We continue to get to know figures from our history. In this article, we will be featuring the great historian and commentator Muhammad b. Jarir et-Tabari . A scholar who opened his eyes to the world in the lands of Tabaristan , whose life was shaped by a dream, and who set out on the road with the love of knowledge. He has as many dislikes as those who love him. He was subjected to oppression and violence, and found a solution in locking himself in his home and writing his magnificent works. His history is still an authority today when it comes to Islamic History. He has covered his knowledge in detail in tafsir, history, hadith, jurisprudence and many more. I think these many clues are enough 🙂 Now, let’s meet this valuable scholar that history has gifted us. Enjoy reading…
Birth
Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari was born in the town of Amul in Tabaristan in the year 224 or 225 AH . There is a one-year disagreement regarding his date of birth. Tabari explained the reason for this confusion as follows; “ In the region where I lived, people determined dates according to important events. My year of birth was said to be based on an important event that occurred in the year I was born. However, over time, disagreements arose about the date of this event, some mentioned the year 224 while others said it was the year 225. For this reason, I do not know the exact year I was born. ”
Tabari’s family tree is mentioned in the sources as Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn Yazid ibn Khalid/Kasir ibn Ghalib. However, he wanted to be called Muhammad ibn Jarir and did not give much importance to lineage. Tabari, who never married, was nicknamed Abu Ja’far in accordance with the custom of giving a nickname to newborn babies along with their names in some Islamic geographies. Muhammad ibn Jarir, who is famous with the nickname Tabari, was known as Amuli because he was born in Amul, and as Baghdad because he spent a long period of his life in Baghdad .
The Dream That Started the Journey of Knowledge
Abu Ja’far al-Tabari is a great Islamic scholar who surpassed his time, especially in the field of history. In fact, his inclusion in the caravan of scholars was due to a dream his father had. One day, his father saw him in his dream, throwing stones in the arms of the Prophet Muhammad. Dream interpreters interpreted this dream as his son becoming a great scholar and defending the religion of Allah. Thereupon, Tabari’s father mobilized all his resources for his son to become a great scholar working for the religion of Islam. He also left him a high-income land so that he could comfortably continue his scholarly activities. Thus, a dream presents us with a scholar who surpassed centuries, the “Sheikh al-Muwarrihin”, Tabari.
Journeys for Knowledge
Tabari began his primary education in his hometown of Amul and memorized the Quran at the age of seven. When he was eight, he began to lead the public in prayer and when he was nine, he began to write hadith. Until the age of twelve, he attended various study circles in Amul and improved himself scientifically. When he was twelve, with the support of his father, he made his first journey of knowledge. Tabari first went to the land of Rey for his education. Here, he learned hadith and tafsir from Ibn Humayd al-Razi, Hanafi jurisprudence from Abu Muqatil, and hadith and Israiliyat from Musanna ibn Ibrahim al-Amuli. He also learned the books of Ibn Ishaq, which became famous as “Siratu ibn Ishaq”, from Seleme ibn He received the authorization of the narration that came through Mufaddal.
After Rey, Tabari decided to go to Baghdad in order to benefit from various scholars, especially Ahmad ibn Hanbal . While he was still on the road, he learned the news of Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s death. During his first trip to Baghdad, he learned Shafi’i jurisprudence from Abu Ali Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi al-Za’farani and Abu Said Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Istahri. After his trip to Baghdad, he headed to Basra. In Basra, he received permission to narrate many hadiths, biography, and news from the period of the Rashidun Caliphs from hadith scholars such as Muhammad ibn Bashar al-Bundar and Ibn al-Musanna. Similarly, after Basra, he received permission to narrate hadiths from many hadith scholars in Wasit.
From Wasit, he went to Kufa, an important center of science and culture at the time. He stayed in Kufa for about two years and took hadith lessons from Abu Kuraib Muhammad ibn Ala, Hannad ibn Seri et-Teymi and Ismail ibn Musa. In Kufa, he also developed himself in recitation, pre-Islamic poetry, Arabic language and literature. After these travels, he went back to Baghdad. There, he wrote the Musnad of Ya’qub ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraki. He took the esoteric jurisprudence from Dawud ibn Ali, the founder of the school of thought. Tabari, who left Baghdad to go to Egypt, visited Syria and the coastal cities. He stayed in Beirut for a while. There, he recited the Quran from Abbas ibn Walid al-Beiruti according to the recitation of the people of Damascus.
Setting out for Egypt, Tabari resided in Fustat for a while, where he took lessons in Shafi’i jurisprudence from famous Shafi’i scholars such as Ismail ibn Yahya al-Muzani and Abu Abdullah ibn Abdilhakem, and in Maliki jurisprudence from Yunus ibn Abdi’l-A’la al-Sadafi. Tabari, who had important scholarly conversations on Arabic language and literature and Arabic poetry in Fustat, also visited Damascus, attended hadith and recitation lessons in Damascus, and returned to Fustat. After his long scholarly journey, Tabari, who missed his hometown of Amul in Egypt, returned to Tabaristan after Fustat. After relieving his longing in his hometown for a while, he set out again for Baghdad, the capital of the Islamic world.
