Salamah ibn Dinar


Salamah Ibn Dinar al-Madani, also known as Abu Hazim Al-A'raj, was a Persian Muslim ascetic, jurist and narrator of hadith from the taba'een generation who became an important figure for the early Sufis. He is often mentioned in works dealing with spirituality and the Islamic practice of zuhd, or rejection of material comforts to pursue personal contemplation and meditation.

Biography

It is said that he narrated ahadith on the authority of a group of people which included Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sā'idi, Abi 'Umāma ibn Sahl, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Ibn 'Amrū, and others. He was also the father of Hammad ibn Salamah.

Legacy

Quotes

Many of Salamah ibn Dinar's words of wisdom and advice for spiritual development have been recorded and contemplated by later generations of Muslims. For example, he is recorded as saying:

Sunni view

, Abū Hātam, al-'Ajali and, al-Nisā'i regarded him as trustworthy. Ibn Khuzayma said: "He was reliable and none in his time was like him." Ibn Sa'd said: "While he was giving legal decisions in the Mosque of Medina, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik sent Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri to summon him, but he said to al-Zuhri: 'As he has a need with me, let him come to me. As for me, I have no need with him.'"

Shi'a view

Shaykh al-Tūsi numbered him as one of the companions of the fourth Shia Imam, Zayn al-'Ābidin.