We ask the Shaykh to provide a biography of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Mu'allimi al-'Uthaymi al-Yamani.
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Abu Ishaq: All right, our Shaykh, regarding Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Mu'allimi al-Yamani, this man’s weight in knowledge and your praise of him and his knowledge is almost unknown to generations like ours; I mean, if you could give us something aboutThe Shaykh : 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya...
The Shaykh : By Allah, it is due to the scarcity of his works that we have at least looked at, that we have not been able to appreciate him fully. However, what has settled in my mind, within the limits of my limited knowledge of some of his works, and especially his book *Al-Tankil*, is that first, the man is a Salafi in creed, Salafi in school and inclination. Then, he has a long track record in the biographies of narrators, not only the narrators related to hadith, but he has a wide knowledge of the biographies of men from all strata: exegetes, hadith scholars, linguists, and the like. So, he has a wide knowledge in this regard. His annotations on al-Bukhari’s *Tarikh*, and on *Kitab al-Ansab* by al-San'ani, and other things that do not come to my mind now, are the greatest proof of the breadth of his knowledge in these fields. But it appears that his concern with authentication and weakening was either limited, or he did not have the opportunity to enter this field and devote himself to it because of his commitment to serving the biographies, and it seems he was a specialist in that. But the truth is, when one looks at his discussion of al-Kawthari, whether from the hadith perspective or the jurisprudential perspective, all of that indicates that the man was well-grounded in the principles of hadith and the principles of jurisprudence on the one hand, and that he also had a wide knowledge from the jurisprudential perspective on the other hand. This is what comes to my mind regarding this man (may Allah have mercy on him). I also met him on that trip where I metThe Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir in Makkah, where he was the director of the Makkah Haram Library when the library was in the Haram itself. So, I used to visit the library every day and see him there bent over research and verification, but I did not have any sessions with him at that time because there was no prior acquaintance and no one facilitated a way for us to meet. This is all I have.
The student : If you please.
Abu Ishaq: Raise your voice.
The Shaykh : By Allah, it is due to the scarcity of his works that we have at least looked at, that we have not been able to appreciate him fully. However, what has settled in my mind, within the limits of my limited knowledge of some of his works, and especially his book *Al-Tankil*, is that first, the man is a Salafi in creed, Salafi in school and inclination. Then, he has a long track record in the biographies of narrators, not only the narrators related to hadith, but he has a wide knowledge of the biographies of men from all strata: exegetes, hadith scholars, linguists, and the like. So, he has a wide knowledge in this regard. His annotations on al-Bukhari’s *Tarikh*, and on *Kitab al-Ansab* by al-San'ani, and other things that do not come to my mind now, are the greatest proof of the breadth of his knowledge in these fields. But it appears that his concern with authentication and weakening was either limited, or he did not have the opportunity to enter this field and devote himself to it because of his commitment to serving the biographies, and it seems he was a specialist in that. But the truth is, when one looks at his discussion of al-Kawthari, whether from the hadith perspective or the jurisprudential perspective, all of that indicates that the man was well-grounded in the principles of hadith and the principles of jurisprudence on the one hand, and that he also had a wide knowledge from the jurisprudential perspective on the other hand. This is what comes to my mind regarding this man (may Allah have mercy on him). I also met him on that trip where I metThe Shaykh : Ahmad Shakir in Makkah, where he was the director of the Makkah Haram Library when the library was in the Haram itself. So, I used to visit the library every day and see him there bent over research and verification, but I did not have any sessions with him at that time because there was no prior acquaintance and no one facilitated a way for us to meet. This is all I have.
The student : If you please.
Abu Ishaq: Raise your voice.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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