Table Of ContentThe Men of
Madina
(Volume One)
Muhammad Ibn Sa'd
translated by
Aisha Bewley
Ta-Ha Publishers
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London SW9 OBB
© 1418 I 1997 Aisha Bewley
Published by
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Translated by Aisha Bewley
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Ibn Sa'd, Muhammad
The Men of Madina - Volume One
I. Islam
I. Title
ISBN l 897940 62 9 Paperback
ISBN I 897940 68 8 Hardback
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Contents
Introduction v
Map
XXVll
Chapter One: The Companions of the Prophet
Muhammad in Basra
The First Generation (Tabi'un) 55
The Second Generation 91
The Third Generation 143
The Fourth Generation 153
The Fifth Generation 170
The Sixth Generation 177
The Seventh Generation 184
The Eighth Generation 189
The Fuqaha' and Hadith Scholars in Wasit 191
The Companions in Mada'in 195
The Fuqaha' and Hadith Scholars in Mada'in 196
The Fuqaha' and Hadith Scholars in Baghdad 198
The Companions in Khurasan 227
Those in Khurasan after them 228
The Fuqaha' and Hadith .Scholars in Rayy 235
The Fuqaha' in Hamadan 236
The Hadith Scholars ~n Anbar 236
Ill
Men of Madina
Chapter Two: The Companions of the Messenger
of Allah in Syria 237
The First Generation (Tabi'un) 273
The Second Generation 278
The Third Generation 281
The Fourth Generation 285
The Fifth Generation 288
The Sixth Generation 290
The Seventh Generation 292
The Eighth Generation 294
The Companions in Mesopotamia 295
The Fuqaha' and Hadith Scholars in Mesopotamia 296
Those at the Frontiers 302
Chapter Three: The Companions of the Messenger
of Allah in Egypt 305
The First Generation (Tabi'un) 316
The Second Generation 316
The Third Generation 318
The Fourth Generation 3 19
The Fifth Generation 320
The Sixth Generation 321
Other Locations 322
Glossary 325
Index 332
IV
Introduction
The Kitab at-Tabaqat by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa'd is
one of the earliest collections of biographical details of the early
Muslims, extending from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, to lbn Sa'd's own time (he lived from 1481764 to 230/845
or 2361770). Volume 8, which deals exclusively with women, was
published as The Women of Madina. This present translation covers
Volume 7, which deals with the Companions, Tabi'un and subsequent
generations of the people of knowledge in Basra, Baghdad,
Khurasan, Syria and Egypt. The people of Kufa are found in Volume
6 and the people of Madina in Volume 5, as yet untranslated.
The Companions are mentioned first in each locality, and then the
next generation, the Tabi 'un, and then the following generations. The
scope of Ibn Sa'd covers the time of the Rashidun khalifs, the
U mayyads and the 'Abbas ids, and so some brief comments about
Islamic history are necessary in order to put the events and individu
als mentioned into perspective, and to make the events and com
ments described more comprehensible, particularly in view of the
fact that not much material is available on the Umayyad period!
Books on Islam tend to concentrate on either the Prophet, peace
be upon him, and the major Companions, or to deal with the prob
lems of modern times. Why, it might be asked, is it so important to
learn about the lives of the Muslims during the first two centuries
after the Prophet's death, a period of history which is so often
ignored?
Perhaps the most important lesson we can take from this early
period is the attitude and action of the Companions and the Tabi'un
when confronted by that most dangerous of trials -fitna or civil war.
In Arabic, fitna means 'civil strife, discord, sedition, temptation,
trial'. It is used to refer to those disagreements in the community
which develop into factions and then into outright armed conflict.
This is extremely important because we continue to be constantly
confronted by fitna wherever we turn. We can learn a great deal from
how the early Muslims dealt with it.
v
Introduction
In this period of history, various fitnas, both major and minor,
reared their heads:
• the Great Fitna, stemming from the murder of 'Uthman ibn
'A ff an in 35/656, leading to the Battle of the Camel (36/656)
between 'Ali and 'A'isha, Talha and az-Zubayr, and to the
Battle of Siffin between Mu'awiya and 'Ali (37/657), and
finally to the assassination of ·Ali in 40/661.
This Fitna, the first inter-Muslim fight, resulted in the
deaths of all the Companions who had been at the Battle of
Sadr and moved the capital of the Muslims away from
Madina. It also resulted in the emergence of the Kharijites,
which means 'those who revolt, or go out from the communi
ty'. They will be discussed in more detail later.
