Debate Between Al-Hajjaaj and Sa`eed bin Jubayr

Shaykh `Aa'id Abdullah al-Qarnee

Al Hajjaaj kept pursuing the noble scholar Sa`eed bin Jubayr for eight years or more until he eventually found him.

Bin Jubayr was a scholar known for his scrupulous piety and a man of great knowledge and action who was waging jihad to raise the flag of La ilaha ill Allah the uppermost.

When he was arrested - as in the story mentioned by the author of Tuhfatul Ahwadhi - Sa`eed bin Jubayr entered upon al Hajjaaj, so al Hajjaaj told him: "What is your name (and he knew his name well)?"

He answered: "Sa`eed bin Jubayr."

So Al Hajjaaj responded to him saying: "Nay, you are Shaqiy bin Kusayr." (Al-Hajjaaj is playing with words here: Sa`eed means happy and Shaqiy means unhappy, wretched. Jubayr means one who splints broken bones, and Kusayr one who breaks them.)

Sa`eed told him: "My mother knew better when she named me."

So Al Hajjaaj told him: "You are wretched (shaqayta) and your mother is wretched" (shaqiyat - Al Hajjaaj is again playing with words, referring to Shaqiyy - "unhappy/wretched"). Then he told him: "By Allah, I will replace your dunya with a blazing Fire."

Sa`eed said, "If I knew you could do it, I would take you as a god."

So al Hajjaaj told him, "I have gold and wealth."

Bags of gold and silver were brought and spread before Sa`eed bin Jubayr in order to try him.

Sa`eed bin Jubayr said: "O Hajjaaj, if you gathered it to be seen and heard in show-off, and to use it to avert others from the way of Allah, then by Allah, it will not avail you (lan yughneeka) against Him in any way."

So Al Hajjaaj said: "I have a female slave-singer" (al-mughanniyah - al-Hajjaaj continues to play with words, responding in mockery to Sa`eed's words 'lan yughneeka/it will not avail you' with a word that has the same triliteral root). He told her: "Sing for me and entertain me."

Sa`eed bin Jubayr cried, and Al Hajjaaj told him: >"Are you crying out of joy?"

So Sa`eed told him: "By Allah, I do not cry out of joy, but I cry for the slave girl that was subjected to other than what she was created for, for she was not created to sing, and `ood (musical instrument) was not built but for disobedience of Allah."

Al Hajjaaj said: "Take him and turn him to other than the Qiblah. By Allah, O Said bin Jubayr, I will kill you with a killing with which I have not killed any of the people."

Sa`eed said: "O Hajjaaj choose for yourself whatever killing you want, by Allah you will not kill me with a killing except that Allah will kill you with a like of it, so choose for yourself whatever killing you like."

Al Hajjaaj said: "Turn him (wallooh) to other than the Qiblah."

Sa`eed said: "Wherever you [might] turn (tuwalloo), there is the Face of Allah." [Qur'an, 2:115]

Al Hajjaaj said, "Put him under the earth."

Sa`eed said: "From it [the earth] We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time." [Qur'an, 20:55]

The Death of Al-Hajjaaj

Al-Hajjaaj said: "Kill him."

Sa`eed said: "Laa ilaha ill Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah. Take it, O Hajjaaj, until you meet me with it tomorrow before Allah. O Allah, do not give him authority over anyone after me! O One who cuts up the tyrants, cut up al Hajjaaj!" - and in the same gathering a blister appeared on Al-Hajjaaj's hand and he became enraged like a bull for a whole month - he couldn't sleep from the pain and fatigue, nor could he eat and drink.

Al-Hajjaaj said about himself: "No night has passed except that I saw myself swimming in blood and no night has passed except that I saw as if al Qiyamah took place and that Allah took me to account and that I was killed for whoever I killed with one killing, except Sa`eed bin Jubayr - Allah punished me for killing him with seventy killings."

Allah caused him to die after a month. He is considered wretched and miserable, although he belonged to Muslims. This is because he didn't know the guidance or uprightness and because he couldn't make sense out of his life mission.

