Abū Isḥāq Kaʿb ibn Maniʿ al-Ḥimyarī | |
|---|---|
 Islamic miniature depicting Ka'b al-Ahbar watchingIslamic declaration of faith appear miraculously onYahya'stalismanic shirt after being cut out once | |
| Died | 652/656 |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Early Muslim period |
| Region | Rashidun Caliphate |
| Main interests | Israʼiliyyat |
Kaʿb al-Aḥbār (Arabic:كعب الأحبار, full nameAbū Isḥāq Kaʿb ibn Maniʿal-Ḥimyarī (Arabic:ابو اسحاق كعب بن مانع الحميري) was a 7th-centuryYemenite Jew from the Arab tribe of "Dhī Raʿīn" (Arabic:ذي رعين)[1][2] who converted to Islam. He was considered to be the earliest authority onIsraʼiliyyat andSouth Arabian lore.[3][4] According to Islamic tradition, he accompaniedUmar in his trip fromMedina toJerusalem, and afterwards, became a supporter ofUthman. He died inHims around 652-56.[3]
Aḥbār is the plural ofḥibr/ḥabr, from the Hebrewḥāver, a scholarly title referring to a rank immediately belowrabbi as used byBabylonian Jews.[3]
Little is known about Ka'b, but according to tradition, he came to Medina during the reign of Umar. He then accompanied Umar in his voyage to Jerusalem. It is reported that when Umar marched into Jerusalem with an army, he asked Ka‘b: "Where do you advise me to build a place of worship?" Ka‘b indicated theTemple Rock, now a gigantic heap of ruins from thetemple of Jupiter.[5] The Jews, Ka‘b explained, had briefly won back their old capital a quarter of a century before (when Persians overran Syria), but they had not had time to clear the site of the Temple, for the Byzantines (Rūm) had recaptured the city. It was then that Umar ordered the rubbish on the Temple Rock to be removed by theNabataeans, and after three showers of heavy rain had cleansed the Rock, he instituted prayers there. Umar is said to have fenced it and, some years later, theUmayyadcaliphAbd al-Malik built theDome of the Rock over the site as an integral part of theAqsa compound. Until this day, the place is known asQubbat al-Ṣakhra (the Dome of the Rock).
According to tradition, Ka‘b believed that "Every event that has taken place or will take place on any foot of the earth, is written in the Tourat (Torah), which God revealed to his ProphetMoses".[6] He is said to have predicted the death of Umar using the Torah. According to one narration, Ka‘b told Umar "you ought to write your will because you will die in three days." Umar responded "I do not feel any pain or sickness".Abu Lulu assassinated Umar two days later.[7]
After Umar's death, Ka‘b vigorously supportedUthman. Subsequently, governorMu'awiya asked Ka'b to become his counsel inDamascus, but he most likely chose to withdraw toHims, where he died in AD 652-56, according to various accounts. His burial place is disputed.[3] A son named Tubai survived him.[8]
According to Shia sources Ka‘ab was a Jewish rabbi, who moved fromYemen toBilad al-Sham (Syria).[9] He was of the clan of Dhu Ra'in or Dhu al-Kila. Ka‘b came toMedina during the time ofUmar where he converted to Islam. He lived there untilUthman's era.[10]
Abd Allah ibn Abbas, a cousin of the prophet Muhammad, disputed a view attributed to Ka'ab that "on the day of the judgement the sun and the moon will be brought forth like two stupefied bulls and thrown to hell". According toAl-Tabari, Ibn Abbas responded "Kaab has uttered an untruth!" three times, quoting the Quran that the sun and moon are obedient to Allah. He accused Ka'b of trying to introduce Jewish myths into Islam.[11]
Ibn Hajar Asqalani, a 14th-century SunniShafi'i scholar, wrote,
Ka`b Ibn Mati` al-Himyari, Abu Ishaq, known as Ka`b al-Ahbar, is trustworthy (thiqah). He belongs to the 2nd [tabaqah]. He lived during bothJahiliyyah andIslam. He lived in Yemen before he moved toSham [~Syria]. He died during theCaliphate of `Uthman exceeding 100 years of age. None of his reports are inal-Bukhari. He has one narration in Muslim fromAbu Huraira from him on the authority ofal-A`mash fromAbu Salih.[9]
