THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY OF IMAM AL-DĀRIMĪ AND HIS ROLE AMONG HADITH SCHOLARS

Muhammada’lo R. Madraximov

Authors

Muhammada’lo R. Madraximov Masters’s student of Tashkent Islamic Institute named after Imam Bukhari

Keywords:

Imam al-Dārimī, hadith studies, Sunan al-Dārimī, jarḥ wa taʿdīl, ʿilm al-rijāl, ijtihād, muhaddith, Islamic scholarship, hadith methodology.

Abstract

This article examines the scholarly life, intellectual contributions, and methodological approach of Imam al-Dārimī, one of the prominent muhaddiths of the third century AH. It explores his formative education in Movarounnahr, extensive journeys in pursuit of hadith, and his engagement with leading scholars across the Islamic world. Particular attention is given to his major work Sunan al-Dārimī, highlighting its significance as both a hadith compilation and a reflection of his juristic reasoning and independent legal judgment (ijtihād). The study also analyzes his expertise in the sciences of narrator criticism (ʿilm al-rijāl and al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl), which earned him high recognition among his contemporaries, including leading authorities such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Zurʿa al-Razi. Furthermore, the article discusses differing scholarly views regarding his works and biographical details, as well as his lasting influence on hadith methodology. Overall, Imam al-Dārimī emerges as a critical figure whose contributions significantly shaped the development of hadith sciences in the early Islamic intellectual tradition.

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