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Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Persian scholar
Medieval era

Bal'ami's 14th century Persian version of Universal History by Tabari
Full name Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Birth 224AH
Amol, Tapuria, iran

Death 310AH
School/tradition Jariri

NAME

Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838-923 أبو جعفر محمد ابن جرير الطبري) was one of the earliest, most prominent and famous Persian historian and exegete of the Qur'an,who wrote exclusively in Arabic , most famous for his Tarikh al-Tabari (History of the Prophets and Kings) and Tafsir al-Tabari.
Tabari (Arabic: الطبري) (Persian: طبری), Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, His name means "father of Jafar, named after the Prophet Muhammad, son of Jarir, from the province of Tabaristan".

BIOGRAPHY

He was born in Amol, Tabaristan some twenty kilometres south of the Caspian Sea in the winter of 838-9. He was precocious as he memorized the Qur'an at seven, was a qualified religious leader at eight and began to study the prophetic traditions at nine. He left home to study in A.H. 236 (850-1) when he was twelve. He retained close ties to his home town. He did return at least twice, the last time in A.H. 290 (903) when his outspokenness caused some uneasiness and led to his quick departure.

He first went to Ray (Rages), where he remained for some five years . A major teacher in Rayy was Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Humayd al-Razi already in his seventies. Ibn Humayd had taught in Baghdad and was now retired in his native city. Among other material, ibn Humayd taught Jarir Tabari the historical works of ibn Ishaq, especially al-Sirah, his life of Muhammad. Tabari was thus introduced in youth to pre-Islamic and early Islamic history. Tabari quotes ibn Humayd frequently. Beyond the names of at least two of them, we know little about Tabari's other teachers in Rayy.

Then he went to Baghdad to study from ibn Hanbal, who, however, had recently died This was in late 241 (late 855 or early 856). Tabari possibly made a pilgrimage prior to his first arrival in Baghdad. He left Baghdad probably in 242 (856-7) to travel through the southern cities of Basra, Kufah and Wasit. There he met a number of eminent and venerable scholars.

On his return to Baghdad, he took a tutoring position from the vizier Ubaydallah b. Yahya b. Khaqan. This would have been before A.H. 244 (858) since the vizier was out of office and in exile from 244 to 248 (858-9 to 862). There is an anecdote told that Tabari had agreed to tutor for ten dinars a month, but his teaching was so effective and the lad's writing so impressive that the teacher was offered a tray of dinars and dirhams. The ever ethical Tabari declined the offer saying he had undertaken to do his work at the specified amount and could not honourably take more. This is one of a number of stories about him declining gifts or giving gifts of equal or greater amount in return.

In his late twenties he travelled to Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In Beirut he made the highly significant connection of al-Abbas b. al-Walid b. Mazyad al-'Udhri al-Bayruti (c.169-270/785-6 to 883-4). Al-Abbas instructed Tabari in the Syrian school's variant readings of the Qur'an and transmitted through his father al-Walid the legal views of al-Awza'i, Beirut's prominent jurist from a century earlier.

Jarir Tabari arrived in Egypt in 253 (867). There he was among the "Famous Four" who met there who were all named Muhammad: Ibn Jarir, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Harun, and Ibn Nasr.

Some time after 256/870 Tabari returned to Baghdad, possibly making a pilgrimage on the way. If so, he did not stay long in the Hijaz Tabari had a private income from his father while he was still living and then the inheritance. He took money for teaching. He never took a government or a judicial position.
At-Tabari suffered from pleurisy. The doctors attending him did their best to restore his health and were unsuccessful in their attempts. He had reached the end of his road of a long and busy life. Finally, at-Tabari died at the age of 85 in the year 923 A.C.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

He is described as having a dark complexion, large eyes and a long beard. He was tall and slender and his hair and beard remained black until he was very old. He was attentive to his health, avoiding red meat, fats and other unhealthy foods. He was seldom sick before his last decade when he suffered from bouts of pleurisy. When he was ill, he could treat himself to the approval of physicians. He had a sense of humour, though serious subjects he treated seriously. He had studied poetry when young and enjoyed writing, reciting and participating in poetic exchanges. It is said that he was asked in Egypt about al-Tirimmah and was able to recite this seventh century poet's work for Egyptians who had merely heard al-Tirimmah's name.

