Said Ibn Al-Musayyib
Encyclopedia
Said Ibn Al-Musayyib lived in Medina was among the foremost authorities in hadith
, jurisprudence and Quranic interpretation (tafseer) among the Taba'een (generation succeeding the Sahaba
).
of Umar ibn al-Khattab and had the opportunity to meet most of the sahaba including, ‘Umar, Uthman
and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Said ibn al-Musayyib was well-known for his piety, righteousness and profound devotion to Allah
. Everyone accepted him, during his lifetime, as the greatest figure in the field of hadith. He began, as did Hasan al-Basri in Basra
, to give opinions and deliver verdicts on legal matters when he was around twenty years of age. The Companions admired him greatly. On one occasion, Abdullah ibn Umar remarked, "If [Muhammad] had seen that young man, he would have been very pleased with him."
He refused the oath of allegiance to the Caliph
Al-Walid I (r.705-715), and although Hisham, the governor of Medina, had him beaten daily until the stick was broken, he did not yield. When his friends, such as Masruq ibn al-Ajda'
and Tawus, advised him to consent to al-Walid’s caliphate in order to be saved from being beaten, he answered: ‘People follow us in acting. If we consent, how will we be able to explain this to them?’
Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib married the daughter of Abu Hurayrah in order to be closer to him and to learn better the Traditions that he narrated. The Caliph Abd al-Malik requested that he marry his daughter (born of his marriage to Abu Hurayra’s daughter) to his son, Hisham. Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib refused and, in the face of increasing pressures and threats, he offered her to Ibn Abi Wada’, who stayed in the madrasa.
Shafi‘i took as unquestionably authentic the ahadith that Sa‘id ibn al-Mussayyib narrated without mentioning the Companion from whom he received them. This means that, in the view of Imam Shafi‘i, Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib was of the same rank as the Companions in knowledge and narration of the ahadith. Those who received Traditions from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib include Ata ibn Abi Rabah
, Qatadah, az-Zuhri and Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari, among others.
In the shia hadith text Kitab Al-Kafi
, Abu Abdallah (Imam Jafar) states that Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib was of the trusted and reliable companions of Imam Zayn al-Abidin Ali bin Husain.
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, jurisprudence and Quranic interpretation (tafseer) among the Taba'een (generation succeeding the Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
).
Life & Contribution to Islamic Learning
He was born in 637, during the caliphateCaliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
of Umar ibn al-Khattab and had the opportunity to meet most of the sahaba including, ‘Umar, Uthman
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliph....
and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Said ibn al-Musayyib was well-known for his piety, righteousness and profound devotion to Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. Everyone accepted him, during his lifetime, as the greatest figure in the field of hadith. He began, as did Hasan al-Basri in Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, to give opinions and deliver verdicts on legal matters when he was around twenty years of age. The Companions admired him greatly. On one occasion, Abdullah ibn Umar remarked, "If [Muhammad] had seen that young man, he would have been very pleased with him."
He refused the oath of allegiance to the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Al-Walid I (r.705-715), and although Hisham, the governor of Medina, had him beaten daily until the stick was broken, he did not yield. When his friends, such as Masruq ibn al-Ajda'
Masruq ibn al-Ajda'
Masruq ibn al-Ajda was a well-known and respected tabi'i , jurist and muĥaddith . Chiefly a resident of Kufa he was among the many students of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud...
and Tawus, advised him to consent to al-Walid’s caliphate in order to be saved from being beaten, he answered: ‘People follow us in acting. If we consent, how will we be able to explain this to them?’
Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib married the daughter of Abu Hurayrah in order to be closer to him and to learn better the Traditions that he narrated. The Caliph Abd al-Malik requested that he marry his daughter (born of his marriage to Abu Hurayra’s daughter) to his son, Hisham. Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib refused and, in the face of increasing pressures and threats, he offered her to Ibn Abi Wada’, who stayed in the madrasa.
Hadith
ImamImam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
Shafi‘i took as unquestionably authentic the ahadith that Sa‘id ibn al-Mussayyib narrated without mentioning the Companion from whom he received them. This means that, in the view of Imam Shafi‘i, Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib was of the same rank as the Companions in knowledge and narration of the ahadith. Those who received Traditions from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib include Ata ibn Abi Rabah
Ata ibn Abi Rabah
Ata ibn Abi Rabah was a prominent Tabi'i, a Mufassir, Muhaddith , faqih and Mufti of Mecca. He was born in Yemen of Nubian parents and raised in Mecca as a client of the Abi Khuthaym family...
, Qatadah, az-Zuhri and Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari, among others.
In the shia hadith text Kitab Al-Kafi
Kitab al-Kafi
The Kitāb al-Kāfī is a Twelver Shī‘ah hadīth collection compiled by Muhammad Ya‘qūb Kulaynī. It is divided into three sections: Usūl al-Kāfī, which is concerned with the principle of religion, Furū al-Kāfī, which is concerned with the details of religious law, and Rawdat al-Kāfī, which is...
, Abu Abdallah (Imam Jafar) states that Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib was of the trusted and reliable companions of Imam Zayn al-Abidin Ali bin Husain.