Mujahid ibn Jabr was born in Makkah in year 21 of the Islamic calendar, i.e. in the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second Caliph. He belonged to the Makhzoom tribe by attachment, which means that he was born of slave ancestry. His master was perhaps Abdullah ibn Al-Saib or his father, or Qais ibn Al-Saib. We have reports of all three and none is more reliable than the others. However, it should be said that Al-Saib mentioned in the first report was in pre-Islamic days a businessman in Makkah with whom the Prophet entered into partnership in his early adulthood, long before prophethood. When the Prophet met him in Makkah after it fell to him, he welcomed him describing him as a man of honesty and integrity.
Mujahid was a scholar of the highest caliber, but his biographers touch also on other aspects of his character, showing him a fighter in the Muslim army which tried to conquer Constantinople under the command of Mussailamah ibn Abdulmalik, a brother of four Caliphs of the Umayyad state. He is also reported to have traveled to Egypt and met many scholars who settled there and studied under them. He is also said to have traveled to Kufah in Iraq, where he stayed for a long period so as to be considered among Iraqi scholars.
When we examine reports about his personality we conclude that Mujahid was well respected even by the top scholars of his day. A report quotes Mujahid as saying: "I accompanied Abdullah ibn Umar trying to serve him, but he was the one who was serving me." Needless to say that Abdullah ibn Umar, a top scholar among the Prophet’s companions, would not have tried to serve anyone other than a person who earned great respect for his knowledge, dedication and strong faith.
This indeed describes Mujahid’s character, who had a sharp insight in Islamic values and tried to conduct his life in accordance with such values. He was very modest in his appearance, but when he spoke he won the admiration of his audience. Al-A’mash, a scholar of high caliber, says: "When you see Mujahid, you may look down upon him, because he looks like a baggage-carrier who has lost his donkey and finds himself at a loss. Yet when he spoke, his words were like pearls." When he was asked why he often looked worried, he said: "Abdullah ibn Umar once told me as he took me by the hand that the Prophet once took his hand and said, ‘Abdullah, be in this life like a stranger or a wayfarer.’" He is also reported to have said: "If you spend a gold mine in ways that are likely to please God, that is money well spent; but if you spend a little amount on something that constitutes disobedience to God, you are a spendthrift."
Mujahid’s scholarship was multi-faceted. He was a leading Imam in the recitation of the Qur’an. A number of the great reciters whose methods were to become highly famous were his students. These included Abdullah ibn Katheer and Abu Amr ibn Al-Alaa’, two of the seven reciters whose methods of recitation were to be followed as correct, acceptable and mutawatir. He learnt his recitation under Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet’s cousin, who read the Qur’an under Ubay ibn Kaab who read under the Prophet.
In Hadith, Mujahid was a highly reliable scholar, reporting a large number of Hadiths through many of the Prophet’s companions, such as Ali, Saad ibn Abu Waqqas, Aishah, Abu Said Al-Khudri and Jabir. Many of the top scholars of Hadith have transmitted his reported Hadiths, and he is considered highly reliable by the main scholars who produced the authentic collections of Hadiths.
In Fiqh, Mujahid is considered as a scholar of independent judgment and discretion. This is the highest position given to any scholar. However, most of his Fiqh views are given in his commentary on the Qur’an, which we will presently discuss. His views also touch on what came later to be known as Usool Al-Fiqh, or Basic Principles of Fiqh Methodology. In this, he is a forerunner of Imam Al-Shafie who formulated this discipline in its concrete shape.
Mujahid also expresses independent views on some theological questions, such as his view that Jesus was alive when he was raised by God to heaven. Many commentators on the Qur’an subscribe to this view.
He also believes that verse 61 of Surah 43 provides a reference to the second coming of Jesus. He has further theological views, such as the one concerning seeing God on the Day of Judgment. He appears to believe that this is not possible. Many famous scholars, such as Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, believe that seeing God is the greatest prize good believers receive on the Day of Judgment.
But Mujahid is best known as a commentator on the Qur’an. He learnt Qur’anic commentary from the highest source, Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet’s cousin on behalf of whom the Prophet addressed this prayer: "My Lord, give him a good insight in religion and teach him how to explain the Qur’an." With such a source, Mujahid had access to the best and most accurate scholarly views on the meaning of every verse in the Qur’an. He is reported to have read the Qur’an under Ibn Abbas more than twenty times, including three times when he stopped after reading each verse to ask him about its meaning.
As such, Mujahid was one of the main sources for later commentators on the Qur’an. The most famous one, Ibn Jareer Al-Tabari, who wrote a commentary in 14 large volumes, includes more than 700 quotations from Mujahid. He apparently wrote his commentary and taught it to his students. It is reported that his commentary was written in eight booklets.
The Prophet’s companions who provided explanations of the Qur’an only spoke about a small number of verses, explaining their linguistic meanings with only a few references to rulings that may be deduced from them. Ibn Abbas followed the same lines. But Mujahid made further contributions. He explained a far greater number of Qur’anic verses, highlighting a much larger number of legal rulings.
He also provided the first seeds of legal and theological schools. Thus, Al-Shafie relies on Mujahid in certain Fiqh aspects, while others like the Mu’tazilah develop some of his theological views. Another feature of Mujahid’s commentary is that he referred to Christian scholars and quoted some of their reports, within what has been permitted by the Prophet.
Recently, Mujahid’s commentary was published twice, with the second edition (1989) making improvements on the first (1976). It is in one volume of 780 pages, including 190 pages of introductions incorporating a full study of the book and its author. Mujahid died while he was in the prostration position in his prayer, in Makkah, in 104 A.H., when he was over 80 years of age. May God shower his mercy on him.
