Muhammad Ibn Seereen

Imam Muhammad Ibn Seereen, Shaikhul Islam was nicknamed Abu Bakr al Ansari from Basra, south of Iraq. He was the servant of Anas Ibn Malek the well-known Companion and beloved servant of the Messenger of Allah. His father was a prisoner of war from Jargaraya, near Wasett and Baghdad. Anas thus owned him as his slave then he liberated him after he imposed on him a lot of money as a ransom. When Anas saw that his slave became very rich he wanted to delay the implementation of the emancipation contract, in order to inherit him; but Seereen complained to Umer Ibn al Khattab who ordered Anas to end Seereen’s slavery.

Anas Ibn Seereen says: My brother Muhammad was born two years before the end of Umer’s caliphate. Ibn Seereen heard from a number of senior Companions like Abu Huraira, Ibn Abbas, Adiy Ibn Hatem, Ibn Umer and several others. He was also quoted by many others like Qatada, Ayoub, Ibn Awn and several others. Thus he represented an important cycle in the chain of tradition transmitters.

There is difference of opinion concerning the birth of Ibn Seereen. Other reporters put it in the caliphate of Uthman and not Umer Ibn al khattab which is  more acceptable. He died in the age of seventy eight.

Muhammad Ibn Seereen witnessed thirty Companions of the Prophet peace be upon him. He used to transmit traditions literally while al Hasan used to convey their meanings only. Amr Ibn Dinar once said: By Allah I never saw like Tawoos. A man who was present said: If you had seen Ibn Seereen, you would not say this. He was a special character by himself. Ibn Awn said: My eyes never saw better than three men: Ibn Seereen in Iraq, al Qasem Ibn Muhammad in Hejaz and Raja Ibn Haywa in Syria.

Muhammad Ibn Jareer al Tabari says: Ibn Seereen was a great scholar, a pious and a literary man. He transmitted numerous traditions; he was truthful. The great scholars testify that he was a man of learning and honour. Thus he was a reliable source. Muhammad Ibn Saad says: I asked Muhammad al Ansari about the debt which caused the imprisonment of Ibn Seereen. He said: He sold a slave girl to a woman; after a little while the slave girl came back to him and complained that her mistress punishes her. Muhalmmad Ibn Seereen kept her and could not pay back the money because he had spent it. Thus he was imprisoned.

Muhammad Ibn Seereen loved jokes too much. He used to laugh until his tears would overflow, while al Hasan used to talk to people and cry. Ghaleb al Qattan says: Take from the wisdom of Ibn Seereen and do not take from the anger of al Hasan. Again Ibn Awn says: Umer Ibn Abdel Aziz sent some money to al Hasan which the latter accepted, but when he sent a similar amount to Ibn Seereen he apologised and refused to accept it. Raja also says: al Hasan used to visit the rulers and criticise them while Ibn Seereen neither visited nor criticised them. That is why Hisham says: I never saw anyone as stiff as Ibn Seereen was with the rulers.

When Ibn Seereen was put in prison the man in charge said to him: At night you may go home, and in the morning you can come back. But Ibn Seereen said: By Allah! Never shall I be a supporter of you to deceive the ruler. One report says that the reason behind his being jailed was that he bought food at the price of forty thousand. When he was told about its origin he left it or gave it all in charity. So he entered prison for the debts included.

Ibn al Maroozi says: I used to sit with Ibn Seereen. Then I left him and started to meet the Ibaddis. In one vision at night I saw as if I am with some people carrying the funeral of the Prophet peace be upon him. I came to Ibn Seereen and mentioned my vision to him. He said: Why have you sat with people who want to bury the teachings of the Prophet?

Another man came to Ibn Seereen and said: I saw in my dream as though I carry a jug of glass in my hand full of water. The jug was broken but the water remained. Ibn Seereen said: Fear Allah! You did not see anything. The man insisted and claimed to have seen what he mentioned. If you lie, then it is not against me. Your so called dream means that your wife will give birth and then die. Her baby son will remain. When the man departed he said: By Allah I saw nothing; but his wife soon gave birth to a child who remained alive and the wife died.

