• About Shamā’il
    • Selected comments on Shamā’il
    • Selected commentaries of Shamā’il
  • About Imam Tirmidhi
    • Birth
    • Education and character
    • Madhab
    • Demise
  • Preamble
    • بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله
    • و سلام
    • على عباده الذين اصطفى
    • قال الشيخ الحافظ
    • أبو عيسى

The Prophet of Allah ﷺ has so many facets and aspects1 to his life. Scholars have focused on all these different aspects as well as the different phases of his life. This book by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) focuses on the Shamā’il and khasā’il of the final Prophet of Allah, Muhammad ﷺ. It delves on his outward mannerism and character. We will first mention a few points about the Shamā’il and then its author Imam Tirmidhi (R.A), thereafter, we will start the kitāb (book) formally.

About Shamā’il

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) in the Shamā’il discusses the outer and inner form of the Prophet ﷺ in particular his look, clothing, walk, talk, manners, temperament, lifestyle and the phases of his life including his age and legacy.

Shamā’il is the plural of Shamīlah which means good traits. Some are of the opinion that Shamā’il is the plural of Shimāl same as the ayat (A’raf: 17) عن أيمانهم و شمائلهم which means left. They say Shamā’il with a hamzah means left and Shamāyil with a yā means good traits.

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) has reported 397 narrations in the books. A lot of these narrations have already been mentioned by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) in Jami Tirmidhi. The 397 narrations are divided in 55-56 chapters; some say 55 and others 56.

The Shamā’il Tirmidhi is a unique book and holds a special space in this field. You will find many scholars who wrote about the outer and inner appearance of the Prophet ﷺ 2 but Allah Almighty made the Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) so acceptable to the Muslim Ummah that none match its stature. This is the effect of the ikhlas (sincerity) of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A).

Selected comments on Shamā’il

Mulla Ali Qari (R.A) writes in his commentary of Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) called Jam’ al-Wasā’il,

ومن أحسن ما صنف في شمائله وأخلاقه صلى الله عليه وسلم كتاب الترمذي المختصر الجامع

One of the best (most beautiful book) written about the features and character of [Prophet], peace be upon him, is the Mukthasar Jami’ (concise comprehensive) work of Imam Tirmidhi on his biography.

Then Mulla Ali Qari (R.A) says the study of this book, is like studying the face and existence of Muhammad ﷺ.

Allamah Ibrahim Bajuri (R.A) writes in his commentary of Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) called Mawahib Ladunniyah ala Shamā’il Muhammadiyyah, ‘The Shamā’il by Imam Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) is a unique book. It is very unique in the sequence how Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) has assembled his book.’ Then he writes, that the book spread far and wide.

Selected commentaries of Shamā’il

We will mention a few commentaries of Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A).

1) Jam’al-Wasā’il by Mulla Ali Qari (R.A). His full name is Ali b. Sultan Muhammad al-Qari; commonly known as Mulla Ali Qari (d. 1014 A.H). The famous Hanafi scholar and prolific writer. You may be familiar with him as the author of Mirqātul Mafātih; one of the best commentaries of Mishkātul Masabih. His commentary of Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) is one of the best.

2) Hashiyat Munāwi by Shaykh Abdur Rauf Munāwi (R.A). His full name is Muhammad Abdur Rauf b. Taj al-Arifin Haddadi Munawi Misri. He was born in 952 AH and died in 1031 AH. One of the great scholars of Egypt in his time and a contemporary of Mulla Ali Qari (R.A).

Nowadays Jam’ul Wasa’il is published along with the commentary of Allamah Munawi (R.A) in the hashiyah (marginalia).

3) Al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyyah by Shaykh Ibrahim al-Bajuri (R.A) [d. 1277 AH]. A resident of Egypt and one of the prominent Shafi’i scholars of his time. He was born 1198 AH and died in 1277 AH. He came after Allamah Munawi (R.A) and Mulla Ali Qari (R.A) & as such this work is more comprehensive.