Contemplating the Case of the Human without Senses

Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Consider the case of the human who is deprived of the sense of sight. Think how grave is his bereavement. He does not see where to put his step, does not see what is in front of him, does not distinguish colours and agreeable and disagreeable sights; he does not benefit from the scholarship of books; he is unable to reflect and contemplate the wonders of Allah’s creation. He cannot take note of much of what is advantageous or harmful to him; he may not be able to avoid falling in a hole in his way, nor protect himself from a wild animal, or an enemy intent on assailing and killing him. He cannot flee if attacked, but will have to beat the mercy of his adversary. Had it not been for special care from Allah, in some was similar to that given to the newborn, he would be much more likely to perish than to survive. He is like a mass of flesh and bones, and that is why Allah promises him, if he is resigned and patient, that he will be rewarded with Paradise. It is an illustration of the immensity of the Lord’s kindness that He compensated a blind person’s vision with a mental vision, so tat you see that he has the sharpest intuition and insight. Another grace is that he enjoys clarity of objective, so that he is not distracted or scatter-brained. In this way he can enjoy his life, and take care of what is good for him, and is not depressed, indignant or frustrated. This I true of those born blind. As for the one who lost his sight after he had been sighted, he is like all those who have had catastrophes, who have transferred from a state of well being to one of suffering. He takes it very hard, because he is barred from what e had always enjoyed of sights, scenes, and ways of using his vision; his case is different.

Similarly, a person who is deprived of hearing misses the skill of communication and talking, and misses consequently he exchange of ideas and the pleasant experience of melodious sounds. People will be reluctant to communicate with him and will express annoyance at his presence. He will be cut off from people’s news and conversation; he is present but not really present, alive but it is like death-in-life, close by but really far.

There has been much dispute concerning who is less deprived and more normal, a blind person or a deaf-mute. There have been many supporters of both views, and both parties have cited several points. This debate, however, refers to a more basic one: Which of the two senses is more valuable, hearing or seeing? I have mentioned above details of this debate [i.e. in an earlier part of the book], and I have listed there the arguments of the different parties and their proofs, and discussed the truth about the matter. Here we may add that the loss of the sense that is more basic to integrity will be graver. We can briefly say here that for an unsighted person the loss is more serous, but his loss is less in religious matters, and his outcome will be better. For the deaf person, on the other hand, the loss is less grave in worldly matters, but he misses more in a religious sense, and his outcome is worse. His deafness will deprive him of all the preaching and admonition, and hi way is blocked o useful sciences, while the way is open to tempting desires that are visible, while he does not have enough knowledge to deter him from getting involved. Therefore, his religious disadvantage s greater, while the blind man’s disadvantage in worldly maters is greater. It may be observed in this connection that there was not among the Prophet’s Companions a deaf-mute, while there were a number of unsighted companions. It is rare that Allah should test his devotees with dumbness, while he may test many with blindness. This is then the decisive statement concerning this issue: that the deaf-mute’s loss is religious, and the blind-person’s loss is worldly. It is a real blessing if one is spared both handicaps, and enjoys the use of both hearing and sight, and has them intact to the end of one’s life.

Appraising a Civilization

Dr. Akram Diya Al-Umari

The Muslim historian does not judge any civilization on the basis of its material achievement only; he also takes into consideration the extent to which it has realized the basic objective ordained by God, the Creator for His creatures. Allah said: “I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me.” (al-Dhariyat 51:56).

Thus a noble civilization is one which creates a suitable environment – political, social, economic, cultural, and material – that will enable man to direct himself toward the worship of God alone and to adhere strictly to His commandments in all his activities, unimpeded by the institutions of the society. These institutions should not be permitted to cause any contradiction between religious belief and conduct, nor should they put pressure on anyone to deviate from his obligations toward Allah, Lord of the worlds. No matter how advanced a civilization may be in its sciences, literature and arts; no matter how colorful its achievements in architecture, furniture, clothing, and cuisine; no matter how far a civilization has advanced in material progress; in the opinion of the Muslim historian, it still remains “backward” and “deficient” so long as it falls short of creating an environment appropriate to the worship of God and the observance of His commandments as embodied in the Shariah.

Islamic civilization itself has passed through several stages, and undoubtedly most of its material achievements were not realized during its early period. Major achievements came in the third and fourth centuries AH. For this reason, we find the Western historian Adam Mitez voicing the opinion that the fourth century of the hijrah represents the peak of Islamic civilization, because this period was the most appropriate for the worship of God alone. When compared with the behavior of the Muslims in the fourth century of the hijrah, the behavior of the Muslims in the first century was clearly more in accordance with the teachings of the Shari`ah. The Prophet alluded to this when he said: “The best of generations is my generation, then those that come after them, then those that come after them.”

This logic seems strange indeed to the minds of non-Muslim historians, because they have accepted the criteria and values of Western civilization. But for the Muslim historian who has managed to break free of the domination of Western values, criteria and concepts, the whole matter appears self-evident. The Muslim has been able to achieve this new vision due to the new wave of Islamic awareness, the effects of which are now quite visible throughout the contemporary Islamic world. One of these effects has been the breaking away of the young Muslim generation from the clutches of Western civilization. Islam and iman have inspired them with feelings of superiority, self-confidence, and independence, both spiritual and intellectual. This is significant because it represents the first correct step in the direction of establishing a new civilization, God willing.