Said ibn al-Musayyib

Said ibn al-Musayyib (15-94 AH / 637-715 CE) was the foremost jurist and hadith scholar of Medina among the Tabiin (successors of the companions), and he is unanimously counted as one of the Seven Fuqaha of Medina (fuqaha al-Madinah as-sabah). Born fifteen years after the Hijrah into a family closely connected to the Prophet's companions, he was the son of al-Musayyib ibn Hazn, a companion of the Prophet, and the son-in-law of Abu Hurairah, from whom he acquired an immense treasury of prophetic traditions.

Said's scholarly pedigree was extraordinary. He studied directly under many of the greatest companions, including Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, Aisha, and most extensively under Abu Hurairah. He also studied under Zayd ibn Thabit, the chief scribe of Quranic revelation, and under Ubayy ibn Kab. This combination of primary teachers gave him access to essentially every strand of the prophetic tradition. He was so comprehensive in his knowledge of hadith that later scholars gave him the title rawi ar-ruwat (the narrator of narrators), meaning he was the primary source through whom the narrations of the companions were transmitted.

Said was equally distinguished as an independent-minded jurist and as a courageous man of principle. He was the most prolific issuer of fatwas in Medina and his legal opinions were sought by scholars from across the Muslim world. His school of jurisprudence was one of the main sources from which Imam Malik ibn Anas drew when compiling the Muwatta. Malik quoted Said's opinions extensively and regarded him as the greatest scholar of the Medinan Tabiin.

Most significantly, Said was famous for his fierce independence from political power. He refused to swear allegiance to al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik, the Umayyad caliph, on a matter he considered religiously impermissible, and was publicly flogged and imprisoned as a result. Despite this punishment, he never recanted. He spent over forty years not missing a single congregational prayer in the Prophet's Mosque. He died in Medina in 94 AH (715 CE) and is remembered as the model scholar: comprehensive in knowledge, fearless in truth, and unwavering in adherence to the Sunnah.