Urwah ibn Zubayr

'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam al-Asadi (Arabic: عروة بن الزبير بن العوام الأسدي‎, died 713) was among the seven fuqaha (jurists) who formulated the fiqh of Medina in the time of the Tabi‘in and one of the Muslim historians.

Urwah ibn Zubayr
Personal
Died	AH 94 (712/713) [1]
Religion	Islam
Children	Hisham ibn Urwah
Era	Islamic golden age
Region	Muslim scholar
Jurisprudence	Sunni
Main interest(s)	History, Fiqh and Hadith
Muslim leader
Influenced by Aisha
Influenced Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri

Biography

Family

He was the son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asmā' bint Abu Bakr. He was also the brother of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and the nephew of Aisha bint Abu Bakr.

His most loved son was Hisham ibn Urwah.

He purportedly built a residential complex[2] on some farming land on the outskirts of Medina, some 3km west of Masjid an-Nabawi.

Uthman's era

He was born in the early years of the caliphate of Uthman[3] in Medina and lived through the civil war which occurred after Uthman's martyrdom. 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

He was one of the seven fuqaha, or jurists, of Medina.

Works

Urwah wrote many books, but destroyed them the day of the Battle of al-Harrah. He later had a feeling of regret, saying "I would rather have them in my possession than my family and property twice over." At the same time, he quashed any fears that they might become sources of authority alongside the Qur'an.

He is also known to have written one of the first writings in the area of the biography of Muhammad, known as the Tract of Seerah. This is not extant either but is known through Ibn Ishaq.

Alfred Guillaume writes: [Among precursors of Ibn Ishaq’s Sira] A man of much greater importance was 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr b. al- 'Awwam (23-94). He and his brother 'Abdullah were in close contact with the prophet’s widow [and their aunt] 'A’isha. He was a recognized authority on the early history of Islam, and the Umayyad caliph 'Abdu’l-Malik applied to him when he needed information on that subject. Again, it is uncertain whether he wrote a book, but the many traditions that are handed down in his name by Ibn Ishaq and other writers justify the assertion that he was the founder of Islamic history.[4]

Hadith

Among his narrations are: His transmitted narrations from:

• Aisha[5]

His narrations are transmitted by:

• Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri[6]

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) [7]

Early Islam scholars

Early Islamic scholars

Muhammad (570–632) prepared the Constitution of Medina, taught the Quran, and advised his companions `Abd Allah bin Masud (died 650) taught Ali (607–661) fourth caliph taught Aisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taught Abd Allah ibn Abbas (618–687) taught Zayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taught Umar (579–644) second caliph taught Abu Hurairah (603–681) taught Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taught Husayn ibn Ali (626–680) taught Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr (657–725) taught and raised by Aisha Urwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught by Aisha, he then taught Said ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taught Abdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taught Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taught Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taught Hisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taught Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taught Salim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taught Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught by Abdullah ibn Umar Hammad bin ibi Sulman taught Muhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taught Farwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar and Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed by Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by the Fatimid and taught Zayd ibn Ali (695–740) Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great grand son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taught Malik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, jurisprudence from early Medina period now mostly followed by Sunni in Africa and taught Al-Waqidi (748–822) wrote history books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqh Muhammad al-Shaybani (749–805) Al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Sunni and taught Ismail ibn Ibrahim Ali ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote The Book of Knowledge of the Companions Ibn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history and As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775) Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855) wrote Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal jurisprudence followed by Sunni and hadith books Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870) wrote Sahih al-Bukhari hadith books Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (815–875) wrote Sahih Muslim hadith books Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi (824–892) wrote Jami` at-Tirmidhi hadith books Al-Baladhuri (died 892) wrote early history Futuh al-Buldan, Genealogies of the Nobles Ibn Majah (824–887) wrote Sunan ibn Majah hadith book Abu Dawood (817–889) wrote Sunan Abu Dawood Hadith Book Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (864- 941) wrote Kitab al-Kafi hadith book followed by Twelver Shia Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923) wrote History of the Prophets and Kings, Tafsir al-Tabari Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (874–936) wrote Maqālāt al-islāmīyīn, Kitāb al-luma, Kitāb al-ibāna 'an usūl al-diyāna Ibn Babawayh (923–991) wrote Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih jurisprudence followed by Twelver Shia Sharif Razi (930–977) wrote Nahj al-Balagha followed by Twelver Shia Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote jurisprudence books followed by Ismaili and Twelver Shia Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) wrote The Niche for Lights, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, The Alchemy of Happiness on Sufism Rumi (1207–1273) wrote Masnavi, Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi on Sufism Key: Some of Muhammad's Companions Key: Taught in Medina Key: Taught in Iraq Key: Worked in Syria Key: Travelled extensively collecting the sayings of Muhammad and compiled books of hadith Key: Worked in Iran

See also

• The Seven Fuqaha of Medina
• Sunni view of the Sahaba
• List of pre-modern Arab scientists and scholars

References

1. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d.1449), Taqrib al-Tahdhib
2. "Castle of Urwah bin Zubair". Madain Project. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
3. Ibn Hajar, Taqrib al-Tahdhib
4. Guillaume, A., ‘The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah With Introduction and Notes’, Oxford University Press 1982, page xiv
5. Sahih Muslim, 19:4354
6. Al-Muwatta, 28 18.42
7. "Mit-Ejmes".

also:

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

External links

• Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
• Biography of Imam 'Urwah Ibn Az Zubayr and the others 7 jurists of Medina
• (in French) Biography of Imam 'Urwah Ibn Az Zubayr by at-tawhid.net