16. ‘ABDULLAH IBN SABA’ THE JEW
‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ was considered by Sunni Muslim
historians “the Spiritual Father of the Rāfiḍah”. The term rāfiḍah (pl. rawāfiḍ lit. “rejecters”)
was originally given to dissenters, defectors, troops having deserted their
leader, the Rawāfiḍ (Rafidites), a Shi’ah sect. They are those who reject the
legitimacy of the appointment of Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, as well as ‘Uthmān as
caliphs, for they believe that ‘Ali had been appointed by the Prophet (ﷺ) to replace
him after his death.
It is said that Saba’ was not the name
of Abdullah’s father, but the name from which he came from, Saba’ in Yemen,
(probably to hide his identity as a son of a Jew). It is like calling an
Egyptian “the son of the Nile.” There is a sūrah (chapter) in the Qur’ān,
called sūrat Saba’ (Sheba, Q. 34)
mentioning the Sabaean people[1].
According to the Persian
historian Mīr Khwand Ibn Saba’ had harbored feelings of hatred against ‘Uthmān
because he expected him to welcome him when he entered Madinah, and this did
not happen. Then he made contact with those who were hostile to him, resulted
with his expulsion from Madinah by ‘Uthman. Eventually, he moved to Egypt and
became one among the troublemakers against ‘Uthmān.
There are various views concerning the
existence and reality of Ibn Saba’ among the Rawāfiḍ (Shi’ah). Contemporary Rawāfiḍ
completely reject the existence of Abdullah Ibn Saba’ the Yemenite Jew. They
claimed that he had been invented by the Umayyads to cover the crimes committed
by the Ṣaḥābah and to make the Shi’ah (Rāfiḍhah heretics) looked bad. They said
that the existence of Ibn Saba’ was narrated by Sayf ibn Omar al-Tamimi only, a
well-known liar according to Sunni scholars themselves. ‘Ayatollah’ Murtaḍā
al-‘Askarī in his book ‘Abdullah Ibn Saba’ and other Myths denied his
existence.
But there are few reports about Ibn
Saba’ not transmitted through Sayf ibn ‘Umar, among them are as follows:
1. Yaḥyā
ibn Ḥamzah al-Zubaydī in his Ṭūq al-Ḥamāmah on the authority of Suwayd
ibn Ghaflah al-Ju‘fī al-Kūfī (d. 80/699) who said that he entered upon ‘Ali r.a.
and said: “I passed by some men, ibn
Saba’, who were talking negatively about Abū Bakr and ‘Umar saying that you
[Ali] hold the same feelings towards them.” ‘Ali replied: “What does this
wretched black man (Ibn Saba’’s mother was Ethiopian) want from me?” Then he
said: “I seek refuge in Allah in holding anything but good respect for them
both.” Then he sent after Ibn Saba’ and exiled him to al-Madā’in (Ctesiphon,
former capital of the Persian empire), and ascended the pulpit until the people
were gathered, then praised Abū Bakr and ‘Umar, then said: “If it reaches me
that anyone prefers me over them then I shall lash them as done with the slandering
liar.”[2]
2. The
Rāfiḍah among the Shi’ah told Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn r.a. (d.
80/122) during his revolution to abandon the love of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. He
replied: “They are the companions of my grandfather,” and they said to him:
“Then we shall turn you away”, so he said: “Go! for you are al-Rāfiḍah (dissenters,
defectors).”
3. On
the authority of Abū Muḥammad ibn Ṭāwūs and Abū Ya‘lā from Abū ‘-Qāsim ibn
Abī’l-‘Alā’ from Abū Muḥammad ibn Abī Naṣr, from Khaythamah ibn Sulaymān, from
Aḥmad ibn Zuhayr ibn Ḥarb, from ‘Amr ibn Marzūq, from Shu‘bah, from Salamah ibn
Kuḥayl, from Zayd who said: “’Ali said: ‘What do I have to do with this wicked
black man?!’ He meant Abdullah ibn Saba’ who used to attack Abū Bkr and ‘Umar.”
(This report has a good sanad of trustworthy narrators).
