Mujahid ibn Jabr
Born	c. 642 Mecca, Rashidun Caliphate[1]
Died	c. 722 (aged 79-80)[2] Mecca, Umayyad Caliphate
Era	Medieval era

Abū l-Ḥajjāj Mujāhid ibn Jabr al-Qāriʾ (Arabic: مُجَاهِدُ بْنُ جَبْرٍ) (642–722 CE) was a Tabi' and one of the major early Islamic scholars.^[3] His tafsīr of the Qur'an (exegesis/commentary) is believed to be the earliest existing written exegetical source, although only fragments of it have reached us from the Umayyad era.^[4]

Biography

His full nickname is often written as "Mujahid bin Jabir, Maula As-Saib bin Abi As-Saib, Al-Makhzumi, Al-Quraysh". The Nisba of al-Makhzumi were because he was a servant (mawla) of someone from the Banu Makhzum tribe.^[5]

Mujahid 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 Muhammad 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.^[6] However, there is no evidence he ever journeyed outside of the Arabian Peninsula.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[3]

Mujahid ibn Jabr is said to be relied upon in terms of tafsir according to Sufyan al-Thawri, who said: "If you get Mujahid's tafsir, it is enough for you."

His exegesis in general followed these four principles:^[6]

1. 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,
2. Interpretation according to traditions,
3. Reason,
4. Literary comments.

Al-Tabari's Jami' al-bayan attributes a significant amount of exegetical material to Mujahid.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

The view of Islamic Scholarship

He has been classed as a Thiqah (i.e. very reliable) hadith narrator.^[3]

Al-A'mash said:

"Mujahid was like someone who carried a treasure: whenever he spoke, pearls came out of his mouth."^[3]

After praising him in similar terms al-Dhahabi said: "The Ummah is unanimous on Mujahid being an Imam who is worthy in Ihtijaj.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Qira'at
• Ahruf
• Ten recitations
• Seven readers

References

External links

• Mujaahid ibn Jabr (مُجَاهِدْ بِنْ جَبْر) – Siyar A`laamin Nubalaa of Imaam adh-Dhahabee | Dawud Burbank
• Biography of Mujahid
• (in French) Complete biography of Mujahid Ibn Jabr