Question:
Assalamualaikum wrm.wbt. Who is Qatadah bin Di’amah?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrm. wbt.
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
By analyzing and learning the history of great Muslim scholars, it will motivate us to study and benefit from the commendable attributes and character showcased by these scholars that can be applied in our daily lives. According to the above question, in this series of Irsyad al -Hadith, we will briefly narrate the background of this great tabi’in scholar and his considerable contribution to Islam.
His name is Abu al-Khattab Qatadah bin Di’amah bin Qatadah bin Aziz ibn ‘Amr bin Rabi’ah bin al-Harith bin Sadus bin Syaiban bin Zahl bin Tha’labah bin ‘Ukabah bin Sa’ab bin Ali bin Bakr bin Wa’il al-Sadus al-Basri al-Tabi’i. He was born blind in the 60th year of Hijrah according to the words of Yahya bin Ma’in. Imam Ahmad once said that Qatadah and al-A’mash were born on the same day.
He narrated hadith from Anas bin Malik, Abdullah bin Sarjis, Abu al-Thufail, Ibn al-Musayyib, Abu ‘Uthman, al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Ikrimah, Zurarah bin Awfa, al-Sya’bi and many more. As for from among the tabi’in who narrated from him are Sulaiman al-Taimiy, Humaid al-Thawil, al-A’mash, Ayub and others as well as from tabi’ tabi’in such as Matr, Jarir bin Hazim, Syu’bah, al-Awza’iy and others. All of them agreed on his thiqah attribute and greatness. Likewise, they agreed on his great memorization, meticulous attitude and prominence. (See Tahzib al-Asma’ wa al-Lughat, 2/57)
Furthermore, Qatadah lived with Sa’id bin al-Musayyib for 8 days. However, on the third day Sa’id bin al-Musayyib said to Qatadah:
“Go O blind one for you have taken all of my knowledge.”
Praises for Qatadah
Among the scholars who praised Qatadah are:
- Abu Bakar bin Abdillah said:
“Whoever wants to meet a person with the best of memory and narration who are from us (lived in our time), then go meet Qatadah.”
- Sa’id al-Musayyib said:
“Never has a person from Iraq came to us and memorize the hadith of the Prophet PBUH more than Qatadah.”
- Sufyan once said to al-Syu’bah:
“Qatadah is thiqah, trustworthy and the hujjah in hadith.”
The Death of Qatadah
Qatadah passed away in 117 Hijrah and there are people who said it was in 118 Hijrah. At the time, he is 56 years old or 55 years old. Abu Hatim stated that Qatadah died due to the plaque. (See Tahzib al-Kamal, 23/517)
Closing
To conclude, Qatadah bin Di’amah is one of the great scholars, the hujjah and the main reference in the field of al-Quran and hadith. The reason is his knowledge is acknowledged and trusted by scholars of his time and after it. Lastly, may Allah SWT give us the understanding and strength in following the commendable attributes and character the same as previous scholars. Amin.
Wallahu a’lam.