Urwah ibn Zubayr

Urwah Ibn Al-Zubayr (died 713) was among the seven fuqahaa (jurists) who formulated the fiqh of Medina in the time of the Tabi‘in and one of Muslim historian.

Biography

Family

He was the son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, the brother of Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and the nephew of Umme Momenian Aisha Sadiqa bint Abi Bakr.

His son was Hisham ibn Urwa.

Uthman's era

He was born in the early years of the caliphate of Uthman ^[3], and lived through the civil war which occurred after Uthman's murder. Although his brother Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr wrested the rule from Abd al-Malik, it is unknown if he assisted him. He devoted himself to the study of fiqh and hadith and had the greatest knowledge of hadiths narrated from Aishah. He said, "Before Aishah died, I saw that I had become one of four authorities. I said, 'If she dies, there will be no hadith which will be lost from those she knows. I have memorized all of them."

Legacy

Works

Urwah wrote many books but, fearing they might become sources of authority alongside the Qur'an, destroyed them the day of the Battle of al-Harrah. He later he regretted that, saying "I would rather have them in my possession than my family and property twice over."

He is also known to have written one of the first writings in the area of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, known as the Tract of Seerah by Urwa Ibn Az Zubayr.

Hadith

Among his narrations are:

• Hadith of Umar's speech of forbidding Mut'ah

His transmitted narrations from:

• Aisha ^[2]

His narrations are transmitted by:

• Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri ^[4]

Non-Muslim view

Gregor Schoeler calls him as the first head of what he calls a "Madinese historical school," who began the systematic organization of material into books (tasnīf) ^[5]

References

1. ^ Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib
2. ^ ^{a b} Sahih Muslim 19:4354
3. ^ Ibn Hajar, Taqrib al-Tahdhib
4. ^ Al-Muwatta 28 18.42
5. ^ Mit-Ejmes

also:

• The Four Imams, Muhammad Abu Zahrah, Dar al-Taqwa Publications