This is a study of a Sa'id b. Jubayr tradition, which bears witness to a rival tradition; concerning sura 18 as of 94 AH.
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his Durr al-Manthur concerning sura 18 name-checked for this tradition:
"al-Bukhari and Muslim and al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i and Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mananar and Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduwayh and al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma' [wa-l-Sifat]
" (Muhaddith engine).
In August 2006, I found a cheap used copy of Newby's The Making of the Last Prophet. Before then, all I knew of this book was from an unfavourable review by Conrad (JAOS #113.2, 1993), which Ibn Warraq printed in The Quest for the Historical Muhammad.
Newby professed to have extracted, especially from the mediaeval historian and interpreter Abu Ja'far b. Jarir al-Tabari (838–923 CE), the Kitab al-mubtada' of Muhammad b. Ishaq. Newby's quote (p. 118) runs:
Ibn Hamid told us [Tabari] on the authority of Salamah [b. Al-Fadl], who got it from Muhammad b. Ishaq, who got it from al-Hasan b. 'Umarah, who got it from al-Hakam b. 'Utaybah, that Sa'id b. Jubayr said:I sat with Ibn 'Abbas when some of the People of the Book were with him.
Some of them said, O Abu-l-'Abbas, Nawf, the son of Ka'b's wife, mentioned on the authority of Ka'b that Moses the Prophet, the one who sought knowledge [in sura 18], was Moses the son of Manasseh.
Ibn 'Abbas then asked, does Nawf say that?
Sa'id said, Yes, I heard Nawf say that.
He [Ibn 'Abbas] said, You heard him say it, O Sa'id?
I said, Yes.
Ibn 'Abbas responded, Nawf lied!
Then Ibn 'Abbas said, Ubayy b. Ka'b told me on the authority of the Prophet of God, may the prayers and peace of God be on him, that Moses, the Prophet of Israel, asked his Lord, the Blessed and Most High: Lord, ...
Conrad in 1993 complained that Newby may not have quoted Ibn Ishaq's book. I agree with Conrad's complaints that Newby's footnotes are inadequate and that his source material is too narrow. However, for my purpose here I do not need a quote from a book. I just need a "quote", tendentious or otherwise, from the author. I can then test that against another version of the same tradition, from someone otherwise not necessarily allied with Ibn Ishaq and/or Tabari.
Besides, Ibn Hajar al-Ashqelani in his commentary to Bukhari 4357 cited the same from al-Nasa'i. I presume that this was from Nasa'i's Kubra as it is not in the canonical Sughra.
وَوَقَعَ فِي رِوَايَة اِبْن إِسْحَاق عَنْ سَعِيد بْن جُبَيْر عِنْدَ النَّسَائِيِّ قَالَ : " كُنْت عِنْدَ اِبْن عَبَّاسَ وَعِنْدَهُ قَوْمٌ مِنْ أَهْل الْكِتَاب فَقَالَ بَعْضهمْ : يَا أَبَا عَبَّاس إِنَّ نَوْفًا يَزْعُم عَنْ كَعْب الْأَحْبَار أَنَّ مُوسَى الَّذِي طَلَبَ الْعِلْم إِنَّمَا هُوَ مُوسَى بْن مِيشَا أَيْ اِبْن أَفْرَائِيم بْن يُوسُف عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام , فَقَالَ اِبْن عَبَّاس : أَسَمِعْت ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ يَا سَعِيد ؟ قُلْت : نَعَمْ . قَالَ : كَذَبَ نَوْف "
Unfortunately I do not have the isnad which Nasa'i employed for Ibn Ishaq. But Nasa'i lived 829-915 CE, and so was nine years older than Tabari. Nasa'i's source was either Salamah or, more likely, an independent student of Ibn Ishaq (who dotted "Manasseh" into "Mîshâ"). If Conrad was complaining that Newby did not use Tabari's source material, then I have alleviated at least that much already.
Moving on, part of my purpose here will be to extract those "relevant materials in early tafsir, qisas al-anbiya', and Hadith
" which Conrad claimed that Newby "ignored
" (Conrad, pp. 477-8).
