Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza al-Salmi
Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza al-Salmi (عبد الكريم بن حمزة بن الخضر بن العباس), more fully Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas, Abu Muhammad al-Sulami (also vocalized al-Salmi) al-Dimashqi, known as al-Haddad, was a hadith transmitter and Quran-recitation official of Damascus who died in Dhu al-Qa'da 526 AH (1131 or 1132 CE). He served as wakil al-qurra', deputy of the Quran reciters, and al-Dhahabi ranked him among the most senior-transmission shaykhs of Syria in his era.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas, Abu Muhammad al-Sulami (al-Salmi) al-Dimashqi, laqab al-Haddad1 • 2 |
| Office | Wakil al-qurra' (deputy of the Quran reciters) in Damascus1 • 3 |
| Death | Dhu al-Qa'da 526 AH; the Gregorian equivalent is given as 1131 CE by one database and 1132 CE elsewhere1 • 3 |
| Critics' grade | Ibn Asakir: "a trustworthy, mastur, easy-going shaykh"; al-Dhahabi: thiqa musnad; summarized as mastur thiqa1 • 2 |
| Standing | Al-Dhahabi: "among the most-asnad shaykhs of al-Sham in his era"2 |
| Surviving narrations | 22 reports, takhrij-ed in al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara2 |
| Classical notices | Tarikh Ibn Asakir, Tarikh al-Islam (4:272), al-Ibar (4/69), Mir'at al-Zaman (8/87–88), al-Nujum al-Zahira (5/249), Shudharat al-Dhahab (4/78)1 |
Identity and lineage
Al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' records him as Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas, Abu Muhammad al-Sulami al-Dimashqi al-Haddad, and opens the notice with the formula "the shaykh, the thiqa, the musnad".1 His office, wakil al-qurra', indicates a formal position among the Quran reciters of Damascus.3
The nisba appears both as al-Sulami and al-Salmi in the sources.1 • 2
The Hadith Transmitters Encyclopedia carries him as transmitter no. 57679, documented in one biographical dictionary, that of Ibn Nuqta.4
Life, teachers and students
He lived in Damascus, which his nisba al-Dimashqi records.3 He also received ijazas, authorizations to transmit on the authority of distant shaykhs, from Abu Ja'far ibn al-Muslima of Baghdad and Abu al-Hasan ibn Makhlad of Wasit.1 • 6
A narrator database lists Barkat ibn Ibrahim al-Khushu'i among those who transmitted from him.5
Evaluation by hadith critics
Ibn Asakir, who read much hadith upon him personally, said: "He was a shaykh who was thiqa (trustworthy), mastur (of modest renown), sahla (easy-going); I read much upon him."1 Al-Dhahabi styled him "the shaykh, the thiqa, the musnad" and added that he was "among the most-asnad shaykhs of al-Sham in his era".1 • 2 A modern transmitter encyclopedia summarizes the classical verdicts as "mastur thiqa".2 A narrator database places him in generation 21.5
Transmission record (by the numbers)
The surviving corpus is small. A transmitter encyclopedia counts 22 reports of his and lists their takhrij (location in the hadith literature) in one book of Sunna, al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara.2
References
- Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala', vol. 19 (Maktaba Shamela digital edition)
- Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas: biography, teachers, students, and critics' verdicts (hdith.com transmitter encyclopedia)
- Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas al-Salmi al-Haddad (Tarajm)
- Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza ibn al-Khidr ibn al-Abbas Abu Muhammad al-Salmi al-Dimashqi, The Hadith Transmitters Encyclopedia
- `Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza al-Sulami, Narrators (Sunnah.com)
- Al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala', 28th tabaqa: Abd al-Karim ibn Hamza (Islamweb library)
Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026
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