# Abu Ishaq ibn Abi Thabit

**Abu Ishaq ibn Abi Thabit** (أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن محمد بن أحمد بن أبي ثابت) was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Thabit al-Absi al-Iraqi al-Samarri, a Sunni hadith transmitter and judge who settled in Damascus and served as a deputy in its judiciary, dying in Rabi' al-Akhir 338 AH (949/950 CE) aged over ninety years.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Thabit al-Absi al-Iraqi al-Samarri<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |
| Death | Rabi' al-Akhir 338 AH (949/950 CE), aged over ninety<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |
| Offices | Judge (qadi); settled in Damascus and deputized in its judiciary<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |
| Residences | Baghdad and Samarra in Iraq, then Damascus in Syria<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |
| Teachers | Al-Hasan ibn Arafah, Sa'dan ibn Nasr, Zakariyya al-Mawruzi, al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman, Ibrahim ibn Marzuq, Muhammad ibn Awf al-Tay'i, and others<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |
| Reliability | Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi authenticated him (waththaqahu); al-Katani called him thiqah (reliable)<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> |

## Identity and genealogy

The biographical record identifies him by his full lineage: Ibrahim, son of Muhammad, son of Ahmad, son of Abi Thabit, with the nisbas al-Absi, al-Iraqi, and al-Samarri.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> Al-Dhahabi's *Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'* describes him as "the judge, the imam, the authenticator, the long-lived" (al-qadi al-imam al-musaddiq al-mu'ammar), a resident of Damascus and a deputy of its governance.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> Al-Katani's *Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa-Wafayatihim* records him as "our shaykh, the qadi Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Thabit al-Baghdadi al-Attar, qadi of Damascus," who died in 338 AH.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> The two entries give slightly different nisbas, al-Samarri in al-Dhahabi and al-Attar (the druggist or perfumer) in al-Katani, but agree on the genealogy and the year of death.

## Life and milieu

His recorded places of residence were Baghdad and Samarra in Iraq, and Damascus in Syria.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> The sources describe him as a noble merchant of high transmission (tajir nabil, kathir al-fada'il, 'ali al-riwaya), combining trade with hadith scholarship, and as a judge who deputized in the Damascus judiciary.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> Al-Katani's entry gives the epithet al-Attar.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup>

## Teachers and transmitters

He heard hadith from al-Hasan ibn Arafah, Sa'dan ibn Nasr, Zakariyya al-Mawruzi, al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman, Ibrahim ibn Marzuq, and Muhammad ibn Awf al-Tay'i, among others; the entry also names Ahmad ibn Bakr al-Balisi (Abu Sa'id) and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Haddad al-Baghdadi al-Halabi (Abu Ja'far) among his teachers.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> Those who narrated from him include [Abu Bakr](https://www.edgepedia.org/abu-bakr) al-Abhari the qadi, Abd al-Wahhab al-Kilabi, Ibn Jumay', Abu Muslim al-Katib, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn Nasr, among others.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup>

## Assessment by hadith critics

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi authenticated him (waththaqahu), a verdict placing him among reliable transmitters.<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup> Al-Katani's *Dhayl* calls him thiqah (reliable).<sup>[1](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)</sup>

## Namesakes and the disambiguation problem

The kunya Abu Ishaq combined with the name [Ibrahim ibn Muhammad](https://www.edgepedia.org/ibrahim-ibn-muhammad) or Ibrahim ibn Ahmad belongs to several distinct scholars, and confusion among them is a recurring hazard in the biographical literature.

- **Ibrahim al-Tabari (324–393 AH).** Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tabari, then al-Baghdadi, was a Maliki Quran reader and hadith scholar born in 324 AH and died in 393 AH, decades after the subject's death in 338 AH.<sup>[2](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=70)</sup> Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi described al-Tabari's house as a gathering place for scholars of the Quran and hadith and called him thiqah, wording closely parallel to the praise of Ibn Abi Thabit.<sup>[2](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=70)</sup> The Sunnah.com narrator database lists the same al-Tabari as a Maliki jurist, head of the witnesses in Baghdad, and generous to scholars, again with wording that parallels descriptions of Ibn Abi Thabit.<sup>[3](https://sunnah.com/narrator/11296)</sup>
- **Radi al-Din al-Tabari al-Makki (636–722 AH).** Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tabari al-Makki, a Shafi'i, was born in Mecca in 636 AH and died there on 10 Rabi' al-Awwal 722 AH.<sup>[4](https://www.tarajm.com/people/14583)</sup>
- **Ishaq ibn Abi Ishaq al-Sarakhsi (b. 352 AH).** Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Sarakhsi, born in 352 AH, is a separate transmitter.<sup>[5](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-16850)</sup>

The shared kunya, the repeated genealogical elements Ibrahim ibn Muhammad or Ibrahim ibn Ahmad, and the similar praise formulas across entries are the main sources of conflation; the dates of death differ (338, 393, and 722 AH).

## References

1. [إبراهيم بن محمد بن أحمد بن أبي ثابت العبسي البغدادي أبي إسحاق (ابن أبي ثابت), Tarajm (aggregating al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' and al-Katani's Dhayl)](https://tarajm.com/people/58047)
2. [ترجمة أبي إسحاق إبراهيم بن أحمد بن محمد الطبري, Ibn al-Arabi (aggregating al-Dhahabi, Ibn al-Jazari, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Qadi Iyad)](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=70)
3. [Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Tabari — إبراهيم بن أحمد الطبري, Sunnah.com narrators database](https://sunnah.com/narrator/11296)
4. [إبراهيم بن محمد بن إبراهيم الطبري المكي رضي الدين (أبي إسحاق), Tarajm](https://www.tarajm.com/people/14583)
5. [ترجمة إسحاق بن أبي إسحاق إبراهيم بن محمد بن عبد الرحمن السرخسي, Hdith encyclopedia](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-16850)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Philosophy, religion, and mythology › Religion and spirituality › Religious biographies › Jewish, Islamic, and Dharmic religious leaders › Islamic religious leaders and scholars › Sunni imams and classical Islamic scholars › Hadith scholars and traditionists › Baghdad and Iraqi traditionists of the Abbasid era › Traditionists of Wasit and southern Iraq*

*Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license