Ibn Ishaq quoted al-Hasan b. 'Umarah elsewhere (p. 120), also for Ibn 'Abbas but through another isnad and tradition. Al-Hasan seems to have been a collector of sura 18's Moses tales through Ibn 'Abbas.
Every Sunni Muslim's first stop on the way to extracting hadith is the Sahih of Bukhari. Bukhari does not disappoint: with three quotes, independently verified in Muslim's own Sahih, further backed up by Ibn Hanbal's Musnad and by Tirmidhi.
On Knowledge -
Arabic 119
حدثنا عبد الله بن محمد قال حدثنا سفيان قال حدثنا عمرو قال أخبرني سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا البكالي يزعم أن موسى ليس بموسى بني إسرائيل إنما هو موسى آخر فقال كذب عدو الله حدثنا أبي بن كعب عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلمVolume 1, Book 3, Number 123-4: ['Abd Allah b. Muhammad < Sufyan < 'Amr] Narrated Sa'id b. Jubayr: I said to Ibn 'Abbas, "Nawf al-Bakali claims that Moses (the companion of Khadir) was not the Moses of Bani Israel but he was another Moses." Ibn 'Abbas remarked that the enemy of Allah (Nawf) was a liar. Narrated Ubayy b. Ka'b: The Prophet said ...
On Prophets -
Arabic 3149
حدثنا علي بن عبد الله حدثنا سفيان حدثنا عمرو بن دينار قال أخبرني سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا البكالي يزعم أن موسى صاحب الخضر ليس هو موسى بني إسرائيل إنما هو موسى آخر فقال كذب عدو الله حدثنا أبي بن كعب عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلمVolume 4, Book 55, Number 613: ['Ali b. 'Abd Allah < Sufyan < 'Amr b. Dinar] Narrated Sa'id bin Jubayr: I said to Ibn Abbas, "Nawf al-Bikali claims that Moses, the companion of Al-Khadir was not Moses (the prophet) of the children of Israel, but some other Moses." Ibn 'Abbas said, "Allah's enemy (i.e. Nawf) has told a lie. Ubayy b. Ka'b told us that the Prophet said ...
On Tafsir -
Arabic 4356
حدثنا الحميدي حدثنا سفيان حدثنا عمرو بن دينار قال أخبرني سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا البكالي يزعم أن موسى صاحب الخضر ليس هو موسى صاحب بني إسرائيل فقال ابن عباس كذب عدو الله حدثني أبي بن كعب أنه سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقولVolume 6, Book 60, Number 249: [al-Humaydi < Sufyan < 'Amr b. Dinar] Narrated Said bin Jubair: I said to Ibn 'Abbas, "Nawf al-Bikali claims that Moses, the companion of Al-Khadir was not the Moses of the children of Israel" Ibn 'Abbas said, "The enemy of Allah (Nawf) told a lie." Narrated Ubayy b. Ka'b that he heard Allah's Apostle saying ...
This is also in the Sahih Muslim -
Arabic 4385
حدثنا عمرو بن محمد الناقد وإسحق بن إبراهيم الحنظلي وعبيد الله بن سعيد ومحمد بن أبي عمر المكي كلهم عن ابن عيينة واللفظ لابن أبي عمر حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة حدثنا عمرو بن دينار عن سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا البكالي يزعم أن موسى عليه السلام صاحب بني إسرائيل ليس هو موسى صاحب الخضر عليه السلام فقال كذب عدو الله سمعت أبي بن كعب يقول سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقولBook 030, [Chapter 41], Number 5864: ['Amr b. Muhammad al-Naqid & Ishaq b. Ibrahim al-Hanzali & 'Ubayd Allah b. Sa'id & Muhammad b. Abu 'Umar al-Makki all from Ibn 'Uyayna; and al-Lafz < Muhammad b. Abu 'Umar < Ibn 'Uyaynah; < 'Amr b. Dinar] Sa'id b. Jubayr reported: I said to Ibn 'Abbas that Nawf al-Bikali was of the opinion that Moses (peace be upon him), the Apostle of Bani Isra'il, was not the same who accompanied Khadir, whereupon he said: The enemy of Allah tells a lie. I heard Ubayy b. Ka'b say ...
