From the Jewels of the Tâbi'în:

Sa'îd bin al-Musayyib

Translated by: At-Tibyân Publications

The Tâbi'în are considered the second generation of the carriers of Islâm, as they were the students of the Companions who carried the knowledge and Dîn to the whole World. After them came the Tâbi'în to carry this trust after them, so they traveled the lands – East and West – in order to spread this light to the corners of the Universe.

Most of the Tâbi'în were from the students of the Companions, but there were also those of them who lived during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but never got a chance to see him, such as 'Abdullâh bin Rabî'ah, Yûsuf bin 'Abdillâh, 'Abdullâh bin al-Abbâs, and 'Amr bin Salamah, among others.


And from the major Tâbi'în are: Marwân bin al-Hakam, Muhammad bin Hudhayfah, 'Âmir bin Qays, 'Uways al-Qarnî, al-Aswad bin Yazîd, 'Alqamah bin Qays, Jubayr bin Nafîr, Ibn al-Hanafiyyah Muhammad bin 'Alî bin Abî Tâlib, 'Umar bin 'Alî bin Abî Tâlib, Mus'ab bin az-Zubayr, among others.

And our story will revolve around one of them: Sa'îd bin al-Musayyib (may Allâh have Mercy upon him), and will be based upon the chapter about him in the book by Ahmad Hasan 'Arâbî, 'Ashhar at-Tâbi'în'.

The Birth of Ibn al-Musayyib:

Two years after the khilâfah of al-Fârûq 'Umar (may Allâh be pleased with him), Sa'îd bin al-Musayyib was born in al-Madînah al-Munawwarah, where the most famous of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) lived. So, he saw 'Umar bin al-Khattâb, and heard 'Uthmân bin 'Affân, 'Alî, Zayd bin Thâbit, Abû Mûsâ al-Ash'arî, and Abû Hurayrah, among others. So, he was brought up a blessed upbringing, and followed in their footsteps, and took their actions as examples, and narrated from them the ahâdîth of the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him), and he married the daughter of the noble Companion Abû Hurayrah - so he was the most knowledgeable of the people of his ahâdîth.


The Scholar of the Scholars:

Allâh bestowed upon him vibrant wisdom in his early childhood as well as a strong memory, to the point that the most well-known of the Companions and Tâbi'în bore witness to his high status in regards to knowledge. He was the head of the scholars of fiqh in al-Madînah of his time and the foremost among them in giving fatâwâ, to the point that he became known as 'Faqîh al-Fuqahâ'' (the scholar of the scholars). And if 'Abdullâh ibn 'Umar (may Allâh be pleased with him) – who was the one most consulted for religious rulings in Madînah at the time – was asked about a difficult issue of fiqh, he would say: "Ask Sa'îd, for he sat with the righteous."

And Qatâdah said, regarding Ibn al-Musayyib: "I never saw anyone more knowledgeable of the halâl and the harâm than him."

And it is enough honor for Ibn al-Musayyib that the just khalîfah, 'Umar bin 'Abdil-'Azîz, was one of his students, and when 'Umar became the leader of al-Madînah, he would not execute any affair except that he first consulted Ibn al-Musayyib.

Self honor:

And he lived his entire life with his head raised, mighty in essence. The amîr of Madînah during the time of the Khalîfah 'Abdil-Malik commanded him to give the oath of allegiance to al-Walîd bin 'Abdil-Malik, but he refused to do so. He was then threatened with beheading, but he still refused to go back on his decision despite what he knew awaited him of torture and punishment. Sa'îd was then stripped of his clothing, whipped over fifty times, and paraded around the marketplaces of Madînah while they said to him: "This is indeed a position of lowliness!" Sa'îd replied to them – with confidence and Īmān: "Rather, we have run away from lowliness towards what we seek (honor)." And when 'Abdil-Malik came to know of what the amîr of Madînah had done to Sa'îd, he scolded him and wrote to him: "Sa'îd was, by Allâh, more in need of his ties of kinship to kept than to be whipped, while we know what he holds of opposition (to our orders)." And after all of this torture that was dealt to Sa'îd, a man came to him to push him to supplicate against Banû Umayyah, so all Sa'îd ended up saying was: "O Allâh! Give honor to Your Dîn, and give aide to Your allies, and humiliate Your enemies in mercy to the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him)."

Boldness in standing for the truth:

He prayed behind al-Hajjâj bin Yûsuf ath-Thaqafî one time, and he was praying quickly (he would not perform the bowings and prostrations as they should have been performed), so Sa'îd took a handful of stones and hurled them at him. Hajjâj then prayed in a calmer and more careful manner, and this was before al-Hajjâj assumed his position of leadership.

The daughter of the Imâm:

And Sa'îd refused to allow for his daughter to become the first lady of the Islâmic state, and this was when the Khalîfah 'Abdil-Malik wanted to engage her to al-Walîd. Sa'îd starkly refused, and instead married his daughter off to a poor student of knowledge. Sa'îd had a companion by the name of 'Abdullâh bin Wadâ'ah, and one day, he did not come by to see Sa'îd. Sa'îd asked about him and eventually found him, and the man apologized to Sa'îd and informed him that the reason he was away was because his wife was ill and had passed away.

Sa'îd then said to him: "Why did you not inform us of her illness so that we could have visited her, or of her death so that we could attend her funeral prayer?"

Then he said to him: "O 'Abdullâh, get married and do not meet Allâh while you are without a family."

So he said: "May Allâh have Mercy on you, and who will marry me while I am so poor?"

Sa'îd said: "I will marry my daughter to you."

'Abdullâh became quiet out of shyness and Sa'îd asked him: "Why have you become quiet? Is it out of displeasure and refusal of my offer?"

'Abdullâh said: "And where am I from her?"

Sa'îd then said: "Get up and call a group of the Ansâr."

So, he called them to witness the marriage. When they prayed the 'Ishâ,' Sa'îd handed his daughter over to the poor man along with a servant and some money and food, with the groom still unable to believe what was happening to him!

Taqwâ and Cautious Fear:

Sa'îd was a man of Taqwâ and cautious fear, remembering Allâh much. A man came to him while he was lying down and ill to ask him about a hadîth. He sat up and spoke to him, so the man said to him: "I do not wish for you to exert yourself or tire yourself." Sa'îd replied: "I hate to speak to you about the Messenger of Allâh (saw) while I am lying down."

And from the manifestations of his great respect and veneration for the limits of Allâh is his saying: "Do not say musayhif (meaning: small mushaf) or musayjid (meaning: small masjid), because whatever is related to Allâh is great and good and beautiful." So, he hated that the word 'mushaf' or 'masjid' be in any way belittled, or any other word indicating something of Allâh – the Exalted – out of respect and veneration for its status.

His Illness and Death:

Sa'îd became ill and his pain became severe. He was visited by Nâfi' bin Jubayr and went to sleep when he arrived. Nâfi' ordered those around him to turn Sa'îd's bed to the face Qiblah, and when Sa'îd awoke, he said: "Who has ordered you to turn my bed to the Qiblah? Was it Nâfi'?" Nâfi' said: "Yes." Sa'îd said to him: "If I am not upon the Qiblah and creed, then by Allâh, your turning my bed towards the Qiblah will not benefit me in the least."

And when Sa'îd bin al-Musayyib finally died, he had left some wealth and said: "O Allâh, You Know that I have not left it except to safeguard my religion."

And Sa'îd died in the 93rd or 94th year after the Hijrah, so may Allâh shower him with abundant Mercy.