The Life and Work of Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari

The third century of the Islamic era was a period of great intellectual attainments. It was in this period that some of the highest intellectual luminaries had risen on the horizon of Islamic learning, whose multiple contributions to multiple themes of Islam guided the later Muslim writers in diverse branches of knowledge. Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Jarir al - Tabari was one of them who was a prolific writer, a Qur’anic exegete, a jurist, a traditionist and a historian and who produced prodigious works on all themes of Islamic learning including his work on Islamic history, Tarikh al-Tabari which has become an important source of information for many generations of historians of Islam. His second most influential and best known work is his work on Qur’anic commentary known as Tafsir al -Tabari which explains the text (sometimes word by word) based on its historical and lexicographical explanations. Miskawayah, Ibn Athir and Abul Fida were among the few Muslim historians who referred to the works of al-Tabari. He learnt fiqh and jurisprudence from various teachers and contributed a lot to the science of Islamic jurisprudence by writing a number of prominent works. Therefore, this research paper will focus on the on the life of Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Jarir al -Tabari. This research paper will also explore his contributions to different fields of knowledge through his eminent works keeping in view the descriptive as well as analytical methodology.


INTRODUCTION
Muhammad was the custodian of divine messages who received revelation and was tasked with interpreting it for his followers to understand. Despite the fact that the revelation was made in their language (Arabic), the companions relied on the Prophet, whom Allah assigned to explain to the people what was revealed to them. Allah says, "And we have sent down the message to you, that you may explain clearly to men what has been sent to them, and that you may think." Since the Prophet was alive, his companions had the privilege of referring necessary cases of interpretation of Qur'anic verses to him. Nonetheless, they contributed to the advancement of tafsir literature, particularly after the Prophet's death. Muslim scholars felt the need to immortalize tafsir from time to time in order to keep the Qur'an relevant to Muslims of all ages. Abu Ja'far Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari was one of the later generations after Tabi"un. He was a notable tafsir scholar who made significant contributions to tafsir literature. In his tafsir, he used a unique method to demonstrate his intellectual endowment as an expert in the field, thus making his tafsir book unique.
Abu Ja'far Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (224 A.H-310 A.H.) was an influential scholar, historian and commentator of the holy Qur'an from Persia (Iran) who composed all his works in Arabic language and today even after his death, he is best known for best contributions in the field of Qur'anic exegesis, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic history and he was one of those few outstanding scholars of Islam and Islamic history who influenced his contemporaries and later scholars of Qur'anic commentators Khazanah Pendidikan Islam, Vol. 4 No. 1: 29-37 The Life and Work of Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari Samee-Ullah Bhat by writing a comprehensive commentary of the holy Qur'an which comprised 30 large volume on one hand and by writing a prominent work on Islamic history entitled 'Tarikh al-Rusul Wa al-Muluk' on the other hand. In this research paper, an attempt is made to illustrate the life and works of al-Tabari in an analytical way.

RESEARCH METHOD
This study uses historical research methods with 4 main approaches, namely, heuristics, source criticism, interpretation and histiography. The data used by the author is primary and secondary data in the form of documents and articles from previous research.
Al-Tabari was given under the guardianship of the prominent scholars and intellectuals of his time at a tender age by his father and within a short span of time, Al-Tabari reached to the climax of intellectual advancement. Yaqut Hamawi in his work, Mujam al-Adaba, mentions a discussion which took place between al-Tabari and his student Qadi Abu Bakr Ahmad Ibn Kamil Ibn Khalf that Ibn Kamil along with his son went to al-Tabari before the sunset. When Ibn Kamil arrived at al-Tabari's house, he saw that al-Tabari was not feeling well. al-Tabari asked him about the name and age of his son; Ibn Kamil replied that his name is Abu Rifa'ah and that his age is nine years and on hearing this, al-Tabari again asked him that why don't you send your son to me for study. Ibn Kamil replied that it is because that his son is too small and don't know the etiquettes of learning and knowledge. On hearing these words, al-Tabari narrated his own story to Ibn Kamil by saying that I memorized the whole Qur'an at the age of seven, led the congregational prayers at eight and studied Hadith at nine and that on one night, my father saw me in a dream in front of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) with a bag full of small stones which I was keeping before the Prophet (SAW). My father asked to the scholars for its interpretation and he was told that your son will be a staunch follower of Islam and defender of Islamic Shariah (Hamawi, n.d.-a). Because of this dream and its interpretation, my father took great care for my right upbringing and education when I was very small. He also encouraged al-Tabari to undertake the journeys for knowledge (Al-Tabari, n.d.).

