Yazid ibn Abi Habib

Yazid ibn Abi Habib (ca. 53–128 AH / 673–745/746 CE) was an early Egyptian jurist, legal authority, and hadith transmitter during the Umayyad period Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Yazid ibn Abi Habib Suwayd, and he carried the kunya Abu Raja' Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. He was affiliated through clientage (wala') as a mawla of Sharik ibn al-Tufayl al-'Amiri (or al-Azdi) of the Qurayshite clan Banu 'Amir ibn Lu'ayy Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1. He was born around 53 AH, during the reign of Mu'awiyah, and was of Nubian descent; his father had been taken as a captive from Dongola and purchased by Sharik ibn al-Tufayl, who subsequently manumitted him Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1. Yazid was raised in Egypt and was noted for his dark complexion Tarikh al-Islam. He later recounted that during his youth, the people of Egypt leaned toward pro-Alid views (Alawiyyah), and through his teaching he shifted their consensus toward a pro-Uthmanic stance (Uthmaniyyah) Tarikh al-Islam.

Scholarly Career and Jurisprudence

Yazid emerged as the leading mufti and legal authority of Egypt in his time Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. According to Abu Sa'id ibn Yunus, he was the first scholar to publicly disseminate jurisprudence and systematic discourse on the lawful and unlawful (al-halal wa-al-haram) in Egypt; prior to his teaching, scholarly gatherings there focused predominantly on traditions regarding apocalyptic battles (malahim), civil strife (fitan), and pious exhortation Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1.

The Umayyad caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz formally appointed him as one of three figures entrusted with issuing fatwas in Egypt Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1. He was noted for his forbearance and intellect, and when public questioning grew overly burdensome, he secluded himself in his home Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. Al-Layth ibn Sa'd characterized Yazid and his contemporary Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Jafar as the "two jewels of the land," noting that whenever an oath of allegiance to a new caliph reached Egypt, Ubayd Allah and Yazid would be the first to take the pledge, followed by the rest of the populace Tarikh al-Islam+1.

Hadith Transmission, Teachers, and Students

In hadith, Yazid transmitted from the Companions Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Jaz al-Zubaydi and Abu al-Tufayl Amir ibn Wathilah, though Al-Daraqutni held that he did not hear directly from any Companion other than Abdullah ibn al-Harith Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1. His teachers among the Successors included Abu al-Khayr Marthad ibn Abd Allah al-Yazani, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Irak ibn Malik, Aslam ibn Yazid Abu Imran, and Ibrahim ibn Abd Allah ibn Hunayn Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. Regarding his transmissions from Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Ahmad ibn Hanbal stated that Yazid did not hear directly from him; rather, al-Zuhri wrote to him in correspondence (kitabah) or Yazid narrated from him via an intermediary al-Jami li-Ulum al-Imam A…+1.

Prominent scholars who transmitted from him include Al-Layth ibn Sa'd, Amr ibn al-Harith, Ibn Ishaq, Haywah ibn Shurayh, Yahya ibn Ayyub, Sulayman al-Taymi, and Abdullah ibn Lahiah Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1.

Standing and Death

Yazid was regarded as trustworthy (thiqah) and prolific in hadith by biographical authorities including Ibn Sad, Abu Zurah al-Razi, and Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Ijli, though critics noted that he occasionally transmitted traditions with omitted intermediaries (irsal) Tarh al-Tathrib fi Sharh …+1. Al-Layth ibn Sa'd held him in high esteem, declaring: "Yazid ibn Abi Habib is our master and our scholar" Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1.

Yazid died in Egypt in 128 AH (745–746 CE), having lived for more than seventy-five years Mirat al-Zaman fi Tawarik…+1.