Name and lineage Al-Tirmidhi's given name (
ism) was "Muhammad" while his
kunya was "Abu `Isa" ("father of `Isa"). His genealogy is uncertain; his
nasab (patronymic) has variously been given as: • Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah () • Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād () • Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk () • Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Shaddād ibn ‛Īsá () • Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sahl ibn Sawrah () • Muhammad ibn 'Isa ibn Sawra ibn Shaddad ibn al-Dahhak al-Sulami al-Bughi al-Tirmidhi He was also known by the
laqab "ad-Darir" ("the Blind"). It has been said that he was born blind, but the majority of scholars agree that he became blind later in his life. At-Tirmidhi's grandfather was originally from
Marw (Persian: Merv), but moved to Tirmidh. According to S.H. Nasr and M. Mutahhari in
The Cambridge History of Iran, Al-Tirmidhi was of
Persian ethnicity. His uncle was the famous Sufi Abu Bakr al-
Warraq. Al-Warraq was the teacher of Al-Hakim al-Samarqandi, a known associate of the famous theologian Abu Mansur
Al-Maturidi.
Birth Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi was born during the reign of the
Abbasid caliph
al-Ma'mun. His year of birth has been reported as 209
AH (824/825).
Adh-Dhahabi only states that at-Tirmidhi was born near the year 210 AH (825/826), Some sources indicate that he was born in
Mecca (Siddiqi says he was born in Mecca in 206 AH (821/822)) while others say he was born in
Tirmidh (
Persian: Termez), in what is now southern
Uzbekistan. The stronger opinion is that he was born in Tirmidh.
Hadith studies At-Tirmidhi began the study of hadith at the age of 20. From the year 235 AH (849/850) he traveled widely in
Khurasan,
Iraq, and the
Hijaz in order to collect hadith. ==Death==