And again, from al-Naqid -
Arabic 4387
و حدثنا عمرو الناقد حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة عن عمرو عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس عن أبي بن كعب أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قرأ لتخذت عليه أجراNumber 5866: ['Amr al-Naqid < Sufyan b. 'Uyaynah < 'Amr < Sa'id b. Jubayr] Ibn 'Abbas has reported this hadith on the authority of Ubayy b. Ka'b that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) used to recite this.
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal's Musnad 20197 details what al-Naqid actually said:
حدثني أبو عثمان عمرو بن محمد بن بكير الناقد حدثنا سفيان بن عيينة عن عمرو يعني ابن دينار عن سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا الشامي يزعم أو يقول ليس موسى صاحب خضر موسى بني إسرائيل قال كذب نوف عدو الله حدثني أبي بن كعب عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم
That is, from Abu 'Uthman 'Amr b. Muhammad b. Bukayr al-Naqid < Sufyan b. 'Uyaynah < 'Amr Ya'ni n. Dinar.
Later Tirmidhi 3074 dug up what Muhammad b. Abu 'Umar al-Makki had said -
حدثنا ابن أبي عمر حدثنا سفيان عن عمرو بن دينار عن سعيد بن جبير قال قلت لابن عباس إن نوفا البكالي يزعم أن موسى صاحب بني إسرائيل ليس بموسى صاحب الخضر قال كذب عدو الله سمعت أبي بن كعب يقول سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول
That is, Ibn Abi 'Umar < Sufyan < 'Amr b. Dinar.
Sufyan b. 'Uyaynah lived in Kufa, but moved to far-eastern Merv al-Rawdh where he died in 198 AH. He transmitted to al-Naqid of Baghdad and to 'Ali of Basra. Apparently later, he transmitted to 'Abd Allah b. Muhammad of Bukhara, and to Ibn Abi 'Umar and to 'Abd Allah al-Humaydi in Merv.
The Sahih Muslim's chapter on al-Fada'il -
Arabic 4386
حدثني محمد بن عبد الأعلى القيسي حدثنا المعتمر بن سليمان التيمي عن أبيه عن رقبة عن أبي إسحق عن سعيد بن جبير قال قيل لابن عباس إن نوفا يزعم أن موسى الذي ذهب يلتمس العلم ليس بموسى بني إسرائيل قال أسمعته يا سعيد قلت نعم قال كذب نوف حدثنا أبي بن كعب قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقولNumber 5865: [Muhammad b. 'Abdi'l-'Alâ al-Qaysi < al-Mu'tamir b. Sulayman al-Taymi < his father < Raqabah < Abi Ishaq] Sa'id b. Jubayr reported that it was said to Ibn 'Abbas that Nawf al-Bikali was of the opinion that Moses who went in search of knowledge was not the Moses of Bani Isra'il. He said: Sa'id, did you hear it from him? I said: Yes. Thereupon he said that Nawf had not stated the fact. Ubayy b. Ka'b narrated to us that he had heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying ...
This is also in Ibn Abi Shaybah (Ahmad Ibn Hanbal's Musnad 20198):
حدثني أبو بكر عبد الله بن محمد بن أبي شيبة حدثنا عبيد الله بن موسى عن إسرائيل عن أبي إسحاق عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس قال كنا عنده فقال القوم إن نوفا الشامي يزعم أن الذي ذهب يطلب العلم ليس موسى بني إسرائيل وكان ابن عباس متكئا فاستوى جالسا فقال كذلك يا سعيد قلت نعم أنا سمعته يقول ذاك فقال ابن عباس كذب نوف حدثني أبي بن كعب أنه سمع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول
That is, from Abu Bakr 'Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. Abi Shaybah < 'Ubayd Allah b. Musa < Israel < Abi Ishaq.
Abu Ishaq was a Kufan traditionist who died 128 AH. His traditions proved popular.
