Qays ibn al-Rabi'

قيس بن الربيع

Qays ibn al-Rabi' al-Asadi of Kufa, whom al-Dhahabi's Mizan al-I'tidal calls one of the vessels of learning, truthful in himself but of poor memory. Shu'ba and Sharik praised him — he was nicknamed 'Qays the wanderer' for his tireless seeking of hadith — while Ibn Ma'in, Waki', Ibn al-Madini and al-Daraqutni weakened him, al-Nasa'i called him abandoned, and Ahmad explained his rejection by Shi'ite leanings and frequent mistakes; Ibn Hibban and Ibn Numayr blamed a son of his who tampered with his books in his old age, and Ibn Adi concluded that most of his narrations are sound.

Summary

Qays ibn al-Rabi' al-Asadi of Kufa is described by al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I'tidal as one of the vessels of learning, truthful in himself but of poor memory. ¹ He is a case where his teachers' praise of his zeal for hadith sits beside the critics' reservations about his memory.

Qays the wanderer

Qurad said he heard Shu'ba say: we never came to a shaykh in Kufa without finding that Qays had got there before us; we called him "Qays the wanderer". ¹ Sharik said no one grew up in Kufa more eager for hadith than Qays, and on the day of his burial is reported to have said: he has left no one like him. ² Shu'ba used to say "keep to Qays" and objected to Yahya al-Qattan's criticism of him. ² When people in Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi's session in Basra said they had no need of him, Abu Dawud said: write, for I hold seven thousand of his hadiths rattling in my breast. ²

The critics divided

The son who was his bane

Affan said: when I came to Kufa we went and sat with him, and his son kept prompting him. ² Ibn Numayr said: he had a son who was his bane; hadith scholars examined his books, found his hadith objectionable and thought his son had altered them. ² Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported that Shu'ba and Sufyan narrated from him, that Yahya al-Qattan and Ibn Mahdi did not, and that Ibn Mahdi narrated from him and then stopped. ⁴

Governor of al-Mada'in

Muhammad ibn Ubayd al-Tanafisi said Abu Ja'far appointed him over al-Mada'in, reported harshness in his punishments and that a man died under a prescribed penalty he applied, after which his standing faded; he added that Qays was in their eyes no lower than Sufyan. ⁴ Among his objectionable reports al-Dhahabi cites one about two amulets of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, which he calls very objectionable. ⁴

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni: praise and acceptanceMain reference

Shu'ba praised him; Abu Hatim said his place is truthfulness though he is not strong; Ibn Adi concluded that most of his narrations are sound and that the right view is Shu'ba's — no harm in him. ¹ ³

More opinions (2)

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

Ibn Ma'in said weak, once "his hadith is not to be written"; Waki' and Ibn al-Madini weakened him; al-Nasa'i said abandoned; al-Daraqutni said weak; asked why his hadith was left, Ahmad said: he inclined to Shi'ism, made many mistakes and has objectionable hadiths. ¹

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame) · Sunni: a distinction by age (Ibn Hibban)Main reference

having sifted his reports as given by early and late students, he found him truthful and trustworthy when young; when he grew old his memory worsened and he was tried with a bad son who slipped material into his hadith. ²

Sources

Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 393

Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 394

Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 396

Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal — al-Dhahabi, ed. Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, part 3 , p. 395

Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i

Amr ibn Abd Allah, Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i, one of the leading and most reliable Successors of Kufa, as al-Dhahabi puts it in Mizan al-I'tidal: born in the days of Uthman, he saw Ali and Usama ibn Zayd, and Abu Hatim called him trustworthy, like al-Zuhri in the abundance of his narration. He is counted among the trustworthy men whose memory changed: some said he became confused (ikhtalata), which al-Dhahabi denied, saying he grew old and forgetful but was not confused; Ibn Uyayna's hearing from him is said to date from after the change. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate from him through his earlier students.