bewley.virtualave.net http://bewley.virtualave.net/ulama.html ulama The Seven Fuqaha' of Madina (This is taken from the section on Imam Malik in The Four Imams by Muhammad Abu Zahrah, soon to be published by Dar al-Taqwa) We should briefly mention the seven fuqaha' since they were largely responsible for the transmission of knowledge of Madina and were the source of most of Malik's knowledge. Indeed we are indebted to them for much of the knowledge of Islam and the Sunna which we possess today. Malik mentioned them as being the fuqaha' and the bearers of knowledge. 1. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab 2. 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr 3. Abu Bakr ibn 'Abdu'r-Rahman 4. Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr 5. 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utba ibn Mas'ud 6. Sulayman ibn Yasar 7. Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit 1. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab The first of them in position and importance in knowledge was Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, may Allah be pleased with him. He was from Makhzum, the sub-tribe of Quraysh. He was born during the khalifate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and died in 93 AH, so he lived through the rule of 'Uthman, 'Ali, Mu'awiya, Yazid, Marwan, and 'Abdu'l-Malik. He completely devoted himself to fiqh. He was not concerned with tafsir of the Qur'an as was 'Ikrima, the client and student of Ibn 'Abbas and transmitter of his fiqh and tafsir. According to the tafsir of at-Tabari, "Yazid ibn Abi Yazid said: 'We used to ask Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab about the lawful and unlawful; he was the most knowledgeable of people. We asked him about the tafsir of an ayat of the Qur'an and he said, 'Do not ask me about any ayat of the Qur'an. Ask the one who claims that none of it is hidden from him,' meaning 'Ikrima." Sa'id met a great number of the Companions, and took from them and studied with them. What he especially sought were the judgements of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the judgements of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman. He took half of his knowledge from Zayd ibn Thabit, and most of his transmission was from Abu Hurayra, his father-in-law, since Sa'id was married to his daughter. He learned the fiqh of 'Umar from his companions to such an extent that he was considered the main transmitter of the fiqh of 'Umar. Ibn al-Qayyim called him "the transmitter of 'Umar and the bearer of his knowledge." Ja'far ibn Rabi'a said, "I asked 'Irak ibn Malik, 'Who among Malik's sources has the most fiqh?' He replied, 'The one among them with the most fiqh and knowledge of the judgements of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the judgements of 'Umar, and the judgements of 'Uthman, and the one with the knowledge of what people did is Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab. The one with the most hadiths is 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr. You could not wish for a greater ocean than 'Ubaydullah (ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utba),' 'Irak continued, 'I think that the one among them with the most fiqh is Ibn Shihab because he joined their knowledge to his.' particularly 'A'isha. He lived through the seditions which occurred after the murder of 'Uthman until authority was settled with the Marwanids. rules for the apportionment of shares of inheritance and rulings. 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr. 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr. 'Urwa was the person with the greatest knowledge of the hadiths of 'A'isha. 'I used to seek knowledge from three men: Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab. He died in 94 AH." It is clear that 'Urwa was concerned with recording the fiqh and hadith he learned and it is related that he wrote books. He was a faqih and hadith transmitter. and he also learned the traditions containing the judgements of the khalifs since he was concerned to know the judgements and fatwas of the khalifs. He related from 'A'isha and Umm Salama. His concern with hadith was to learn the judgements of the Prophet. It is clear that he completely devoted himself to study." He was a hadith transmitter and a faqih who followed the path of tradition and he did not give fatwas in the way that Ibn al-Musayyab did. I saw that I had become one of four authorities. Since Ibn al-Musayyab followed the traditions of 'Umar in judgement and fiqh. His opinion was based on the firm pillars of fiqh: the Qur'an and hadith. I have memorised all of them. who had the most fiqh of all. and if you wish to find a kind of knowledge not found with anyone else you would find it with 'Ubaydullah. 'Urwa had the most hadiths. "a sea undiminished by buckets. who was a bottomless ocean. "I would rather have them in my possession than my family and property twice over. She was foremost in general knowledge. and the judgements of the Prophet and Rightly-Guided Khalifs. took knowledge from her as did 'Urwa. there will be no hadith which will be lost from those she knows. He later he regretted that. Although his brother. He was the Imam of the fuqaha' of Madina in the time of the Tabi'un. He learned the fiqh of the deen from a group of the Companions. 3. p. wrested the rule from 'Abdu'l-Malik ibn Marwan. He said. vol. and used to say. may Allah be pleased with her. . 18) Ibn al-Musayyab concentrated on fiqh. He was born in the khalifate of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and died in 94 AH. judgements and fatwas because the state was expanding and events occurred which made them necessary. That is why it is transmitted that he used to give fatwa when others feared to do so. ra'y (opinion) had great importance in his view because 'Umar frequently formed an opinion on matters about which there was no explicit text in the Book of Allah or the Sunna of the Messenger. 1. He also did not give fatwa as Ibn al-Musayyab did. the son of her brother. He was the brother of 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr and the nephew of 'A'isha. the Mother of the Faithful. He did not refuse to give a fatwa when there was need for one. 2. In hadith he was. Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad. 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr The second of the seven fuqaha' who formulated the fiqh of Madina in the time of the Tabi'un was 'Urwa ibn azZubayr ibn al-'Awwam. So Ibn al-Musayyab also used ijtihad (independent reasoning) to answer problems presented to him about matters on which there was no explicit text from the Book or Sunna or judgement or fatwa of a Companion: he would give a fatwa based on his opinion which did not exceed what was proper. Abu Bakr ibn 'Abdu'r-Rahman The third of those fuqaha' was Abu Bakr ibn 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn al-Harith. the son of her sister Asma'.'" (I'lam.Az-Zuhri said. "Before 'A'isha died. His son Hisham related that he had books which he burned on the day of the Battle of Harra. it is not known that he became involved in the business or helped his brother in any way. studying fiqh and hadith. may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He was devout and devoted to worship and asceticism to the extent that he was called 'the Monk of Quraysh'. and the conflict became intense between them. for his time was the pre-eminent time of fiqh. however." Ibn al-Musayyab had the most fiqh of the Tabi'un in Madina. Tradition dominated his fiqh. The most prominent in his transmission of the knowledge of the fiqh of the Companions was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. 