Ishaq ibn Rahwayh

Ishaq ibn Rahwayh (born 161 AH / 777-778 CE; died 238 AH / 853 CE) was one of the leading hadith scholars and jurists of Khurasan, the eastern Iranian region then at the heart of early Islamic learning. His full name is given as Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Hanzali; "Rahwayh" is a Persian-derived nickname (reportedly attached to his father), so explanations of it in the sources are anecdotal rather than certain. A muhaddith (specialist in the transmission and criticism of prophetic reports) and a faqih (jurist), he was, by tradition, famed for an extraordinary memory.

He was born in Merv and, like many students of his day, travelled widely to collect hadith — studying in the Hijaz (the region of Mecca and Medina), in Yemen, in Syria, and in Iraq, where he reached Baghdad. He eventually settled in Nishapur, which became the base for his teaching, and died there.

His students include the compilers of the most influential Sunni hadith collections — among them al-Bukhari and Muslim. A widely repeated report holds that it was Ishaq's suggestion that prompted al-Bukhari to compile a book of only rigorously authenticated reports, the Sahih; this is a traditional account of the Sahih's origin rather than an independently documented fact. He was a close associate of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. His one surviving work is a Musnad, a hadith collection arranged by Companion narrator. Later sources classify his creed as traditionalist (Athari).