His Journeys for Higher Education
Al-Tabari commenced his early education from his native land 'Amul and after completing his early education, he then went to nearby areas including Rayy for his further studies and remained there for about five years. The most towering figures amongst his teachers at Rayy under whom he studied Hadith were Muhammad bin Humayd bin Hayyan Abu Abdullah Al-Razi (Yaqut Hamawi, n.d.), Al-Muthanna Ibn Ibraheem Al-Iblee, and Tafsir from Muhammad Ibn Hameed Al-Razi and Sirah Ibn Ishaq from Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Himad Al-Dawlabi (Hamawi, n.d.-b). It is narrated that Tabari laid the foundation for his history after he studied Sirah Ibn Ishaq (Rosenthal, 1989a). He also studied the school of Islamic jurisprudence of Iraq from Abu Maqatil. │ 31 After Rayy, Al-Tabari's quest for advanced knowledge made him to visit Baghdad to study under Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the latter, however, died in 242 A.H. i.e. shortly before al-Tabari's arrival. Nevertheless, Tabari stayed in Baghdad until 242 A.H., after which he travelled to other important places, namely Kufa, Basrah and Wasit. In Kufa, Tabari met Hannad Ibn Al-Sari who provided him too much information for his Tafsir and he also studied under Hannad Ibn Musa, Abu Kurayb Muhammad Ibn al-A'la Al-Hamadani (Al-'Ala, n.d.) who was a difficult scholar but al-Tabari managed to mollify him, appeasing him with his extraordinary ability and Qur'anic Qirat from Sulaiman Al- Talhee (Hamawi, n.d.-d) Later, in 253AH//867CE, al-Tabari visited Egypt, reportedly stopping in Syria and Palestine on the way. Although unclear, he probably studied in the latter two locations: the authorities cited in his writings include references to scholars from Hims (or Homs), al-Ramla and Asqalan. Al-Tabari probably met these scholars either in Jerusalem or Damascus (Rosenthal, 1989a). In Beirut, he also studied under al-Abbas Ibn al-Walid al-Bayruti, who instructed him in variant readings (huruf) of the Quran according to the Syrian School. Al-Bayruti was also instrumental in conveying to al-Tabari the legal views of al-Awza'i, as narrated through al-Bayruti's father, al-Walid, himself a prominent jurist. With al-Abbas, al-Tabari also completed his study of the Quran based on the narrations of the people of Syam (Rosenthal, 1989b).
When al-Tabari finally arrived to Egypt, he studied under Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Siraj and Yunus Ibn 'Abd al-'A'la, then Egypt's leading scholar in Hadith and Qur'anic recitation. Since Egypt also hosted a great number of Shafi'i and Maliki scholars, al-Tabari also gained an understanding of these legal systems. From the Shafi'i side, he studied with al-Rabi' Ibn Sulayman, al-Muzani and Muhammad Ibn al-Hakam, while from the Maliki side he met and studied under the supervision of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abd al-Hakam (Rosenthal, 1989c).
After Egypt, al-Tabari returned to Baghdad. There he began to identify himself as a Shafi'i scholar. He continued in this mould for the next ten years (i.e. until 267AH/880CE), after which he concentrated on teaching and publishing his own works on legal theory and practice, Qur'anic commentary and history. This development placed him at the forefront of scholars. Many students came to study with him, constituting themselves as a special madhhab, known as Jariri madhhab (Rosenthal, n.d.-a).