'If she dies. I said. as his student Ibn Shihab said. but he was afraid that they might become books alongside the Book of Allah and so he destroyed them. and Abu Hurayra. he composed poetry. may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He died in 100 AH. the nephew of 'A'isha. Sometimes they would exercise ijtihad according to their own opinions but only in the way in which the Companions had done. Sulayman had fine understanding. 'Come in. They were traditionists and legists who studied the fiqh of the First Generation. He died in 108 AH. nearly. and they deduced from it and gave fatwas when they did not find a tradition from the Prophet or his Companions. He was a client of Maymuna bint al-Harith. 'Is it Sulayman?' Then she asked. Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit The seventh was Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit who died in 100 AH. It is reported that he asked permission to visit 'A'isha. "I never saw a faqih with more knowledge than al-Qasim. in 94 AH. She said. Worship moved him at the end of his life to withdraw and be alone. 5. In addition to his knowledge of fiqh and hadith and his good character. Abu'z-Zinad 'Abdullah ibn Dhakwan said about him. He was a faqih in legal opinion (ra'y). which is why not much of his fiqh and knowledge spread. like his father Zayd well-known for that and the science of shares of inheritance. Sulayman ibn Yasar The sixth was Sulayman ibn Yasar. the wife of the Prophet. He was a teacher of 'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz and had a profound effect on his intellect and person. Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr The fourth of the seven was al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Mus'ab ibn 'Abdullah said. He learned hadith and fiqh from his aunt and from Ibn 'Abbas. There is only a small amount outstanding. may Allah be pleased with her. He criticised the use of a hadith if its text was put before the Book of Allah and the well-known Sunna. "Kharija and Talha ibn 'Abdu'r-Rahman gave fatwa in their time. He was a faqih and so he had both fiqh and hadith. That is why Kharija had few hadiths. and Umm Salama. That is why Malik related that 'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz said. 'A'isha. It should be pointed out that those fuqaha' were not traditionists in all respects. It is said that she gave him a kitaba contract and stipulated an amount of money he must pay for his freedom. He transmitted from Ibn 'Abbas. A'isha. fiqh and fatwa and his connection to people at the beginning of his life." In addition to his knowledge. 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utba ibn Mas'ud The fifth of those fuqaha' was 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utba. he used to distribute people's inheritances according to the Book of Allah Almighty.'"1 He transmitted from Zayd ibn Thabit.4. "She recognised my voice. 'Have you paid what she stipulated for you?' I said. 'Yes. Kharija was one of the devout worshippers of Madina. **************** Those are the seven fuqaha' who.' She said. I never saw anyone who had more knowledge of the Sunna than him. together with those of their generation who also knew the fiqh of the Companions and the Prophet. Because of his great knowledge of the shares of inheritance. "If I had authority in the matter. palm-trees and property – and they wrote out documents for people. 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar. and they did not complicate the ramifications of problems in the way that the people of Iraq did. People accepted their statements and they distributed people's inheritance . He was the overseer of the Market of Madina when 'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz was its governor. 6. and the wives of the Prophet. may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He died in 98 or 99 AH. It is also said that it was earlier than that. formed the school which formulated the fiqh of Madina and gave it a distinctive character. Its basis was giving fatwa according to the fatwas of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah.houses. Maymuna. He said. 7. and many fatwas based on opinion. He was a hadith transmitter. Abu Hurayra. and proceeding in their own way in respect of deriving judgements when they did not find a directly relevant fatwa which had been passed down. using their intellects to arrive at a deduction based well-known ." It is clear that as well as piety he had aspiration ( himma) and cleverness. and resolve in things." meaning al-Qasim ibn Muhammad. His famous student. I would appoint the blind one of Banu Taym. You are still owned as long as you still owe anything. His knowledge and understanding of fiqh were increased by his study of people's affairs and knowledge of their states. The fiqh of opinion was used by them only to derive principles from the fatwas of the Companions and the judgements of the Prophet. may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Furthermore. However. This would seem to suggest that the fiqh of opinion had a prominent position among them. Rabi'a and all of their generation. and opinion rather than hadith came first for Rabi'a ar-Ra'y and Yahya ibn Sa'id. His shaykhs included some for whom fiqh and opinion was predominant and others for whom hadith was predominant. in the form of hypothetical questions which they devised. which had been transmitted to them and were being acted upon on a daily basis around them in the city of Madina where they had been made. the difference between their opinion and that of the scholars of Iraq lies in the fact that the scholars of Iraq used to give fatwas on whatever questions came up as well as in respect of things which had not even occurred. Hadith dominated the fiqh of Ibn Shihab. . Some of them had mainly knowledge of hadith and little fiqh and fatwa. like 'Urwa ibn az-Zubayr. Then Malik learned from that generation. which would in turn tend to make them seem similar to the people of Iraq.judgements of the Prophet. but most of them concentrated on fatwa and fiqh. their opinion was not confined to deduction based firmly on transmitted judgements of the Companions. may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The fiqh of those seven scholars was learned by Ibn Shihab. Thus it is not strange that we find that opinion played a large role in Malik's fiqh. The Madinans only gave fatwas about matters which had actually arisen.