Pillar of hadith in the West[1] Abu Abd al-Rahman Baqi ibn Makhlad al-Andalusi
أبو عبد الرحمن بقي بن مخلد الأندلسي
Personal life
Born	Baqi ibn Makhlad 820 Córdoba,Spain,
Died	889 Córdoba, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Flourished	9th century
Home town	Córdoba, Spain
Notable work(s)	Musnad Baqi ibn Makhlad,Tafseer al-Baqi
Education	al-Andalus, Mecca, Medina, and Baghdad
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Senior posting
Teacher	Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Period in office	Islamic Golden Age

Abu Abd al-Rahman Baqi ibn Makhlad al-Andalusi or simply known asBaqi ibn Makhlad (820-889), was a Spanishjurist,mufassir, soldier, and the founder of the earliest hadith school inIslamic Spain.^[2][3][4] Nicknamed as thePillar of hadith in the West ,^[5]ibn Makhlad compiled the Musnad Baqi ibn Makhlad, the largest hadith book collection ever compiled,^[6] containing over 100,000 narrations,^[7] which included narrations from more than 300Companions of the ProphetMuhammad. Most of its collections were lost following theSpanish Reconquista, resulting in the disappearance of one of the most significant western contributions tohadith literature.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}A student of ImamAhmad ibn Hanbal, Baqi ibn Makhlad also authored the Tafsir al-Baqi, which according toIbn Hazm was the greatest tafsir ever to be written,^[16][17][18]even greater thanTafsir al-Tabari.^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

He had a close relationship withEmirs such asMuhammad I of Córdoba andAl-Mundhir of Córdoba, who often protected him when some Maliki scholars were against him. Later, al-Mundhir also offered Baqi ibn Makhlad the role ofjudge, but Baqi declined the offer.^[24][25][26]

Baqi ibn Makhlad was born inCórdoba, Spain, during theIslamic Golden Age.^[27][28]From a young age age, he was deeply committed to seeking religious knowledge. His on foot journey fromSpain toBaghdad to study under the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who was under political restrictions at the time, became a prominent event among scholars.^[29] To avoid detection, Baqi disguised himself as a beggar and secretly received hadith lessons from Imam Ahmad. Through this effort, he was able to collect around 300 hadiths directly directly from him.^{[30][31][32][33][34]}

He was also active in defending Islam and reportedly took part in 72 battles.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Abu Abdul Malik Ahmad bin Muhammad, a student ofImam Qurtubi, described Baqi ibn Makhlad as a man of great physical endurance and humility, stating that he was tall, strong, and had tough endurance in walking. He was never seed on a ride and was humble and unpretentious, and would always attend the funeral prayers.^[39][40]

Imam Baqi ibn Makhlad left a strong legacy in the field of Hadith sciences. His efforts helped preserve Hadith knowledge inIberian peninsula for five centuries and influenced scholars for later generations. After theSpanish Reconquista, many Islamic books and libraries were destroyed and most of Imam Baqi’s writings were lost. The resulted in the lost of one of the most essential European contributions tohadith literature.^{[41][42][43][44]}

Ad-Dahabi praised him highly, saying that no one of his time was like him in both knowledge and practice. He made Spain a center for hadith learning, along withMuhammad ibn Wadaah.^[45]

There was an unconfirmed report in November 2014, circulated via social media, that a manuscript of the Tafseer of Baqi ibn Makhlad was discovered in Turkey.

• 820 births
• 889 deaths
• Spanish jurists
• Spanish soldiers