4) Zahr al-Hamā’il by Allamah Jalaluddin Suyuti (R.A). His full name Abu Fadl Abu Bakr Abdul Rahman b. Abu Bakr Jalaluddin Suyuti (849 – 911 AH). A great Shafi’i scholar and prolific writer. Some of his works you may be familiar with from the Madrasah curriculum are Tafsir Jalalayn, al-Itqan fi Ulumil Quran, Tadrib al-Rawi and Jam’ al-Jawami amongst others.

5) Ashraf al-Wasā’il by Allamah Ibn Hajar Makki Haythami (R.A) [973 AH]. His full name is Shihab al-Din Abu Abbas Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Ali. b. Hajar Haythami. He was born 909 AH and passed away in 973 AH. A prominent Shafi’i faqīh and a notable scholar of hadith.

6) Mawāhib Muhammadiyyah by Allamah Sulayman Jamal (R.A). His full name is Sulayman b. Umar al-Jaml (d. 1204 AH). He is often simply referred to as ‘Jamal’. You may be familiar with him due to his well-known commentary of Jalālayn, Futuhāt Ilāhiyyah, which is more commonly known as Hashiyat Jamal.

All of the commentaries mentioned are in Arabic. There are other commentaries also. See Kashf al-Zunun of Haji Khalifah Chalpi (d. 1068) and related books for other classical works on the Shamā’il.3

In Urdu, Khasā’is al-Nabawi by Hadrat Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalwi (R.A). It is concise but rather comprehensive. An English translation is also available.

About Imam Tirmidhi

Imam Tirmidhi’s full name is Abu Isa Muhammad b. Isa b. Sawrah b. Musa b. Dhahhak al-Sulami al-Bughi al-Tirmidhi. His kunyat was Abu Isa. Sulami is a reference to his association to the tribe of Banu Sulaym. Bughi refers to his area of origin which is within or closeby to the city of ‘Tirmidh’.

Tirmidh is a well-known city in Khurasan, which is the northern part of Iran. How should it be pronounced? Tirmidh, Tarmidh and Turmudh have been suggested. Allamah Ibn Daqiqul Eid suggests the most common to be Tirmidh.

Birth

When was Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) born? There are multiple opinions,

  1. Allamah Shamsuddin Zahabi (R.A) states 210 AH
  2. Allamah Shawkani (R.A) states 200 AH
  3. Allamah Jazari (R.A) in Jami al-Usul states 209 AH. This is the most common opinion. Allamah Yusuf Binnori (R.A) is of this opinion too.

He passed away in the month of Dhul Hijjah.

Was Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) born blind? It is unanimously agreed that Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) did not have his eyesight at the end of his life. But there is a dispute whether he was born blind or he became blind later.

  1. Allamah Zain al-Din Iraqi (R.A) states he was born blind
  2. He became blind in the latter part of his life and was not blind from birth. The cause for the loss of sight is suggested to be due to his excessive crying because of his taqwa.

Education and character

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) obtained his initial education in his local area, thereafter, he travelled. Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) travelled like all the great muhaddithin of his time such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawud, Imam Ibn Majah (may Allah Almighty have mercy on them all). Sh. Shawqi Abu Khalil (R.A) visualises the Travels of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) in his work Atlas al-Hadith min al-Kutub al-Sihah al-Sittah.4 You will find in that Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) may not have travelled to Egypt, Shām (greater Syria)5 or Baghdad for formal study. It is said that it was because of the corruption at the time in Baghdad. It is the opinion of some that due to not visiting Baghdad he could not narrate from Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (R.A). The question arises that many teachers of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) were from Baghdad so how does he get the narrations? One opinion suggested is he got it from the shuyukh of Baghdad when they came for hajj.

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) was very pious. It is said that he would fervently cry to such an extent that he became blind.

Madhab

What was the madhab of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A)? There are multiple opinions,

  1. Mujtahid Mutlaq, meaning he was an independent jurist. He deduced the evidence directly from the Quran and Hadith. This was the view of Sh. Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri (R.A).
  2. Ahl Hadith, meaning he conformed to the positions of the hadith experts of the time. In some issues he would follow the Shafi’i opinion and in others the Hanbali.
  3. Mujtahid Muntasib ila Ahad – independent jurist but followed the usul of another. This was the view of Shah Walliullah and Allamah Yusuf Binnori (R.A) Many say that he followed the principles of Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal and Imam Ishaq Ibn Rahway (R.A).

