Ubayy b. Ka'b: Difference between revisions

'''Ubayy b. Kaʿb''' (Arabic: {{ia| اُبَیّ بن کَعب}}) was a [[Sahaba|companion]] of [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] and a [[scribe of the revelation]]. He was an expert in the [[recitation]], compilation, [[exegesis]] and teaching of the [[Qur'an]] and [[fiqh]] (Islamic jurisprudence). He was one of the 70 [[Ansar]] who pledged their allegiance to the Prophet (s) in the second [[Pledge of 'Aqaba]]. He also accompanied the Prophet (s) in battles, such as [[Battle of Badr|Badr]], [[Battle of Uhud|Uhud]], and [[Battle of Khandaq|Khandaq]]. During the [[caliphate]] of [['Uthman b. 'Affan]], he and [[Zayd b. Thabit]] were the most prominent members of the 12-member commission for the compilation of [[al-Mushaf al-'Uthmani]].

[['Umar b. Khattab]] referred to Ubayy as "Abu l-Tufayl" because he had a son, called "Tufayl". However, there are some [[hadiths]] in which the Prophet (s) referred to him as "Abu l-Mundhir". According to a hadith, the Prophet (s) gave him the title, "Sayyid al-Ansar" (master of Ansar). He was still alive when Muslims referred to him as "Sayyid al-Muslimin" (master of Muslims). During the period of [[Jahiliyya]] when very few Arabs knew how to read and write, Ubayy had learned writing.

The first event in which Ubayy b. Ka'b is mentioned is the [[Pledge of 'Aqaba|Second Pledge of 'Aqaba]] in which 70 people from Ansar pledged their allegiance to the Prophet (s). After the [[Hijra|migration]] to [[Medina]], the Prophet (s) made a [[Pact of Brotherhood]] between Ubayy and [[Sa'id b. Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl]], or on another account, between him and [[Talha b. 'Ubayd Allah]]. He then accompanied the Prophet (s) in the battles of Badr, Khandaq, Uhud, and others. He also attended a [[sariyya]] which occurred at the beginning of the 7th month after the [[Hijra]] under the commandership of [[Hamza b. 'Abd al-Muttalib]].

In addition to his Quranic knowledge, Ubayy b. Ka'b was an author of [[fatwas]] (or a [[mufti]]) among the companions of the Prophet (s). Some people believed that he was one of the 6 people who inherited the knowledge of the Prophet (s).

According to Shiite sources, after the demise of [[the Prophet (s)]], Ubayy b. Ka'b was one of the 12 people from [[Muhajirun]] and [[Ansar]] who expressed their objections to the way the Prophet's (s) successor was elected. Ubayy transmitted a [[hadith]] from the Prophet (s) according to which: "[['Ali b. Abi Talib]] is your [[Imam]] after me and he is the well-wisher for my people".

Also, according to reports on which Ubayy was still alive in the period of [['Uthman b. 'Affan]], he was among the 12 people from Muhajirun and Ansar who were asked by 'Uthman to compile the Qur'an.

Ubayy b. Ka'b transmitted hadiths from the Prophet (s), some of which are cited in [[al-Sihah al-Sitta]]. According to al-Nawawi's enumeration, Ubayy's hadiths in reliable books are 164, 3 of which are commonly cited by both [[al-Bukhari]] and [[Muslim]], 3 of which are solely cited by al-Bukhari, and 7 of which are solely cited by Muslim.

[[Ahmad b. Hanbal]] cited many of Ubayy's hadiths in his ''Musnad'' transmitted by [[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari]], [['Ubada b. Samit]], [[Abu Hurayra]], Rafi' b. Rifa'a, [[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah]], [[Sahl b. Sa'd]], [['Abd Allah b. 'Amr b. 'As]], [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas]], [[Anas b. Malik]], 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abri, [[Sulayman b. Surad]], [['Abd al-Rahman b. Aswad]], Suwayd b. Ghafla, [['Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Layla]], [[Zarr b. Hubaysh]], Abu 'Uthman al-Nahdi, Abu l-'Aliya al-Riyahi, Tufayl and Muhammad the sons of Ubayy b. Ka'b, and some others. Hadiths transmitted by Ubayy b. Ka'b are concerned with a range of issues from [[fiqh]] (jurisprudence) and the [[exegesis]] of the Qur'an to the tradition of the Prophet (s), asceticism, and ethics.

==Ubayy and Quranic Sciences==

As one of the early Ansar, Ubayy accompanied the Prophet (s) for many years, and according to a [[hadith]], he presented the whole [[Qur'an]] to the Prophet (s), and began teaching the Qur'an since then. According to a well-known hadith, he was one of the 4 people from whom the Prophet (s) recommended to learn the Qur'an. According to another hadith in which the virtues of some of the [[Sahaba]] are mentioned, Ubayy b. Ka'b is characterized as the most knowledgeable person with respect to the recitation of the Qur'an.

After the demise of the Prophet (s), Ubayy b. Ka'b was always engaged in teaching the Qur'an in [[Medina]]. Some well-known figures of the Sahaba, such as Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Hurayra, and [['Abd Allah b. Sa'ib]], as well as some of the [[Tabi'un]], such as [['Abd Allah b. 'Ayyash b. Abi Rabi'a]], [[Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami]], and [[Abu l-'Aliya al-Riyahi]], learned the recitation of the Qur'an from him.

In the period of 'Uthman, Ubayy b. Ka'b and Zayd b. Thabit were the most prominent members of a 12-member council for the compilation of [[al-Mushaf al-'Uthmani]]. Despite Ubayy's crucial role in the compilation of the Mushaf, manuscripts under ''Mushaf Ubayy b. Ka'b'' were found in early centuries which were slightly different from al-Mushaf al-'Uthmani. However, non-official manuscripts in the name of Ubayy b. Ka'b were not as common as manuscripts under ''Mushaf Ibn Mas'ud''. This might be partly because of Ubayy's affirmative position with regard to the compilation of al-Mushaf al-'Uthmani and Ibn Mas'ud's opposition to it.

In different exegetical works, such as ''[[Majma' al-bayan]]'' by [[al-Tabrisi]] and ''[[Kashf al-asrar]]'' by Maybudi, some hadiths are cited as transmitted by Ubayy b. Ka'b with regard to the virtues of different Quranic chapters which might have been cited from an essay attributed to Ubayy b. Ka'b under ''Fada'il al-Qur'an'' (the virtues of the Qur'an) referred to by Ibn al-Nadim. Also, a great manuscript on the exegesis of the Qur'an was common in the early centuries of Islam. It was transmitted by Abu Ja'far al-Razi from Rabi' b. Anas from Abu l-'Aliya from Ubayy b. Ka'b. It was consulted by al-Tabari in his exegesis of the Qur'an, Ibn Abi Hatam in his exegesis, [[Ahmad b. Hanbal]] in his ''Musnad'', and [[al-Hakim al-Nishaburi]] in his ''Mustadrak''.

It is difficult to reconcile different accounts of when Ubayy passed away (19/640, 22/642, 33/653-39/659). A number of historians believe that he died in the period of [['Umar b. Khattab]], while some events cited in al-Bukhari's ''al-Tarikh al-saghir'' and al-Hakim al-Nishaburi's ''al-Mustadrak'' imply that he was alive when people started protesting against 'Uthman. On one account, he died one week or 10 days before the murder of 'Uthman.

* The material for writing this article has been mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net/view/ابی_بن_کعب ابی بن کعب] in Farsi wikishia.