Services of the Muslim Historians

Services of the Muslim Historians

Muslim historical traditions first began developing from the earlier 7th century with the beginning of the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah. As narratives regarding Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions came from various sources, it was necessary to verify which sources were more reliable. In order to evaluate those sources, various methodologies were developed, such as the "science of biography", "science of hadith" and "Isnad" (chain of transmission). These methodologies were later applied to other historical figures in the Muslim world.

Ilm ar-Rijal (علم الرجال) is the "science of biography" especially as practiced in Islam, where it was first applied to the sira, the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and then to the lives of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs in whose era grew Islamic dominance rapidly. Since validating the sayings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a major study ("science of biography "), where an accurate biography of every narrator has always been of great interest to Muslim scholars, who accordingly attempted to sort out facts from accusations, bias from evidence, etc. Modern practices of scientific citation and historical method owe a great deal to the rigorous criterion laid by the early Muslim scholars in the study of the biographies of those who are found in each and every chain of transmission.

The "science of hadith" is the process that Muslim scholars use to evaluate hadith. The classification of Hadith into Sahih (sound), Hasan (good) and Da'if (weak) was firmly established by Ali Ibn Al-Madini (161–234 AH). Later, Al-Madini's student Muhammad Al-Bukhari’s (810–870) historical methods of testing hadiths and isnads is seen as the beginning of the method of citation and a precursor to the scientific method which was developed later by the Muslim scientists.

The vagueness of ancient historians about their sources stands in stark contrast to the insistence that scholars such as Al-Bukhari and Muslim manifested in knowing every member in a chain of transmission and examining their reliability. They published their findings, which were then subjected to additional scrutiny by future scholars for consistency with each other and the Qur'an.

Some famous Muslim historians who studied the science of biography or science of hadith included Urwah ibn Zubayr (d. 713), Wahb ibn Munabbih (d. 728), Ibn Ishaq (d. 761), Ibn Hisham (d. 834),

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam al-Asadi

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr was among the seven fuqaha (jurists) who formulated the fiqh of Medina in the time of the Tabi‘in and one of Muslim historian.

Biography

He was the son of Asma bint Abi Bakr and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, the brother of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and the nephew of Aisha bint Abu Bakr.

He was born in the early years of the caliphate of Uthman in Medina and lived through the civil war which occurred after Uthman's murder. Although his brother Abd-Allah Ibn Al-Zubayr wrested the rule from Abd Al-Malik, it is unknown if he assisted him. He died in 713 CE. He devoted himself to the study of fiqh and hadith and had the greatest knowledge of hadiths narrated from Aishah. He said, "Before Aishah died, I saw that I had become one of four authorities. I said, 'If she dies, there will be no hadith which will be lost from those she knows. I have memorized all of them."

Personal Characteristics

He was famous for his generosity, patience and piety. He used to read ¼ of the Quran in his night prayers and during the day he used to think and ponder over that. He kept fasting all the year through except the days prohibited for fasting.

His Works

Urwah wrote many books but, fearing they might become sources of authority alongside the Qur'an, destroyed them the day of the Battle of al-Harrah. He later regretted that, saying "I would rather have them in my possession than my family and property twice over."

He is also known to have written one of the first writings in the area of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, known as the Tract of Seerah.

Wahb ibn Munabbih'

Wahb Ibn Munabbih was a Muslim traditionist from Dhimar (two days' journey from Sana'a) in Yemen.

Biography

On his father's side he descended from the Persian origin, while his mother was a Himyarite. He died at the age of ninety, in a year variously given by the scholars and most probably it was in 728, C.E. He is counted among the Tabi‘in and was a student of Ibn Abbas.

Personal Characteristics

He read and studied the tales that came from the Jews. So, he was almost like Ka’ab Al-Ahbar. He spent much of his time in seeking knowledge and worshipping his creator and practiced asceticism.

His Works

Among Wahb's many writings it is important to mention here two of his works, namely "Qisas al-Anbiya'" ("Story of the Prophets") and "Kitab al-Isra'iliyat" ("Book of the Israelites,"). So, it was he, who wrote many Jewish stories and legends narrated by Al-Ṭabari, Mas'udi, and others.

Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasār (704 CE - 769 CE)

Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasār or simply Ibn Ishaq ابن إسحاق, meaning "the son of Isaac", was a great Muslim historian and hagiographer. He collected oral traditions that formed the basis of the first biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This biography is usually called Sirat Rasul Allah ("Life of Allah's Messenger").

Biography

Ibn Ishaq was born roughly in 704 CE, in Medina. His grandfather Yasār, was captured in one of Khalid ibn al-Walid's campaigns and taken to Medina as a slave. He became the slave of Qays b. Mak̲h̲rama b. al-Muṭṭalib b. Abd Manāf b. Qusayy and, having accepted Islam, was manumitted and became his mawlā, thus acquiring the epithet of al-Muṭṭalibī. Yasār's three sons, Mūsā, Abd al-Rahmān, and Ishāq, were all famous transmitters of ak̲h̲bār, who collected and recorded tales of the past.

It was his family nature to collect ak̲h̲bār and hadīt̲h̲. So, it was natural that he should also follow the footsteps of his father and uncles and become specialized in these branches of knowledge. In 119 AH / 737 CE around the age of 30, he arrived in Alexandria and studied under Yazīd b. Abī habīb has suggested that Ibn Ishāq returned to Medina from Egypt. But before his return, the Abbasid dynasty, had established their new capital at Baghdad and Ibn Ishaq moved to the capital. He died in Baghdad around 152 AH /769 CE. His father and two uncles arrived at Somalia and many Somali clans have believed that they trace their ancestry from them, Musa, Ishaq and Abd Al-Rahman.

Personal Characteristics

He was one of the earlier writers and compilers of knowledge in Al-Medina. So, he was one of its scholars who loved knowledge and spent most of the time for it, adding his trustworthiness to it.

His Works

Ibn Ishaq wrote several work, none of which survive now. Apart from the Seera An-nabawiyya he is credited to have compiled Kitāb al-Ḵh̲ulafā and a book of Sunan, (Prophetic Traditions).

His collection of traditions about the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) also called Seerah Al- Nabawiyya or Sīrah Rasūl Allāh, is the earliest surviving Islamic biography that was written in the 8th century. Ibn Ishaq’s student al-Bukaai edited his work, and it was further edited by Ibn Hisham a student of Al-Bukaa'i. But the original work of ibn Ishaq and Al-Bukaai too has perished and only the work of Ibn Hisham's has survived.

Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik bin Hisham (died 833/834)

Abu Muhammad 'Abd Al-Malik bin Hisham or Ibn Hisham edited the biography of MuhammadIbn Ishaq. (peace be upon him) that was written by

Biography

Ibn Hisham grew up in Basra, Iraq, but moved afterwards to Egypt, where he gained a name as a grammarian and student of language and history. His family was of Himyarite origin. And he died in 833/834.

Personal Characteristics

Like Ibn Ishaq, he was one of the trustworthy scholars who loved knowledge and spent most of the time for it.

Works

• As-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah
• He also wrote a work on South Arabian antiquities: Kitab al-Tijan li ma'rifati muluk al-zaman (Book of Crowns in knowing kings of the age)

Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari

Abū Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarīr bin Yazīd at-Tabarī, was one of the earliest, most prominent and famous Muslim historians and commentators of the Qur'an.

Biography

He was born in Aamol, Tabaristan (some twenty kilometers south of the Caspian Sea) in the winter of 838–9. He memorized the Qur'an at seven and thus was a qualified religious leaderprophetic traditions at nine. He left home to study in A.H. 236 (850–1) when he was twelve. He retained close ties to his home town. He did return home at least twice, and the last time in A.H. 290 (903), when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness that led to his quick departure. at eight and began to study the

He first went to Ray (Rages), where he remained for some five years and studied Hadith. A major teacher in Ray was Abu Abdillah Muhammad bin Humayd al-Razi who was already in his seventies^. Ibn Humayd had taught in Baghdad and was now retired in his native city. Among other subjects that ibn Humayd taught him was the historical works of ibn Ishaq, especially al-Seerah, the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Tabari was thus introduced in his youth to pre-Islamic and early Islamic history.

