Sa'id ibn Jubayr


Sa'id ibn Jubayr , also known as Abū Muhammad, was originally from Kufa, in modern-day Iraq. He was regarded as one of the leading members of the Tabi'in. Sa'īd is held in the highest esteem by scholars of the Shi'a and Sunni Islamic tradition and was considered one of the leading jurists of the time. He also narrated several hadith from Ibn Abbas.

Life

At the battle of Jamājim in 82 AH, Ibn al-Ash'ath and his followers, including 100,000 from amongst the mawāli, took on the army of al-Hajjāj, the governor of the Iraqi provinces during the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I. Within their forces was a group known as the 'Battalion of Qur'an Reciters' headed by Kumayl ibn Ziyad an-Nakha`i and including Sa`īd ibn Jubayr. The revolt was brutally put down and Sa`īd was forced to flee to the outskirts of Mecca. He persisted in travelling to Mecca itself twice a year to perform the hajj and `umrah and would enter Kufa secretly to help resolve peoples' religious issues.

Dialogue between Ibn Jubayr and al-Hajjaj

Sa'īd was finally apprehended and brought before al-Hajjāj. Excerpts from a transcript of their dialogue follows:Sa'īd ibn Jubayr entered upon al-Hajjāj, who asked his name :
Bags of gold and silver were brought and spread before Sa'īd ibn Jubayr in order to try him.
Al-Hajjāj was outdone and ordered the beheading of Sa'īd ibn Jubayr. Sa'īd was martyred in the month of Sha'bān, 95 AH at the age of 49. Al-Hajjāj is reported to have soon lost his senses and died within a month.

Play

A play based on this story, called "The Scholar and the Tyrant" can be viewed online

Legacy

Sunni view

writes:
From him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maja, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Imam Malik ibn Anas. Sa'id narrates 147 traditions in Sahih Bukhari and 78 in Sahih Muslim.

Shia view

According to Khulasat al-aqwal by Al-Hilli and Rijal al-Kashshi by Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Kashshi he was a Shia Muslim. They point out, among many, that Sa'id ibn Jubayr was a follower and companion of Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, supported the Alid rebellion against the Sunni Umayyads, for which he was killed by the Umayyad appointed Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.
Sa'id was asked by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to write a book concerning Quranic exegesis. His exegesis is mentioned by Ibn al-Nadim in his al-Fihrist under Shiite exegeses, without mentioning any other exegesis that is temporally prior to it.
His mausoleum is located in al-Hay city in the Wasit Province of Iraq. In Iraq, Rabi' al-Awwal 25 of every year is recognized as the anniversary of Sa'id ibn Jubayr's martyrdom. On this day people congregate in his mausoleum and honor the day. His mausoleum is a pilgrimage site for the Shia Muslims.