Ibn Abi Asim

Ibn Abi Asim was born in Basra, Iraq in 822.[2] He grew up in an academic household, as both his father and his grandfather were scholars of Prophetic traditions in their own right.[1] Due to his family's scholarly background, he was educated in the religious sciences at an early age. While religious learning was often begun in a madrasa or masjid starting in the early teens, Ibn Abi Asim had a head start relative to his time period.

Eventually, Ibn Abi Asim left Basra for the city of Isfahan, further to the east. Late in life, he was granted a position as a judge at his new city of residence.[3]

Ibn Abi Asim died in Isfahan in the year 900.[2][3] He was 81 years old and at the time of his death, he was still holding his position as a judge. According to Iranian historian Abu Nu`aym, Ibn Abi Asim was buried in Isfahan's Doshabaz cemetery.[4]

Ibn Abi Asim compiled numerous Prophetic traditions into two volumes, organized into chapters based on different theological and creed-related topics. He had also written about the first-generation Muslim and Umayyad caliph, Mu'awiyah,[2] though the work is now lost. Likewise, the exact topic has eluded historians, with Al-Suyuti claiming it was a book on Mu'awiyah's dreams,[5] while Ibn Hajar referred to it as a book on Mu'awiyah's virtues.[6] It is not known whether the topic Ibn Abi Asim's essay was actually disputed, or if he had simply written about both topics.

Historians Abu al-Abbas al-Niswi and Abu Nu`aym both reported Ibn Abi Asim as having been a Zahirite.[7][8] Although he has become an important figure for the Zahiri school in the modern day, few of his works in jurisprudence have survived to the modern era.