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Abu Ja'far al-Razi

أبو جعفر الرازي

Basra → Rayy

Isa ibn Abi Isa Mahan, Abu Ja'far al-Razi, whom al-Dhahabi's Mizan al-I'tidal calls fair in hadith; he narrated from al-Sha'bi, Ata, Qatada and al-Rabi' ibn Anas, was born in Basra and settled in Rayy, and his son Abd Allah, Abu Nu'aym and Ali ibn al-Ja'd narrated from him. Ibn Ma'in declared him trustworthy and Abu Hatim truthful; Ahmad and al-Nasa'i said not strong, Ibn al-Madini trustworthy but confused, al-Fallas of poor memory, and Ibn Hibban that he transmits objectionable reports alone from well-known narrators; among them are a long hadith on the Night Journey with very objectionable wordings and the report of qunut in the dawn prayer.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Scholar
Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Persia & Central Asia

Contested: This record includes matters on which scholars differ. The speaker's views are labelled as his, and other views are marked where no cited source yet exists.

Life in time

710720730740750760770780790800810820830840 c. c. c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · The Umayyad Period Contemporaries: Aban al-Ahmar · 'Abbada, Ja'far's mother · Abbas ibn Muhammad · Abd al-Ala al-Sadafi · Abd al-Aziz ibn Abi Hazim

In space

BasraRayy

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Scripture and its sciences

Summary

Isa ibn Abi Isa Mahan, Abu Ja'far al-Razi, is described by al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I'tidal as fair in hadith. 1 He narrated from al-Sha'bi, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Qatada and others; he was born in Basra and settled in Rayy, and his son Abd Allah, Abu Nu'aym, Abu Ahmad al-Zubayri, Ali ibn al-Ja'd and others narrated from him. 1

The critics' verdicts

Criticised narrations

Al-Dhahabi notes that Hatim ibn Isma'il, Hashim Abu al-Nadr, Hajjaj ibn Muhammad and others relate from Abu Ja'far al-Razi from al-Rabi' ibn Anas from Abu al-Aliya from Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) or another a long hadith on the Night Journey containing very objectionable wordings. 2 He also cites his narration from al-Rabi' ibn Anas from Anas that the Prophet ﷺ made qunut for a month invoking against certain people and then left it, but in the dawn prayer continued qunut until he left this world, which he attributes to al-Daraqutni. 2 This hadith figures in the jurists' debate over qunut in the dawn prayer; here the book only records its source and chain.

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni: declared trustworthyMain reference

Ibn Ma'in said trustworthy; Abu Hatim said trustworthy and truthful. 2
More opinions (1)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni: softenedMain reference

Ahmad and al-Nasa'i said not strong; Ibn al-Madini said trustworthy but he mixed things up, and once: his hadith may be written, though he errs; al-Fallas said poor memory; Abu Zur'a said he often errs; Ibn Hibban said he transmits objectionable reports alone from well-known narrators. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Born in
Basra
Lived in
Rayy
Studied under
Qatada Ibn Diama· عامر الشعبي

People and things also explored

Ibn Khuzayma, Muhammad ibn Ishaq· Abu Dawud al-Sijistani· Ahmad ibn Hanbal· Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi· Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani· Ibn al-A'rabi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad· Jami' al-Bayan (Tafsir al-Tabari)· Great Mosque of Basra

Sources

  1. Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 319
  2. Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 320
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu Ja'far al-Razi”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abu-jafar-al-razi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Ibn Khuzayma, Muhammad ibn Ishaq

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzayma al-Sulami, called 'imam of the imams', the hadith master of Nishapur and compiler of the Sahih known by his name, born 223 AH and died 311 AH. Ibn al-Athir reports his defence of al-Tabari against Hanbali pressure; Ibn al-Jawzi tells of his hungry stay in Egypt hearing al-Shafi'i's books from al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman, ended by a gift from Ahmad ibn Tulun.