Ubayy ibn Ka'b أُبَيّ ٱبْن كَعْب | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | c. 649 CE (30 AH) Medina,Rashidun Caliphate(present-dayKSA) |
| Occupation(s) | Scribe,Hafiz,Mushawf Muhammad]] |
| Family | Banu Khazraj (tribe) |
Ubayy ibn Ka'b (Arabic:أُبَيّ ٱبْن كَعْب,ʾUbayy ibn Kaʿb) (died 649), also known asAbu Mundhir,[1][2] was acompanion of theIslamic prophetMuhammad and a person of high esteem in the earlyMuslim community. He was short, skinny, and gray haired.
He is notable for theQuran codex he compiled.
Ubayy was born inMedina (then known as Yathrib), into the tribe of theBanu Khazraj.[2] He was one of the first to acceptIslam and pledge allegiance to Muhammad at al-Aqabah before themigration to Medina, becoming one of theAnsar. He joined thesecond pledge at al-Aqabah.[2] Later, he participated in thebattle of Badr and other following engagements.
He acted as a scribe for Muhammad, writing letters for him.[2] Ubayy was one of the few who compiled thesurahs of the Quran to writehis own codex that had 116 surahs (compared to the 114 of theUthmanic codex). He believed that theThrone Verse as the greatest verse in Qu'ran when asked by the Prophet himself on an occasion.[3]
Ubayy enjoyed a special honor with regard to the Quran. One day, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "O Ubayy ibn Kab! I have been commanded to show or lay open the Quran to you."
Ubayy was elated. He knew of course that the Prophet only received commands from on high. Unable to control his excitement, he asked:
"O Messenger of God...Have I been mentioned to you by name?" "Yes," replied the Prophet, "by your own name and by your genealogy (nasab) in the highest heavens."
Any Muslim whose name had been conveyed to the heart of the Prophet in this manner must certainly have been of great ability and of a tremendously high stature.[4]
Following Muhammad's death, he was one of the twenty-fiveHafiz, people who knew the Qur'an completely by heart.[5]
He was part of the consultative group (mushawarah) to which thecaliphAbu Bakr referred many problems. It includedUmar,Uthman,Ali,Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf,Muadh ibn Jabal, andZayd ibn Thabit.
Umar later consulted the same group when he was caliph. Specifically forfatwas (legal judgments) he referred toAli ibn Abi Talib,Uthman, Ubayy, andZayd ibn Thabit.[5]
Because of Ubayy's high standing, one might have expected him to have been given positions of administrative responsibility, for example as a governor, in the rapidly expanding Muslim state. (During the time of the Prophet in fact he had performed the fun ction of a collector of sadaqah.) Indeed, Ubayy once asked
"What's the matter with you? Why don't you appoint me as a governor?" "I do not want your religion to be corrupted" replied Umar.
Ubayy died in the year 649 AD (30 AH), during the caliphate ofUthman.[5]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
