A Glimpse at the Life of Sa’īd bin Jubayr
by Leo Africanus
genre:
History
description:
A Glimpse at the Life of Sa’īd bin Jubayr
chapters
chapter 1:
A Glimpse at the Life of Sa’īd bin Jubayr
A Glimpse at the Life of Sa’īd bin Jubayr
chapter 1
—
updated 05/09/07
—
7254 characters
—
0 people liked it
Amidst the current climate of revitalised Islamophobia, the need for a resounding voice of sanity and clarity to counter baseless claims has never been greater. The ‘democratic’ ideals of the state we live in enable us to openly submit our opinions and publicly deliberate over the decisions made by those chosen to represent us.
Let me take you back about 1300 years to 95/714 to the Iraqi provinces of the Islamic state presided over by the tyrannical governor al-Hajjāj bin Yūsuf al-Thaqafi. Al-Hajjāj had by this time earned his credentials as the icon of Umayyad rule and had already subjected notable companions of Amīr-ul-Mu’minīn (as) such as Qanbar bin Kadam and Kumayl bin Ziyād an-Nakhai to humiliation, torture and death. The ummah had seen the end of the brutal 21 year regime of Abdul Mālik bin Marwān only for him to be succeeded by his son Walīd in 86 AH. The two uprisings of al-Mukhtār al-Thaqafi and ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr in the aftermath of the events of Karbala had been quashed and anti-Shi’a sentiment had reached its zenith. The institution of khilafa had lost any semblance of a connection it may have once held with rushd (being rightly guided). It is from such an oppressive atmosphere that the wilayah of Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) once again shines out as a beacon to guide the diverted ummah, this time in the form of his offspring and companions.
Sa’īd bin Jubayr, whose kuniyya was Abū Muhammad, was originally a Kufan. He was regarded as one of the leading members of the tabi’een (the next generation) and was numbered by Sheikh al-Tūsi as one of the companions of Imam al-Sajjād (as). Sa’īd occupies the position of one held in the highest regard by scholars of the Shi‘a as well as those from amongst Ahl al-Sunnah and was regarded as one of the leading jurists of the time. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalāni and al-Dhahabi praise him greatly in their respective treatises.
At the battle of Jamājim in 82/699-701 Ibn Ash’ath and his varied following, including 100,000 from amongst the mawāli, took on the might of al-Hajjāj. Amongst the revolutionaries were a group known as the ‘Battalion of Qur’an Reciters’ headed by Kumayl bin Ziyād an-Nakhai. Sa’īd bin Jubayr was amid these ranks. The revolt came to nothing and was brutally put down. Sa’īd was forced to flee to the outskirts of Makkah. He persisted in travelling to Makkah itself twice a year to perform the hajj and ‘umrah and would enter Kūfa secretly too, in order to resolve the peoples’ religious issues. Sa’īd was finally apprehended though and brought before al-Hajjāj. Excerpts from a transcript of their dialogue follows:
Sa’īd bin Jubayr entered upon al-Hajjāj, so al-Hajjāj asked him: “What is your name (and he knew his name well)?”
He answered: “Sa’īd bin Jubayr.”
Al-Hajjāj responded to him saying: “Nay, you are Shaqiy bin Kusayr.” (al-Hajjāj is playing with words here: Sa’īd means happy and Shaqiy means unhappy; Jubayr means one who splints broken bones and Kusayr means one who breaks them.)
Sa’īd: “My mother knew better when she named me.”
Al-Hajjāj: “You are wretched (shaqayta) and your mother is wretched” (shaqiyat). Then he told him: “By Allah, I will replace your dunya with a blazing Fire.”
Sa’īd: “If I knew you could do it, I would take you as a God.”
Al-Hajjāj: “I have gold and wealth.”
Bags of gold and silver were brought and spread before Sa’īd bin Jubayr in order to try him.
Sa’īd bin Jubayr: “O Hajjāj, if you gathered it to be seen and heard in showing off, and to use it to avert others from the way of Allah, then by Allah, it will not avail you against Him in any way.” Saying this, he aligned himself towards Qiblah.
Al-Hajjāj: “Take him and turn him to other than the Qiblah. By Allah, O Sa’īd bin Jubayr, I will kill you with a killing with which I have not killed any of the people.”
Sa’īd: “O Hajjāj choose for yourself whatever killing you want, by Allah you will not kill me with a killing except that Allah will kill you with a like of it, so choose for yourself whatever killing you like.”
Al-Hajjāj said: “Turn him to other than the Qiblah.”
Sa’īd: “Wherever you [might:] turn, there is the Face of Allah.” [Qur'an, 2:115]
Al-Hajjāj: “Put him under the earth.”