4. ‘Ali
tells Ibn Saba’: “Woe to you! By Allah he (the Prophet (ﷺ) did not
tell me anything that he kept hidden from others, I heard him say that from now
until the Hour there will be thirty liars and you are one of them.” (Some of
its narrators have been criticized, but it has been narrated through several
other chains with better narrators).
The existence of Ibn Saba’ the Jew was recognized and
mentioned in Shi’ah books, such as follows:
1. The
3rd century Hijrah Shi‘ah scholar and authority Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan
ibn Mūsā al-Nawbakhtī who wrote on the sects and viewpoints of the Shi‘ah. He
said:
(a) The first sect (lead by Ibn Saba’) that exaggerated
(guluww) with ahl al-bayt and ‘Ali was the Sabaite (Saba’iyyah)
sect. Ali wanted to burn him alive, but instead, he expelled him to Madā’in
(Ctesiphon).
(b) He was the first to revile Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman
and other Companions, and he would free himself from them (just like the view
of Shi‘ah Rāfiḍah today). He said that ‘Ali r.a. commanded him to do so
(just like the Shi‘ah Rāfiḍah claimed). ‘Ali wanted to kill him, but due to the
protest of the people he expelled him
(c) Knowledgeable
people among the associates of ‘Ali said that ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ was a Jew who
became Muslim and showed loyalty to ‘Ali. He was then the first who propagated
the foundation of tashayyu’ which is rafḍ (rejection of the
majority of the ṣaḥābah, especially Abū Bakr and ‘Umar), and guluww (exaggeration)
with the Ahl al-Bayt and ‘Ali.
2. Abū
‘Amr Muḥammad ibn ‘Umar (ibn ‘Abd al-‘Az
z) al-Kishshī (d. 340/951) in Ikhtiyār Ma‘rifat al-Rijāl (known as Rijāl Kishshī)
by Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Țūsī (d. 400/1009), also admits the
existence of Ibn Saba’ and his belief in the divinity of ‘Ali and the
prophethood of himself. The fifth Shi’ah imām Abū ‘Abdullah Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (80-148/699-765)
was reported to have cursed ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ who used to claim ‘Ali to be
God, whereas ‘Ali himself was an obedient servant of Allah.
It was also reported that Ibn Saba’ had said to
‘Ali:
"You are Him (i.e.,
God), and it has been revealed to me that you are God and I am a prophet.” So
the commander of believers (i.e., Ali) said: "How dare you! Satan has
made a mockery of you. Repent for what you have said. May your mother weep at
your death! Quit (your claim).” But he refused, so he (Ali) imprisoned him
and asked him three times to repent, but he didn’t. Thus he burnt him ( i.e.,
his corpse after killing him) with fire and said: "Satan had taken him
into his whim, he used to come to him and to induce these (thoughts) in him”.
It is also mentioned that:
(a) A group of knowledgeable people (namely, Sunnī
scholars) mentioned that ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ was a converted Jew and showed his
loyalty to ‘Ali r.a.
(b) As a Jew he used to say that ‘Ali r.a.
after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) was like
Joshua (Yūsha‘) ibn Nūn after Prophet Moses (Mūsā) a.s.
(c) He
was also the first to witness the saying of the obligation of the leadership (imāmah)
of ‘Ali r.a., announced openly
his disavowal of his (‘Ali’s) enemies, and declared them disbelievers. From here
those who opposed the Shi‘ah used to say that the foundation of al-Rāfiḍī was
taken from the Jews.
3. Al-Māmqānī,
another Shi‘ah scholar in his Tanqīh al-Maqāl fī ‘Ilm al-Rijāl, admitted
that:
(a) According to the consensus of the Rāfiḍī sect,
all of the ṣaḥābah including Ibn Saba’ were apostates except three
people.
(b) Ibn Saba’ manifested ghuluww (exaggeration),
and claimed that ‘Ali was a deity and that he (Ibn Saba’) was a prophet.
Eventually ‘Ali burned him.
4. Ni‘matullāh
al-Jazā’irī, another famous Shi‘ī scholar in his book al-Anwār
al-Nu‘māniyyah (2/234) said that ‘Abdullah ibn Saba' said to Ali (‘alayhi
al- salām), "You are the Worshipped One in truth." So Ali (alayhi
‘l-salām) banished him to al-Madā’in (Ctesiphon). It was also said that he was a Jew who accepted
Islam and whilst upon his Judaism he used to say about Joshua bin Nūn and Moses
like
‘ Ali and the Prophet (ﷺ). As Joshua was a waṣī to Prophet Moses, so was ‘Ali to
the Prophet (ﷺ).