An Eminent Scholar of his Time
Like other scholars his era, al-Tabari mastered three fields of learning: legal theory, Qur'anic science and Islamic history. His outstanding contributions in these three areas are attributable to his exceptional learning in a variety of disciplines. In particular, his work on Tafsir demonstrates his outstanding capability in Arabic grammar and lexicography (Rosenthal, n.d.-b).

Khazanah Pendidikan Islam, Vol. 4 No. 1: 29-37
The Life and Work of Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari Samee-Ullah Bhat In addition, al-Tabari also excelled in arithmetic, algebra, logic, dialectics and Falsafa (philosophy), the last of which he utilized to refute Mu'tazilah views. It was reported that medicine was also one of al-Tabari's great interests, which he pursued with his acquaintance, 'Ali Ibn Rabban, author of the great medical encyclopedia, Firdaws al-Hikmah (Franz Rosenthal, n.d.).

His Prominent Attributes
Al-Tabari was well-known for being both humble and ethical throughout his whole life. These attributes are particularly evident in the context of his attitudes towards gifts, which he would always reject. As such, he rejected the gifts offered by the vizier, al-Khaqani, when the latter appointed al-Tabari to teach his son. Indeed, throughout his lifetime al-Tabari tried his very best to disassociate himself from all gifts, particularly those extended by people in positions of power (including the caliph). He always shied away from them as so as to avoid allying himself with the political agendas of the donors. For him, a gift could become an embarrassment at some future time. This demonstrates his high integrity and dignity.
Al-Tabari was an easy going person who had a very good relationship with his neighbours, be they scholars or ordinary people. He attended picnics with them and gave advice to their children. In terms of physical appearance, al-Tabari was tall and lean, had a dark-brown complexion, large eyes and a long beard. He reportedly kept his black hair and beard until he was in his eighties (Baghdadi, n.d.) .

His Eminent Students
Al-Tabari was a scholar of international repute throughout the Muslim world during the medieval times who by virtue of his prominent works on Qur'anic sciences, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic history trained and taught a number of students but following are some of the most significant ones amongst his students:

Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn Kamil Ibn Khalf
Ibn Kamil was one of the prominent students of al-Tabari who was a chief justice of Kufa before Abu Umar Muhammad Ibn Yusuf. He was an expert of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Ilm al-Qirat (the science of recitation of Qur'an), Tafsir

Abu Ishaq Ibn Ibraheem Ibn Habib Al-Tabari
He was one of the important students of Tabari who wrote along with other works on several aspects of Islam a work about the life and work of his prominent teacher, al-Tabari (Nadeem, n.d.)(Nadeem, n.d.).

Abul Hasan Ahmad Ibn Yahya Ibn Ilm al-Din Al-Najm Al-Mutakalim
He was an outstanding student of al-Tabari who wrote a number of eminent works to support the madhhab of his teacher (Jariri madhhab-a Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence founded by al-Tabari)

Abul Faraj Al-Ma'ani Zakariyah Al-Naherwani Al-Qadi
He was also a staunch supporter of Jariri School of Islamic jurisprudence during his whole life and wrote a number of eminent works such as Al- Tahreer

'Ali Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Muhammad Al-Dawlabi
He too was one of the significant students of Tabari who wrote a number of good works such as Kitab al-Qirat, Kitab Usul al-Kalam, Kitab Usul al-Akhbar, Kitab Usul al-Awsat, Kitab Ithbat Risalah etc (Nadeem, n.d.).