Demise

When did Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) pass away? There are different opinions.

  1. Shaykh ‘Abid Sindi (R.A) says, 277 AH.
  2. Abu Ya’la Ibn Khaldun in Kitabul Ilmul Hadith (R.A) says, 280 AH.
  3. Allamah Zabeedi in Tajul ‘Urus (R.A) says, 276 AH.
  4. Allamah Ibn Athir (R.A) says, Rajab 279 AH. This is opinion of Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri (R.A).

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) was 70 years old at the time of his death.

Where was his place of death? Some say his place of death was Tirmidh and others say it was Bugh. There is no contradiction really, because Tirmidh is the region where Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) passed away and Bugh was the area in the region.

For those who are interested in a more information about Imam Tirmidhi’s life, Iyad Khalid al-Tabba’ (R.A) has written a detailed biography of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) with references to early sources. It is a good start point.

Preamble

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله و سلام على عباده الذين اصطفى. قال الشيخ الحافظ أبو عيسى محمد بن عيسى بن سورة الترمذى

In this copy of Shamā’il, you will find that it starts with the aforementioned words. There are different prints.6

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) starts with praising Allah and salutation upon the chosen one (the Prophet). This is because of the ahadith where the Prophet of Allah ﷺ suggests that something started without bismillah or alhamdulillah remains incomplete. So to avoid that he includes basmalah and hamd in a similar manner as the pious people who preceded him.7

Why does Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) start with bismillah, then say alhamdulillah?

  1. Iqtidha bil Quran as in following the order in the Quran – alhamdulillah comes after bismillah.
  2. Tayammun as in take the name of Allah first then you start the task.

و سلام

Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) mentions only salam and does not mention salat.8

Imam Nawawi (R.A) is of the opinion that you should utilise salat and salam both together when you read the khutbah as instructed in Surah Ahzab (ayat 56).

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

Alternatively, Imam Nawawi (R.A) objects to Imam Muslim (R.A) because he has only mentioned salat without salam in his Sahih. Imam Nawawi (R.A) considers it ‘fi’lun munkar’ (not nice) to start only with salat or only with salam.

Some have said that maybe in the beginning it was makruh (disliked) but later the ruling became mansukh (abrogated). Now the ruling is that it is fine to use one or the other. This is supported by the ayat of the Quran from Surah Naml (ayat 59). Allah Almighty said,

قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَىٰ ۗ آللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

In this verse Allah used the word alhamdulillah and then there is salam. Maybe Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) adopted this approach of the Quran.

على عباده الذين اصطفى

Abdiyyah (being a servant of Allah) is one of the greatest qualities any individual can possess. If you look at the life of Prophet of Allah ﷺ be it when given wahi or the journey of Isrā’, He is described as an abd (servant of Allah).

  • الحمد لله الذي أنزل على عبده الكتاب9
  • فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى10
  • تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا11
  • سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ12

In Sahih Bukhari in bāb bad’ al-wahi, there is hadith where the Prophet ﷺ wrote a letter to Heraclius (the Roman emperor). In this letter, the Prophet ﷺ wrote from Muhammad ‘abdillahi wa rasūlihi’ (the servant of Allah and His messenger).

قال الشيخ الحافظ

Shaykh – in terms of literal meaning is anyone who has attained the age of 60 and beyond, the Arabs call him shaykh. In terms of technical meaning, the word shaykh is normally used for one who is an expert in his subject and is followed. It doesn’t matter what is his age. For example, someone can be 35 years old and is an expert in tafsir, hadith, fiqh or other subjects and he is followed, you can call him shaykh.

Hafiz is said to be someone who knows by memory with sanad and matn around 100,000 ahadith.

Some may raise the question here why is Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) praising himself by calling himself Hafiz and Shaykh.

