Musa ibn Uqba

Musa ibn Uqba (d. 141 AH / 758 CE) was a Medinan jurist, hadith transmitter, and early historian of the prophetic biography, best known for his early compilation on the prophetic military expeditions, Kitab al-Maghazi (The Book of Expeditions) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Family Background

His full name was Abu Muhammad Musa ibn Uqba ibn Abi Ayyash al-Asadi al-Qurashi by affiliation (wala'), being a freedman of the family of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, or according to another report, of the female Companion Umm Khalid bint Khalid ibn Sa'id, the wife of al-Zubayr Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. His maternal grandfather was Abu Habiba, a freedman of al-Zubayr Tahdhib al-Tahdhib+1. He belonged to a scholarly family; his brothers Ibrahim ibn Uqba and Muhammad ibn Uqba were also scholars and hadith transmitters, and his nephew was the transmitter Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Uqba Mawsuat Aqwal al-Imam Ahm…+1.

Education and Scholarly Career

Counted among the younger Successors (sighar al-Tabi'in), Musa encountered older figures such as Abdullah ibn Umar and Sahl ibn Sa'd Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He transmitted directly from Umm Khalid—from whom he related traditions from the Prophet ﷺ—as well as from Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, Salim ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar, Nafi' (the freedman of Ibn Umar), Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Rahman, Ikrima, Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurmuz al-A'raj Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He also participated in a military expedition against the Byzantines during the caliphate of al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik alongside Salim ibn Abd Allah Tarikh al-Islam.

In Medina, Musa and his brothers held a teaching circle in the Prophet's Mosque, where all three engaged in jurisprudence and hadith, and Musa issued formal legal rulings (fatwas) al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. A broad array of prominent scholars narrated from him, including Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan al-Thawri, Sufyan ibn Uyayna, Ibn Jurayj, Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, and his nephew Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Uqba Tahdhib al-Tahdhib+1.

Standing and Biographical Works

Musa ibn Uqba was widely acclaimed for his reliability in hadith. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma'in, and Abu Hatim al-Razi graded him as trustworthy (thiqah) Mawsuat Aqwal al-Imam Ahm…+1. While Ibn Ma'in noted that his transmissions from Nafi' did not match the exceptional strength of those of Malik or Ubayd Allah ibn Umar, he affirmed that Musa's book transmitting from al-Zuhri was among the soundest of such works Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…+1. Muhammad ibn Sa'd noted his trustworthiness, describing him in one passage as having transmitted few traditions and in another as having transmitted many Tahdhib al-Tahdhib.

He attained particular distinction for his historical compendium Kitab al-Maghazi, composed in a single volume Majallat al-Buhuth al-Isl…+1. Malik ibn Anas repeatedly praised the work, telling his students: "You should adhere to the Maghazi of the righteous man Musa ibn Uqba, for it is the most sound of the maghazi," noting that he undertook its compilation in his advanced age to rigorously document those who had participated in the Prophet's ﷺ expeditions without adding extraneous material Mashariq al-Anwar al-Wahh…+1.

Death

Musa died in Medina in 141 AH (758 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Other reports place his death in 142 AH, 135 AH, or prior to the rebellion of Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya in 145 AH al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan noted that Musa passed away one year before his own arrival in Medina Nihayat al-Sul fi Ruwat a…+1.