Tabari, who spent most of his life in Baghdad, settled in the Kantaretülberedân neighborhood, where many hadith scholars lived . He did not leave Baghdad except for missing his hometown again in 290 when he was sixty-five years old and went to Amul for a while. Muhammad b. Jarîr, who lived in the Kantaretülberedân neighborhood in Baghdad, moved to the Şemmasiye neighborhood on the western side of the city after writing his commentary called “ Jamiü’l-Bayan ” in 290/904. He engaged in science throughout his time in Baghdad and wrote many works. Some of his works have survived to the present day, while others have been lost over time.
Imam al-Mufassir
Tabari, who started his journey of knowledge at a young age, devoted his entire life to knowledge and especially distinguished himself in Islamic sciences. One of the fields in which he has a well-deserved reputation is tafsir. His tafsir, “Jami’u’l bayân ’an ta’vilü’l âyil-Kur’ân”, which he began to write in 270, earned him the title of “Imam al-Mufassirin”. Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini, one of the Shafi’i jurists, stated the following about this tafsir: “ Even if someone goes to China to obtain the tafsir of Muhammad b. Jarir, it will definitely not be too much. ” This revealed Tabari’s greatness in tafsir. Tabari, who saw himself as an intermediary in conveying narrations, has an extremely wide content in terms of narration.
In his commentary, he narrated the news from the Prophet, his companions and tabiin. However, it would not be right to see his commentary solely in the category of narration commentary [1] . Because Tabari, who was an expert in many fields such as jurisprudence, theology, language, literature and poetry, made choices and comparisons among the narrations he included in his commentary.
Sheikh of the Muverrih
When Tabari is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is undoubtedly his famous history and history. His famous work, “ Târîhu’l-ümem ve’l-mülûk ”, which earned him the titles of “ Abû’l Müverrihin ” and “ Şeyhü’l Müverrihin ”, still maintains its importance today. Tabari, who started writing his history after completing his exegesis in 290, finished his work in 303 AH. According to Muhammad b. Jarir, who established a connection between the science of exegesis and history, exegesis is to reveal the will of God Almighty in the Word of Allah, and history is to explain the manifestation of the divine will in human actions.
Tabari, who followed a method based on narrations in history as in his interpretation, believed that historical knowledge could be reached not through rational evidence or deductions, but through the narrations of narrators who personally observed historical events or conveyed them through the sky. For this reason, although he occasionally included his own ideas in his interpretation, he never made any explanations in his work on history. The work covers events from creation to the year 302 AH.
It is possible to think of the work in two parts. In the first part, the historical process from the beginning of time to the birth of the Prophet is discussed, and the life stories of the previous prophets, starting with the Prophet Adam, are included. In the second part, the events starting from the birth of the Prophet until the year 302 AH are included. Tabari’s history also has a special importance because it includes quotations from works written before and not survived to the present day.
A Life Dedicated to Knowledge
Tabari’s journey of knowledge, which began with learning the Quran at the age of seven, continued until he took his last breath. Tabari was a scholar who was completely devoted to knowledge, learning, and knowing. Because he never married for fear of disrupting his scientific activities, he devoted his life entirely to his books, students, and knowledge. Tabari, who spent many years of his life in Baghdad, even rejected the offers of the Abbasid vizier Abu’l Hasan Ibn Hakan al-Turki to become a judge and the head of the divan-i mazalim in order not to remain distant from knowledge.
Muhammad b. Jarir, who gained his real fame in the fields of interpretation and history, is a versatile scholar who has produced many authored works in various fields such as jurisprudence, hadith, recitation, aruz, and Arabic language. He has also reached a very high level especially in the field of hadith. Because, regarding the musnad called “Tehzîbü’l-âsâr”, the scholars have said that those who have this work will not need to refer to another hadith source and have expressed their sadness because the work has not been completed.
We think that the following words about Muhammad b. Jarir, who was a scholar in love with knowledge, reflect him perfectly; “He was as much a qari’ as a qari’ who knew nothing but the Quran, as much a hadith’ as a hadith’ist who knew nothing but hadith, as much a faqih as a jurist who knew nothing but jurisprudence, as much a linguist who knew nothing but grammar, and as much an accountant as an accountant who knew nothing but calculation.” Tabari was knowledgeable in fields such as logic, mathematics, algebra and medicine, in addition to his competence in Islamic sciences.