Al-Tabari quoted intensively about Ka'b in hisHistory of the Prophets and Kings.[12] Other Sunni authors also mention Ka'b and his stories with Caliphs Umar, Uthman and Muawiyah.[13]
Ka'b al-Ahbar is mentioned in some hadith canons such asSahih Muslim[14] andMuwatta Malik etc.[15] A hadith reports that the CaliphUmar ibn al-Khattab appointed him personally anamir over Muslims.[16]
Within the Shia tradition Ka'b is seen as an unreliable figure.Muhammad al-Tijani a 20th-century Shi'a scholar writes that "He was a Jew from Yemen who pretended to have embraced Islam then went to Medina during the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab."[17]Mohamad Jawad Chirri writes, after having quoted a hadith, "This dialogue should alert us to the deceptive and successful attempt on the part of Ka'b to influence future events by satanic suggestions. It contains a great deal of deception which produced many harmful results to Islam and the Muslims."[18] Ka'b's influence is deprecated within the Shia tradition of Islam.[17][18]
Ka'ab is intensively mentioned within Jewish sources as a rabbi who had influence over early Sunni Islam.[19][20][8] Liran Yagdar of Yale University stated that "Christians and Jews adopted Ka‘b into their legends on the emergence of Islam, wishing to refute the credibility of the Qur’ān by referring to Jewish converts such as Ka‘b as those who corrupted Muḥammad’s scripture from within."[21] See also#Twelver Shi'a view.
Liran Yadgar ofYale University stated in 2017 that "Christians and Jews adopted Ka'b into their legends on the emergence of Islam, wishing to refute the credibility of the Qur'ān by referring to Jewish converts such as Ka'b as those who corrupted Muḥammad's scripture from within."[21]
According to geographer andHoly Land explorer, Rabbi Joseph Schwarz (1804-1865), Ka'b is associated with the development of the Sunni "tradition",[19][20][8] i.e. Hadith.R. Gottheil andH. Hirschfeld write in the 1906Jewish Encyclopedia that Ka'b belongs to the initiators of Muslim "tradition", and is among those who provided it with both "the method as well as many details of the JewishMidrash", i.e. lore, as opposed to legalistic exegesis, much likeAbdallah ibn Salam, another even earlier Jewish convert.[8] Together, write Gottheil and Hirschfel, the two created the base for "the legends which glorify Mohammed's youth and prophetic call."[8]
Ka'b has stated that "the world will last six thousand years", a statement known from the Tractate Sanhedrin of theBabylonian Talmud[8] ("R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist", and "TheTanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years.")[22]
It has been argued that Ka'b may be more of a legendary figure and accounts of his life and influence on Islam have been referred to as myths.[23]
In the bookAsceticism and Tenderness, Ka'b al-Ahbar said ''While theChildren of Israel were praying in theTemple of Jerusalem, two men came. One of them entered and the other did not. He stood outside at the gates of the mosque and said: I am entering the House of God. No one like me enters the House of God. I have done such and such and such. And he began to weep but did not enter. Ka’b said: So it was written the next day that he was a truthful man''[24]
In the bookComprehensive remembrance of the doctrines of the jurists of the countries; It was reported to him that Omar bin Al-Khattab wanted to go toIraq, so Kaab Al-Ahbar said to him: Do not go there, O Commander of the Faithful, for there is nine-tenths of magic, and there are wickedjinn, and there is a fatal disease.[25]
In several sayings, he referred toEgypt being superior to other countries.[8]
it must be said that the figure of Ka'b belongs more to the realm of myth than of history
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