Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah

Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah ibn Masud (d. 98 AH / 716 CE) was one of the Seven Fuqaha (jurists) of Medina among the Tabiin and the grandson of the illustrious companion Abdullah ibn Masud, one of the Prophet's most intimate companions and the foremost authority on the Quran. Ubaidullah inherited his grandfather's scholarly aptitude and became one of the most learned and versatile scholars in Medina during the late first century AH.

Ubaidullah studied under many of the greatest companions and senior Tabiin, including Aisha, Abu Hurairah, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar, Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani, and Ibn Abbas's son Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas. He was also connected through his family's scholarly tradition to the intellectual heritage of his grandfather Ibn Masud, whose school of Quranic reading and legal thought had been transmitted through Alqamah ibn Qays and Ibrahim an-Nakhai. His narrations from Aisha in particular were numerous and highly valued, covering matters of worship, the Prophet's household, and Islamic social life.

His most significant scholarly legacy was as the primary teacher of the great hadith master Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri. Az-Zuhri described Ubaidullah as "an ocean of knowledge" and credited him as his most important teacher. This relationship meant that Ubaidullah's legal knowledge and hadith narrations were transmitted through az-Zuhri to Imam Malik, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, al-Awzai, and the broad classical tradition that followed. Without Ubaidullah's influence on az-Zuhri, much of the Medinan scholarly tradition might have been transmitted in a different form.

Beyond hadith and jurisprudence, Ubaidullah was also accomplished in Arabic poetry, composing verses of his own. He served as a judge under the Umayyad caliphate and was consulted on matters of governance and law. He was counted among the most reliable of the Medinan scholars and his narrations are found throughout the canonical hadith collections. He died in approximately 98 AH (716 CE) in Medina.