Ubayy ibn Kab - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

"O Abu Mundhir! Which verse of the Book of God is the greatest?" asked
the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. "Allah
and His Messenger know best," came the reply. The Prophet repeated the
question and Abu Mundhir replied.
"Allah, there is no god but He, the Living the Self-Subsisting.
Neither slumber overtakes him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in
the heavens and whatever is on earth, ..." and most likely he went on
to complete the Verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi).
The Prophet smote his chest with his right hand in approval on hearing
the reply and with his countenance beaming with happiness, said to Abu
Mundhir."May knowledge delight and benefit you, Abu Mundhir."
This Abu Mundhir whom the Prophet congratulated on the knowledge and
understanding which God had bestowed on him was Ubayy ibn Kab, one of
his distinguished companions and a person of high esteem in the early
Muslim community.
Ubayy was one of the Ansar and belonged to the Khazraj tribe. Hewas
one of the first persons of Yathrib to accept Islam. He pledged
allegiance to the Prophet at Aqabah before the Hijrah. He participated
in the Battle of Badr and other engagements thereafter. Ubayy was one
of the select few who committed the Quranic revelations to writing and
had a Mushaf of his own. He acted as a scribe of the Prophet, writing
letters for him. At the demise of the Prophet, he was one of the
twenty five or so people who knew the Quran completely by heart. His
recitation was so beautiful and his understanding so profound that the
Prophet encouraged his companions to learn the Quran from him and from
three others. Later, Umar too once told the Muslims as he was dealing
with some financial matters of state:
"O people! Whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Ubayy
ibn Kab..." (Umar went on to say that anyone wishing toask about
inheritance matters should go to Zayd ibn Thabit, about questions of
fiqh to Muadh ibn Jabal and about questions of money and finance,to
himself.)
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)
inthe highest heavens."
Any Muslim whose name had been conveyed to the heart of the Prophet in
this manner mustcertainly have been of great ability and of a
tremendously high stature.
Throughout the years of his association with the Prophet, Ubayy
derived the maximum benefit from his sweet and noble personality and
from his noble teachings. Ubayy related that the Prophet once asked
him:
"Shall I not teach you a surah the like of which has not been revealed
in the Tawrah, nor in the Injil, nor in the Zabur, nor in the Quran?"
"Certainly," replied Ubayy.
"I hope you would not leave through that door until you know what it
is," said the Prophet obviously prolonging the suspense for Ubayy.
Ubayy continues: "He stood up and I stood up with him. He started
tospeak, with my hand in his. I tried to delay him fearing that he
would leave before letting me know what the surah is. When he reached
the door, I asked: "O Messenger of God! The surah which you promised
to tell me..." He replied:
"What do you recite when you stand for Salat?" So, I recited for him
Fatihatu-l Kitab (the Opening Chapter of the Quran) and he said:
"(That's) it! (That's) it! They are the seven oft-repeated verses of
which God Almighty has said: We have given you the seven
oft-repeatedverses and the Mighty Quran."
Ubayy's devotion to the Quran was uncompromising. Once he recited part
of a verse which the Khalifah Umar apparently could not remember or
did not know and he said to Ubayy: "Your havelied," to which Ubayy
retorted;"Rather, you have lied."
A person who heard the exchange was astounded and said to Ubayy: "Do
you call the Amir al-Muminin a liar?" "I have greater honor and
respect for the Amir al-Muminin than you," responded Ubayy," but he
has erred in verifying the Book of God and I shall not say the Amir
al-Muminin is correct when he has made an error concerning the Book of
God." "Ubayy is right," concluded Umar.
Ubayy gave an idea of the importance of the Quran when aman came to
him and said,"Advise me," and he replied:"Take the Book of God as
(your) leader (imam). Be satisfied with it as (your) judge and ruler.
It is what the Prophet has bequeathed to you. (It is your) intercessor
with God and shouldbe obeyed..."
After the demise of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him
peace, Ubayy remained strong in his attachment to Islam and his
commitment to the Quran and the Sunnah of theProphet. He was constant
in his ibadah and would often be found in the mosque at night, after
the last obligatory Prayer had been performed, engaged inworship or in
teaching. Once he was sitting in the mosque after Salat with a group
of Muslims, making supplication to God. Umar came in and sat with
themand asked each one to recite a dua. They all did until finally
Ubayy's turn came. He was sitting next to Umar. He felt somewhat
over-awed and became flustered. Umar prompted him and suggested that
he say: "Allahumma ighfir lanaa. Allahumma irhamnaa. O Lord, forgive
us, O Lord, have mercy on us."
Taqwa remained the guiding force in Ubayy's life. He lived simply and
did not allow the world to corrupt or deceive him.He had a good grasp
of reality and knew that however a person lived and whatever comforts
and luxuries he enjoyed, these would all fade away and he would have
only hisgood deeds to his credit. He wasalways a sort of warner to
Muslims, reminding them of the times of the Prophet, of the Muslims'
devotion to Islam then,of their simplicity and spirit of sacrifice.
Many people came to him seeking knowledge and advice. To one such
person he said.
"The believer has four characteristics. If he is afflicted by any
misfortune, he remains patient and steadfast. If he is given anything,
he is grateful. If he speaks, he speaks the truth. If he passes a
judgment on any issue, he is just."
Ubayy attained a position of great honor and esteem among the early
Muslims. Umar called him the "sayyid of the Muslims" and he came to be
widely known by this title. He was part of the consultative group
(mushawarah) to which Abu Bakr, as Khalifah, referred many problems.
This group was composed of men of good senseand judgment (ahl ar-ray)
and men who knew the law (ahl al-fiqh) from among the Muhajirin and
Ansar. It included Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abdur Rahman ibn Awl, Muadh ibn
Jabal, Ubayy ibn Kab and Zayd ibn Harith. Umar later consulted the
same group when he was Khalifah. Specifically for fatwas (legal
judgments) he referred to Uthman, Ubayy and Zayd ibn Thabit.
Because of Ubayy's high standing, one might have expected him to have
been givenpositions 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 function 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" repliedUmar. Ubayy was
probably prompted to put the question toUmar when he saw that
Muslimswere tending to drift from the purity of faith and
self-sacrifice of the days of the Prophet. He was known to be
especially critical of the excessively polite and sycophantic attitude
of many Muslims to their governorswhich he felt brought ruin both to
the governors and those under them. Ubayy for his part was always
honest and frank in his dealings with persons in authority and feared
no one but God. He acted as a sort of conscience to the Muslims.
One of Ubayy's major fears for the Muslim ummah was that a day would
come when there would be severe strife among Muslims. He often became
overwhelmed with emotion when he read or heard the verseof the Quran."
"Say: He (Allah) has power to send calamities onyou, from above and
below, or to cover you with confusion in party strife, giving you a
taste of mutual vengeance, each from the other." (Surah al-An'am, 6:
65)
He would then pray fervently to God for guidance and ask for His
clemency and forgiveness. Ubayydied in the year 29 AH during
thecaliphate of Uthman.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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