Being Subjected to Hanbali Violence
When Tabari completed his journey of learning and settled in Baghdad, the Hanbalis had gained significant influence and increased their power in Baghdad. The fact that he did not mention Ahmad ibn Hanbal among the jurists in his work “Ihtilafu’l-Fukaha”, which dealt with the disagreements of the jurists, caused him to also receive his share of the Hanbalite bigotry. Just like the Hanbalis, the Zahirites [2] in Baghdad had also started to show hostility towards him. In fact, Tabari had learned Zahirism from the founder of the school of thought, Dawud ibn Ali. One day, one of Dawud’s students insulted Tabari because he opposed his teacher’s views, and he began to write a treatise against the Zahirites. However, after the death of Dawud, the founder of the school of thought, he gave up writing the work. However, David’s son Muhammad did not refrain from writing a book against him.
The Ihtilafu’l Fuqaha that was circulating in the hands of the people in Baghdad disturbed the Hanbalis and they decided to talk to Tabari. When the Hanbalis asked the reason for this situation, Tabari did not hesitate to say that Ahmad ibn Hanbal did not have a noteworthy opinion on the field of disagreement and he interpreted the issue of Allah’s sitting on the Throne differently than Ahmad ibn Hanbal, which caused him to be attacked by the Hanbalis. The Hanbalis and a group of Zahiris turned their arrows on him upon his explanations, whereupon Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari had to leave the pulpit and go home. Not content with that, they stoned his house until a hill of stones formed in front of it. It is reported that after these events, Tabari retreated to his house, apologized to the Hanbalis and even said, It is said that he wrote a work called “Kitabu’l Izar”, which revealed the truth of Hanbal’s thoughts, and buried the Ihtilafu’l-Fukaha. However, the Hanbalis were not satisfied with this and accused Tabari of being a Shiite.
Their claim is based on Tabari’s claim that the hadith “Ghadir-i Khumm” [3] , which is given great importance by the Shiites, is an authentic hadith and that he considered wiping the feet as permissible in addition to washing them during ablution. However, according to Ibn Kathir’s statements, when we look at his commentary, it is seen that Tabari considered washing the feet obligatory and that he also considered wiping the feet, which he used in the sense of rubbing the feet, as necessary. Moreover, Tabari wrote various treatises to explain that he had no connection with Shiism. At the same time, the fact that he wrote works on the virtues of Hz. Abu Bakr, Hz. Umar and Hz. Uthman also shows that he had no connection with Shiism. Despite this, the Hanbalis and Zahiris did not give up on Tabari, prevented him from leaving his house and prevented people from learning from him. In fact, Tabari is an Islamic scholar who has no connection with Shiism, is loyal to the Sunni and the Salaf creed, and opposes sects such as Jabariyya, Qadariyya and Mu’tazila.
Establishing His Own Sect
Tabari, who was previously a follower of the Shafi’i school of thought and issued fatwas according to the Shafi’i school of thought, began to put forward the views of his school of thought, which would be known as ” Jariyya ” after his work Ihtilafu’l Fuqaha. However, the Jaririyya school of thought did not last long. After about a century, its followers began to decrease and it disappeared. Since the works containing Tabari’s own views also disappeared, his jurisprudential thoughts can only be learned from the explanations he made regarding the ruling verses in his commentary. His departure from the Shafi’i school of thought and the establishment of his own school of thought also caused the Hanbalis to feel hostility towards him.
Moral
Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari lived a chaste, honest, moral and clean life befitting a scholar. He was a kind and polite person who treated people well, looked after his students and friends. He was a person of asceticism and piety who did all his work seriously and regularly. He carried out his daily work according to a certain plan. He would usually start his work in the morning and work on his writings until the afternoon prayer. After performing the afternoon prayer, he would study with his students until the evening prayer and after the evening prayer, he would gather the circles of lessons on jurisprudence. After the night prayer, he would retire to his home and continue his writings at home at night. He paid great attention to his clothing and cleanliness and cared about his health. He also did not accept gifts that he could not reciprocate. In fact, he rejected a thousand dinars sent for the book of jurisprudence called “Latifu’l-Kawl” that he had written upon the request of the Abbasid vizier Abu’l Hasan Ibn Hakan. Similarly, he rejected the gifts sent by the caliph for the treatise on the foundation that he had written upon the request of the caliph Muqtafi Billah.
Death
Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, a great historian and great commentator who devoted his life to knowledge, passed away in Baghdad in 310/923 (February 17, 923) at the age of eighty-five or eighty-six. It is narrated that he died two or four days before the end of the month of Shawwal, on a Saturday or Sunday evening. It is narrated that his body was buried secretly at night, both because he was accused of being a Shiite and because of the hostility that the Hanbalis and Zahiris felt towards him. However, Hamawi says that many people attended Tabari’s funeral, that the funeral prayer was performed, that prayers were said day and night at his grave, and that elegies were read by the scholars afterwards. Ibn Khallikan saw the inscription “This is the grave of Ibn Jarir” on a grave in Egypt, but he said that this was not true and that his grave was in Baghdad.
Source
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