Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un (the Successors) (series completed)
· Lesson 16 of 37
Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (16) | Saeed bin Jubair, may God have mercy on him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The best of generations in character and example,
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Who followed the Messenger in all he strove for and spoke.
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Mawaddah Association
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Presents:
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"Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un"
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By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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Sa'id ibn Jubayr,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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He was a sturdy, well-proportioned young man of noble character,
0:47
Overflowing with vigor and vitality.
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Moreover, he possessed a brilliant mind and sharp intellect,
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Always aspiring to noble virtues,
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And conscientiously abstaining from forbidden matters.
1:00
Neither his dark complexion, his tightly curled hair,
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Nor his Abyssinian lineage
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Ever detracted from his distinguished and extraordinary personality,
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Even despite his youth.
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This young man—Abyssinian by descent
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And Arab by allegiance (wala')—fully realized
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That sacred knowledge was the straight path leading him to Allah,
1:23
And that God-fearing piety (taqwa)
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Was his paved way to reach Paradise.
1:30
So he took piety in his right hand and knowledge in his left,
1:34
Clinging firmly to both with all his might,
1:37
And set forth on the journey of life without languor or hesitation.
1:43
From his earliest youth,
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People would see him either devotedly studying his book,
1:51
Or standing upright in his prayer niche, engrossed in worship.
1:54
Such was the luminary of the Muslims in his era:
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Sa'id ibn Jubayr, may Allah be pleased with him.
2:03
The young Sa'id ibn Jubayr acquired knowledge from an elite group of eminent Companions,
2:10
Such as Abu Sa'id al-Khudri,
2:13
'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i,
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Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
2:18
Abu Hurayrah al-Dawsi,
2:20
'Abdullah ibn 'Umar,
2:22
And 'A'ishah, Mother of the Believers,
2:24
May Allah be pleased with her and all of them.
2:27
Yet his foremost teacher and greatest mentor
2:31
Was 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas,
2:34
The grand scholar of the Ummah of Muhammad
2:36
And the vast, boundless ocean of its knowledge.
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Sa'id ibn Jubayr attached himself to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas
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As closely as a shadow accompanies its owner,
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Learning from him the Qur'an and its Tafsir,
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Hadith and its rare vocabulary,
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Mastering fiqh in religion under his guidance,
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Learning from him Qur'anic interpretation (ta'wil),
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And studying the Arabic language under him
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Until he achieved absolute mastery over it,
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To the extent that there remained no one on the face of the earth in his time
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Except that he was in need of his knowledge.
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He then traveled throughout the Muslim lands
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In search of knowledge for as long as Allah willed him to travel.
3:15
Once he had acquired the full measure of knowledge he sought,
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He made Kufa his home and residence,
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Becoming a teacher and an imam for its people.
3:26
He used to lead the people in prayer during Ramadan;
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One night he would recite according to the reading of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
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Another night according to the reading of Zayd ibn Thabit,
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And a third night according to yet another reading,
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And so on.
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Whenever he prayed alone,
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He would often recite the entire Qur'an.
3:47
Whenever he passed by the words of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime,
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Or passed by similar verses of promise and warning,
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His skin would shiver, his heart would tremble,
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And his eyes would overflow with tears.
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He would repeatedly recite the verse over and over again
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Until it seemed as though he were about to perish.
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He made a regular habit of journeying to the Sacred House twice every year:
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Once in Rajab, entering into ihram
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For 'Umrah,
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And another in Dhu al-Qi'dah, entering into ihram for Hajj.
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Students of knowledge and seekers of good, virtue, and counsel
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Used to flock to Kufa
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To drink deeply from the abundant, pure springs of Sa'id ibn Jubayr
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And to partake of his upright guidance.
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One would ask him, "What is true awe (khashyah)?"
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To which he would reply,
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"True awe is that you fear Allah, the Glorious and Exalted,
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Such that your awe of Him stands between you and your sins."
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Another would ask him, "What is remembrance (dhikr)?"
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He would answer, "Remembrance is obedience to Allah, the Exalted and Majestic.
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Whoever turns to Allah and obeys Him has truly remembered Him,
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While whoever turns away from Him and disobeys Him
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Has not remembered Him, even if he spends his whole night glorifying Allah and reciting."
5:34
When Sa'id ibn Jubayr took Kufa as his place of residence,
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It was under the rule of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi,
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For al-Hajjaj was then the governor of Iraq, the East,
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And the lands beyond the river (Transoxiana).
