{ "id": "epzq695ny5", "slug": "khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami", "title": "Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.belief", "label": "Philosophy, religion, and mythology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion", "label": "Religion and spirituality", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people", "label": "Religious biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people.non_christian_leaders", "label": "Jewish, Islamic, and Dharmic religious leaders", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people.non_christian_leaders" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people.islamic_leaders", "label": "Islamic religious leaders and scholars", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people.islamic_leaders" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars", "label": "Sunni imams and classical Islamic scholars", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars", "label": "Hadith scholars and traditionists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars" }, { "id": "society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists", "label": "Kufan traditionists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 500 BC to AD 999: Kufan traditionists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists", "path": [ { "id": "geo.mena", "label": "Middle East and North Africa", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 500 BC to AD 999", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief", "label": "Philosophy, religion, and mythology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion", "label": "Religion and spirituality", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people", "label": "Religious biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.non_christian_leaders", "label": "Jewish, Islamic, and Dharmic religious leaders", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.non_christian_leaders" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_leaders", "label": "Islamic religious leaders and scholars", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_leaders" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars", "label": "Sunni imams and classical Islamic scholars", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars", "label": "Hadith scholars and traditionists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists", "label": "Kufan traditionists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t500.society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami (خلاد بن يحيى السلمي) was a Kufan hadith transmitter and Quran-reader who settled in Mecca, dying there around 213 AH; al-Bukhari cited him in the Sahih.", "snippet": "Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami (خلاد بن يحيى السلمي) was a Kufan hadith transmitter and Quran-reader who settled in Mecca, dying there around 213 AH; al-Bukhari cited him in the Sahih.", "node": "society.belief.religion.people.islamic_sunni_scholars.hadith_scholars.kufan-traditionists", "markdown": "# Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami\n\n**Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami** (خلاد بن يحيى بن صفوان السلمي) was a Kufan hadith transmitter and Quran-reader (muqri') who settled in Mecca and is reported to have died there around 213 AH. He appears in hadith chains (isnads) chiefly as a teacher of the traditionist al-Bukhari, who cited him in the *Sahih*, and he is recorded in the biographical dictionaries (rijal works), which preserve his name, his teachers, and the verdicts critics passed on his reliability.[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89) • [2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Identity | Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, kunya Abu Muhammad, al-Sulami al-Kufi; al-Dhahabi styles him \"the Imam, the hadith scholar, the saduq\"[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89) |\n| Residence | A Kufan by origin and a Quran-reader by profession, resident in Mecca[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/) |\n| Death date | Around 213 AH per al-Bukhari; other reports give 211, 212, 217, or 220 AH[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89) • [3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804) |\n| Presence in collections | Narrates in *Sahih al-Bukhari*; al-Bukhari alone (tafarrada bihi) took from him material on ghusl, prayer, and sacrificial animals[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/) • [4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725) |\n| Principal grades | Ahmad ibn Hanbal: \"thiqa or saduq, but he held something of irja\"; Ibn Hajar: \"saduq, accused of irja, one of the major shaykhs of al-Bukhari\"; al-Khalili: \"thiqa imam\"[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725) • [3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804) |\n| Single recorded error | Al-Daraqutni graded him thiqa but said he erred in one hadith, an Umar report he alone raised (marfu') while others stopped it at Umar (mawquf)[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/) |\n| Network size | Digital databases count 43 shaykhs and 9 students for him[5](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami) |\n\n## Name, lineage, and the nisba al-Sulami\n\nThe biographical sources give his name as Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, with the kunya Abu Muhammad, and attach a string of attributive names (nisbas): al-Sulami, al-Kufi, al-Muqri' (the Quran-reader), al-Arhabi, and al-Misri.[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n\nTwo near-namesakes matter for disambiguation. Al-Dhahabi warns readers not to confuse him with Khalid ibn Makhlad al-Qatawani al-Kufi, who also died in 213 AH.[6](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=4558) A separate narrator, Khallad ibn Sulayman al-Hadrami Abu Sulayman al-Misri, was born in Ifriqiya, died in 178 AH, and worked as a tailor.[7](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2722)\n\n## Life and teaching milieu\n\nKhalad was a Kufan who settled in Mecca, where al-Ijli said he had seen him.[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/) [Al-Dhahabi](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-dhahabi) records that he devoted himself to hadith and heard from Isa ibn Tahman (a companion of Anas), Fitr ibn Khalifa, Abd al-Wahid ibn Aiman, Sufyan al-Thawri, and many others.[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89) Ibn Khalfun's list of al-Bukhari's and Muslim's teachers adds Mis'ar (Abu Salama), Ibrahim ibn Nafi', Malik ibn Ma'ul, Umar ibn Dhar, and Nafi' ibn Umar.[8](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84/) Ibn Abi Hatim's entry adds Husayn ibn Aqil and Bashir ibn Muhajir.[9](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-1804) The Sunnah.com profile lists further teachers including al-A'mash, Thabit ibn Aslam al-Bunani, Sharik al-Qadi, and Ismail ibn Abi Khalid.