He was witty and urbane, clean and well mannered. He avoided coarse speech, instead displaying refined eloquence. He had a good grounding in grammar, lexicography and philology. Such were considered essential for Qur'anic commentary. He knew Persian and was acquainted with the origins of various foreign loan words in Arabic from a number of other languages.
Tabari never married. There is a description of his normal day: rising early for prayer, studying till early afternoon, publicly praying the afternoon prayer, reciting Qur'an and teaching Qur'an, and then teaching law, etc. until late.

EDUCATION

At a very young age, he was sent to a school to learn the Holy Qur'an and calligraphy. In his student days, at-Tabari had developed a talent of mastering long and complex subjects. By the age of seven, he could recite the Holy Qur'an from memory. It was a great achievement, and his parents were extremely proud of him.

In the second stage of his education in the city of Amul, he began to study the Hadith Literature. The books taught him the sayings of the Holy Prophet (saws), his actions, and his approval and disapproval of things. He took care to study them along with the chain of narrators who had reported them to others.

When he had learnt all that was needed to know on the subject, he set his heart on settling down in the city of Rayy to further his knowledge. Rayy was a large, beautiful city that lay on the caravan route to China. Many great scholars of that period had made it their home. At Rayy, he studied Hadith under ar-Razi and two other scholars. Ar-Razi was a hard taskmaster and he took care to crosscheck with his students to make sure that they had learnt the hadith from him properly. At-Tabari managed to learn one hundred thousand hadiths from him.

In this period, at-Tabari took a keen self-interest in learning poetry, for it was the way to master the intricacies of the Arabic language. He learnt many of the poems and recited them from memory. He amazed his friends and teachers with the progress he had made in the study of Arabic literature.

His stay in the city of Rayy was fruitful and had served his purpose. He had been fortunate to learn under the greatest of teachers in those times. He wanted to acquire more knowledge and for that he had to travel to a different place and study under different teachers. In the end, he decided to travel to Baghdad.
His teachers were sorry to see him go. He had been a brilliant student during his entire academic career. Ar-Razi offered him a job of an assistant teacher in order to persuade him to stay at Rayy, but at-Tabari wanted to study hadith under the guidance of Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal in Baghdad, who was an authority on hadith and Tafseer. With this thought in his mind, he set out for Baghdad with one of the caravans that traveled from China along the Khurasan road.

At-Tabari was one of the rare scholars who studied without the help of a patron to finance his studies. He did not depend on others to help him out during the course of his studies. He studied and lived on what he earned and spent it on traveling and studying. He accepted only those gifts from his friends, which he was able to match and throughout his life, he was proud of this fact.

It is said that at-Tabari once refused a gift of 10,000 dirhams from a minister in the King's court. He returned the gift with a letter of thanks. The servant returned with the gift with a message from the minister saying that if he did not want it for himself; he could give it to the poor. At-Tabari refused to accept it and replied that the minister should know the poor people in the land better than he did. He wished that the minister distributed the money himself. He did not want anybody to say that he accepted money from a minister even to distribute it to the poor. It is also said that one day some of his students presented him with a carpet. He accepted the carpet from the student but insisted on paying its cost.

On his way to Baghdad, at-Tabari visited the city of Sawa a famous center for business and learning. It had fine buildings that housed many libraries. Astronomical observatories had been built there to study the movement of the stars and the planets. His next stop was in the city of Hamdhan and from there he headed towards Hulwan. The city of Hulwan divided the mountainous regions of Persia and the plains of Iraq. It was a city of gardens with fruit trees growing in it and the surrounding mountains with its snow-capped peaks made the town a scenic place.

At Hulwan, at-Tabari came to know that Ahmad bin Hanbal, the famous scholar of Hadith had died some months ago. He was extremely disappointed at this news, but he made up his mind to continue with his journey to Baghdad as he felt that he would gain much by studying at this city which was famous throughout the Muslim world for its fine libraries, academies, and scholars.

Baghdad in those days was one of the largest cities in the world with a population of two and a half million people. It was also the center for trade and business. People from all occupations converged on the city to earn their livelihood. It had hospitals, mosques, and public baths.

One of the first places visited by him was the academy. The director was a kind man who showed at-Tabari around the entire campus and graciously allowed him the use of the library whenever he wished. At-Tabari was also able to talk to other scholars who studied there. He discussed with them their fields of study and got firsthand knowledge of the progress of education.

He spent several years in the city studying hadith, fiqh, and tafseer with the religious scholars who worked there. At the age of 30, he had become a famous scholar in his own right and except for two short trips to Tabaristan, he spent his entire life in the city of Baghdad.