• the Second Fitna War between the Umayyads (Marwan
and 'Abdu'l-Majid) and 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr which
began after the death of Yazid L preceded by the tragedy of
the killing of the grandson of the Prophet, Husayn, at
Karbala' in 61/680, and ending in the defeat and death of
'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr in 73/692. The Ka 'ba was
destroyed in the course of it. This consolidated various sec
tarian positions, particularly those of the Shi 'a and the
Kharijites, which in turn resulted in greater centralisation of
the government and made it more autocratic. It also marked
the end of the influence of the Ansar and opened the way to
various non-Islamic influences.
• Various other smaller fttnas - like the rebellion of Ibn al
Ash'ath in Iraq which ended in the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim
in 82/701, and that of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab which really
marks an intensification of tribal factional ism in I 01 /720. An
analogy could be made with the effects of nationalism today.
• The third Civil war, beginning with the rebellion against
al-Walid II in 1261744 which ended with control being re
established by Marwan II in 1291747, but almost immediate
ly followed by Abbasid revolt, culminating in the Battle of
the Greater Zab in 1321750. This put an end to the Umayyad
dynasty, quite literally as the Abbasids massacred every
VI
Introduction
Umayyad they could lay their hands on, and moved the khal
ifate to Iraq. The only surviving member of the family,
'Abdu'r-Rahman ad-Dakhil, escaped to Andalusia.
In Sahih al-Bukhari, Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab is reported as saying.
"When the first civil strife (in Islam) took place because of the mur
der of 'Uthman, it left none of the Badr warriors alive. When the sec
ond civil strife, that is the battle of al-Harra,1 took place, it left none
of the Hudaybiyya treaty Companions alive. Then the third civil
strife took place and it did not subside till it had exhausted all the
strength of the people."
We can grasp the gravity of fitna from the comments made by the
men mentioned in the Tabaqat. Mutarrif said, "When fitna comes. it
does not come to guide, but to contend with the believer for his own
self." The real insidious and seductive nature of fitna is that everyone
is convinced that they are in the right and, indeed, the group which
initiates the strife often has a legitimate grievance and are convinced
that they are putting things right. Abu Hurayra reported that the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said. "You people will be
keen to have the authority of government, which will be a thing of
regret for you on the Day of Resurrection. What an excellent wet
nurse it is, yet what a bad means of weaning it is!" It is very easy to
think that you will be able to change things once you are in charge.
and usually very difficult to do so!
After the event, when the damage is done and the bodies of
Muslims slain by one another litter the battlefield. it is easy to see the
mistake:
Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "When this fitna first came, every
man of knowledge recognised it: and when it retreated. every
ignorant man recognised it."
One of the men mentioned in this book. Abu'l-'Aliyya ar-Riyahi,
was very eager at first to go out and fight alongside 'Ali at Siffin. but
when he got there, he realised the ramifications of what was happen
ing:
I. Al-Harra is a stony tract of hlack volcanic rock east of Madina where a terri
hlc hattle took place in 63 AH (26 August 683) hetween the forces of Yazid I and
'Ahdullah ihn az-Zuhayr which ended in Madina heing sacked and plundered.
Vtl
Introduction
"In the time of the conflict between 'Ali and Mu'awiya, I
was young and eager and preferred fighting to good food. So
I made excellent provisions in order to join the army. At
Siffin, the ends of the two armies could not be seen because
each side was so large. If one side were destroyed, the other
side would be destroyed as well. I thought to myself, 'Which
of the two groups will I consider to be unbelievers? Which
will I consider to be believers? Who can force me to take
part in this?' I continued to reflect on it until I went back and
left them."
May Allah give us such insight in times of unrest and dispute!
Ibn al-Ash'ath
One of the major fitnas mentioned in this period is that of Ibn al
Ash 'ath who revolted in 80/699. This uprising was partially a reac
tion against the authoritarian and arbitrary actions of al-Hajjaj, the
Umayyad governor in Iraq, and also an assertion of tribal pride of the
ashraf, the local nobles, and their feeling of having been slighted and
bypassed. Al-Hajjaj, in turn, believed that he was doing what was
necessary to quell the constant unrest in Iraq caused by the
Kharijites, even though his actions clearly exceeded the proper
bounds laid down by the Shari 'a - a manifestation of the conviction
that the ends justify the means.
'Abdal-Malik ibn Marwan had come to power in 65/685 after the
death of Marwan ibn al-Hakam in the middle of the civil war with
'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. It took him ten years of war - which
involved the sack of Madina and the destruction of the Ka'ba -
before he defeated Ibn az-Zubayr. Then he had to put down the
Berbers of North Africa who taken advantage of the Civil War in
Arabia, Syria, and Iraq to revolt.
At this point, Iraq was largely ungovernable, thanks mainly to the
Kharijites. Things were further muddled by the Shi'ite rebellion led
by al-Mukhtar in the name of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, the son
of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, which began in 66 /683. Thus in Iraq, the civil
war was a three-sided affair (or four-sided if you include the
VIII