Then he went to Baghdad in late 855 or early 856 for continuing his study. After which he traveled through the southern cities of Basra, Kufah and Wasit, where he met a number of eminent and venerable scholars.

On his return to Baghdad from the southern cities of Iraq, he took a tutoring position from the vizier Ubaydallah b. Yahya b. Khaqan. There he proved to be one the most effective teachers, but he tutored only for ten dinars a month.

In his late twenties in 253H (867) he travelled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In Beirut he studied variant readings of the Qur'an the legal views of al-Awza'i, and returned to Baghdad in 256/870. He never took a government or a judicial position.

He died in Baghdad on February 17, 923.

Personal Characteristics

He was well mannered, and avoided coarse speech and displayed refined eloquence. He had a good command in grammar, lexicography and philology. Such were considered essential for Qur'anic commentary. He knew Persian and was acquainted with the origins of various foreign loan words in Arabic from a number of other languages.

Tabari never married. His normal day was like this: rising early for prayer, studying till early afternoon, attending the afternoon prayer with the congregation, reciting Qur'an and teaching Qur'an, and then teaching law, etc. until late.

Works

At Tabari wrote history, theology and Qur'anic commentary. His legal writings were published at first and then continued to appear throughout his life. Next were his commentaries on the Qur'an. Lastly, his history was published. Despite the style that makes it seem that he depended largely on oral sources, written material (both published and unpublished) provided him with a huge bulk of information.

His voluminous corpus containing two main titles became famous: they are;

History of the Prophets and Kings – (Arabic: تاريخ الرسل والملوك or Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk or Tarikh al-Tabari)

The first of the two large works is generally known as the Annals (Arabic Tarikh al-Tabari). This is a universal history from the time of revelation of the Qur’an 610 CE to 915 CE, and is renowned for its detail and accuracy concerning Muslim and Middle Eastern history.

The Commentary on the Qur'an – (Arabic: al-musamma Jami al-bayan fi ta'wil al-Qur'an or Tafsir al-Tabari)

His second great work was the commentary on the Qur'an, (Arabic Tafsir al-Tabari), which was marked by the same fullness of detail as the Annals. Abul-Qaasim Ibn 'Aqil Al-Warraq ( (رحمه الله) says: " Imām Ibn Jarir (رحمه الله) once said to his students: “Are you'll ready to write down my lesson on the Tafsir (commentary) of the entire Holy Quran"? They enquired as to how lengthy it would be. "30 000 pages", he replied. They said: "This would take a long time and cannot be completed in one’s lifetime. He therefore made it concise and kept it to 3000 pages (note, this was in reference to the old days when they used ink and hard-paper which was a bit long format than today’s). It took him 7 years to finish it from the year 283 till 290.

Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Mani' al-Baghdadi or Ibn Sa'd

Ibn Sa'd was a great scholar of Islam and a biographer.

Biography

Ibn Sa'd was from Basra, Iraq and born in the year 168AH/784CE) and died in 230AH/845CE. He received his training in the tradition from Al-Waqidi and other celebrated teachers. He lived for the most part in Baghdad.

He is said to have died at the age of 62 in Baghdad, and was buried in the cemetery of the Syrian gate.

Personal Characteristics

He had the reputation of being both trustworthy and accurate in his writings, which, in consequence, were much used by later writers.

His work

The book of The Major Classes (Arabic: Kitab Tabaqat Al-Kubra) was a compendium of biographical information about famous Islamic personalities. It is eight volumes long. This work contains the lives of Mohammed, his Companions and their followers, including those who fought at the Battle of Badr as a special class, and of the following generation, the Followers, who received their traditions from the Companions. Ibn Saad's authorship of this work is attested in a postscript to the book by a later writer.