Sa’īd: “From it [the earth:] We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time.” [Qur'an, 20:55]
Al-Hajjāj was outdone and ordered the beheading of Sa’īd bin Jubayr. Sa’īd was martyred in the month of Sha’bān, 95/714 at the age of 49. Al-Hajjāj is reported to have lost his senses on committing the atrocious act and died within a month.
Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari in his work entitled ‘Polarization around the Character of Imam Ali (as)’ eloquently summarises the effect of Imam ‘Ali (as) on those who interacted with him: extremity in attraction or extremity in repulsion. This polarisation around Imam ‘Ali (as) inevitably manifested itself around his closest adherents too and brought similar repercussions upon them as well.
Although the antics of al-Hajjāj are still beyond measures employed by Number 10 or even the Oval Office, there is a moral behind the confrontation between him and Sa’īd bin Jubayr. The notion of the truth and the absolute necessity of holding it aloft and dear to oneself is one oft mentioned not only by the aimmah (as) but by Allah (swt) Himself. The command to enjoin, amongst other traits, upon one another the teachings of truth, as done so in Surah al-‘Asr bear sufficient testament to this. The means of the Shi‘a has always been one of upholding the truth and cherishing it with the purest of resolutions, no matter the cost. Sa’īd bin Jubayr was a cog in the timeless mechanism of dynamicism that is Shi‘ism. Seeing the injustice and oppression that surrounded him which was crippling the ummah he sought to make amends and depose the usurpers of the true position of ulil amri minkum (those vested with authority amongst you). Being a true companion of Amīr-ul-Mu’minīn (as), he also decided on making an impact and being proactive and adhered to every letter of the latter’s words when he (as) said: "He who abandons forbidding what is wrong theoretically and practically (and is indifferent while seeing vices committed) is a moving corpse amongst the living."
Bibliography
al-Mufīd, Kitāb al-Irshād, Ansariyan Publications.
al-Qarashi, B.S., The Life of Imam Zayn l-‘Abidin, Ansariyan Publications, 2000.
al-Sayyid, K., Saeed bin Jubayr, Ansariyan Publications, 1996.
Imani, K.F., A Bundle of Flowers from the Garden of Traditions of the Prophet and Ahlul Bayt (as), Amir al-Mu'mineen Ali (a.s.) Library, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran
Jafri,S.H.M., The Origins and Early Development of Shi’a Islam, Oxford University Press, 2001
Madelung, W., The succession to Muhammad (A study of the early Caliphate), Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Mutahhari, M., Polarization around the Character of Imam Ali (as), W.O.F.I.S, Tehran, Iran, 1st Edition 1981.
back to top
Let me take you back about 1300 years to 95/714 to the Iraqi provinces of the Islamic state presided over by the tyrannical governor al-Hajjāj bin Yūsuf al-Thaqafi. Al-Hajjāj had by this time earned his credentials as the icon of Umayyad rule and had already subjected notable companions of Amīr-ul-Mu’minīn (as) such as Qanbar bin Kadam and Kumayl bin Ziyād an-Nakhai to humiliation, torture and death. The ummah had seen the end of the brutal 21 year regime of Abdul Mālik bin Marwān only for him to be succeeded by his son Walīd in 86 AH. The two uprisings of al-Mukhtār al-Thaqafi and ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr in the aftermath of the events of Karbala had been quashed and anti-Shi’a sentiment had reached its zenith. The institution of khilafa had lost any semblance of a connection it may have once held with rushd (being rightly guided). It is from such an oppressive atmosphere that the wilayah of Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) once again shines out as a beacon to guide the diverted ummah, this time in the form of his offspring and companions.
Sa’īd bin Jubayr, whose kuniyya was Abū Muhammad, was originally a Kufan. He was regarded as one of the leading members of the tabi’een (the next generation) and was numbered by Sheikh al-Tūsi as one of the companions of Imam al-Sajjād (as). Sa’īd occupies the position of one held in the highest regard by scholars of the Shi‘a as well as those from amongst Ahl al-Sunnah and was regarded as one of the leading jurists of the time. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalāni and al-Dhahabi praise him greatly in their respective treatises.
At the battle of Jamājim in 82/699-701 Ibn Ash’ath and his varied following, including 100,000 from amongst the mawāli, took on the might of al-Hajjāj. Amongst the revolutionaries were a group known as the ‘Battalion of Qur’an Reciters’ headed by Kumayl bin Ziyād an-Nakhai. Sa’īd bin Jubayr was amid these ranks. The revolt came to nothing and was brutally put down. Sa’īd was forced to flee to the outskirts of Makkah. He persisted in travelling to Makkah itself twice a year to perform the hajj and ‘umrah and would enter Kūfa secretly too, in order to resolve the peoples’ religious issues. Sa’īd was finally apprehended though and brought before al-Hajjāj. Excerpts from a transcript of their dialogue follows:
Sa’īd bin Jubayr entered upon al-Hajjāj, so al-Hajjāj asked him: “What is your name (and he knew his name well)?”
