# Khalad ibn Yahya al-Sulami
**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/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| 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/) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| 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/) |
| Network size | Digital databases count 43 shaykhs and 9 students for him[5](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami) |
## Name, lineage, and the nisba al-Sulami
The 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)
Two 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)
## Life and teaching milieu
Khalad 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)
**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)
## Narrations and presence in the collections
Al-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)
## Critical assessment (jarh and ta'dil)
The classical critics' verdicts on Khalad cluster in the middle tier of reliability, with one doctrinal reservation and one specific error recorded.
- **Ahmad ibn Hanbal** said: "thiqa (trustworthy) or saduq (veracious), but he held something of irja".[4](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725)
- **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)
- **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/)
- **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/)
- **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/)
- **Al-Khalili** in *al-Irshad* said "thiqa imam".[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)
- **Al-Dhahabi** graded him "thiqa yuhim" (trustworthy, but he makes mistakes).[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)
- **Ibn Hajar** in *al-Taqrib* wrote: "saduq, accused of irja, one of the major shaykhs of al-Bukhari".[3](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)
A 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)
## By the numbers
The 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)
## References
1. [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)
2. [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/)
3. [Khalad ibn Yahya, hadith.dev narrator database](https://hadith.dev/narrator/1804)
4. [Khallad ibn Yahya al-Sulami, Sunnah.com narrators](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2725)
5. [Khallad ibn Yahya al-Sulami, Didn't He Say? isnad network database](https://didnthesay.com/ar/figures/narrators/khallad-ibn-yahya-al-sulami)
6. [Tarjamat Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, from al-Dhahabi's Siyar, ibnalarabi.com](https://www.ibnalarabi.com/tarajim/tarjamat.php?id=4558)
7. [Khallad ibn Sulayman al-Hadrami, Sunnah.com narrators (disambiguation)](https://sunnah.com/narrator/2722)
8. [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/)
9. [Man huwa Khalad ibn Yahya ibn Safwan, hdith.com narrator encyclopedia](https://hdith.com/encyclopedia/rawi/p-1804)
10. [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)
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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 › Kufan traditionists*
*Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
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