The Heroes of Islamic History

Tabi‘in

The Importance of Tabi‘in

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م )عبدالله ابن مسعو – مسلم( د�ي�ل�ؤن�ه� The best of my ummah are those who are in my

time (my companions), then those who are in their time (Tabi‘in), then those who are in their time (Taba‘ Tabi‘in). (Abdullah bin Mas‘ud R, Muslim)

Tabi‘unThe biographies of the following Tabi‘in (those who had met

companions of the Prophet (SAW):

1.Saeed bin al-Musayyeb

2.Muhammad bin Muslim az-Zuhri

3.Urwah ibn zubayr

4.Saeed bin jubayr

5.Mujahid ibn jabr

6. ‘Ata bin Abi Rabah

7.'Ikrama

8.Tawus bin Kaysan

Tabi‘un

9.Alqamah bin Qays

10.Masruq ibn al-ajda

11.Qatada

12.Hassan al basri

13.Amir al-Sha'bi

14.Ibn Jurayj

15.Ibne Nafie‘

16.Ad Dahak

Saeed bin al-Musayyeb

Born in 17 H in the reign of Umar R.

His father Musayyeb, grandfather Hazan both had become

Muslims on the Day of Victory of Makkah.

He never missed the first row in salat.

Saeed had said, “For thirty years, never did a muezzin call to

prayers except that I was already in the Mosque.”

He had pain in his eyes. He was advised to go to Al-Aqeeq

and look at its greenery to get relief. He replied, “What

should I do about attending the ‘Isha’ and Fajr prayers?”

His narrations from ‘Ali, Usman, ‘A’isha, and Abdullah bin

Umar Rs are recorded in Bukhari/Muslim. His narrations

from Umar R are recorded in other four Sahihs.

His famous students were: Az-Zuhri, Qatadah, Ibn Dinar,

and Yahya bin Saeed. Umar bin Abdul Aziz was governor

of Madinah. He used to consult Saeed before taking any

decision.

His NawafilHe used to stand whole night in tahajjud.

Quite often he used to fast, and pass the time in the mosque.

He had performed around forty Hajj.

He used to sit properly with humility and respect in order to narrate a

hadith.

During his illness, people used to hold him in sitting position to learn hadith.

Status in Knowledge He had married a daughter of Abu Huraira R. He had learnt hadith

from him. He himself became a great muhaddith of Madinah.

‘Ata bin Abi Rabah in Makkah, Hasan Basri in Basrah, Makhul in

Syria, Nakha‘ii in Kufa, and Sa’ eed in Madinah were fuqha’ of the

highest level.

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal used to regard his mursal hadith firm

and authentic.

Imam Shafi‘I used to regard his mursal hadith hasan.

Yahya bin Ma‘een used to regard him a greater faqih than

Hasan Basri.

According to an opinion, after the four Abdullah’s, Saeed got

the title of Faqih in Madinah.

Tortures and TribulationsAbdullah ibn Zubair R sent Jabir bin Aswad to Madinah to seek oath

of fealty from Saeed. Saeed refused to give his oath, saying that

unless the whole ummah agrees upon him, he would not submit.

Jabir flogged him fifty times on his refusal, but he did not budge.

Jabir had four wives. He divorced one of them, and married

another one. Saeed gave a fatwa against this marriage, saying

that Jabir had committed a haram act by marrying a fifth time,

while his divorced wife was still in ‘iddah. Jabir punished him

by flogging, but he did not budge.

Once Abdul Malik bin Marwan came to Medina. He sent for a

mufti to consult on some of his problem. Saeed refused to go

to the caliph, saying, “The caliph has no need to get from me;

and I have no need to go to him.” The caliph again sent for

him, but he did not obey the order. He was later, given forty

lashes.

Once, a caliph sought an advice from him. The caliph said,

“When I do some good deed, I do not feel happy; and when I

commit some evil deed, I do not feel any sadness.”

Saeed replied, “Your heart is completely dead.”

Saeed was asked to pledge his allegiance to Walid and

Sulaiman both, he refused. He was given one hundred lashes.

Once Walid bin Abdul Malik wanted to make an extension of

the Prophet’s Mosque. He came to visit the Mosque. All the

people were asked to vacate the Mosque.