[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725)\n\n**Students.** Those who narrated from him include al-Bukhari, Abu Zur'a, Abu Zur'a's uncle Ismail ibn Yazid, Bishr ibn Musa, and Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Kudaymi; Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi took from him only through an intermediary.[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89) The didnthesay.com network database counts 43 shaykhs and 9 students, listing among the students al-Bukhari, [Zuhayr ibn Muhammad al-Marwazi](https://www.edgepedia.org/zuhayr-ibn-muhammad-al-marwazi), Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Shaybani, and Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Saghani.[5](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami) A sample isnad shows him transmitting from Mis'ar from [Muharib ibn Dithar](https://www.edgepedia.org/muharib-ibn-dithar) from Jabir ibn Abd Allah.[5](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami)\n\n## Narrations and presence in the collections\n\nAl-Bukhari is the collection that cites him directly. The Hawramani encyclopedia of transmitters states that al-Bukhari uniquely narrated from him in the chapters on ghusl (ritual bathing), prayer, and sacrificial animals.[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/) Sunnah.com lists him among the narrators of *Sahih al-Bukhari* (for example hadiths 5423, 5205, and 3419) and records hadiths of his in al-Hakim's *al-Mustadrak* and al-Bayhaqi's *Sunan*.[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725) Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi reach him only via intermediaries.[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89)\n\n## Critical assessment (jarh and ta'dil)\n\nThe classical critics' verdicts on Khalad cluster in the middle tier of reliability, with one doctrinal reservation and one specific error recorded.\n\n- **Ahmad ibn Hanbal** said: \"thiqa (trustworthy) or saduq (veracious), but he held something of irja\".[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725)\n- **Abu Dawud** said \"laysa bihi ba's\" (there is no harm in him), and **Ibn Numayr** said \"saduq, except that there is a little error in his hadith\".[1](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89)\n- **Abu Hatim** said \"his place is sidq\" (mahalluhu al-sidq); asked to compare him with al-Qasim ibn al-Hakam al-Urani, he said both were \"not among the well-known ones\".[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/)\n- **Al-Ijli**, after seeing him in Mecca, said simply \"thiqa\".[8](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84/)\n- **Al-Daraqutni** (via al-Hakim) graded him thiqa but said he erred in one hadith: the report of al-Thawri from Ismail ibn Abi Khalid from Amr ibn Hurayth from Umar, which Khalad alone transmitted as a saying of the Prophet (marfu') while others stopped it at Umar (mawquf). Al-Bazzar noted that no one else is known to transmit that report with an isnad except Khalad from Sufyan.[2](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/)\n- **Al-Khalili** in *al-Irshad* said \"thiqa imam\".[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n- **Al-Dhahabi** graded him \"thiqa yuhim\" (trustworthy, but he makes mistakes).[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n- **Ibn Hajar** in *al-Taqrib* wrote: \"saduq, accused of irja, one of the major shaykhs of al-Bukhari\".[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n\nA modern study of early hadith criticism helps explain why such verdicts diverge. [Ali ibn al-Madini](https://www.edgepedia.org/ali-ibn-al-madini)'s evaluations of transmitters show only 61 percent consensus with his peers, and the first attempt to define the critics' terminology came from Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327/938), for whom \"saduq, sidq, or la ba's bihi\" denoted a second-tier narrator whose hadith is written down and examined, a tier into which some of Khalad's grades fall.[10](https://www.academia.edu/109427398/The_Ambiguity_of_Early_Hadith_Criticism_%CA%BFAl%C4%AB_b_al_Mad%C4%ABn%C4%AB_s_161_234_778_849_Evaluation_of_Hadith_Transmitters)\n\n## By the numbers\n\nThe digital databases give a quantitative profile that the classical dictionaries do not. Sunnah.com counts 210 narrated hadiths for him (56 of them presented on the site itself); hadith.dev counts 130 hadiths carried across 141 isnads, with 40 percent of his isnads placing him in position 4 of the chain and 52 percent in position 5.[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725) • [3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804) The author of *al-Zahra* recorded that al-Bukhari narrated four hadiths from him.[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Khalad ibn Yahya, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala (al-Dhahabi), Islamweb Library](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/1702/%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%89)\n2. [Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan al-Sulami, Hadith Transmitters Encyclopedia (Hawramani)](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a/)\n3. [Khalad ibn Yahya, hadith.dev narrator database](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)\n4. [Khallad ibn Yahya al-Sulami, Sunnah.com narrators](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725)\n5. [Khallad ibn Yahya al-Sulami, Didn't He Say? isnad network database](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami)\n6. [Tarjamat Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, from al-Dhahabi's Siyar, ibnalarabi.com](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=4558)\n7. [Khallad ibn Sulayman al-Hadrami, Sunnah.com narrators (disambiguation)](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2722)\n8. [Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan Abu Muhammad, Hadith Transmitters Encyclopedia (Ibn Khalfun, al-Ijli, al-Tarikh al-Kabir)](https://hadithtransmitters.hawramani.com/%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%81%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84/)\n9. [Man huwa Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, hdith.com narrator encyclopedia](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-1804)\n10. [The Ambiguity of Early Hadith Criticism: Ali b. al-Madini's Evaluation of Hadith Transmitters, Academia.edu](https://www.academia.edu/109427398/The_Ambiguity_of_Early_Hadith_Criticism_%CA%BFAl%C4%AB_b_al_Mad%C4%ABn%C4%AB_s_161_234_778_849_Evaluation_of_Hadith_Transmitters)\n\n---\n*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 › Kufan traditionists*\n\n*Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami](https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami](https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/khalad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami was a Kufan hadith transmitter and Quran-reader who settled in Mecca, dying there around 213 AH; al-Bukhari cited him in the Sahih." }