He answered: “Sa’īd bin Jubayr.”
Al-Hajjāj responded to him saying: “Nay, you are Shaqiy bin Kusayr.” (al-Hajjāj is playing with words here: Sa’īd means happy and Shaqiy means unhappy; Jubayr means one who splints broken bones and Kusayr means one who breaks them.)
Sa’īd: “My mother knew better when she named me.”
Al-Hajjāj: “You are wretched (shaqayta) and your mother is wretched” (shaqiyat). Then he told him: “By Allah, I will replace your dunya with a blazing Fire.”
Sa’īd: “If I knew you could do it, I would take you as a God.”
Al-Hajjāj: “I have gold and wealth.”
Bags of gold and silver were brought and spread before Sa’īd bin Jubayr in order to try him.
Sa’īd bin Jubayr: “O Hajjāj, if you gathered it to be seen and heard in showing off, and to use it to avert others from the way of Allah, then by Allah, it will not avail you against Him in any way.” Saying this, he aligned himself towards Qiblah.
Al-Hajjāj: “Take him and turn him to other than the Qiblah. By Allah, O Sa’īd bin Jubayr, I will kill you with a killing with which I have not killed any of the people.”
Sa’īd: “O Hajjāj choose for yourself whatever killing you want, by Allah you will not kill me with a killing except that Allah will kill you with a like of it, so choose for yourself whatever killing you like.”
Al-Hajjāj said: “Turn him to other than the Qiblah.”
Sa’īd: “Wherever you [might:] turn, there is the Face of Allah.” [Qur'an, 2:115]
Al-Hajjāj: “Put him under the earth.”
Sa’īd: “From it [the earth:] We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time.” [Qur'an, 20:55]
Al-Hajjāj was outdone and ordered the beheading of Sa’īd bin Jubayr. Sa’īd was martyred in the month of Sha’bān, 95/714 at the age of 49. Al-Hajjāj is reported to have lost his senses on committing the atrocious act and died within a month.
Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari in his work entitled ‘Polarization around the Character of Imam Ali (as)’ eloquently summarises the effect of Imam ‘Ali (as) on those who interacted with him: extremity in attraction or extremity in repulsion. This polarisation around Imam ‘Ali (as) inevitably manifested itself around his closest adherents too and brought similar repercussions upon them as well.
Although the antics of al-Hajjāj are still beyond measures employed by Number 10 or even the Oval Office, there is a moral behind the confrontation between him and Sa’īd bin Jubayr. The notion of the truth and the absolute necessity of holding it aloft and dear to oneself is one oft mentioned not only by the aimmah (as) but by Allah (swt) Himself. The command to enjoin, amongst other traits, upon one another the teachings of truth, as done so in Surah al-‘Asr bear sufficient testament to this. The means of the Shi‘a has always been one of upholding the truth and cherishing it with the purest of resolutions, no matter the cost. Sa’īd bin Jubayr was a cog in the timeless mechanism of dynamicism that is Shi‘ism. Seeing the injustice and oppression that surrounded him which was crippling the ummah he sought to make amends and depose the usurpers of the true position of ulil amri minkum (those vested with authority amongst you). Being a true companion of Amīr-ul-Mu’minīn (as), he also decided on making an impact and being proactive and adhered to every letter of the latter’s words when he (as) said: "He who abandons forbidding what is wrong theoretically and practically (and is indifferent while seeing vices committed) is a moving corpse amongst the living."
Bibliography
al-Mufīd, Kitāb al-Irshād, Ansariyan Publications.
al-Qarashi, B.S., The Life of Imam Zayn l-‘Abidin, Ansariyan Publications, 2000.
al-Sayyid, K., Saeed bin Jubayr, Ansariyan Publications, 1996.
Imani, K.F., A Bundle of Flowers from the Garden of Traditions of the Prophet and Ahlul Bayt (as), Amir al-Mu'mineen Ali (a.s.) Library, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran
Jafri,S.H.M., The Origins and Early Development of Shi’a Islam, Oxford University Press, 2001
Madelung, W., The succession to Muhammad (A study of the early Caliphate), Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Mutahhari, M., Polarization around the Character of Imam Ali (as), W.O.F.I.S, Tehran, Iran, 1st Edition 1981.
Did you like this?
vote
