In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The best of generations in stances and exemplary conduct,
Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
Mawaddah Association
Presents:
Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un,
By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
May Allah have mercy on him.
Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah al-Muzani,
May Allah have mercy on him.
The Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, spent
That night sleepless and watchful,
With eyelids that found no rest
And a body that found no comfort on its bed.
For his mind was thoroughly preoccupied on that cold night
Of the nights of Damascus
With the matter of selecting a judge for Basra,
Who would establish the scales of justice among the people,
Rule among them by what Allah had revealed,
And fear neither intimidation nor favor when upholding the truth.
His choice had settled upon two men
Who were like two thoroughbred steeds running neck and neck
In their deep understanding of religion, firmness in the truth,
Brilliance of intellect, and piercing insight.
Whenever he found in one of them a distinguishing merit
That tipped the scales in his favor over his companion,
He found in the other a quality that matched it.
When morning broke, he summoned his governor over Iraq,
'Adi ibn Artah,
Who was with him in Damascus at the time,
And said to him:
"O 'Adi, bring together Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah al-Muzani
And al-Qasim ibn Rabi'ah al-Harithi,
Speak to them regarding the judgeship of Basra,
And appoint one of them over it."
He replied, "To hear is to obey, O Commander of the Faithful."
'Adi ibn Artah brought Iyas and al-Qasim together
And said, "The Commander of the Faithful, may Allah prolong his life,
Has commanded me to appoint one of you to the judgeship of Basra.
What do you both think?"
Each of them began to say of his companion
That he was more worthy of this position than himself,
Recounting of his virtue, knowledge, and understanding of fiqh
Whatever Allah willed he should recount.
Thereupon 'Adi said,
"You shall not leave this gathering of mine
Until you have settled this matter."
Iyas then said to him,
"O Amir,
Inquire about me and al-Qasim from the two jurists of Iraq:
Al-Hasan al-Basri and Muhammad ibn Sirin,
For they are the best equipped of all people to distinguish between us."
Now al-Qasim used to visit them and they would visit him,
Whereas Iyas had no such connection with them.
So al-Qasim realized that Iyas intended to outmaneuver him,
And that if the governor consulted them,
They would surely recommend him over his companion.
Thus, he had no choice but to turn to the governor and say:
"Ask no one about me or about him, O Amir!
For by Allah, besides Whom there is no deity worthy of worship,
Iyas has a deeper understanding of Allah's religion than I do
And possesses greater knowledge of judicial administration.
If I am lying in this oath of mine,
It is not lawful for you to appoint me as a judge
While I am guilty of lying;
And if I am telling the truth,
It is not permissible for you to pass over the more virtuous for the less virtuous."
At that, Iyas turned to the governor and said:
"O Amir,
You brought a man and summoned him to judicial office,
Standing him right upon the brink of Hellfire;
Yet he rescued himself from it with a false oath
For which he will promptly seek Allah's forgiveness,
Thereby saving himself from what he fears."
'Adi said to him:
"Indeed, one who possesses understanding such as yours
Is truly fit and deserving of the judgeship!"
He then appointed him as the judge of Basra.
Who, then, was this man chosen by the ascetic caliph,
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz,
To be his judge over Basra?
Who was this man whose intelligence, acumen,
And quick-wittedness became proverbial,
Just as proverbs were coined about the generosity of Hatim al-Ta'i,
The forbearance of al-Ahnaf ibn Qays,
And the valor of 'Amr ibn Ma'dikarib?
Until Abu Tammam said in praise of Ahmad ibn al-Mu'tasim:
"The valor of 'Amr, in the generosity of Hatim,
In the forbearance of Ahnaf, in the intelligence of Iyas."
Come, let us begin the story of this man's life from its very outset,
For his biography is a thrilling and unique masterpiece among great lives.
Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah ibn Qurrah al-Muzani was born
In the year 46 of the Hijrah
In the region of al-Yamamah in Najd.
He moved with his family to Basra,
Where he grew up and acquired knowledge.
He frequented Damascus during his youth,
Learning from whichever surviving noble Companions he could meet
As well as the leading figures among the Tabi'un.
Signs of noble distinction and marks of genius appeared
In the Muzani youth from his earliest childhood,
And people began to recount his anecdotes and remarkable stories
While he was still a young boy.
It was related of him that he was learning arithmetic in an elementary school run by a dhimmi Jewish man,
When some of the teacher's Jewish companions gathered around him
And began conversing about religious matters,
While the boy listened to them without their realizing it.
The teacher said to his companions:
"Are you not amazed by the Muslims?
They claim that they will eat in Paradise and yet not excrete!"
Iyas turned to him and said:
"Do you permit me, teacher, to speak on what you are discussing?"
The teacher said, "Yes."
The boy asked:
"Does everything eaten in this world turn into waste?"
The teacher replied, "No."
The boy asked:
"Where, then, does that which is not excreted go?"