It was also said that when ‘Ali had assumed power Ibn
Saba’ ascribed divine honour to him and said to him أَنْتَ أَنْتَ “Thou
are Thou”, and said as reported by al-Jurjānī that the Qur’ān, was one part of nine parts of the whole Qur’ān,
known only by Ali, and therefore, ‘Ali
banished him to al-Madā’in (Ctesiphon)
the former capital of Persian empire.
It is true that many classical Shi‘ah scholars admit
the existence of Ibn Saba’ in history, who propagated Sabaite (Saba’iyyah)
beliefs, but they reject any connection between Tashayyu‘ (Shi‘ism) and
the Sabaite beliefs. The Rāfiḍī Shī‘ah scholar Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan
Al-Țūsī (385-460/995-1067)[3]
in his Ikhtiyār Ma‘rifat al-Rijāl called Ibn Saba’ “an infidel.” He was
cursed by the imam, because instead of preaching for the imāmat of
‘Ali he preached his (‘Ali’s) divinity. However, two essential basics
preached by Ibn Saba’ were also believed by the Rāfiḍī Shi‘ah: (1) The
revilement of Abū Bakr, ’Umar, and ‘Uthmān and other companions where he
claimed that he had been commanded by ‘Ali r.a. to do so. (2) The
obligation of leadership (imāmah) of ‘Ali and declaring the infidelity
of his (‘Ali’s) enemy among the ṣaḥābah.
There are some similarities between the teachings of
Ibn Saba’ and those of Twelver Shi ‘ah Rāfiḍah, as follows:
Ibn Saba’ claimed the
divinity of ‘Ali, whereas the Shi‘ah claimed that ‘Ali had said in his sermon
called الْخُطْبَةُ
الإفْتِخَارِيَّة “The boasting Sermon”
where it was cited and sung in their celebrations of Ḥusayn and in their
parties. ‘Ali was allegedly claimed to have over fifty qualities or authorities
which had been given to him by Allah, as if he was Allah’s agent in His
creation
.(وِلَايَةٌ تَكْوِيْنِيّة) I shall mention
here twenty of them, as follows: (1) I have the key of the unknown (al-ghayb),
nobody knows it after the Messenger of Allah except I; (2) I am the one who
gives leaves and fruit to trees; (3) I am the one who lets the spring waters
pour forth; (4) I am the one who lets the water of the rivers flow; (5) I am
the one who brings the dead out of their graves; (6) I am the master of the Day
of Resurrection; (7) I am the one who gives light to the sun, the moon and the
stars; (8) I am the one who knows the past and the present; (9) I am the master
of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse; (10) I am the master of the planets and the
stars;(11) I am the light of the lights; (12) I am the one who has the keys of
Paradise; (13) I went beyond Moses at sea and I drowned Pharaoh and his
soldiers; (14) I am the one who explores the seven heavens and the seven earths
in a split second, instantly (lit. “in the twinkling of an eye”); (15) I am the
lantern of guidance; (16) I am the key of piety; (17) I am the End and the
Beginning; (18) I am the one who sees
the deeds of the servants (slaves); (19) I am the one who knows the orbits of
rotating celestial bodies (planets and stars); and (20) I am the master of
measure and the drops of rains.
These statements indicate the divinity of ‘Ali claimed by the
extremists among the Shi‘ah followers. The second similarity between Ibn Saba’
and the Shi‘ah Rafidah, is their belief in the apostasy of the majority of the ṣaḥābah, and the curse at Abu
Bakr and ‘Umar. Among their statements are as follows:
1.
Al-Majlisī
in his Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, p. 145 in a chapter entitled “The
infidelity of the three persons (i.e., Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān), their
hypocrisy, their disgraceful deeds, their shameful traces, and the merit of
disclaiming association with them and cursing them”
he said that the whole ṣaḥābah (companions of the Prophet) were infidels except three, four, five,
six, or seven persons, depending on various reports of the Shi ‘ah.
