Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh

Who is Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh?

Abū Yaʻqūb Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Mukhallad al-Ḥanzalī, commonly known as Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh, was the muhaddith, faqih and the imam of Khurasan of his time. He was given the title of "the leader of the believers in the field of hadith" for his major contributions to the science of hadith. It is said that Ibn Rahwayh memorized more than one hundred thousand hadiths.

He along with Al-Thawri are cited in Lisanu-l-Arab for taking the stance that once a man marries a slave and has children with her both she and the child are free, and the child cannot be enslaved. This was against the opinion of most Islamic scholars of jurisprudence of the time. He was also a fellow student and a friend of Ahmad ibn Hanbal who accompanied him on his travels to seek knowledge.