The teacher replied, "It is absorbed as bodily nourishment."
The boy said:
"Then why do you find it so strange,
If part of what we eat in this world is absorbed as nourishment,
That all of it should be absorbed as nourishment in Paradise?"
The teacher threw up his hands and said to him:
"May Allah confound you! What a boy you are!"
The youth advanced in age year after year,
And the reports of his brilliant intellect spread wherever he went.
It is related that he entered Damascus while still an adolescent boy,
And had a dispute with an elderly man of Damascus over a certain right.
When he despaired of convincing him by argument, he summoned him before the judge.
Once standing before the judge,
Iyas became impassioned and raised his voice against his adversary.
The judge said to him:
"Lower your voice, boy!
For your opponent is an elder of great age and stature."
Iyas replied:
"Yet the truth is greater than he!"
The judge grew angry and said:
"Be silent!"
The youth retorted:
"And who will voice my argument if I remain silent?"
The judge became even angrier and said:
"I see that you have spoken nothing but falsehood since entering this court!"
Iyas said:
"There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner;
Is this truth or falsehood?"
The judge calmed down and said:
"It is the truth, by the Lord of the Ka'bah, it is the truth!"
The young Muzani devoted himself wholeheartedly to knowledge,
Quenching his thirst from it as much as Allah willed.
He eventually attained such an eminence in it
That elder scholars deferred to him,
Followed his lead,
And sat as students before him,
Despite his tender age.
One year,
'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan visited Basra
Before assuming the caliphate.
He saw Iyas, who was then a young lad
Whose mustache had not yet begun to grow,
Followed by four bearded reciters of the Qur'an
Draped in their green robes,
With him walking ahead of them.
'Abd al-Malik remarked:
"Fie upon these beards!
Was there not an elder among them to lead the way,
That they put this boy forward?"
Then he turned to Iyas and asked:
"How old are you, young man?"
Iyas replied:
"My age, may Allah prolong the Amir's life,
Is the age of Usamah ibn Zayd
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appointed him to command
An army that included Abu Bakr and 'Umar."
Thereupon 'Abd al-Malik said to him:
"Step forward, young man, step forward! May Allah bless you."
And in a certain year,
The people went out searching for the crescent moon of Ramadan,
Led by the illustrious Companion
Anas ibn Malik al-Ansari,
Who was then an old man nearly a hundred years of age.
The people looked into the sky,
But saw nothing.
Yet Anas ibn Malik
Stared intently at the sky and said:
"I have seen the crescent moon!
There it is!"
And he kept pointing toward it with his hand,
Though no one else could see it.
At that moment, Iyas looked at Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
And noticed a long hair from his eyebrow
That had curved down until it hung directly in front of his eye.
He politely asked his permission,
Reached out his hand to the hair,
And smoothed it back into place.
Then he said to him:
"Do you still see the crescent moon now, O companion of the Messenger of Allah?"
Anas looked again and said:
No, I do not see it that way.
News of Iyas’s intelligence spread far and wide.
People began coming to him from every direction.
They would place before him the problems they encountered regarding knowledge and religion.
Some sought true understanding.
Others sought only to challenge him or engage in vain argumentation.
Among these instances is the report that a Dihqan (a local dignitary) came to his assembly and said:
"O Abu Wa'ilah, what do you say about intoxicants?"
He replied, "They are forbidden."
The man asked, "And what is the basis for their prohibition?"
"They are nothing more than fruit and water boiled over a fire."
"All of these things are permissible, and there is no harm in them."
Iyas said, "Have you finished what you have to say, O Dihqan?"
"Is there anything left for you to say?"
The man replied, "Yes, I am finished."
Iyas said, "If I took a handful of water and struck you with it,"
"would it cause you pain?"
The man said, "No."
Iyas said, "And if I took a handful of dirt and struck you with it,"
"would it cause you pain?"
The man said, "No."
Iyas then said,
"And if I took a handful of straw and struck you with it, would it cause you pain?"
The man said, "No." Iyas continued, "But if I took the dirt, placed the straw upon it, poured the water over them, and mixed them together,"
"then left the mass in the sun until it hardened, and then struck you with it, would it cause you pain?"
The man said, "Yes, it might even kill me." Iyas said, "Such is the nature of wine; when its components are gathered and fermented, it becomes forbidden."
When Iyas assumed the position of judge, he demonstrated stances that revealed his extreme intelligence, his vast resourcefulness, and his unique ability to uncover the truth.
Among these is the case of two men who brought a dispute before him; one claimed that he had entrusted a sum of money to his companion.
When he asked for it back, the other denied it, saying, "If my companion has proof, let him bring it; otherwise, he has no claim against me except for my oath."
Fearing that the man might consume the money by swearing a false oath, Iyas turned to the depositor and asked, "In what place did you entrust him with the money?"