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At that time, he was at the very pinnacle of his power and authority,
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Having killed 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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Crushed his movement,
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Brought Iraq firmly under the rule of the Umayyads,
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Extinguished the flames of revolts raging here and there,
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Put the sword to the necks of the people,
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And spread terror throughout the land,
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Until hearts were filled with dread of him and fear of his ruthless might.
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Then Allah willed that a clash occur between al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi
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And 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Ash'ath,
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One of his senior commanders,
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And that this clash turn into a devastating civil strife that consumed everything in its path
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And left deep wounds in the body of the Muslim Ummah.
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The account of this strife was
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That al-Hajjaj dispatched Ibn al-Ash'ath with an army to fight Rutbil,
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The king of the Turks in the territories lying beyond Sijistan.
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The brave and victorious commander conquered a vast portion of Rutbil's lands,
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Seized fortified strongholds in his domain,
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And acquired immense spoils of war from its cities and villages.
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He then sent emissaries to al-Hajjaj bringing glad tidings of the great victory,
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Carrying with them the one-fifth share of the spoils
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To be deposited into the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) of the Muslims.
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He also wrote him a letter
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Asking permission to halt military operations for a period of time
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In order to examine the country's access routes and exits,
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To understand its terrain and conditions,
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Before advancing deeply into its remote, unknown mountain passes
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And exposing the victorious army to peril.
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Al-Hajjaj was enraged with him
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And sent him a letter accusing him of cowardice and submission,
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Warning him of doom and destruction,
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And threatening to dismiss him from the command of the army.
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Thereupon, 'Abd al-Rahman gathered the prominent figures of the army and the battalion commanders,
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Read al-Hajjaj's letter to them,
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And consulted them regarding the matter.
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They urged him to revolt against him
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And to renounce allegiance to him immediately.
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'Abd al-Rahman said to them,
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"Will you pledge allegiance to me on this basis,
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Support me in fighting him,
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Until Allah purges the land of Iraq of his filth?"
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So the soldiers pledged allegiance to him according to what he called them to.
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Ash'ath mobilized
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With his army, which was filled with hatred for al-Hajjaj,
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And fierce battles broke out between him
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And the armies of Ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi,
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In which he scored decisive victories,
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Successfully taking control of Sijistan
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And most of Persia.
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He then advanced, intending to wrest Kufa and Basra from the hands of al-Hajjaj.
8:54
While the flames of war were raging between the two factions,
8:59
And Ibn al-Ash'ath was moving from one victory to another,
9:03
An event befell al-Hajjaj that further strengthened his opponent.
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Namely, the provincial governors wrote letters to al-Hajjaj stating
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That the non-Muslim subjects (Dhimmi) had begun entering Islam in droves
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In order to be exempt from paying the jizya,
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That they had abandoned the villages where they worked
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And settled in the cities,
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Causing the land tax (kharaj) to dwindle
9:29
And tax revenues to collapse.
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So al-Hajjaj wrote letters to his governors in Basra and elsewhere,
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Ordering them to round up all the non-Muslim subjects who had migrated to the cities
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And return them to their villages,
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No matter how long they had been away from them.
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The governors carried out the order,
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Evicting large numbers of them from their homes,
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Depriving them of their means of livelihood,
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Herding them onto the outskirts of the cities,
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Expelling their women and children along with them,
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And forcibly driving them back to the villages
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Long after they had parted from them.
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The women, children, and elderly began to weep,
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Crying out and pleading for help,
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Calling out, "O Muhammad! O Muhammad!"
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They were bewildered as to what to do
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Or where to go.
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The jurists and Qur'an reciters of Basra came out to them
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To assist them and intercede on their behalf,
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But they were unable to do so.
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So they began to weep at their weeping
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And lament over their plight.
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Ash'ath seized this opportunity
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And called upon the jurists and Qur'an reciters to support him.
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A distinguished group of eminent Tabi'un and leaders of the Muslims responded to his call,
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Foremost among them Sa'id ibn Jubayr,
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla,
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Al-Sha'bi, Abu al-Bakhtari,
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And many, many others.
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The mills of war turned between the two sides,
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And victory at first belonged to Ibn al-Ash'ath and those with him over al-Hajjaj and his troops.
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Then the scales began to tip gradually in favor of al-Hajjaj,
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Until Ibn al-Ash'ath suffered a crushing defeat
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And fled to save his own life,
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While his army surrendered to al-Hajjaj and his soldiers.