Saeed refused to vacate his place. The caliph came to him,

enquired about him, greeted salam to him, and continued his

inspection.

The Case of His

Daughter

Saeed had a beautiful daughter. Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan

proposed to marry his wali ‘ahd Walid with her. Saeed declined the

proposal. He was given forty lashes on his refusal. But, he married

his daughter to one of his poor student Abu Wada‘ah in the mosque.

He himself took his daughter to her husband’s house.

Someone asked him the reason of denial.

He explained his decision, thus: “Listen! May Allah guide you to

the right path. Children are trust of Allah. For her salvation, I

have selected a kind, religious, and righteous young man who

will try to save himself as well as her from the fire. This way she

will be safe from the fitnah of the world. Had I married her to a

prince, she would have been busy among her maids and pomp

of kingdom. Who would have raised her for salat and tahajjud?”

Some of His Fatwas 1. “If a man swears that he would not talk to his wife for a

day or a month, it is Eela.

However, if he swears that he would not talk to her, but

touches her, it is not Eela. If this situation continues for more

than four months, then, he has divorced her.”

2. “The husband of a divorced woman has to pay for her

rented house till the ‘iddah.”

3. “A person can enter the toilet or in janabah condition with a

ring in which Allah’s name is written.”

4. Saeed said that there is no zakat on ornaments which are in

use.

5. Old men and pregnant women should feed poor persons in

lieu of their fasts.

6. Saeed asked a man who had married a woman while in

ihram to separate from her.

7. Saeed had decreed that one can charge fees for teaching

the Qur’an.

8. Saeed had decreed that an irrevocably divorced woman can

be remarried to her first husband without consuming her

marriage with the second husband.

Dreams Interpretation

1. Abdullah bin Zubair R saw that he had laid Abdul Malik

bin Marwan on the ground and had driven four pegs in his

back. Saeed said that Abdul Malik would kill Ibn Zubair.

2. Hasan bin ‘Ali R told Saeed that he saw written “He is

Allah, One” on his forehead.

Saeed told him that the time of his death was near. Hasan R

died the same year.

3. Saeed had said, “Seeing dates in a dream is always an

omen of provision.”

4. Someone asked him, “I saw my teeth fell off into my

hands.” Saeed said, “You are going to outlive some of your

people younger than you.”

5. Saeed had said, “If a person sees that he was in shackles it

means he would remain steadfast in religion.”

Muhammad bin Muslim az-Zuhri

Known as az-Zuhri or Ibn Shihab.

Az-Zuhri was born in the time of M‘uawiyyah, and lived during

the times of ten successive caliphs.

Az-Zuhri was a student of Saeed ibn Musayyab for eight years.

Az-Zuhri traveled a lot between Syria, Egypt and Hijaz to

acquire knowledge.

He memorized the Qur’an in eighty days.

He would never attend a teacher without a slate or script to write.

To memorize a hadith, he would wake up his maid and read the

hadith to her or would go to Bedouins to teach them.

He learnt hadith from famous scholars of his time, in addition to

eight years with Saeed bin Musayyab. Some of those teachers were:

Sahl ibn S‘ad R, Anas bin Malik R, ‘Ali bin Husain, Urwa bin Zubayr.

He used to tell youth of his time, “Do not underestimate yourselves

because of young age, Umar R would invite youth and consult

them.”

He had very sharp memory: He had narrated to his

teacher Saeed al-Musayyab all the instructions of two

large scrolls of admonition of caliph Abdul Malik to the

people of Madinah.

“I have never seen any one so precise in his narration of

hadith as az-Zuhri,” said ‘Amr bin Dinar.

“The first person to record knowledge is Ibn Shihab,” said

Imam Malik, “ and on the day of his death, his un-published

material was carried on a mule.”

Once, he dictated four hundred hadith to a scribe of Hisham.

The script got lost. He re-dictated the same ahadith. Later,

the lost script was found and compared with the new one.

Not a single discrepancy was found between the two.

Umar bin Abdul Aziz said about az-Zuhri, “Whatever az-

Zuhri narrated to you from others, hold fast to it. But

whatever he tells you of his own opinion, cast it away.”

His maraseel were treated as the worst kind by some great

scholars such as Yahya al-Qattani, Imam Shafi‘i, etc.

Az-Zuhri did not mind changing the order of wordings in

hadith, as long as the meaning was kept intact.

