Is Ismail al-Suddi al-Kabir a Reliable Narrator? Scholarly Verdict

Compiled by: Abu Hamzah Salafi

In this article, we present the statements of the scholars of Jarḥ wa Taʿdīl regarding a weak and severely criticized narrator, Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Karīmah al-Suddī al-Kabīr (d. 127 AH).

This narrator was a resident of Kūfah and held Rāfiḍī inclinations. The scholars of ḥadīth have passed severe criticisms against him and declared his solitary narrations unfit for evidence.

In this article, we will cite the statements of fifteen (15) leading muḥaddithīn, who are unanimous regarding his weakness, falsehood, and Rāfiḍī beliefs.

① Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (d. 277 AH)​

Text:

إسماعيل بن عبد الرحمن السدي يكتب حديثه ولا يحتج به.

Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim 2/208

Translation:

“Ismāʿīl al-Suddī’s ḥadīth may be written down, but it is not used as proof.”

② Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī (d. 264 AH)​

Text:

سئل أبو زرعة عن إسماعيل السدي فقال: لين.

Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim 2/208

Translation:

When Abū Zurʿah was asked about Ismāʿīl al-Suddī, he said:
“He is weak.”

③ Imām al-Jūzjānī (d. 259 AH)​

Text:

السدي كذاب شتام.

Reference: Aḥwāl al-Rijāl by al-Jūzjānī p. 20

Translation:

“Al-Suddī is a liar and one who abuses.”

④ Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn (d. 233 AH)​

Text:

سمعت يحيى بن معين… يقول: كانا ضعيفين مهينين.

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr by al-ʿUqaylī 1/102

Translation:

Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said:
“They (Ibrāhīm ibn al-Muhājir and al-Suddī) are both weak and contemptible.”

⑤ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH)​

Text:

ورمي السدي بالتشيع… واه بمرة.

Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 1/907

Translation:

“Al-Suddī was accused of Shiʿism, and he is extremely weak—utterly unreliable.”

⑥ Imām ʿĀmir ibn Sharāḥīl al-Shaʿbī (d. 103 AH)​

Text:

قيل للشعبي: إن إسماعيل السدي قد أعطي حظًا من علم بالقرآن. فقال: إن إسماعيل قد أعطي حظًا من جهل بالقرآن.

Reference: al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl by Ibn Ḥanbal 3/2477

Translation:

It was said to al-Shaʿbī: “Ismāʿīl al-Suddī has been given a great share of knowledge of the Qurʾān.”
He replied: “Rather, Ismāʿīl has been given a great share of ignorance of the Qurʾān.”

⑦ Imām Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān (d. 187 AH)​

Text:

إن بالكوفة كذابين: الكلبي، والسدي.

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr by al-ʿUqaylī 1/101

Translation:

“In Kūfah there are two great liars: al-Kalbī and al-Suddī.”

⑧ Imām Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid al-Marwazī (d. 159 AH)​

Text:

قدمت الكوفة فأتيت السدي… فما أتممت مجلسي حتى سمعته يشتم أبا بكر وعمر، فلم أعد إليه.

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr by al-ʿUqaylī 1/101

Translation:

“I came to Kūfah and went to al-Suddī and asked him about tafsīr. Before the gathering even ended, I heard him abusing Abū Bakr and ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما), so I never returned to him.”

⑨ Imām Ibn ʿAdī (d. 365 AH)​

Text:

قال السعدي: كذاب شتام، يعني السدي.

Reference: al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl 1/312

Translation:

Al-Saʿdī said:
“Al-Suddī is a liar and one who abuses.”

⑩ Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī (d. 198 AH)​

Text:

ذكر السدي لعبد الرحمن بن مهدي فقال: ضعيف.

Reference: al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl by Ibn ʿAdī 2/407

Translation:

When al-Suddī was mentioned before ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, he said:
“He is weak.”

⑪ Attributed to Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) – Kitāb al-Rūḥ​

Text:

قيل مثل هذا الإسناد لا يُحتج به، فإنه من تفسير السدي عن أبي مالك وفيه أشياء منكرة…

Reference: al-Rūḥ by Ibn al-Qayyim p. 106

Translation:

“It was said that such a chain is not used as proof, because it is from the tafsīr of al-Suddī from Abū Mālik, and it contains many objectionable reports.”

⑫ Imām Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥākim al-Nīsābūrī (d. 405 AH)​

Text:

ذكره في كتاب المدخل في الرواة الذين عيب على مسلم إخراج حديثهم.

Reference: Ikmāl Tahdhīb al-Kamāl 2/137

Translation:

Imām al-Ḥākim mentioned al-Suddī in his book al-Madkhal among those narrators for whom Imām Muslim was criticized for narrating from them.

⑬ Imām Mughaltāy al-Ḥanafī (d. 762 AH) quoting Ibn Khalafūn​

Text:

عن الحسين بن واقد قال: أتيت السدي فسألته عن تفسير سبعين آية… حتى سمعته يشتم أبا بكر وعمر رضي الله عنهما فلم أعد إليه. قال ابن خلفون: وإن صح ما ذكره فلا ينبغي لأحد عندي إخراج حديثه.

Reference: Ikmāl Tahdhīb al-Kamāl 2/115

Translation:

Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid said:
“I asked al-Suddī about the tafsīr of seventy verses. Before the gathering ended, I heard him abusing Abū Bakr and ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما), so I never returned to him.”

Ibn Khalafūn said:
“If this report is authentic, then in my view no one should narrate from him.”

⑭ Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH)​

Text:

إسماعيل السدي… ضعفه ابن مهدي ويحيى بن معين وكذبه المعتَمد بن سليمان.

Reference: al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkūn p. 390

Translation:

“Ismāʿīl al-Suddī was declared weak by Ibn Mahdī and Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and declared a liar by al-Muʿtamid ibn Sulaymān.”

⑮ Imām Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH)​

Text:

إسماعيل هذا هو السدي الكبير وفيه مقال، قال أبو حاتم: لا يحتج به، وقال ابن معين: في حديثه ضعف.

Reference: al-Badr al-Munīr 6/430

Translation:

“This Ismāʿīl is al-Suddī al-Kabīr, and there is criticism regarding him. Abū Ḥātim said: ‘He is not used as proof,’ and Ibn Maʿīn said: ‘There is weakness in his ḥadīth.’”

✿ Summary and Conclusion​

After all the evidences and criticisms, it becomes absolutely clear that
Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suddī al-Kabīr (d. 127 AH) is a severely weak and discredited narrator:

✔ 15 leading imams and muḥaddithīn unanimously criticized him.
✔ Some declared him a liar (al-Jūzjānī, Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān, Ibn ʿAdī, al-Muʿtamid ibn Sulaymān).
✔ Some described him as an abuser and Rāfiḍī (Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, Ibn Khalafūn via Mughaltāy).
✔ Major authorities (Abū Ḥātim, Abū Zurʿah, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn) declared him weak and contemptible.
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī said: “Wāhin bi-marra” — utterly unreliable.
✔ Imams like Ibn al-Jawzī and Ibn al-Mulaqqin also ruled his narrations weak and unfit for evidence.

Therefore, according to the principles of ḥadīth:​

◈ No solitary narration of al-Suddī al-Kabīr is acceptable as proof.
◈ His narrations may only be mentioned in mutābaʿāt or shawāhid.
◈ Relying upon him in matters of religion and creed is a serious scholarly error.