Sijistani, Abu Daud al-
(d. 889 )
Collector of one of six Sunni canonical sources of hadith, Kitab al-sunan. The collection particularly focuses on what is commanded, permitted, or forbidden by Islamic law. It also addresses violence, disruption of order, and eschatology. The work contains notes by its author indicating the relative strength or weakness of tradition in question, which encouraged the development of systematic criticism of individual traditions. The believed transmitters were trustworthy unless formal proof existed indicating otherwise. The work was highly acclaimed by eleventh-century scholars. He was the teacher of al-Tirmidhi (the author of another canonical collection) and traveled widely for his studies, gaining a reputation for piety and scholarship. He settled and taught near Basra in present-day Iraq.