In Bukhari's "Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an" -
Arabic 4357
حدثنا إبراهيم بن موسى أخبرنا هشام بن يوسف أن ابن جريج أخبرهم قال أخبرني يعلى بن مسلم وعمرو بن دينار عن سعيد بن جبير يزيد أحدهما على صاحبه وغيرهما قد سمعته يحدثه عن سعيد بن جبير قال إنا لعند ابن عباس في بيته إذ قال سلوني قلت أي أبا عباس جعلني الله فداءك بالكوفة رجل قاص يقال له نوف يزعم أنه ليس بموسى بني إسرائيل أما عمرو فقال لي قال قد كذب عدو الله وأما يعلى فقال لي قال ابن عباس حدثني أبي بن كعب قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلمVolume 6, Book 60, Number 250: [Ibrahim b. Musa < Hisham b. Yusuf] Narrated Ibn Jurayj: Ya'la bin Muslim and 'Amr bin Dinar and some others narrated the narration of Said bin Jubair. Narrated Said: While we were at the house of Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Abbas said, "Ask me (any question)" I said, "O Abu Abbas! May Allah let me be sacrificed for you ! There is a man at Kufa who is a story-teller called Nauf; who claims that he (Al-Khadir's companion) is not Moses of Bani Israel." As for 'Amr, he said to me [Ibn Jurayj], "Ibn 'Abbas said [to Sa'id], "(Nauf) the enemy of Allah told a lie." But Ya'la said to me [Ibn Jurayj], "Ibn 'Abbas said [to Sa'id], Ubai bin Ka'b said, Allah's Apostle said ...
Hisham b. Yusuf < Ibn Jurayj is also in Ahmad Ibn Hanbal's Musnad 20199:
حدثنا عبد الله بن إبراهيم المروزي قال حدثني هشام بن يوسف في تفسير ابن جريج الذي أملاه عليهم أخبرني يعلى بن مسلم وعمرو بن دينار عن سعيد بن جبير يزيد أحدهما على الآخر وغيرهما قال قد سمعت يحدثه عن سعيد بن جبير قال إنا لعند عبد الله بن عباس في بيته إذ قال سلوني فقلت أبا عباس جعلني الله فداءك بالكوفة رجل قاص يقال له نوف يزعم أنه ليس موسى بني إسرائيل أما عمرو بن دينار فقال كذب عدو الله وأما يعلى بن مسلم فقال قال ابن عباس حدثني أبي بن كعب قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
That is, from 'Abd Allah b. Ibrahim al-Marwazi < Hisham b. Yusuf < Ibn Jurayj < Ya'la b. Muslim & 'Amr b. Dinar.
Ibn Jurayj, then, agrees with Sufyan as to what 'Amr reported. The difference is that Ibn Jurayj supplemented it with a report from Ya'la. Ibn Jurayj implies that 'Amr was he who reported the "enemy of God" variant of the "Nawf lies" apothegm, and that it was Ya'la who reported the extended replacement tafsir.
It is hard to know what Ibn Jurayj taught, given this teaching's lack of attestation elsewhere, but that could be an artefact of my not having a copy of 'Abd al-Razzaq's Musannaf.
However problematic Newby's reconstruction, it has here preserved a fourth isnad independent of those which informed the canonical collections of Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi. Those canonical traditions derived from the cream of Islamic traditionists: Abu Ishaq, Sufyan b. 'Uyaynah, and (if we trust Hisham b. Yusuf) Ibn Jurayj. Sufyan and (apparently) Ibn Jurayj, in their turn, depended on 'Amr b. Dinar. Conrad has no cause to complain about Newby here.
Of these, Abu Ishaq agrees best with Ibn Ishaq in including the conversation in which Ibn 'Abbas heard the tale from others, and then asked Sa'id b. Jubayr if he too had heard it. These two traditions also agree against 'Amr b. Dinar that Sa'id had made no use of the term "Enemy of God" for Nawf.
Ibn Ishaq's tradition diverges from all the others in speculating as to which Moses it was - Ibn Manasseh. It also labels Nawf "son of Ka'b's wife
", and tells that Nawf had got his tradition from Ka'b al-Ahbar. Ibn Ishaq also reports, which Abu Ishaq did not, that those who were transmitting from Nawf were "People of the Book".