Some of his Fatwas

“As long as the dead animal in a pond did not change the taste or odor of

its water, the water is pure.”

“The ablution is weighed; therefore, the use of towel to dry it is disliked.”

“The ransom money of Muslims and non-Muslims in a Muslim country are

same.”

“If a person vowed to do something forbidden by Allah, he should

fulfill his vow with doing some righteous act.”

“A sorcerer should be killed if he is a Muslim. However, if he is a non-

Muslim, he should not be killed.”

His Relations with RulersThough, Az-Zuhri used to have good relations with Umayyad

rulers, he would never hesitate to correct their views or attitude.

Once, Walid bin Abdul Malik recited the following verse:

ZهU عZذZابU عZظXيمU (النور _هUم_ ل هU مXن Zر_ Xب hىf ك ZوZل hذXى ت )11وZال

and attributed it to ‘Ali R, but az-Zuhri told him that it was about

Abdullah ibn Ubayy.

Walid got angry with him and threatened to kill him

when he got power. Az-Zuhri told him that Allah would

not give a fool like Walid power over him.

Walid, then, sent his men to his garden of dates who

had cut all its trees and burnt down his house.

Az-Zuhri complained to Hisham and demanded the

removal of Walid from his succession. Hisham only

compensated his loss.

Urwah ibn zubayr

He was the son of Asma bint Abi Bakr and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, the brother of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr

He devoted himself to the study of fiqh and hadith and had the greatest knowledge of hadiths narrated from Aishah.

He said, "Before Aishah died, I saw that I had become one of four authorities. I said, 'If she dies, there will be no hadith which will be lost from those she knows. I have memorized all of them.“

He also learnt from Ali bin Abi Talib, Abdur-Rahman bin Awf, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Ayub Al-Ansari and many other sahaba.

He was one of the 7 jurists of Medina.

He is also known to have written one of the first writings in the area of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, known as the Tract of Seerah.

He would read a fourth of the Quran from a mushaf in the day and then he would repeat that by heart in his night prayers. And it is not known that he left this practice from his early youth (around the age of 14) to the day he died (at the age of 71)

Saeed bin jubayr

Student of Abdullah bin Abbass(RA) as well as Abdullah bin Umar,

Abdullah bin Zubair, Saeed Khudri, Abu Mossa Ashaari, Abu Huraira

and Anas bin Malik(RA)

He was one of the companions of Imam Zaynul Abideen, Ali bin al-

Husayn

He was famous for explaining Tafseer according to different Qiraah.

From him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-

Nasa'i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Imam

Malik ibn Anas. Sa'id narrates 147 traditions in Sahih Bukhari and 78

in Sahih Muslim.

Ibn Abi Mughera said that when people of Kufa visit Ibn Abbas they used to ask him for Fatwa, he used to say them: "Isn't Sa'id Ibn Jubayr among you?".

Amro Ibn Maymoon said that his father said that Sa'id Ibn Jubayr passed away and every one on the earth attained his knowledge.

Abu Al-Qasem Al-Tabari said: "He is a reliable Imam and hujjah on Muslims“

Ibn Hibbaan said: "He was jurist, worshiper, righteous and pious“

He was killed by Hajaj bin Yusuf( Dialogues at time of death)

Mujahid ibn jabr

Born in Makkah in the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, freed slave of Saib.

Student of Abdullah bin Abbas(RA). Narrated Ahadith from Saad bin Abi Waqas, Abdullah bin Umar, Abu Saeed Khudri, Abdullah bin Amro bin Al Aas, Abu Huraira, Ali(ra), Ayesha(ra), Javeria (RA), Umm Salma(ra), Umm Hani(RA)

Two of the Qira’at, reading styles of the Qur’an, was narrated from Mujahid, those two readings being from Ibn Kathir (Makki reading) and Abu ‘Amr (Basri reading)

He is reported to have read the Qur’an under Ibn Abbas more than thirty times, including three times when he stopped after reading each verse to ask him about its meaning.

 Imam Nawawi Said “ If Mujahid’s Tafseer is infront of you, then its enough for you“

Ibn Taimiya said,“Imam Shafai and Imam Bukhari relies on His Tafseer”

Mujahid was one of the main sources for later commentators on the Qur’an. The most famous one, Ibn Jareer Al-Tabari, who wrote a commentary in 14 large volumes, includes more than 700 quotations from Mujahid. He apparently wrote his commentary and taught it to his students. It is reported that his commentary was written in eight booklets.