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Al-Hajjaj ordered his herald to announce among the defeated combatants,
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Calling upon them to renew their pledge of allegiance to him.
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Most of them complied,
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While some went into hiding.
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Among those who went into hiding was Sa'id ibn Jubayr, may Allah be pleased with him.
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When the surrendering men began coming forward one after another to renew their pledge,
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They were caught off guard by something they had never anticipated.
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For he began saying to each one of them:
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"Do you testify against yourself
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That you committed disbelief (kufr) by breaking your pledge of allegiance to the Commander of the Believers?"
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If he said yes, he accepted the renewal of his pledge and released him;
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and whenever someone said no, he executed him.
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Some people would submit to him
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and confess disbelief against themselves
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just to save their lives from execution,
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while others considered that too abhorrent and refused,
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paying with their lives as the price for their defiance and refusal.
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News of that horrific massacre spread far and wide,
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in which several thousand men were slaughtered,
12:45
and several thousand others survived
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only after branding themselves with disbelief.
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Among these cases was an elderly man from the tribe of Khath'am
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who had remained neutral between both factions, residing beyond the Euphrates.
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He was brought before al-Hajjaj along with those who were captured.
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When he was brought in, al-Hajjaj asked about his situation,
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to which he replied, "Ever since this war broke out,
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I have remained secluded across this river,
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waiting to see the outcome of the fighting.
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Once you prevailed and were victorious,
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I came to offer you my pledge of allegiance."
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Al-Hajjaj said to him, "May you perish!
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You sat idly waiting and did not fight alongside your commander?"
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Then he rebuked him harshly, saying:
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"Do you testify against yourself that you are a disbeliever?"
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The old man replied, "What a wretched man I would be
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if, after worshiping Allah for eighty years,
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I were to testify against myself with disbelief!"
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Al-Hajjaj said to him, "Then I shall kill you."
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He said, "Even if you kill me,
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by Allah, nothing remains of my life but the thirst-interval of a donkey,
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for it drinks in the morning and dies by evening.
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Truly, I await death morning and evening,
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so do whatever seems fit to you."
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Al-Hajjaj said to his executioner,
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"Strike his neck!"
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So the executioner struck his neck.
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There was no one left in that gathering, whether a partisan of al-Hajjaj or an opponent,
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except that he revered the elderly man,
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mourned him, and prayed for Allah's mercy upon him.
14:24
Then he summoned Kumayl ibn Ziyad al-Nakha'i
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and said to him, "Do you testify against yourself with disbelief?"
14:34
He replied, "By Allah, I will never so testify!"
14:37
He said, "Then I shall kill you."
14:40
He replied, "Decree whatever you will decree!
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Indeed, our appointment is before Allah,
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and after death comes the reckoning."
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Al-Hajjaj said to him,
14:52
"The proof on that Day shall be against you, not for you!"
14:55
He replied, "That would only be so if you were the judge on that Day."
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Al-Hajjaj said,
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"Kill him!"
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So he was brought forward and executed.
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Then another man was brought before him
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whom al-Hajjaj hated and intensely desired to kill
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because of the mockery of him that used to be reported to him.
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So he preempted him by saying,
15:19
"I see a man before me
15:22
whom I do not think would ever testify against himself with disbelief."
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The man replied,
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"Do not entrap me or deceive me about myself!
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I am the most disbelieving person on earth,
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even more of a disbeliever than Pharaoh, lord of the stakes!"
15:36
So he released him,
15:38
while burning with an intense thirst to execute him.
15:42
The news of that dreadful massacre spread,
15:45
in which several thousand steadfast believers were slain,
15:50
and several thousand others survived
15:53
among those who were forced to brand themselves with disbelief.
15:57
Thus, Sa'id ibn Jubayr realized
15:59
that if he fell into the hands of al-Hajjaj,
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he would face one of two unavoidable outcomes:
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either his neck would be severed,
16:09
or he would have to confess disbelief against himself,
16:12
and both choices, the sweeter of them was bitter.
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So he chose to leave the land of Iraq
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and vanish from sight.
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He continued traveling across Allah's vast earth,
16:24
hiding from al-Hajjaj and his spies,
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until he sought refuge in a small village in the territory of Makkah.
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He remained in this state for ten full years,
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a period sufficient to extinguish the fires of al-Hajjaj—
16:40
the fires burning in al-Hajjaj's heart—
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and to remove the malice harbored against him.