An orthodox Muslim would have sought to downplay Nawf's isnad. Further, Nawf's objection to Moses's presence in sura 18 was indeed the sort of objection which a friend of the People of the Book might have made. I conclude that the progression was likely the tradition of Ibn Ishaq, then that of Abu Ishaq, and finally those who related from 'Amr b. Dinar.
All roads ultimately lead back to Sa'id b. Jubayr. However distorted, Ibn Ishaq had preserved an authentic tradition of what Sa'id had told his students.
According to Arthur Jeffery (p. 245):
CODEX OF SA'ÎD B. JUBAIR [died] 94 [AH]
Sa'îd b. Jubair al-Wâlibî was a black and a client by enfran-chisement to the tribe of Wâliba b. al-Hârith. He was famous as an exegete and is claimed by some as a member of the School of Ibn 'Abbâs. He began life as Secretary to Ibn Mas'ûd and later served in the same capacity to Abû Mûsâ al-Ash'ârî 1). He was also famous for his recitation of the Qur'ân and it was said that one night he would recite according to the text of Ibn Mas'ûd and the next according to the text of Zaid b. Thâbit 2) (meaning pro-bably the 'Uthmanic text).
That he had a Codex we know only from the fact that it is listed by Ibn Abî Dâwud (p. 89). This Codex would doubtless have been a secondary one and one of eclectic type. Sa'îd is included among the early Kûfan Qurrâ' (Nashr I, 8), and from his connec-tion with Ibn Mas'ûd we might expect his Codex to represent some form of the Kûfan text tradition dependent on Ibn Mas'ûd. The Tabaqât books, however, give him as deriving his text from Ibn 'Abbâs, and he is also said to have studied under Ibn 'Umar. The shâdhdh readings that have been preserved from him support this conclusion as to the mixed nature of his text.
- 1) Ibn Khallikân I, 565. There are also stories of how he used to check Codices (Ibn Abi Dawud, p. 156), though here the reference is doubtless to Codices copied from the official text.
- 2) Ibn al-Jazarî I, 305.
Ibn Ishaq also transmitted from another traditionist, Hakim b. Jubayr, another story: in which Sa'id b. Jubayr claimed that he had been questioned by a Jew on a point of a sura (#28, in this case) which disputed the Torah (Newby p. 124; c.f. p. 132). In that event, Sa'id claimed that he had been in Kufa, and questioned Ibn 'Abbas in Mecca while on pilgrimage. However Ibn 'Abbas did not then cite the Prophet Muhammad but only the Prophet Moses. As a result this hadith did not arrive to the canonical collections.
I would correct Jeffery insofar as it was Sa'id b. Jubayr himself who claimed to be of Ibn 'Abbâs's students.
Sa'id b. Jubayr's tradition concerning Nawf and sura 18 is not found elsewhere. Still, any preservation of a rival hadith - especially with Ibn Ishaq's isnad, 'an Ka'b - is valuable.
Ibn Jubayr's work shows that sura 18 was canonical as of 94 AH. Nawf the nephew of Ka'b insisted (on Ka'b's authority) that it applied to a para-Biblical figure. Ibn Jubayr insisted (on Ibn 'Abbas's authority) that Moses meant Moses.
Sa'id b. Jubayr was a common source for tafsir on the Moses passages in controversial suras, which he claimed to have got from Ibn 'Abbâs. However these tafasir, in their oldest reconstructable form, are transparently apologetic in nature. Sa'id used Ibn 'Abbas - if he ever even met him - to debate Jewish and Christian objections to the suras.
Sa'id apparently won this debate, but he preserved enough evidence against him that his traditionists felt the need to downplay it. Nawf ceased to be even a false transmitter (from Ka'b); he became an "enemy of God" who made stuff up with no isnad at all.
Any thoughts? e-mail me :^)
zimriel@sbcglobal.net18 Sept 2006: started & posted that night. 19 Sept: fixed some errors, added Suyuti, got the hyperlinks going somewhere.
14 Oct: Al-Nasai's witness to Ibn Ishaq. And more error cleanup.