Ata bin Abi Rabah

‘Ata bin Rabah was a Yemeni Habshi slave of a noble woman of Makkah.

He had divided his time into three parts: In the first part he used to serve

her mistress. He used to spend his second part in Allah’s worship. The

third part was completely devoted to acquire knowledge.

Seeing his interest in acquiring knowledge, his mistress set him free.

After being free, he started dwelling in the Haram of Makkah. The

historians write that for twenty years, ‘Ata used to dwell in

Haram

on his jute mat.

He acquired knowledge from all the following companions of the

Prophet (Peace be upon him):Abu Hurayrah R, Abdullah bin Umar

R, Abdullah bin Abbas R, and Abdullah bin Zubayr R.

Abdullah bin Umar R used to tell the people of Makkah that

they had no need of any other learned man while ‘Ata bin Abi

Rabah was among them.

Once, caliph Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik came to perform

Umrah; he asked about the chief scholar of the Haram;

he talked to him, and requested him for Du’a.

Sulaiman introduced him to his princes:

“Shaykh ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah is the chief student of

Abdullah bin Abbas R; the greatest scholar of his time;

and the chief Mufti of Makkah.”

He continued his advice to his sons: “Acquire

knowledge. The knowledge raises a slave to a

status higher than king. He is remembered after

his death. He wins prayers and good wills of all

the people. His life in the Hereafter is exalted.”

He used to live a very simple life. The caliphs used to

send him a lot of money and goods, but he would

distribute all of them among the needy people.

The caliphs used to invite him to Damascus, but he used

to decline the invitation, saying that people should not

live with them; otherwise, they would destroy their

religion. However, once, he traveled alone to visit the

caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik.

Dialogue with Hisham

“Marhaba, Marhaba, Ya Shaykh! What can I do for you?”

“Approve expenses for the people of Haramayn. They are

the neighbors of Allah and The Prophet.”

“Done! What else?”

“Approve regular expenses for the families of your forces

who are on the borders.”

“Done! What else?”

“Reduce the taxes of non-Muslims who live in your domain to

keep them away from your enemies.”

“Done! What else?”

“Fear Allah. You were born alone. You would be alone at the time

of Accounting. None would help you. Deeds are here, and

rewards are there in the Hereafter.”

The caliph started crying.

‘Ata bin Rabah, then, left the palace. He was presented a purse of

money.

But saying that,

ZينXمZ _عZال بp ال Zر fىZلZع hالX Zج_رXيZ إ Xن_ أ Zج_رx إ ZيهX مXن_ أ Uم_ عZل Uك Zل ئ س_Z )108(الشعراء ○وZمZآ أ

he returned the purse to the caliph, and left the city for Makkah,

without taking even a glass of drink.

Others’ Opinions about Him

1. Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, “’Ata was final word in the domain

of Knowledge and Fiqh.”

2. An-Nawavi, “He was the Chief Mufti of Makkah. He was

much higher than other Imams.”

3. Ibn Hanbal, “’Ata was one of the beloved of Allah.”

4. Awza‘ee, “’Ata was the most favored person of the

people on the earth”.

Dars-e-Hadith

He never allowed people to talk during his dars-e-hadith. Once,

he expelled a man from his dars because of his talk.

The following renowned persons used to attend his dars:

Abu Hanifa, Awza‘ee, Az-Zuhri, Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Ishaq,

‘Amash, etc.

He used to perform Hajj every year. A naquib, appointed

by the caliphate, used to announce, during Hajj seasons,

that none except ‘Ata bin Rabah is authorized to teach

Hajj rites to people.

He used to pass his spare time alone. He used to avoid

needless talking to people.

All six Sahih Books have his narrations.

He died in Makkah 114 H.

Ikrama Maula bin Abbas He was freed slave of Ibne Abbas

Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and Nissai have narrated Hadith from him.

He narrated Hadith from Jabir bin Abdullah, Hassan bin Ali, Abdullah bin Umar, Ali bin Talib, Abu Saeed Khudri, Abu Huraira, Ayesha RA, Umm Ammara

He said I spent 40 years in learning knowledge of Deen.

