صالح بن كيسان

Salih ibn Kaysan, the trustworthy imam and hafiz Abu Muhammad — also said Abu al-Harith — the Medinan tutor; tutor to the sons of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. He is said to be a client of Banu Ghifar, and also said of Banu Amir. He saw Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Abd Allah ibn Umar, and Yahya ibn Ma'in held that he heard from them. He died after 140 AH. ¹

Ibn Hajar gives him his own entry in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, no. 682 under Sad — Salih: "Salih ibn Kaysan al-Madani, Abu Muhammad — also said Abu al-Harith — tutor to the sons of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz"; he transmitted from Ibn al-Zubayr, Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar, Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Utba, Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, Nafi the client of Ibn Umar, Nafi the client of Abu Qatada, Nafi ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im, Abd al-Rahman ibn Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (may God be pleased with him), al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, al-Zuhri, Abu al-Zinad, Muhammad ibn Ajlan and others; and from him transmitted Malik, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Jurayj, Ma'mar, Ibrahim ibn Sa'd, Hammad ibn Zayd, Sulayman ibn Bilal, Ibn Uyayna and others. ²

Mus'ab al-Zubayri said he combined hadith, fiqh and honourable conduct; Harb said Ahmad was asked about him and exclaimed approval; Ya'qub ibn Shayba called him a reliable authority; Abu Hatim said "Salih is dearer to me than Aqil because he is Hijazi; he is one who saw Ibn Umar and is reliable, counted among the Successors"; al-Nasa'i and Ibn Khirash called him reliable, as did al-Ijli. ³

Ibn Ma'in said: "Among al-Zuhri's companions none is more established than Malik, then Salih ibn Kaysan"; Isma'il al-Qadi reported Ali ibn al-Madini saying Salih is more senior in isnad than al-Zuhri — to the degree of Ibn Umar ibn al-Zubayr — and Ibn Ma'in said Salih was older than al-Zuhri and had heard Ibn Umar ibn al-Zubayr; Ali ibn al-Madini also said he did not meet Uqba ibn Amir but transmitted through a man from him. ³

Ibn Sa'd reported from al-Waqidi that he died in Medina in 140 AH; it was also placed in the year of Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan's revolt. Ibn Hajar then quotes al-Hakim claiming he died aged over 160 having become al-Zuhri's pupil at seventy — and remarks: "this is an ugly exaggeration, implying Salih was born before the Prophet ﷺ's mission, and I do not know where al-Hakim took it from." ³

Ibn Hibban said in al-Thiqat he was among the jurists of Medina who collected hadith and fiqh, of fine bearing and honour, and that it was said he heard Ibn Umar though he did not regard it as established; al-Khalili said in al-Irshad he was a hafiz and imam, that men older than him — Umar and Ibn Dinar — transmitted from him, and that Musa ibn Uqba, though his peer, used to narrate from him. ³