Jami al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an
Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an commonly known as Tafsir al-Tabari is one of the prominent works of al-Tabari which deals with the commentary of the Qur'an and which has retained its outstanding importance to this day and which took him seven years to finish (namely, from 283AH to 290AH). Al-Tabari explained in his tafsir the legal data derived from the Quran, its abrogating and abrogated verses, and its difficult passages and dictated this very Tafsir to his students after three years of Istikhara by the year 293 A.H and which was basically in 30,000 folio pages, and later on reduced it to 3,000 by al-Tabari himself. This Tafsir was lost for many years before it was found with Amir of Najd namely Hammud Ibn Abdur Rashid. It was first published in 30 volumes in Egypt in 1319 A.H., and later on, several editions of the Tafsir with annotation (Tahqiq). The best of which is the work of Mahmoud and Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, which reached up to the verse number twenty seven of Surah Ibrahim and was printed in sixteen volumes (Adh-Dhahabi, n.d.).
Many scholars regard this Tafsir as the oldest Tafsir based on narrations to reach our generation and all later books of Tafsir were influenced in one way or the other by it.
The following sources were used by Tabari in his Tafsir: 1. The holy Qur'an, for it is self-explanatory. 2. Sunnah, which he has categorically mentioned that certain level of Tafsir can only be known through it. 3. Al-Ijma'a (consensus of the Muslim Exegetes and Jurists). He held it a reliable and respectable source of Tafsir. It is rightly observed that Tafsir al-Tabari is the most popular Qur'anic Exegesis depended on narratives from Messenger of Allah (SAW), his companions and their students. Most of his narratives are from the latter two for the total number of Hadith is not more than three thousand, while the entire narrations in it are about thirty-seven thousand with the repeated ones.
1. Arabic language, which though he analyzed deeply the linguistic, and grammatical aspects of Arabic, he opined; it was am means of the Tafsir. 2. Isra'iliyat, which means the Jewish and Christian information, about any aspect relating to Qur'an. 3. Interpretative discretion and Tabari used his discretion to reconcile or prefer one of the conflicting opinions, be it in the aspect of language, law, Qirat al-Qur'an or purely exegetical issue.

Tarikh al Rusul Wa al-Muluk
Tarikh al Rusul Wa al-Muluk which is commonly known as Tarikh al-Tabari is the significant work of al-Tabari on Islamic history. Probably the best known story about al-Tabari, and one which illustrates his energy as a scholar, is that relating to his writing of this Tarikh. He asked his students whether they would be interested in the Islamic history from the creation to their own time. Cautiously, they asked how long it would be. When he told them 30,000 folio pages, they said it was much too long for one lifetime, so he reluctantly reduced it to 3,000 (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).
Al-Tabari's Tarikh is regarded in Muslim historiography as a universal or world history, a form of historical writing which seems to have first appeared in the Islamic world about the end of the third century and which al-Tabari himself greatly popularized. Universal histories were written not because most historians were interested in things non-Islamic, but mainly to stress the superiority of Islam and its culture and to demonstrate that Islam was a continuation of, rather than a break with, the past.
The subject matter of al-Tabari's Tarikh in general follows the pattern of most universal histories. After a short introduction, a1-Tabari describes the creation of the world and then gives a history of the Biblical patriarchs, prophets and rulers. He next turns to pre-Islamic Arabian and Persian history, which are mixed together in a roughly chronological order. Much of the information on the Sasanids was an Arabic version of translation of Ibn al-Muqaffa (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).
Beginning with the birth of the Prophet, al-Tabari confines his attention to Islam. Based largely on the Sirah of Ibn Ishaq, this section gives the details of Muhammad's annalistic form which is continued throughout the remainder of the work, through the history of the Khalfae Rashidin and the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, to the end of the year 302 A.H.
Al-Tabari presents his information in the form of Akhbar, which like Hadiths are each provided with a chain of narrators. Although the material is represented as having been orally transmitted, al-Tabari most certainly used many written texts, some of which he would also have heard orally (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).
Several translated and abridged editions of the Tarikh-i al-Tabari have been published. One of these in 13 volumes was published in Leiden. This history which is renowned for details and accuracy was edited by M J de Geoje and published in three series consisting of 13 volumes excluding two extra volumes meant for Indices, Introduction and Glossary. The Samanid Minister, Al-Balami had published an abridged

Kitab al-Zail al-Mazeel
This is also known as Tarikh al-Rijaal and it is one of the important works of al-Tabari about the life and works of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Tabieen and Tabi-Tabieen (especially those Tabi-Tabieen who were present during the era of al-Tabari). Among the companions of the Prophet (SAW), al-Tabari talks about those companions who participated in the Jihad and got martyrdom during the era of the Prophet (SAW) or who died simply during the time of the Prophet (SAW). In it, he also talks about those companions who died after the demise of the Prophet (SAW) and who narrated the Hadith from the Prophet (SAW).
This work of al-Tabari also talks at length about those female companions of the Prophet (SAW) who embraced Islam during the era of the Prophet (SAW) and died before and after the Hijrah of the Prophet (SAW).
This prominent work also deals with those personalities who narrated Ahadith from their brothers or sons or those personalities who were famous by their real names (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).

Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha
Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha is a collection of sayings of the fuqaha' of various law schools, including Malik b. Anas, Sufyan al-Thawri, Imam Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and al-Awza'i. This work also contains al-Tabari's defence of the Hanbalis. The book remained unpublished when al-Tabari died, having been buried in the ground. It was finally made public by the Hanbalite. It was edited by Dr. Fried Karan and was published by Matbuah Al-Mawsuaat, Egypt in 1902 C.E. But the edition of this work which available in Indo-pak subcontinent is the one which was edited by Yusuf Sachet and was published from Leiden in 1933 C.E (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).

Tahzib al-Athar
This work deals with the traditions transmitted from the Companions of the Prophet (SAW). It is also known as Tahdhib al-Athar, or just al-Tahdhib. The work was probably meant to rival Ibn Hanbal's Musnad. It is not, however, a mere collection of traditions. Rather, it provides an exhaustive and penetrating analysis of the philological and legal implications of each hadith mentioned in the text, discussing its meaning as well as its significance for religious practice and theory. Al-Tabari started it in 303 A.H., and continued its compilation up to 310 A.H., and before completing it, al-Tabari died and the text remained incomplete (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).

His Death
Al-Tabari passed away on 28 th Shawal, 310 A.H., which corresponds to 923 CE in Baghdad. He was buried in his own house and it is stated that this happened due to one of his works on Islamic jurisprudence entitled 'Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha' in which he did not mention Ahmad Ibn Hanbal among the jurists. The people of Hanbali School of Islamic jurisprudence came to al-Tabari and asked him why not you placed Ahmad Ibn Hanbal among the jurists. Al-Tabari replied to them that Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was not a Faqih (jurist) but he was a Muhaddith. On hearing the reply of al-Tabari, the Hanabila raised hue and cry against al-Tabari and accused him of being Shi'a and even attacked him in order to assassinate him but the then Khazanah Pendidikan Islam, Vol. 4 No. 1: 29-37 The Life and Work of Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari Samee-Ullah Bhat government came to his rescue and saved him by providing tight security. On hearing the news of death of al-Tabari, the Hanabila forbade his students to take his dead body out of his house during the day and they also forbade them to bury him in the personal graveyard of al-Tabari (Dr. Ahsan al-Allah Fahd Falahi, 2002).

CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that al-Tabari was an outstanding scholar of Islam as well as a historian of high rank. Al-Tabari, like most learned men of his day, studied many different subjects, on some of which he composed works. He enjoyed a reputation as an authority in fields such as Qur'anic exegesis, history, fiqh, Hadith, philology, grammar and, syntax, and poetry, all being subjects which were dependent on one another, and a knowledge of which was regarded as essential before a man. Other subjects, such as astrology, mathematics, and medicine were considered necessary for a wellrounded education.
Al-Tabari produced prestigious works on almost all aspects of Islam and Islamic themes including his outstanding work Tarikh al-Tabari on Islamic history which deals with the rise and fall of various Muslim sects and which has become a pivotal source of information for many generations of historians, especially pertaining to Islamic history and civilization. His work started to gain its remarkable popularity upon its translation into Persian in the year 963CE, upon the royal order of the Samanid Prince, Mansur Ibn Nuh. His historical data derived from numerous sources, including classical poetry, genealogy and tribal customs. These were all collected during his travels. The sources range in date from the Hijrah to the year 915 C.E. Apart from Islamic history; al-Tabari is also well known for his notable contributions to the field of Quran and Hadith commentaries. His most influential and best known work in this area is the Qur'anic commentary known as Tafsir al-Tabari. In addition, those works of al-Tabari which have not survived include all his writings on his own madhhab: Basit al-Qawl, Latif al-Qawl, and al-Khafif fi al-fiqh.