū Dāwūd is from the Imāms of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah and he is known for his adherence to the Qur’an and Sunnah with the understanding of the Companions, and his rejection of innovations and deviant sects.

Imām Ibn ul-Qayyim (رحمه الله) mentions about him:

“Similarly, the Imām, the son of the rightful Imām Abū Dāwūd, who was a person of understanding. His writings in both poem and written form are clear concerning the exemplary Sunnah. They are both two stars.” [Al-Kāfiyyah ash-Shāfiyyah, pgs. 386-387, Dār ‘Ālam al-Fawā’id]

Source: Adapted from “Concise Notes on the Hā’iyah Poem: A Classical Text that Clarifies the Creed of Ahlus-Sunnah by Imām Abū Dāwūd” © 1439H/July 2018 Hikmah Publications, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.