He replied, "In such-and-such a place." Iyas asked, "And what is in that place?" He said, "A large tree under which we sat and ate together in its shade."
"When we were about to leave, I handed him the money." Iyas said to him, "Go to the place where the tree is; perhaps when you arrive, it will remind you where you placed your money."
"And it will remind you of what you did with it. Then return to me and tell me what you saw." The man left for the location, and Iyas said to the defendant, "Sit here until your companion returns."
He sat down, and Iyas turned to the other litigants present, proceeding to judge between them while keeping a watchful eye on the man. When he saw that the man had become calm and reassured, he turned to him and immediately asked:
"Do you think your companion has reached the place where you entrusted him with the money?" The man replied without hesitation, "No, it is far from here." Iyas said to him, "O enemy of Allah, you deny the money, yet you know the place where you took it! By Allah, you are a traitor."
The man was stunned and confessed to his betrayal. Iyas detained him until his companion returned and ordered him to return the deposit. Another story is that two men disputed over two garments of the type worn on the head and draped over the shoulders.
One was green, new, and valuable, while the other was red and worn. The plaintiff said, "I went down to the pool to bathe and placed my green garment with my clothes on the edge of the pool. My opponent came, placed his red garment next to mine, and went down into the pool."
"He came out before me, put on his clothes, took my garment, threw it over his head and shoulders, and walked away. I came out after him, followed him, and demanded my garment, but he claimed it was his."
Iyas said to the defendant, "And what do you say?" He replied, "It is my garment, and it is in my possession." Iyas said to the plaintiff, "Do you have proof?" He said, "No." Iyas said to his attendant, "Bring me a comb," and he brought it.
He combed the hair of both men; from the head of one, red fuzz from the wool of the garment fell, and from the head of the other, green fuzz fell. He ruled the red garment for the owner of the red fuzz and the green garment for the owner of the green fuzz.
Among the stories of his sagacity and intelligence is that there was a man in Kufa who appeared righteous to the people, showing them piety and godliness, until he was highly praised. Some people took him as their trustee, entrusting him with their wealth when they traveled and appointing him as guardian over their children when they felt death approaching.
A man came to him and entrusted him with money. When the man needed his money, he asked for it back, but the trustee denied it. The man went to Iyas and complained about him. Iyas asked the complainant, "Did you let your companion know that you were coming to me?" He said, "No."
Iyas said, "Go, and return to me tomorrow." Then Iyas sent for the trusted man and said, "I have gathered a large sum of money for orphans who have no provider, and I have decided to entrust it to you and appoint you as their guardian. Is your house secure, and do you have enough time?"
The man said, "Yes, O Judge." Iyas said, "Come to me the day after tomorrow, prepare a place for the money, and bring porters with you to carry it." The next day, the complainant came, and Iyas said to him, "Go to your companion and ask him for the money."
"If he denies it, tell him, 'I will complain about you to the judge.'" The man went to him and asked for his money. The trustee refused to give it to him and denied it, so the man said, "Then I will complain about you to the judge." When the trustee heard this, he gave him the money and appeased him.
The man returned to Iyas and said, "My companion has given me my due; may Allah reward you with good." Then the trustee came to Iyas at the appointed time with the porters. Iyas rebuked him, exposed him, and said, "What a wretched man you are, O enemy of Allah! You have made religion a trap for worldly gain."
Yet, despite Iyas’s extreme intelligence, sharp wit, and quick thinking, he sometimes encountered those who countered his arguments with their own, blocked his lines of reasoning, and silenced him. He spoke of himself, saying, "No one ever defeated me in argument except for one man."
"I was in the court of justice in Basra when a man entered and testified before me that such-and-such an orchard was the property of so-and-so, and he described its boundaries to me. I wanted to test his testimony, so I asked him, 'How many trees are in the orchard?' He paused for a moment."
"Then he raised his head and said, 'How long has our master the judge been presiding in this court?' I said, 'For so many years.' He asked, 'How many wooden beams are in the ceiling of this court?' I did not know, so I said, 'You are right,' and I accepted his testimony."
When Iyas Ibn Mu'awiyah reached the age of seventy-six, he saw himself and his father in a dream riding two horses; they raced together, and he did not outstrip his father, nor did his father outstrip him. His father had died at the age of seventy-six.
One night, Iyas went to his bed and said to his family, "Do you know what night this is?" They said, "No." He said, "On this night, my father completed his lifespan." When they woke up, they found him dead.
May Allah have mercy on Iyas the Judge, for he was a rarity among the rarities of his time and a marvel among the wonders of the age in sagacity, intelligence, the search for truth, and reaching it.
The boldness of 'Umar, the generosity of Hatim, the forbearance of Ahnaf, and the intelligence of Iyas, as Abu Tammam said.
They departed and left behind a question in the conscience: Has any star like them ever risen and shone?
They filled life with pride through their virtues, and the world of humanity flourished because of them.