Era Medieval era Name Mujahid Jabr | Region Persian scholar | |
Died 722 AD, Mecca, Saudi Arabia | ||
Mujahid ibn Jabr (Arabic: مُجَاهِدْ بِنْ جَبْر) (645-722 CE) was a Tabi‘in and one of the major early Islamic scholars.
Contents
Name
Mujahid
Biography
He was one of the leading Qur'anic commentators of the generation after that of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. He is the first to compile a written exegesis of the Qur'an. He is said to have studied under Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali ibn Abi Talib until his martyrdom. At that point, he began to study under Ibn Abbas, a companion of the Prophet known as the father of Qur'anic exegesis. Mujahid ibn Jabr was known to be willing to go to great lengths to discover the true meaning of a verse in the Qur'an, and was considered to be a well-travelled man.
Works
It is related by Ibn Sa'd in the Tabaqat (6:9) and elsewhere that he went over the explanation of the Qur'an together with Ibn 'Abbas thirty times.
Mujahid ibn Jabr is said to be relied upon in terms of tafsir according to Sufyan al-Thawri.
His exegesis in general followed these four principles:
- That the Qur'an can be explained by other parts of the Qur'an. For example, in his interpretation of Q 29:13, he refers to Q 16:25,
- Interpretation according to traditions,
- Reason,
- Literary comments.
Al-Tabari's Jami' al-bayan attributes a significant amount of exegetical material to Mujahid .
Sunni view
He has been classed as a Thiqah (i.e. very reliable) hadith narrator.
Al-A'mash said:
"Mujahid was like someone who carried a treasure: whenever he spoke, pearls came out of his mouth."After praising him in similar terms al-Dhahabi said: "The Ummah is unanimous on Mujahid being an Imam who is worthy in Ihtijaj .
Shi'a view
Shi'a have a very positive view of him.
Non-Muslim view
Gregor Schoeler calls him "an eminent representative of the school of Mecca" and whose Tafsir was nothing more than personal notes.