A Culmination in Traditionalism 153 him among the famous men of Baghdad and notes that he narrated from prominent ‘ulama’, including the Hanbali Abu Ya‘la b. al-Farra’ (d. 458/ 1066) and the Shafi‘1 al-Khatib al-BaghdadL Ahmad b. al-Faraj’s training and connections, in turn, enabled and facilitated Shuhda’s education. Her appreciation for him is voiced in a rare personal comment inserted in a collection of her badith, entitled al- ‘Umda min Fawa ’id wa ’l-Athdr al-Sihab wa ’l-Gbard ’ib fi Mashyakbat Sbuhda. Here she narrates a tradition that she heard from her father in the year 490/1 096f. and states, “all of this [i.e., her accomplishments] is due to his blessings and his invocations on my behalf.”" Through her father’s efforts, Shuhda, by the age of eight, had been initiated into a network of 'ulama ’ with ties to the ruling elite. One of her first teachers, Tirad b. Muhammad al-Zaynabl (d. 491/1098), was a Hanafl naqib for the ‘Abbasids in Basra and Baghdad. 1 In spite of al-Zaynabi’s involvement in political circles and embroilment in theological and inter madhhab disputes, his badith assemblies were extremely popular and were well attended by jurists and badith scholars alike. His association with Shuhda and other students, occurring in the protected, neutral zone of badith assemblies, ultimately buttressed the cause of forging a traditionalist culture across madbhab lines. Shuhda narrated several works on his authority including the Amwal, a fiqb manual by Abu ‘Ubayd b. Sallam occupation of needle merchant, in Ahmad b. al-Faraj’s case, it likely refers to a defunct family trade. With respect to his provenance from Dina war, Yaqut mentions that many men of letters (ahl al-adab) as well as hadith scholars had their origins in this province, which is located to the northeast of Baghdad ( Mu‘jam al-Buldan , 2:616). 20 Shuhda, al- ‘Umda, 155. 21 For his biographical notices, see al-Dhahabl, Siyar , 19:37-39; al-Safadl, al-Wafi , 16:24041; and Ibn al-jawzl, al-Muntazam , 17:44. Consistent with standards established for the field of hadith transmission, Shuhda’s biographers use different terms to describe how she received certification or transmission authority. Thus, uhdirat ‘ ala is employed for instances in which she was physically brought into the presence of a particular scholar. Ajaza(t) la-ha is used for permission granted in writing either through a direct meeting with the granter of the certificate or by correspondence, and sami'at min describes occasions in which she was brought to an assembly or meeting in which a specific work was read out loud. These terms were not always applied consistently and usage of them was not regulated by any strict conventions. Nonetheless, in Shuhda’s case, the fact that a discriminating hadith scholar such as al-Dhahabl uses these terms as well as the ages at which Shuhda is likely to have engaged in the different types of interactions suggest that the terms connote the meanings indicated in this footnote. For further elucidation of hadith terminology related to types of transmission, see Ibn al-Salah, Muqaddima , 96-118. 22 al-Dhahabl, Siyar , 19:38, and Ibn al-jawzl, al-Muntazam , 17:44. Ibn al-jawzl and al-Dhahabl note that he was prolific in his transmissions, that students traveled to him from all regions, and that he was close to the political elite. Ibn al-jawzl adds that some people were wary of transmitting from al-Zaynabl because of his intimacy with the rulers (salatin).