WORKS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

At-Tabari soon became popular as a teacher in Baghdad. Students from distant lands traveled to Baghdad to study under him. He gave lectures and encouraged them towards research work. He advised them to gain knowledge of medicine and mathematics also. He followed a daily program of lecturing and writing. He would start writing from noon until it was time for the afternoon prayers. After that, he lectured his students on tafseer until the Maghrib prayers. After Maghrib prayers, he would lecture them on law. He would retire to his room for the night and spent a good deal of it writing on different subjects. He wrote at an average of forty pages a day.

He was very kind to his students and helped them during their studies. He would share meals with them. He advised them to develop the body along with their mind. On his part, he would always be clean and well dressed and won the respect of all with his good behavior.

At-Tabari had for a long time deliberated writing a commentary of the Holy Qur'an, but he always kept putting off the task. It would take years of hard work, preparation, and study. His students and other scholars started pressurizing him to take up the task. They were willing to extend all help for him to complete the task for they felt that there was a need for a comprehensive commentary on the Holy Qur'an in Muslim literature. But when at-Tabari told them that he wanted to write a commentary of 30,000 pages, they were stunned. They could not believe that anybody could complete such a task within his lifetime.

When the work began on the commentary, the house of at-Tabari became a studio. Each of his students was entrusted with a specific task. They traveled to bookshops and libraries to search for specialized information. Others copied his works, and some worked on abridging his long comments. As the news began to spread, there was a steady stream of visitors to his house daily to see how he was progressing on the task. He worked slowly and carefully and it took several years to complete the job that he had set out to do. In the commentary, he made an in-depth analysis of the Qur'anic verses, along with its aspects of style and meaning. The result was an encyclopedia that was 30 volumes long.

Orders began to pour in from libraries and academies of the Muslim world. Everyone wanted to have copies of it. His fame spread far and his commentary of the Holy Qur'an was well received everywhere and it became a reference book for the serious student of the Holy Qur'an. Its translations are popular today as it was in those days.

For a long time, at-Tabari had wanted to visit Amul - his birthplace. He remembered the days of his childhood and treasured happy memories of that period of his life. He joined a caravan of merchants traveling to the east who were delighted to have the great scholar with them. They spent hours in his company discussing religion. Always ready to share Islamic knowledge with others, he would entertain the merchants with tales from Islamic history.

After reaching the city of Kirmanshah, he headed towards the city of Dinawar. At-Tabari hoped to meet a scholar there by name Abu Hanifa Addinawari who had also written a commentary of the Holy Qur'an and books on Islamic science. At Dinawar, he learnt that Abu Hanifa whom he had hoped to meet, had left Dinawar on a journey as the caravan of at-Tabari had arrived in the city.

In those days, the ability of a scholar to memorize hadiths was an important part of learning and was much admired in a person. Regular contests were held among scholars on their ability to memorize the texts of hadiths. The scholars competing in this contest were expected to not only learn the text of the hadith, but also narrate from memory the chain of narrators who had transmitted the Tradition of the Holy Prophet (saws). It was a daunting task for even the best of scholars as there were 100,000 hadith to learn and memorize.

In one such gathering, at-Tabari was challenged by ibn Hamdhan who claimed there was no other scholar better than him in memorizing the Traditions of the Holy Prophet (s). At-Tabari accepted his challenge and in the ensuing contest was able to narrate completely from memory the long list of narrators to every text of tradition quoted by ibn Hamdhan. Ibn Hamdhan had met his match and had to concede that at-Tabari was better in memorization of hadiths than he was. He stayed in Dinawar for a month.

At last, the caravan reached Amul, the city of his childhood. He had not seen his family and friends for a long time. They were all overjoyed at his visit. It was a happy homecoming for him. The city of Amul had changed a lot since his childhood. It was a great deal larger and grown since he had last seen it. Many new people had moved into the city and inhabited by them. The number of mosques, schools, and hospitals had also increased.

His fame had reached the city of Amul before him. Its people were proud that the famous scholar of the Muslim world was born and brought up in this city. Every day there was a group of people gathered to hear his lectures and they sought his advice on religious matters. He also visited the various schools of the city to talk to the teachers and the students studying there. For him, it was a delightful reunion with the past.

His heart was however set upon returning to Baghdad. The place of a scholar was among his students and books. Sadly, he said goodbye to all his friends and relatives who had made his visit to Amul the most enjoyable moments which he would cherish for a long time to come. He set off on his return journey to Baghdad. He had been away from the city of Baghdad for four months.