Historiography, cultural history, and philosophy of history

Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Khaldūn Al-Hadrami, May 27, 1332 CE/732 AH – March 19, 1406 CE/808 AH) was an Arab polymath — an astronomer, economist, historian, Islamic jurist, Islamic lawyer, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, hafiz, mathematician, military strategist, nutritionist, philosopher, social scientist and statesman—born in North Africa in present-day Tunisia.

Biography

Ibn Khaldun was born in North Africa in present-day Tunisia in1332 CE into an upper-class Andalusian family, the Banū Khaldūn, and died in 1406 CE in Cairo. His family, which held many high offices in Andalusia, had immigrated to Tunisia after the fall of Spain to Re-conquering forces around the middle of the 13th century. He traced his descent back to the time of Muhammad through an Arab tribe from Yemen, specifically of Hadhramaut.

Personal Characteristics

His family's high rank enabled Ibn Khaldun to study with the best teachers in Morocco. He received a classical Islamic education, studying the Qur'an which he memorized by heart, Arabic linguistics, the basis for an understanding of the Qur'an, hadith, sharia (law) and fiqh (jurisprudence).

His work

The first detailed studies on the subject of historiography itself and the first critiques on historical methods appeared in the works of the Muslim historian and historiographer Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), who is regarded as the father of historiography, cultural history, and the philosophy of history, especially for his historiographical writings in the MuqaddimahLatinized as Prolegomena) and Kitab al-Ibar (Book of Advice). His Muqaddimah also laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of state, communication, propaganda and systematic bias in history, and he discussed the rise and fall of civilizations. (

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta 1304CE–1368CE

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, or simply Ibn Battuta (February 25, 1304–1368 or 1369), was a Moroccan Berber, Islamic scholar and traveller who is known for the account of his travels and excursions called the Rihla. His journeys lasted for a period of nearly thirty years and covered almost the entirety of the known Islamic world and beyond, extending from North Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, to the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance readily surpassing that of his predecessors and his near-contemporary Marco Polo. With this extensive account of his journey, Ibn Battuta is often considered one of the greatest travelers the world had ever seen then.

Biography

All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco, on February 25, 1304 during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. As a young man he studied Muslim lawhajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah, a journey that took 16 months, and he did not see Morocco again for 24 years. under the supervision of jurists from Maliki sect, which was dominant in North Africa at that time. In June 1325, when he was twenty one years old, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a

Personal Characteristics

Ibn Battuta was born into a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars. So knew Islam well and served in the post of a judge in places he visited. Being one of the greatest travelers, he travelled almost 75,000 miles in his lifetime

His work

After returning home from his travels in 1354 and at the instigation of the Sultan of Morocco, Abu Inan Faris, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his journeys to Ibn Juzayy, a scholar whom he had met previously in Granada. The account, recorded by Ibn Juzayy and interspersed with the latter's own comments, is the only source of information on his adventures. The title of the manuscript تحفة الأنظار في غرائب الأمصار وعجائب الأسفار may be translated as A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling but is often simply referred to as the Rihla الرحلة, or "The Journey".

There is no indication that Ibn Battuta made any notes during his 29 years of travelling, so, when he came to dictate an account of his adventures, he had to rely on his memory and to make use of manuscripts produced by earlier travellers. When describing Damascus, Makkah, Medina and some other places in the Middle East, Ibn Juzayy got help from the account given by Ibn Jubayr on the 12th century. Similarly, most of Ibn Juzayy’s descriptions of places in Palestine were taken from an account given by the 13th century traveller Muhammad al-Abdari.

Muslim historiography has at all times been united by the closest ties with the general development of scholarship in Islam, and the position of historical knowledge in Muslim education has exercised a decisive influence upon the intellectual level of historical writing....The Muslims achieved a definite advance beyond previous historical writing in the sociology, the sociological understanding of history and the systematization of historiography. The development of modern historical writing seems to have gained considerably in speed and substance through the utilization of the Muslim Literature which enabled western historians, from the seventeenth century on, to see a large section of the world through foreign eyes. The Muslim historiography helped indirectly and modestly to shape present day historical thinking.