# Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Azra'i
**Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Azra'i** (إسحاق بن إبراهيم بن هاشم الأذرعي) was a fourth-century AH hadith transmitter of Damascus, titled by al-Dhahabi "Imam, Muhaddith, Rabbani, Qudwa" and identified as Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim al-Nahdi al-Azra'i, shaykh of Damascus.[1](https://ftp.shamela.ws/book/10906/9749) He heard hadith in Egypt, Homs, and Damascus, transmitted from al-Nasa'i and Abu Zur'a al-Nasri among others, and died in the 340s AH.[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Identity | Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim al-Nahdi al-Azra'i, shaykh of Damascus; entry 271 of the nineteenth tabaqa in al-Dhahabi's *Siyar*[1](https://ftp.shamela.ws/book/10906/9749) |
| Nisba | Al-Azra'i refers to the Azra'at of Syria (أذرعات الشام); the reading "al-Awza'i" in al-Ibar is noted as a corruption[1](https://ftp.shamela.ws/book/10906/9749) |
| Teachers | Yahya ibn Ayyub, Miqdam ibn Dawud, Abu Yazid al-Qaratisi, and al-Nasa'i in Egypt; Musa ibn Isa ibn al-Mundhir in Homs; Abu Zur'a al-Nasri in Damascus[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A) |
| Students | Ibn Jumay', Ibn Mandah, Tammam al-Razi, Ibn Abi Kamil, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn Nasr[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A) |
| Jarh wa ta'dil | 4 recorded statements, all positive: thiqah; "imam, muhaddith, qudwa"; "thiqah, abid, muhaddith 'arif"[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997) |
| Death | 342 AH (Sha'ban, al-Risala edition) or 344 AH (yawm al-nahr, other texts), at over ninety years, in Damascus[1](https://ftp.shamela.ws/book/10906/9749) • [3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997) |
| Namesake | Not to be confused with Ishaq ibn Ibrahim Ibn Rahawayh (ibn Makhlad, of Nishapur, d. 238 AH)[4](https://shamela.ws/book/1293/107) |
## Life, travels and teachers
Al-Dhahabi's notice records his hearing of hadith in three locales. In Egypt he heard from Yahya ibn Ayyub, Miqdam ibn Dawud, Abu Yazid al-Qaratisi, and Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i; in Homs from Musa ibn Isa ibn al-Mundhir; and in Damascus from Abu Zur'a al-Nasri.[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A) The Mawsuat al-Rawi database adds Abd Allah ibn Ja'far al-Rafi'i to the teacher list.[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997)
Those who narrated from him include Ibn Jumay', Ibn Mandah, Tammam al-Razi, Abu Abd Allah ibn Abi Kamil, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn Nasr.[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A) A structured biographical database gives his places of residence as Homs, Damascus, and Egypt, with his birth date and place unknown.[5](https://tarajm.com/people/58099)
## Standing in jarh wa ta'dil
The recorded verdicts are uniformly positive. The Mawsuat al-Rawi database counts four statements of jarh wa ta'dil on al-Azra'i: a grade of thiqah; the description "imam, muhaddith, qudwa"; and "thiqah, abid, and muhaddith 'arif" (trustworthy, a worshipper, and a knowing hadith scholar).[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997) Abu al-Husayn al-Razi described him as "among the leading people of Damascus, its worshippers and its scholars".[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A) No recorded criticism appears in these sources.
A piety report is transmitted from Abd al-Qahir ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'igh: al-Azra'i prayed for blindness, became blind and struggled with purity, then prayed for its return and his sight was restored.[2](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A)
## Narrations and works
The database records four appearances of al-Azra'i in isnads, with the ending category "mawquf" listed.[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997) One recorded chain runs: al-Azra'i from Muhammad ibn Ali from Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari from Zuhayr ibn Abbad from Mansur ibn Ammar.[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997)
## Disambiguation: not Ibn Rahawayh
The famous namesake is Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Makhlad ibn Ibrahim ibn Matr, Abu Ya'qub al-Hanzali, known as Ibn Rahawayh al-Marwazi, resident of Nishapur, whom Ibn Hajar calls "one of the imams" who traveled the lands.[4](https://shamela.ws/book/1293/107) The two differ in father (Hashim versus Makhlad), in locale (Damascus versus Nishapur), and in era: Ibn Rahawayh died in 238 or 237 AH, roughly a century before al-Azra'i's death in the 340s AH.[4](https://shamela.ws/book/1293/107) Ibn Rahawayh's profile was also far larger; Abu Hatim's testimony, quoted in the *Tahdhib*, concerns his dictating his Tafsir from memory.[4](https://shamela.ws/book/1293/107)
## By the numbers
The database record is compact: 4 statements of jarh wa ta'dil, all positive; 4 appearances in isnads, classified under the mawquf category; three residence locales (Homs, Damascus, Egypt); and a reported age at death of over ninety years.[3](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997) • [5](https://tarajm.com/people/58099)
## References
1. [Al-Dhahabi, *Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'* (al-Risala edition), vol. 15, p. 478, entry for al-Azra'i, Shamela](https://ftp.shamela.ws/book/10906/9749)
2. [*Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'*, nineteenth tabaqa: al-Azra'i, IslamWeb library](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/3310/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A)
3. [Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim al-Azra'i, Mawsuat al-Rawi (hdith.com)](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-17997)
4. [Ibn Hajar, *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib*, entry for Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Makhlad (Ibn Rahawayh), Shamela](https://shamela.ws/book/1293/107)
5. [Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim al-Nahdi al-Azra'i, tarajm.com](https://tarajm.com/people/58099)
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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 › Syrian and Palestinian traditionists*
*Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
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