16:47
However, something occurred that no one had anticipated:
16:51
there arrived in Makkah
16:54
a new governor from among the Umayyad rulers,
16:57
Khalid ibn 'Abdullah al-Qasri.
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The companions of Sa'id ibn Jubayr grew apprehensive
17:03
and fearful of him
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because of what they knew of his evil conduct,
17:08
expecting harm at his hands.
17:11
Some of them came to Sa'id and said to him,
17:15
"This man has arrived in Makkah,
17:18
and by Allah, we do not feel you are safe from him.
17:21
So heed our request and leave this land."
17:25
He replied, "By Allah, I have fled so much that I have become ashamed before Allah,
17:31
and I have resolved to remain in this place of mine,
17:35
and let Allah do whatever He wills."
17:38
Khalid did not belie the bad expectations people held of him;
17:45
no sooner had he learned of Sa'id ibn Jubayr's whereabouts
17:48
than he dispatched a detachment of his soldiers to him,
17:52
ordering them to take him bound in chains to al-Hajjaj in the city of Wasit.
17:57
The soldiers surrounded the Shaykh's house
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and placed the shackles upon his hands
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in full view of some of his companions,
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and informed him of his departure to al-Hajjaj.
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He received them with a composed soul and a tranquil heart,
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then turned to his companions and said,
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"I see myself only being slain at the hands of that tyrant.
18:20
Once, two companions of mine and I spent a night in worship,
18:25
and we felt the sweetness of supplication,
18:28
so we supplicated Allah with whatever we asked,
18:31
and we implored Him as He willed for us to implore.
18:35
Then we asked Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, to grant us martyrdom;
18:40
and Allah granted it to both of my companions,
18:44
while I remained waiting for it."
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Then, no sooner had he finished his words
18:50
than a young daughter of his came out to him.
18:54
She saw him bound in chains as the soldiers were leading him away,
18:58
so she clung to him and began weeping and sobbing.
19:02
He gently moved her aside and said to her,
19:06
"Tell your mother, my little daughter, that our rendezvous is Paradise, if Allah Almighty wills."
19:13
Then he departed.
19:17
The soldiers arrived with the scholarly imam, the worshiper, the ascetic,
19:21
the pious, pure, and devout sage, in the city of Wasit,
19:26
and they brought him before al-Hajjaj.
19:28
When he stood before him, al-Hajjaj looked at him with malice and said,
19:33
"What is your name?"
19:34
He said,
19:35
"Sa'id ibn Jubayr [The Felicitous, son of the Mended]."
19:37
He retorted,
19:38
"Rather, you are Shaqiyy ibn Kasir [The Wretched, son of the Broken]!"
19:41
He replied,
19:42
"Nay, my mother knew my name better than you."
19:46
He said,
19:47
"What do you say about Muhammad?"
19:49
He asked,
19:50
"Do you mean Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?"
19:56
He replied, "Yes."
19:57
He said,
19:58
"The master of the children of Adam,
20:00
the chosen Prophet,
20:02
the best of all mankind who remain,
20:04
and the best of all who have passed.
20:06
He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust,
20:09
gave sincere counsel for Allah and His Book,
20:12
and to the generality of Muslims and their elite."
20:16
He asked,
20:17
"What do you say about Abu Bakr?"
20:20
He said,
20:21
"He is al-Siddiq,
20:22
the successor of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
20:26
he departed praiseworthy and lived felicitous,
20:29
and proceeded upon the path of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
20:34
never altering and never changing."
20:37
He asked,
20:39
"What do you say about 'Umar?"
20:41
He said,
20:42
"He is al-Faruq,
20:44
through whom Allah distinguished between truth and falsehood,
20:48
the chosen of Allah and the chosen of His Messenger;
20:51
he proceeded upon the methodology of his two companions,
20:54
so he lived praiseworthy and was killed as a martyr."
20:58
He asked,
20:59
"What do you say about 'Uthman?"
21:02
He said,
21:03
"He is the equipper of the Army of Hardship,
21:06
the digger of the Well of Rumah,
21:08
the purchaser of a home for himself in Paradise,
21:11
the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) through his two daughters,
21:16
and indeed the Prophet (peace be upon him) married them to him
21:20
by revelation from heaven;
21:22
and he is the one murdered unjustly."
21:24
He asked,
21:25
"What do you say about 'Ali?"