At-Tabari was 65 years old when he returned to Baghdad. He continued to teach the students that came to him in search of knowledge. At the same time, he was eager to begin work on another writing project.

The success of his Commentary of the Holy Qur'an encouraged him to undertake another encyclopedic work. This time he decided to write an encyclopedia on the History of Islam. Before starting on the project, he spent a good deal of time in its planning and preparation. His students and friends were also enthusiastic about this new project and promised to extend all help that he required from them.
He spent the next 12 years writing his encyclopedia on Islamic history. His job was not easy for he had to collect and compile the material from different sources. He had to rely on oral reports as well to complete his encyclopedia. Much of the material would have been lost if at-Tabari had not bothered to include it in his work on the History of Islam.

His encyclopedia, "Annals of the Apostles and Kings", chronicled the History of Islam year by year; an attempt to categorize history from creation till the year 915 A.C. By the time he had finished his work, he had gathered all the historical traditions of the Arabs in his voluminous work. The Muslim world was not slow in showing its appreciation, and this work became more famous than his Commentary of the Holy Qur'an, for there was no other works like that in existence at that time.

It is reported that there were at least 20 copies of his encyclopedia in all great libraries in the Muslim world of those days. Hundreds of copyists earned their living copying his work for use of individuals and libraries. Many of his original works were lost over the passage of time. It was only in the end of the last century that modern scholars pieced together his work so that it could be studied by students in modern times. History of al Tabari is now also Available in English.

At-Tabari wrote history, theology and Qur'anic commentary. His legal writings were published first and then continued to appear throughout his life. Next were his commentaries on the Qur'an. Lastly, his history was published. Despite a style that makes it seem he drew largely on oral sources, written material (both published and unpublished) provided him with the bulk of his information. His biographers stress his reverence for scholarship and his keen intent to offer his readers hard fact.

He didn't hesitate to express his independent judgement (ijtihad). He stated his assessment as to which of the sources he cited was accurate. This was more understandably an aspect of his theology than of his history. This does not mean he saw himself as innovative. On the contrary, he was very much opposed to religious innovation. The story goes that when he was near death ibn Kamil suggested he forgive his enemies. He said he was willing to do so, except for the person who had described him as an innovator. In general Tabari's approach was conciliatory and moderate, seeking harmonious agreement between conflicting opinions.

Initially he identified as a Shafi'ite in law and Shafi'ites were happy to have him so considered. He later was seen as one establishing his own school. Although he had come to Baghdad in youth to study from Hanbal, he incurred the vehement wrath of the Hanbalites. Tabari's madhhab is usually designated by the name Jariri after his patronymic. However, in the keenly competitive atmosphere of the times, his school failed to endure.

At-Tabari was now an old man. His latest work on the History of Islam had taken a toll on his health and it began to fail gradually.

AT-TABARI’S TEACHERS

1. Al-Abbas bin al-Walid
2. Yunus bin Abd al-‘Ala
3. Muhammad bin Abd Malik b. Abu al-Syawarib al-Umawi
4. Ishak Abu Israil Ismail b. Musa al-Fazari
5. Hannad bin al-Sarri al-Tanimi
6. Abu Hammam al-Walid bin Syuja’ al-Sakuni
7. Abu Kurayb Muhammad bin al-‚Ala al-Hamadhani
8. Abd al-Ala bin Wasil
9. Ya’kib bin Ibrahim
10. Ahmad bin Mani’ al-Baghawi

AT-TABARI’S PUPILS

1. Abu Syu’aib Abdullah bin al-Hasan bin Ahmad bin Abu Syu’aib
2. Abu Amru Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Hamdan al-Nasyaburi
3. Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Alan al-Hafiz al-Harrani
4. Abu al-Qassim Sulaiman bin Ahmad bin Ayyub al-Tabrani

BOOKS

1) Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk or Tarikh al-Tabari (History of the Prophets and Kings)

• The first of the two large works, generally known as the Annals (Tarikh al-Tabari). This is a universal history from the time of Qur'anic Creation to AD 915, and is renowned for its detail and accuracy concerning Muslim and Middle Eastern history. Tabari's work is a major primary source for the Zanj Revolt.

• His second great work was the commentary on the Qur'an, (Arabic Tafsir al-Tabari), which was marked by the same fullness of detail as the Annals. The size of the work and the independence of judgment in it seem to have prevented it from having a large circulation, but scholars such as Baghawi and Suyuti used it largely. It was used in compiling the Tafsir ibn Kathir.