In the same volume, p. 381
it is reported that a mawlā (a freed slave) of ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn asked him about Abū Bakr and ‘Umar,
he answered that both of them and anyone who loved them were infidels.
Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī asked ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn
about the two persons (i.e., Abū Bakr and ‘Umar), he replied: “Both are the
first who acted tyrannically against our right, took our inheritance from us,
and sat on the seat we deserved more than they did. May Allah do not forgive
them, and do not have mercy on them. Both of them were infidels, and anybody
who brought them into power.
2.
Al-Kulaynī
in his al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 198 reported that Abū Ja‘far said: “After the death of the Prophet people became
apostates except three persons: al- Miqdād ibn al-Aswad, Abū Dharr al-Gifārī,
and Salmān al-Fārisī.”
Dr. Salaymān al-‘Awdah in his
book ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ said that he was influenced by Jewish and
Christian ideas. When the camp of ‘Ā’ishah, Ṭalḥah and al-Zubayr decided to
make peace with ‘Ali who appreciated it, the followers of Ibn Saba’ known as
al-Saba’iyyah attacked both camps at night, so that each camp defended itself,
and the “battle of the Camel” took
place. Ibn Hazm (348-456/994-1064)
long ago had said that none of the two camps started the attack, but defended
themselves against the attack. This Saba’iyyah group believed that ‘Ali was
also a prophet, that the Prophet (ﷺ) had
concealed nine-tenth of the Qur’ān, cursing the Ṣaḥābah, ḥulūl
(incarnation), and tanāsukh (transmigration of souls).
(Turner, 1 September, 2017)
المراجع:
أبو عمر الباحث. مكافحة
الشبهات. فيديو
العودة, الدكتور سليمان بن فهد. عبد الله
بن سبإ و أثره في احداث الفتنة في صدر الإسلام. دار طيبة, 1412 هـ
http://harunyahya.com/en/Articles/3448/the-people-of-saba-and the-arim-flood
http://www.saaid.net/bahoth/43.htm
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/189-abdallah-ibn-Țsaba By:
Hartwig Hirschfeld
[1] The Sabaean people in Yemen had constructed a dam
with very advanced technology called Ma’rib Dam for irrigation. It is said
that it was 16 meters high, 60 meters wide and 620 metres long. It could
irrigate 9,600 hectares – 5,300 hectares belonged to the southern plain, and
the remaining belonged to the northern plain, referred to “Ma’rib two plains, and
referred to in the Qur’ān as “two gardens to the right and to the left.” Allah
asked them to be grateful to Him, but they turned away, so that Allah destroyed
their dam with سَيْلَ
الْعَرِيْمِ (“flood of ‘al-Arīm”).
Allah said: “Indeed there was the Saba’ (Sheba) a sign in their dwelling
place – two gardens on the right hand and on the left; (and it was said to
them:) “Eat of the provision of
your Lord, and be grateful to Him.” A fair land and an Oft-Forgiving Lord! But they turned away (from the obedience of
Allah), so We sent against them sayl al-arīm (flood released from the dam), and
We converted their two gardens into gardens producing bitter bad fruit, and
tamarisks, and some few lote trees. Like this We requited them because they
were ungrateful disbelievers. And never do We requite in such a way except
those who are ungrateful (disbelievers) (Q. 34:15-17). It is possible that
Ibn Saba’ moved from Yemen to Ḥīrah in Iraq, as al-Baghdādī and Abū Zahrah said
that he was originally from there.
[2] This very same narration has been narrated through
different channels with authentic chains of transmitters, such as Abū Isḥāq
al-Fizārī in his al-Sīrah on the authority of Shu‘bah from Salamah ibn
Kaḥīl from Abū al-Za‘arā’ from Zayd ibn Wahb; the narrators are trustworthy.
[3] He was known as
the Shaykh al-Ṭā’ifah (“The Head of the Sect”) was born in Iran. In his الإستبصار فيما اختلف فيه من الأخبار ج3 ص184 he believed in the possibility of practising mut‘ah (temporary
marriage). He had a chapter where he said that it was possible to marry for
than four wives in the mut‘ah. His other book تهذيب الأحكام contained jurisprudence the vast majority of which were attributed to
their imams.