21:28
He said,
21:29
"The cousin of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
21:33
the first of the youth to embrace Islam,
21:36
the husband of Fatimah al-Batul,
21:39
and the father of al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
21:41
the two masters of the youth of the people of Paradise."
21:44
He asked,
21:45
"Which of the Umayyad caliphs do you admire most?"
21:49
He said,
21:50
He said,
21:51
"The one most pleasing to their Creator."
21:53
He asked,
21:54
"And which of them is most pleasing to the Creator?"
21:57
He said,
21:58
"The knowledge of that rests with the One Who knows their secrets and private counsels."
22:03
He said,
22:04
"Then what do you say about me?"
22:06
He said,
22:07
"You know yourself best."
22:09
He said,
22:10
"Rather, I want your own knowledge about me!"
22:13
He said,
22:14
"Then it will surely displease you and bring you no joy."
22:17
He said,
22:18
"I must hear your response."
22:21
He said,
22:22
"I certainly know that you act contrary to the Book of Allah Almighty,
22:27
committing acts by which you seek prestige and awe,
22:31
yet they plunge you into perdition
22:33
and drive you headlong toward the Fire."
22:36
He said,
22:37
"By Allah, I will surely execute you!"
22:40
He replied,
22:41
"Then you will ruin my worldly life,
22:44
but I will ruin your Hereafter."
22:46
He said,
22:47
"Choose for yourself whatever manner of death you wish."
22:50
He replied,
22:51
"Rather, choose it for yourself, O Hajjaj!
22:55
For by Allah, you will not kill me in any manner
22:58
except that Allah will kill you in the very same way in the Hereafter."
23:02
He said,
23:03
"Do you want me to pardon you?"
23:06
He replied,
23:07
"If there is any pardon, it comes from Allah Almighty;
23:10
as for you,
23:12
you have neither acquittal nor excuse."
23:15
Al-Hajjaj became enraged and said,
23:17
"Bring the sword and the execution mat, boy!"
23:20
Sa'id smiled,
23:22
so al-Hajjaj asked him,
23:24
"Why are you smiling?"
23:26
He said,
23:28
"I marvel at your audacity before Allah
23:31
and at Allah's forbearance toward you."
23:33
So he said,
23:34
"Kill him, boy!"
23:37
Sa'id faced the Qiblah and recited:
23:40
“Lo! I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters.” (6:79)
23:45
'...and I am not of the polytheists.'
23:48
So he said,
23:49
"Turn his face away from the Qiblah."
23:52
Sa'id recited:
23:53
'...wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.'
23:57
So he said,
23:58
"Cast him down on his face to the ground!"
24:01
Sa'id recited:
24:02
“Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time.” (20:55)
24:06
“Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time.” (20:55)
24:10
So al-Hajjaj said,
24:11
"Slaughter the enemy of Allah!
24:13
For I have never seen a man cite the verses of the Qur'an so swiftly."
24:18
Then Sa'id raised his hands and supplicated,
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"O Allah, do not give al-Hajjaj power over anyone after me."
24:26
Barely fifteen days had passed after the killing of Sa'id Ibn Jubayr
24:33
before al-Hajjaj was struck with a fever,
24:36
and the severity of the illness worsened upon him.
24:39
He would drift into a slumber for an hour and awaken the next,
24:42
and whenever he dozed off for a short while,
24:45
he would wake up terrified, shouting,
24:48
"Here is Sa'id Ibn Jubayr seizing me by my throat!
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Here is Sa'id Ibn Jubayr saying, 'Why did you kill me?'"
24:57
Then he would weep and say,
24:59
"What is between me and Sa'id Ibn Jubayr?
25:02
Keep Sa'id Ibn Jubayr away from me!"
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When he finally died and was buried beneath the dust,
25:09
someone saw him in a dream
25:11
and asked him,
25:13
"What has Allah done with you regarding those you killed, O Hajjaj?"
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He replied,
25:19
"Allah killed me once for every single person,
25:23
and He killed me seventy times for Sa'id Ibn Jubayr."
25:27
Sa'id Ibn Jubayr was killed
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when everyone on earth was in need of his vast knowledge.
25:42
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal
25:51
said regarding this, or as the poet said:
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"They were here, quenching the clouds of our lives,
26:00
so how could their legacy not resound high among us?
26:05
They departed, leaving a question within the conscience:
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Has any star ever risen and shone as brilliantly as they did?
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They filled life with glorious feats by their deeds,
26:20
and through them, our world flourished with brilliance."