Mujaa'a ibn al-Zubayr
- Died
- 146 AH
- Born in
- -
Mujaa'a ibn al-Zubayr (d. 146 AH / 763 CE) was an early Basran hadith transmitter known for his ascetic devotion and his compilation of prophetic narrations preserved in early hadith notebooks .
Identity and Background
His full name was Abu Ubaydah Mujaa'a ibn al-Zubayr al-Azdi al-Ataki al-Basri; some sources also record his tribal affiliation as al-Asadi . He was based in Basra and was an Arab by lineage .
Hadith Transmission
Mujaa'a transmitted hadith from prominent early scholars, including al-Hasan al-Basri, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Qatada ibn Di'ama, Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki, and Aban ibn Abi Ayyash .
A number of scholars narrated from him, most notably Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Nadr ibn Shumayl, Abd al-Samad ibn Abd al-Warith, Abd Allah ibn Rashid, Abd al-Qahir ibn Shu'ayb, and Hadir ibn Mutahhir al-Sudusi . Abd Allah ibn Rashid and Hadir preserved an extensive written transmission (nuskha) containing his narrations, which circulated in later compilations such as Hadith Muja'a ibn al-Zubayr .
Scholarly Standing and Reception
Assessments of Mujaa'a among hadith critics vary between moderate acceptance and weakness:
- Piety and character: His neighbor Shu'ba commended his righteousness, describing him as a man of constant fasting and night vigils (al-sawwam al-qawwam) . Abd al-Samad ibn Abd al-Warith noted that Shu'ba would not venture to criticize him because of his Arab descent .
- Reliability: Ahmad ibn Hanbal stated that "there was no harm in him in himself" . Ibn Hibban noted that his reports are sound and straight when he transmits from reliable authorities . Ibn Adi considered him among those whose narrations are tolerable and recorded, observing that the majority of his material mutually supports one another .
- Criticism: Al-Daraqutni declared him weak (da'if) , and Abd al-Rahman ibn Khirash dismissed his reports as unfit for consideration .
Al-Dhahabi also pointed out that an account of a dream regarding the Quranic reciter Hamza al-Zayyat was falsely fabricated under Mujaa'a's name as if he had heard it directly .
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadith Mujaa ibn al-Zubayr (Min Hadith Abi Ubaydah Muja'a ibn al-Zubayr al-Ataki al-Basri) is a hadith tract (juz' / nuskhah) containing prophetic narrations and traditions. The compiled text is arranged into three sections preserving transmissions from early hadith transmitters.