His Name, Lineage, and Background
Mujahid ibn Jabr was known as Abu al-Hajjaj al-Makki. He was a black man and a freed slave. Some said he was the freed slave of al-Saʾib ibn Abi al-Saʾib al-Makhzumi, others said he was freed by Abdullah ibn al-Saʾib the reciter, and it was also said he was the freed slave of Qays ibn al-Harith al-Makhzumi. He was honoured among the scholars as an imam, a master of Quran recitation, and a pillar of tafsir.
His Teachers and the Companions He Learnt From
Mujahid learnt extensively from Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH), and from him he took the Quran, tafsir, and fiqh. He also narrated from Abu Hurayrah (d. 59 AH), Aʿishah (d. 58 AH), Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas (d. 55 AH), Abdullah ibn Amr (d. 65 AH), Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH), Rafiʿ ibn Khadij (d. 74 AH), Umm Karz, Jabir ibn Abdullah (d. 78 AH), Abu Saʿid al-Khudri (d. 74 AH), Umm Haniʾ, Usayd ibn Zuhayr, and others.
He deeply accompanied Ibn Abbas, reviewing the Quran with him verse by verse, asking about each verse’s reason for revelation and its explanation. Mujahid himself said that he reviewed the Quran thirty times with Ibn Abbas, and according to another narration, three times in deep study.
His Students and Those Who Narrated from Him
Many great scholars learned from Mujahid. Among those who recited the Quran to him were Ibn Kathir al-Dari (d. 120 AH), Abu ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlaʾ (d. 154 AH), and Ibn Muhaysin. Among those who narrated hadiths from him were ʿIkrimah (d. 105 AH), Tawus (d. 106 AH), Ataʾ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH), ʿAmr ibn Dinar (d. 126 AH), Abu al-Zubayr (d. 128 AH), al-Hakam ibn ʿUtaybah (d. 115 AH), Ibn Abi Najih (d. 131 AH), Mansur ibn al-Muʿtamir (d. 132 AH), Sulayman al-Aʿmash (d. 147 AH), Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani (d. 131 AH), Ibn Awn (d. 151 AH), and many others.
His Status in Tafsir and His Knowledge
Mujahid became one of the greatest scholars of tafsir. Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 AH) said to take tafsir from four men: Mujahid, Saʿid ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH), ʿIkrimah (d. 105 AH), and al-Dahhak (d. 105 AH). Khusayf said Mujahid was the most knowledgeable among them in tafsir. Qatadah ibn Diʿamah (d. 117 AH) also praised him as the most knowledgeable in tafsir of his time.
Some people avoided his tafsir because he was suspected of asking questions to the People of the Book, but this was a suspicion only, and many major scholars confirmed his trustworthiness. Yahya ibn Maʿin (d. 233 AH) and others called him trustworthy. Ibn al-Madini (d. 234 AH) confirmed that he heard from Aʿishah (d. 58 AH), though Yahya al-Qattan (d. 198 AH) doubted it. The correct view is that Mujahid heard a small amount from her.
His Love for Seeking Knowledge and His Humility
Mujahid loved knowledge deeply. Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 AH) said he wished he could have heard even two words from Mujahid, and that would have been dearer to him than his own family and wealth.
He lived with humility and simplicity. Salamah ibn Kuhayl (d. 123 AH) said he only knew three men who truly sought knowledge purely for the sake of Allah: Ataʾ, Mujahid, and Tawus. Al-Aʿmash (d. 148 AH) described how Mujahid looked rough and poor, like a porter who had lost his donkey, yet when he spoke, it was as if pearls flowed from his mouth.
Mujahid himself once said, “We sought this knowledge without having an intention, and Allah granted us the intention afterwards.” He disliked being praised among the people and once said, “Do not praise me among the people.”
His Worship and His Life with the Companions
Mujahid lived closely with the senior Companions. He accompanied Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH) in his travels, serving him, but Ibn Umar would sometimes serve him instead. Mujahid narrated how Ibn Umar would even hold the stirrup of his riding animal out of humility.
He was also known for his spirituality. Humayd al-Aʿraj reported that Mujahid would make takbir at the end of Surah al-Duha during his prayer.
One night while praying, Mujahid saw a shadow like a boy. He chased it and it jumped over a wall, and he heard it say, “They fear you just as you fear them, due to the kingdom of Sulayman.” This shows the deep spiritual and unseen encounters he had in his life.
His Interactions with the Rulers
Mujahid entered upon Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (d. 99 AH) and also upon Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (d. 101 AH). It was during the time of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz’s illness that he witnessed his death. Mujahid narrated that Umar once asked him what the people said about him, and when Mujahid told him they said he was bewitched, Umar rejected it. He then caught the servant who had poisoned him, forgave him, and threw the bribe money into the treasury.
His Firmness in Religion
Mujahid was firm against innovations and misguided sects. He used to say, “Two blessings I do not know which of them is greater: that Allah guided me to Islam, or that He protected me from deviant desires,” referring to the Rafidah, Qadariyyah, and Jahmiyyah.
His own son once mentioned that some people claimed the faith of all people was equal, and Mujahid responded firmly, rejecting this deviant idea.
His Curiosity for the Wonders of Creation
Mujahid had an intense curiosity to see the wonders. He travelled to Biʾr Barhut in Hadramawt and to Babylon. It is reported that he asked the ruler of Babylon to show him Harut and Marut, and he was taken underground where he saw them hanging upside down. When he said “Subhan Allah, Creator of you,” they shook so violently that the earth shook, and he fainted alongside his Jewish guide.
His Death
The scholars differed on the exact year of his death. Some said he died in 100 AH, but this is weak because he witnessed the death of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. Abu Nuʿaym (d. 430 AH) and a group said he died in 102 AH. Some others said 103 AH. Ibn al-Madini (d. 234 AH) and others placed his death in 104 AH, while another report says 108 AH. His son Abdullah narrated that Mujahid died in 107 AH.
Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi reported that Mujahid lived to the age of eighty-three. It was also narrated that he died while in prostration.
Mujahid exhausted himself in the study of the Quran. He said, “I have exhausted my knowledge in the Quran,” meaning that he pushed himself to understand it completely. He explained parts of tafsir directly from the teachings of Ibn Abbas, and no tafsir is complete without his explanations.
He left behind sayings filled with wisdom, like his explanation that thunder is an angel who drives the clouds with his voice. He preserved important rulings like the hadith about the exchange of gold and silver, showing his carefulness in both tafsir and hadith.
He combined deep study, humility, hard worship, and firmness upon the Sunnah, making him one of the greatest scholars of his generation.
Siyar A’lam Nubala By Ad Dhahabi (4/450-457)
