Mu'adh ibn Jabal ibn 'Amr ibn Aws
ibn 'A'idh was a Companion of the Prophet, a jurist, a reciter of the Quran,
and a narrator of hadith. He was from the Ansar, specifically from the Banu
'Adda clan of the Banu Jusham ibn al-Khazraj tribe. His mother was Hind bint
Sahl al-Juhaniyya. His children were 'Abd al-Rahman, Umm 'Abd Allah, and
another son whose name is not mentioned.
Mu'adh ibn Jabal embraced Islam at
the age of 18 and participated in the Second Pledge of Aqaba while still a
beardless youth. After his conversion, he joined Tha'labah ibn 'Anmah and 'Abd
Allah ibn Unays in destroying the idols of Banu Salamah, a clan within his
tribe, the Khazraj. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
migrated to Medina, he established a bond of brotherhood between Mu'adh and
'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud. He participated in the Battle of Badr and all subsequent
battles alongside the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
After Mu'adh ibn Jabal migrated to
Medina, he remained in close contact with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him). He learned the Quran and the laws of Islam from him
until he became the most knowledgeable of the Companions regarding the Book of
Allah and His Sharia. He also acquired knowledge and wisdom from him. It was
narrated on the authority of Mu'adh ibn Jabal that he said, "The Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took his hand and said, 'O Mu'adh,
by Allah, I love you; by Allah, I love you.'" Then he said, "I advise
you, O Mu'adh, never to omit saying after every prayer, 'O Allah, help me to
remember You, to thank You, and to worship You in the best way.'" (Source:
Sahih Abi Dawud; Hadith classification: Sahih). It was narrated on the
authority of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As that Mu'adh ibn Jabal intended to travel
and said, "O Messenger of Allah, advise me." He said, "Worship
Allah and do not associate anything with Him." He said, "Give me more
advice, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "If you do wrong, then do
good." He said, "Give me more advice." He said, "Be upright
and improve your character." (Source: Al-Amali al-Mutlaqa; Hadith
classification: Hasan).
Mu'adh ibn Jabal was a handsome and
generous young man, one of the best of his people. He possessed praiseworthy
qualities, including knowledge, piety, asceticism, generosity, and devotion. He
was described as the most knowledgeable of his people, the most knowledgeable
about what is lawful and unlawful, and the most proficient reciter of the Book
of Allah. It was narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar that he said,
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘The most
compassionate of my nation towards my nation is Abu Bakr, the most steadfast of
them in the religion of Allah is Umar, the most modest of them is Uthman, the
most decisive of them in judgment is Ali, the most knowledgeable of them in
inheritance laws is Zayd ibn Thabit, the best reciter of the Quran is Ubayy,
and the most knowledgeable of them regarding what is lawful and unlawful is
Mu'adh ibn Jabal. Indeed, every nation has a trustworthy person, and the
trustworthy person of this nation is Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.” (Source: Sahih
al-Jami'; Hadith classification: Sahih). Anas ibn Malik was asked, “Who
compiled the Quran during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
be upon him)?” He said, “Four, all from the Ansar: Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Mu’adh ibn
Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit, and a man from the Ansar known as Abu Zayd.” (Source:
Sahih Muslim; Hadith classification: Sahih). Abdullah ibn Amr narrated from the
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said, “Learn the
Quran from four: Ibn Mas’ud, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Mu’adh ibn Jabal, and Salim, the
freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him) conquered Mecca in Ramadan of the 8th year of Hijra, he
left Mu’adh in charge of teaching them the Quran and instructing them in their
religion. In Rabi’ al-Thani of the 9th year of Hijra, the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him) appointed him as his governor over some
regions of Yemen. Then he returned from Yemen after the death of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). After the Prophet's death, he went
to Syria, witnessed the Islamic conquest of Syria, and participated in the
Battle of Yarmouk. During the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased
with him), he taught the people of Syria the Quran and instructed them in the
religion. Mu'adh ibn Jabal was an ascetic, devout, and pious man who viewed
this world as a place of action and the Hereafter as the place of recompense.
Malik al-Dari narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab took four hundred dinars and
put them in a purse. He told his servant, "Take this to Mu'adh ibn Jabal
and wait in the house for a while to see what he does." The servant took
it to Mu'adh and said to him, "The Commander of the Faithful says to you,
'Use this for some of your needs.'" Then Mu'adh ibn Jabal said, "May
God have mercy on him and grant him peace. Come here, girl, go to so-and-so's
house with such-and-such, go to so-and-so's house with such-and-such." His
wife looked over and said, "By God, we are poor, so give us
something." There were only two dinars left in the cloth, so he gave them
to her. The boy returned to Umar and told him what had happened. Umar said,
"They are brothers, one from the other."
Mu'adh ibn Jabal was pious, devout,
and wise. Among his piety and devotion is what Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated about
him: "He had two wives, and when he was with one of them, he would not
drink or..." He would perform ablution in the other woman's house. When
they both died during the illness in Syria, while people were preoccupied, they
were buried in a single grave. So, lots were drawn between them to determine
which of them would be placed first in the grave. Regarding his devotion and
diligence, Thawr ibn Yazid said of him, "When he prayed at night, he would
say, 'O God, eyes have slept and stars have set, and You are the Ever-Living,
the Sustainer of all existence. O God, my pursuit of Paradise is slow, and my
escape from Hell is weak. O God, grant me guidance from You that You will
return to me on the Day of Resurrection, for You do not break Your
promise." Among his sermons and wisdom, as narrated by Abu Idris
al-Khawlani, is that he used to say to the people, “There will be trials after
you in which wealth will abound and the Quran will be widely read, so that the
believer and the hypocrite, the young and the old, and the red and the black
will read it. Then someone will soon say, ‘Why do I recite the Quran to the
people, and they do not follow me? I do not think they will follow me until I
invent something else for them.’ Beware, beware of what is innovated, for what
is innovated is misguidance. And I warn you against the error of the wise man,
for Satan may say a word of misguidance about the wise man, and the hypocrite
may say a word of truth. So accept the truth, for there is light in truth.”
They said, “How do we know, may God have mercy on you, that the wise man may
not say a word of misguidance?” He said, “It is a word that you will reject
from him and say, ‘What is this?’ So do not let it deter you, for he is likely
to return and reconsider some of what you know.” Abdullah ibn Salamah narrated
that a man said to him, “Teach me.” He replied, “Will you obey me?” The man
said, “I am eager to obey you.” He said, “Fast and break your fast, pray and
sleep, earn a living without sinning, and do not die except as a Muslim. Beware
the supplication of the oppressed.” Muhammad ibn Sirin also narrated that he
used to say to his son, “My son, when you pray, pray as if it were your last
prayer, never thinking you will return to it again. And know, my son, that the
believer dies between two good deeds: one he performed and one he left behind.”
It was also said that a man came to Mu’adh ibn Jabal with his companions to
greet him and bid him farewell. He said, “I advise you with two things; if you
heed them, you will be protected. You cannot do without your share of this
world, but you are even more in need of your share of the Hereafter. So
prioritize the Hereafter over your share of this world, so that it may be
organized for you and accompany you wherever you go.” It was narrated on the
authority of Ash'ath ibn Salim that he said, "I heard Raja' ibn Haywah say,
on the authority of Mu'adh ibn Jabal, that Mu'adh said, 'You were tested with
the trial of adversity, and you persevered. You will be tested with the trial
of prosperity, and what I fear most for you is the trial of women when they
adorn themselves with gold and wear the fine silks of Syria and the brocades of
Yemen, thus burdening the rich and demanding from the poor what they cannot
afford."
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