Yakhtiyul, Uzbekistan
Coordinates: 37.675579, 67.079658
Imam al-Tirmidhi رحمة الله عليه was a Persian of Arab descent belonging to the Banu Sulaym tribe, Islamic scholar, and collector of hadith from Termez (in present-day Uzbekistan).
He wrote al-Jami as-Sahih (known as Jami at-Tirmidhi), one of the six canonical hadith compilations in Sunni Islam.
He also wrote Shama’il Muhammadiyah (popularly known as Shama’il at-Tirmidhi), a compilation of hadiths concerning the person and character of the Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ.
At-Tirmidhi رحمة الله عليه was also well versed in Arabic grammar, favoring the school of Kufa over Basra due to the former’s preservation of Arabic poetry as a primary source.
Hadith studies
At-Tirmidhi began the study of hadith at the age of 20. From the year 235 AH (849/850) he traveled widely in Khurasan, Iraq, and the Hijaz in order to collect hadith.
At-Tirmidhi was a pupil of al-Bukhari رضي الله عنه, who was based in Khurasan.
Adh-Dhahabi wrote, “His knowledge of hadith came from al-Bukhari.” At-Tirmidhi mentioned al-Bukhari’s name 114 times in his Jami.
He used al-Bukhari’s Kitab at-Tarikh as a source when mentioning discrepancies in the text of a hadith or its transmitters, and praised al-Bukhari as being the most knowledgeable person in Iraq or Khurasan in the science of discrepancies of hadith.
Death
At-Tirmidhi رضي الله عنه was blind in the last two years of his life, according to adh-Dhahabi.
His blindness is said to have been the consequence of excessive weeping, either due to fear of Allah or over the death of al-Bukhari.
He died on Monday night, 13 Rajab 279 AH (Sunday night, 8 October 892)[d] in Bugh.
At-Tirmidhi is buried on the outskirts of Sherobod, 60 kilometers north of Termez in Uzbekistan. In Termez he is locally known as Abu Isa at-Termezi or “Termez Ota” (“Father of Termez”).
