Excellent..was a delight to read. Can we have more of these biographies..brings soo much peace to the soul!
yes. because `aTa ibn abi rabaH [client of abu Muhammad al-qurashi al-makki] was born in the khilafah of sayyiduna uthman. his [father abu rabaH's] name was aslam; it is said that he was born in the second year of sayyiduna uthman's caliphate [23-35 AH] thus, it would be 25 AH; he passed away in 114 AH. why racism never existed in islam and egalitarianism is an islamic value: imam `aTa was the son of a nubian [aslam]; and he himself was black, one-eyed, palsied, handicapped, flat-nosed, paraplegic; he lost his hand when he fought alongside [abdullah] ibn al-zubayr. later in life he became completely blind. yet, he and mujahid were considered as the two most prominent scholars of makkah in their time. he met 200 companions. in the time of the banu umayyah, they would appoint a herald during hajj who would proclaim: "no one should give fatwa except `aTa ibn abi rabaH; if not him, then Abdullah ibn abi najih." imam abu hanifah said: i did not meet anyone superior to aTa ibn abi rabaH; nor a bigger liar than jabir al-ju'ufi..." --- umar ibn sayid narrates from his mother that she saw RasulAllah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam in his dream and he told her: "`aTa ibn abi rabaH is the leader of muslims [sayyidu'l muslimin]" ---- the adab of hadith of our salaf: ibn jurayj narrates from `aTa: "when a man narrates a hadith to me, i listen to it attentively as if i have never heard it before; even though i would have heard it even before he was born." ---- his piety: ibn jurayj said: `aTa was the mat of the masjid for twenty years [stayed in the masjid always] and he would pray [salat] in the most beautiful manner. someone asked `aTa ibn abi rabaH something and he said: "i don't know"; they insisted: "what is your opinion?" he replied: "i am ashamed in front of Allah, that people should take my opinion to act upon in their religious matters". even when he was very old and weak, he would stand up for salah and recite 200 verses from surah baqarah, and he would stand attentively without making the slightest movement. ====================== NOTE: he is distinctly different from `aTa ibn abi Muslim al-khurasani who was born 50 AH in passed away in 135 AH and is anyway from the fourth level [tabaqah] of hadith scholars [according to dhahabi]; in fact, he narrates from `aTa ibn abi rabaH and sayid ibn al-musayyib; hence there can be no doubt that the `aTa mentioned in comparison with sha'abi is the former. Allah ta'ala knows best.
Abu Amr Aaamir al-Sha'abi is among prominent tabiyin and considered as the most knowledgeable among them. he is said to be born in the 17th or 21st or 28th year after hijrah. He saw many companions - more than 500 - and has narrated from 48 companions. sulayman al-taymi said narrating from Abu'l Mijlaz who said: "I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable [afqah] than sha'abi - neither sayid ibn musayyib, nor ta'wus, nor `aTa, nor Hasan nor ibn sirin - and i have seen them all." sha'abi was known for his sharpness of intellect and immense knowledge. a man once asked him: "is it true that the illegitimate child is the worse of the three (father, mother, child)?" sha'abi replied instantly: "if that were the case, his mother would be stoned even as he was in the womb and not spared until she gave birth to him". --- one rafidi of the kisaniyyah stripe told sha'abi: "i hate [sayyidah] aayishah the most among the Prophet's wives. sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam." sha'abi replied: you are blatantly opposing the sunnah* of your Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. *because vide the hadith, sayyidah ayishah raDiyallahu anha was most beloved to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam amongst his wives. --- sha'abi once said: i have met more than 500 companions [sahabi] who said: "Abu Bakr, and Umar, and Uthman and Ali" [indicating superiority in that order]. --- salt ibn bahram said: i have not seen anyone say "i don't know" as much as sha'abi. --- ibn sa'ad said that sha'abi was frail and weak - as he was the weaker twin. --- he once said: "by Allah, if i am correct 99 times and i slip only once - they will hold [against me] that one in which i erred". --- sha'abi said: there are four groups of people, first loves ali and hates uthman; the second loves uthman and hates ali; the third loves them both; and the fourth hates them both. he was asked: which group do you belong? he replied: i hate all those who hate either of the two [mawla ali and sayyiduna uthman raDiyallahu `anhuma]. --- it was sha'abi who said: "men have exaggerated and committed extremities in the love of [mawla] ali, similar to christians who have committed excess in the love of sayyiduna yisa alayhi's salam. --- sha'abi said: "love of abu bakr and umar and to recognise their superiority is from the sunnah." --- once sha'abi was walking with his wife and a man met them and asked: "who among you is sha'abi"? sha'abi shot back: "this [lady]". --- a man came to sha'abi and asked: 'what is the name of iblis' wife?' sha'bi replied: "i didn't attend that marriage". --- he was two years older than Hasan al-basri. --- he passed away in 103 or 104 or 105 or 106 AH; 104AH is commonly accepted. --- sha'abi said: "i don't know" is half of all knowledge. [siyar a'alam al-nubala, #113, 4/294]
