Mujahid ibn Jabr


Mujahid ibn Jabr was a Tabi‘in and one of the major early Islamic scholars.

Biography

He was one of the leading Qur'anic commentators and a translator of the generation after that of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. He is the first to compile a written exegesis of the Qur'an, in which he stated “It is not permissible for one who holds faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment to speak on the Qur'an without learning classical Arabic.” He 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 the Prophet 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. However, there is no evidence he ever journeyed outside of the Arabian Peninsula.

Works

It is related by Ibn Sa'd in the Tabaqat and elsewhere that he went over the explanation of the Qur'an together with Ibn 'Abbas thirty times.
Mujahid ibn Jabr is said to be relied upon in terms of tafsir according to Sufyan al-Thawri.
His exegesis in general followed these four principles:
  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.

Legacy

Sunni view

He has been classed as a Thiqah hadith narrator.
Al-A'mash said:
After praising him in similar terms al-Dhahabi said: "The Ummah is unanimous on Mujahid being an Imam who is worthy in Ihtijaj.

Non-Muslim view

calls him "an eminent representative of the school of Mecca" and whose Tafsīr was nothing more than personal notes.