Tawus ibn Kaysan

He was a Persian. He was a great tabi'i who met over 50 companions.

He performed the hajj forty times and narrated some of the whispered prayers of Imām Zayn al-'Ābidin.

Hadith from him are recorded by Muhammad al-Bukhari (85 traditions), Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (78 traditions), al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Tawus was the main teacher of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz

Alqamah bin Qays

Born while the Prophet (SAW) was alive.

Raised during the times of Guided Caliphs.

He has narrated hadiths from Umar R, ‘Ali R, Usman R, Sa‘d ibn

Abi Waqas R, Salman Farsi R, Abu Ayyub Ansari R, Hudhayfa

Yaman R.

He studies Quran, Hadith and Fiqh from Abdllah bin Mas‘ud R.

‘Alqamah was just like Abdullah bin Mas‘ud in conduct and

character. And Ibn Mas‘ud was just like the Prophet (Peace

be upon him) in his conduct.

He used to finish the Qur’an in six days.

Once, he continued going round the Ka‘bah whole night.

‘Alqamah’s memory was remarkable. Whatever, he heard

once would always be able to recall. He had memorized all

what he had learnt from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud R.

In fiqh, he had acquired the status of mujtahid.

Even some of the companions of the Prophet (Peace be

upon him) used to visit him to learn hadiths from him.

He had the honor of participating in the overseas Jihad

in 32 H with M‘uawiyyah R. It was the same Jihad about

which the Prophet (SAW) had said, “All those who

participate in the first overseas Jihad would be forgiven.”

He hated to meet high officials, saying they would

decrease his good deeds.

He died in 62 H. He advised people not to publicize his

death and burry him quickly.

Hafiz Dhahabi: He was a faqih and imam.

‘Allama Nawavi: He was a faqih of a high status.

Ibn Sa‘d: He knew a large number of ahadith.

Abu Tibyan: I have myself seen many companions asking him

about their problems.

Masruq ibn al-ajda

He was among the many students of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.

He is said to have fought on the side of caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib against the Kharijites.

He has narrated Hadith from Hudhaifa bin Yaman, Khalid bin Walid, Saad bin abi Waqqas, Umar bin Khattab, Abu Bakr, Abu Darda, Abu Musa Ashari, Ayesha RA, Habab bin Art.

His narrated Hadith are part of all six Authentic Hadith Books.

He was one of the teachers of Imam Abu Hanifa.

Qatada

He was one of narrator of all six authentic Ahadith books.

He was blind

Student of Ibne Masud along with Saeed bin Musayyab, Ibne Sirren, Nafai ibn Maula, Abdullah bin Umar

He was expert in Arabic lughat and poetry.

Hassan al basri

He was the son of Yasar the slave of Zayd ibn Thabit al-Ansari. His mother Umm ul-Hasan was a slave woman of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet SAW.

Umm Salamah had breast-feed him for some time.

He met around 120 companions of Prophet SAW.

Student of Abdullah bin Msud and Ubbay bin Kaab.

He was a close friend of Caliph, `Umar Ibn `Abdul-`Azeez

Abu Amir al Sha’bi

Born during the caliphate of Umar RA.

Famous teacher of Imam Abu Hanifa.

He met around 500 Companions of the prophet SAW.

He narrated from 48 Sahabah.

He possessed a phenomenal memory and is reported to have said ”I have not written on paper up to this day, nor has a person narrated to me a hadith ever except, that I memorized it and nor, is it my preference that he repeats it to me”. 

Ibn Jurayj --- His teacher was Ata bin Rabah. He narrate many Israliyat.

Ibne Nafie‘ --- Student of Ibne Umar RA He was part of the famous authentic chain of narrators according to Bukhari (Malik from Nafie’ from Ibn ‘Umar). He has narrated from several companions. He has narrations in all 6 authentic books. 

Ibn Sirin ---- Muhammad bin Sirin was born during the caliphate of `Uthman bin `Affan. His father was a freed slave who belonged to the Companion Anas bin Malik. His mother Safiyah was freed salve from Abu Bakr.

Ad Dahak ----- Tafsir scholar migrated from kufa to Khorasan during governor ship of Al Hajjaj. He established a large school near Balkh where he imparted free education to 3000 children