A third man asked lbn Seereen the following. He said: I dreamt that I eat with a black slave woman from the pot of a fish. Ibn Seereen said: Will you prepare food and invite me? The man said: Yes. When the food was served a black woman appeared. Ibn Seereen asked the man: Did you make intercourse with her? The man said: No. Then Ibn Seeeen said: Enter the chamber with her. The man did what he was asked. A few minutes later he cried from inside and said: By Allah! It is a man. Then Ibn Seereen said: He shared with you your wife. These and other instances show Ibn Seereen’s ability to explain dreams and visions. As if he had a glimpse of Divine light in this respect.

Hafsa Bit Seereen says: Muhammad’s mother was from Hejaz. She used to like colouring clothes. So whenever Ibn Seereen bought a dress for his mother he would bring the best. On the feast day he would colour it for her. I never saw him raise his voice in front of her, but he used to talk to his mother as if he was listening to her. In this behaviour Muhammad Ibn Seereen was applying the instructions of the Holy Quran which teach us to be kind to our parents and to avoid hurting their ears with any word that might displease them, not even a single syllabus of rebellion should be uttered by children in the presence of their parents. The Holy Quran very strongly concentrates on this issue, unlike other religions where we read that even prophets, Allah forbid, used to be impolite to their mothers. One of them namely Jesus Christ is claimed to call his mother simply “woman” which is not to be found anywhere in the Quran. The Quranic verses which Ibn Seereen was applying here are the following:

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents; whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness and mercy, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! bestow on them Your Mercy as they cherished me in childhood.” (Surah Al-Isra’, 17:23-24)

According to the above verses Muhammad Ibn Seereen, says Ibn Awn, should anyone see him in the company of his mother, he would think him to be ill on account of his low voice in front of her. The same reporter also says that whenever other people would mention an evil deed of someone in his absence, he would mention the best that he knows about the same person. Some people once came to him and said: We criticised you in front of others so please forgive us. He said: How can I make lawful to you what Allah has forbidden. In other words, he wanted to teach them a lesson not to mention anybody with what he hates in his absence, for this is forbidden in Islam.

Ibn Seereen was not of that type of scholars who traded in their knowledge and expected gifts from rulers or well to do people. On the contrary he was of that respectable category of learned men who spread Islamic knowledge for the sake of Allah. To make a living he used to trade in cloth, particularly silk. Maymoon Ibn Mahran says: I came once to Kufah to buy silk; so I came to Ibn Seereen there. I negotiated with him the price; whenever he sold something to me he would ask me: Are you pleased? I would say yes; but he would repeat this for three times to make sure about it. He would even call two witnesses. He never used Al Hajjaj coins in his dealings. The reporter then adds: When I noticed his piety I bought everything I could from him.

It was the habit in those days to falsify and make fake coins. Ibn Seereen used to discover them and keep them with him so that he may not deceive any other Muslim. When he died, says one reporter, Ibn Seereen had 500 false coins.

When Muhammad Ibn Seereen wrote his will, for it is recommended that a Muslim should write his will, he first of all reminded his children to fear Allah Almighty and to be on excellent terms with each other and never boycott one another. He recommended that they should obey Allah and his Apostle as long as they lived. He reminded them of the will of Ibrahim to his children not to die except as Muslims. He concluded his will with these words: Purity and honesty are far better and more honourable and permanent than adultery and falsehood.

Muhammad Ibn Seereen died one hundred days after al Hasan al Basri on the ninth day of Shawwal 110 after the Hijrah. It is reported that two men made an oath of brotherhood between them. When one of them died the other saw him in a dream and asked him about al Hasan al Basri. The deceased man replied: He is an angel in Paradise who never disobeys Allah. What about Ibn Seereen, the dead brother said: He enjoys what he likes and desires, but there is a great difference between the two men. The dreamer asked: By what has al Hasan reached that degree? The answer was: by his greater fear of Allah and his sadness. May Allah help us to follow the steps of those great men of Islam.