Ata ibn Abi Rabah

Ata ibn Abi Rabah
عطاء بن أبي رباح
MuftiofMecca
Succeeded by	Ibn Jurayj
Personal
Born	c. 25 AH/646 CE,Muwalladi l-Janad,Yemen,Rashidun Caliphate
Died	c. 115 AH/733 CE Mecca,Umayyad Caliphate
Religion	Islam
Children	Yaqub ibn Ata ibn Abi Rabah
Known for	Islamic jurisprudence,hadithtransmission
Muslim leader
Students Ibn Jurayj,Qays ibn Sa'd,Ibn Abi Layla,Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i
Influenced by Ibn Abbas

Ata ibn Abi Rabah(Arabic:عطاء بن أبي رباح,romanized:ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ) was a prominent earlyMuslim juristandhadithtransmitter who served as themuftiofMeccain the late seventh and early eighth centuries.

Early life

Ata was born in the town of Muwalladi l-Janad inYemen.Although early biographical sources differ on the exact year of his birth, it is generally accepted he was born towards the beginning ofUthman ibn Affan's reign,c. 25 AH/646 CE.His mother was aNubianbasket weaver while his father was named Aslam who is described as being dark-skinned and flat-nosed. He was acrippleand possessed alimp,and while he was born with one healthy eye, he later went completely blind.

Life as a scholar

Ata was raised in Mecca as amawla(client) of theQurayshiAbu Khuthaym al-Fihri, where he worked as aQuranteacher, before being recognised for his expertise infiqh.He was later appointed mufti of the city by theUmayyadsand taught in theGreat Mosque,where he also lived in the latter years of his life. While in Mecca, Ata met with and transmitted hadith from several companions of Muhammad, includingIbn Abbas,Abu HurairahandJabir ibn Abd Allah.His most prominent students wereIbn JurayjandQays ibn Sa'd.In 93 AH/711 CE, he was imprisoned on suspicion of being amurji'at the behest ofAl-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf,but was later released. Biographical sources disagree on the year of his death, but it is likely he diedc. 115 AH/733 CE.

Personal life

Ata had one child named Yaqub ibn 'Ata ibn Rabah.

Legacy

Piety

Narrations in biographical works present Ata as a pious and virtuous man. He reportedly only wore simple clothing, performed theHajjover seventy times, and was able to recite 200 verses ofAl-Baqarahinsalahwithout moving despite reaching an advanced age.

Hadith

Early hadith scholars, such as Yahya ibn Said al-Qattani, were critical of hadith that Ata had transmitted inmursalform, suspected he may have engaged intadlisand noted that his intellectual faculties declined towards the end of his life. However, he was generally perceived as a reliable transmitter and later hadith critics such asAhmad ibn Hanbalexonerated him fromtadlis.Several of Ata's students, including his son Yaqub and Ibn Jurayj, transmitted hadith from him in writing.

One of the Most Famous Narration related to Ata ibn Abi Rabah is the Explanation of the Verse in the Quran, 'Man Hitting his Wife' which is inQur'an 4:34.

'Ata ibn Rabah said: I said toIbn 'Abbas,what is the kind of hitting that is not harsh? He said, "Hitting with asiwakand the like "

***Click hereto see the Authenticity of this Narration

***Click hereto Read the Explanation of Qur'an 4:34

Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq

Ata is frequently cited as one of Ibn Jurayj's authorities in theMusannaf of Abd al-Razzaq.In a sample of 3,810 narrations selected byHarald Motzki,39% of those ascribed to Ibn Jurayj are adduced from Ata. Ata relates a tradition in only 20% of these narrations, with the remaining 80% being his ownra'y.Of the authorities cited in his traditions, 15% are companions of Muhammad, 10% are Quranic verses and 5% are hadith from Muhammad. According to Motzki, Ibn Jurayj attempted to reproduce Ata's narrations faithfully and the corpus lacked signs of fabrication.