Mu’adh Ibn Jabal (RA)
by
HOTD
Preface: These articles are only a summary of the lives of the great Companions and do not cover all the points of their life stories. These stories are not intended as biographies, but rather to provide a glimpse of the main incidents of each companion’s life. For ease of reading, we have not inserted “May Allah be pleased with him (RA)” each time the name of each Companion is mentioned, but please take it that the salutations apply to all of them, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Among the seventy-man delegation of the Ansar who took the oath of allegiance to the Prophet SAW in the Second Allegiance of Aqabah sat a young man with a bright face, graceful eyes, and a radiant smile. When he was silent, he attracted attention with his profound peacefulness and devoutness. On the other hand, when he talked, he held his people spellbound. This young man was Mu’adh lbn Jabal RA. He belonged to the Ansaar, and he was among the foremost believers who gave the second oath of allegiance to the Prophet SAW. Naturally, a man of such precedence, faith, and certainty would not miss for the world a battle or an expedition. His uppermost quality was his knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence) the practical aspect of Muhammad’s message. He reached the apex in knowledge and fiqh, to the extent that made the Prophet SAW say, ‘The most learned man of my nation in halal and haram is Mu’adh Ibn Jabal.’
He resembled Umar Ibn Al-Khattab RA in his enlightenment, courage and intelligence. When the Prophet SAW sent him to Yemen, he asked him,
‘How will you give a judgment or settle a dispute?’ Mu’adh answered; ‘I will refer to the Qur’an.’ The Prophet then asked, ‘What will you do if you do not find the decree you are looking for in the Qur’an?’ Mu’adh answered, ‘I will refer to the Prophet’s Sunnah.’ The Prophet SAW asked, ‘But what will you do if you do not find a decree even in the Sunnah?’ Mu’adh readily answered, ‘I will be judge between mankind by resorting to juristic reasoning (ijtihaad) to the best of my power.’ Now, Mu’adh’s staunch commitment to Allah’s Book and the Prophet’s Sunnah does not mean that he closed his mind to the countless and endless hidden or equivocal facts that await someone to unravel and adjudicate.