  1. The words shaykh and hafiz were written by a transcriber and not himself. Like in Aqidat al-Tahāwiyah, the beginning ibarat (text) is not the words of Imam Abu Jafar Tahawi (R.A) rather by a student – his text starts from naqul fi tawhidillahi ta’ala …
  2. If it is assumed to be Imam Tirmidhi’s word, it would be deemed to have been said as tahdith bin ni’mah – If Allah has given you a blessing and there is a need to mention it and you do it then that is fine as long as there is no pride.

Sometimes when the need is there to mention the blessing Allah has given you, if you mention it, it is fine. When Hadrat Yusuf عليه السلام requested to govern Egypt, he said ‘Verily I am trustworthy and knowledgeable’. – there is nothing wrong with it when there is a need.

This is a very fine line between tahdith bin ni’mah (stating the favour of Allah upon oneself) and takkabbur (pride). I asked Shaykhul Hadith Maulana Abdul Jalil Akhun (R.A) about the difference between the two. He said, ‘Did you have to praise yourself at that moment, if it wasn’t then it can be arrogance, if there was a need and you did then it is tahdith bin ni’mah. You have to ask your yourself what was your motive and what was your intention at the time.’

أبو عيسى

The kunyat of Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) was Abu Isa. We find in the narrations which suggest that it is makruh (disliked) for someone to keep his kunyat name Abu Isa.

Mulla Ali Qari (R.A) responds to this that in the beginning this was makruh but later it was okay. If someone becomes famous by the name and they don’t attribute it to Isa عليه السلام then it is fine. It is agreed that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ called Mughayrah b. Shu’bah (R.A) with the kunyat Abu Isa. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that this is makruh.

———

3 Rabi I, 1440
11 November 2018

Summarised from class notes of Shaykh Saleem Nawab’s lesson on Shama’il Tirmidhi Introduction, delivered on 25th September 2018 with a few additional notes with the permission of the Shaykh.

 

  1. Such as (1) khususiyat (aspects which are specific with the Prophet) such as Khasā’is Kubra li Suyuti, (2) Sunnah (aspects which we should emulate of the Prophet) such as the kutub sittah, and (3) Sirat (aspect which deals with the history of the Prophet) such as Sirat Ibn Hisham. Sirat has sub-genres siyar wa maghazi, dala’il, huquq and shamā’il wa akhlaq. Siyar and maghazi focus on the military exploits of the Prophet such as the Maghazi of Ibn Ishaq and Waqidi respectively. Dala’il al-Nabuwwat highlight events which indicate to the Prophet as being a prophet such as the Dala’il al-Nabuwwat of Imam Asfahani and Imam Bayhaqi respectively. Huquq al-nabi focus on the rights of the Prophets such as al-Shifā’of Qadhi Iyad. Shamā’il focuses on the outward mannerisms and character of the Prophet. Shamā’il Muhammadiyyah by Imam Tirmidhi is one of the best in this genre as will be highlighted with the testimony of scholars. MSRN
  2. From the many Allamah Baghawi’s Anwar fi Shamā’il al-Nabi al-Mukhtar perhaps stands out as a worthy contender and is invaluable but it is still considered second to the Shamā’il by Imam Tirmidhi (R.A).
  3. Iyadh Tabba’ notes 44 commentaries in Hayat Tirmidhi p. 160
  4. p. 15. The author visually plots all the places mentioned in the Kutub Sittah (the six famous books of Hadith) as well as the travels of the authors. He has a similar work called Atlas al-Quran in which he maps the places mentioned in the Quran. Shaykh.
  5. Syria-Coele which comprised of Modern day Syria, Jordan, the classical Palestina.
  6. As in some prints do not have this section and immediately start with Bāb Khalq al-Nabi
  7. The guidance of the shariah is that one remembers Allah before starting an action however it may be. This reconciles all the ahadith which different wording which should be first. However, the scholars naturally developed a norm which arguably Imam Tirmidhi (R.A) adopts here. It was the norm of the time that generally bismillah was written before hamd if one was writing and one would start with hamd rather than bismillah when speaking. In any event, the etiquette is fulfilled.
  8. Salam only rather than salat wa salam
  9. Surah Kahf: 1
  10. Surah Najm: 11
  11. Surah Furqan: 1
  12. Surah Isra: 1