Fuahal-Madnaal-Saba

, the seven jurists of Medina, to whom tradition attributes a significant role in the formation of
fih. J. Schacht, who was especially interested in these fuah, wrote (Esquisse d'une histoire du
droit musulman, Paris 1952, 28; cf. idem, An introduction to Islamic law, Oxford 1964, 31):
The Medinans traced back the origin of their special brand of legal teaching to a number of
ancient authorities, who died in the final years of the first and the early years of the second
century of the Hegira. In a later period, seven of them were chosen as representatives; these are
the seven jurisconsults of Medina Almost none of the doctrines attributed to these ancient
authorities can be considered as authentic. The transmission of the judicial doctrine of Medina
only becomes historically verifiable at the same period, approximately, as in Iraq, with Zuhr
(died in the year 124 of the Hegira). It may further be noted, in this context, that the name of alZuhr [q.v.] figures prominently in the enumeration, by the biographers, of those who supposedly
formed the audience of the seven fuah. J. Schacht (The origins of Muhammadan
jurisprudence, Oxford 1950, 22 ff.; 243 ff.) is also able to show that the list of these
jurisconsults, to some extent variable, but finally fixed ne varietur, rests on no foundation, and
he considered that in fact it is a question of a conventional group of tbin mentioned for the
first time in definitive form by al-aw (d. 321/933) in his ha man l-th ( ucknow
13012, i, 163), then by Abu l- aradj al-Ifahn (d. 356/967) in the hn (ed. Beirut, ix, 136,
145). He recognises, however, that this list was definitely drawn up at an earlier date, although
he cites no reference in this context. Now the Fihrist (ed. Cairo, 315) mentions a work of Ibn Abi
'l-Zind (d. 174/7901 [q.v. in Suppl.]) entitled a al-fuah al- aba min ahl al- a na am khtalaf f hi, which creates the impression that this groupwhose composition had been
probably already fixedwas felt, towards the middle of the 2nd century A. H. not only as a
historical reality, but also as early evidence of the doctrinal pluralism accepted by Islam, since it
was possible to find out divergencies of opinion from among equally-respected scholars. The
fact remains, however, that the seven fuah chosen would appear above all else to be
purveyors of tradition, for whom the sources are, in the nature of things, almost all the same. In
addition, it may justifiably be supposed that their reputation was established considerably later
than the time of their disappearance, since the date of death of the majority of them is not known
with certainty; one might however expect it to be fixed in the year 94/71213, designated
precisely by the name sanat al-fuah, since according to tradition a number of them are said to
have died in that year.
Whatever the case may be, the definitely-adopted list comprises the following personalities, with
regard to whom it has not been judged beneficial, following the studies of J. Schacht, to
undertake researches into the works of fih:
I. Ab akr b. Abd al- amn b. al- rith b. Hishm b. al-Mughra al-Makhz m, a
prominent urayshite who became blind and was surnamed al- hib or hib uraysh on
account of his piety. Al-abar (ii, 272) is the only one to give him the name of Umar, and Ibn
al- alb- askel (Tab. 23) mentions only two other sons of Abd al- aman b. al- rth. Too
young to serve as a combatant at the Battle of the amel [see al-djamal , he remained in Medina,
where he became intimate with Abd al-Malik b. Marwn, who commended him to the care of
his son al-Wald. He passed on some a ths of Ab Hurayra and of the wives of the Prophet to a

number of traditionists, among whom the most notable would appear to be al-Zuhr. He died in
94/71213.
II. hridja b. Zayd b. Thbit al-Anr, Ab Zayd (d. 99 or 100/71719) son of the Prophet's
secretary. Appointed muft of Medina, he collected traditions from his father and passed them on,
most notably to al-Zuhr.
III. Urwa b. al-Zubayr b. al- Awwm, Ab Abd Allh (b. ca. 23/644, d. between 91 and
99/70918), grandson of the first caliph through Asm bint Ab akr [q.v.]. He was
considerably younger than his brother Abd Allh [q.v.], in whose activities he played no part; in
fact, he avoided involvement in politics, but it was he who is said to have brought to Abd alMalik b. Marwn, in 73/692, the news of the defeat and death of the anti-caliph. He lived
subsequently in Medina, where he is said to have written, on the instruction of Abd al-Malik, a
series of epistles on the beginnings of Islam. He collected traditions from his aunt isha, from
his mother, from his father (?) and from Ab Hurayra and passed them on notably to his own
sons, to Sulaymn b. Yasr (see below) and to al-Zuhr. The biographers tell that he was most
courageous and that he endured in silence the amputation of a foot.
IV. Sulaymn b. Yasr al- ill, Ab Ayy b/Ab Abd al- aman/Ab Abd Allh (d. ca.
100/7189) ma l of Maym na, wife of the Prophet, who passed on traditions acquired from
isha, Ibn (al-) Abbs, Ab Hurayra and others and whose audience included notably al-Zuhr.
V. Ubayd Allh b. Abd Allh b. Utba b. Mas d al-Hudhal, Ab Abd Allh, greatnephew of Abd Allh b. Mas d [q.v.], who collected traditions from his father, from Ibn (al-)
Abbs, from Ab Hurayra and other ompanions and had a number of transmitters, in particular
al-Zuhr. He was extremely learned, according to his biographers, and he is said to have been the
teacher of Umar b. Abd al-Azz at Medina. He is known as a Murdjiite. He owes to his skill as
a poet his inclusion in the hn (ed. Beirut, ix, 13547) and it is in the chapter devoted to him
that Abu l- aradj enumerates twice (135, 145) the seven fuah, the second time with reference
to a passage in which Ubayd Allh is supposed to cite his six colleagues; Schacht (Origins, 244)
believes with some justification that this is a fabrication invented for the requirements of
circumstances; it seems in fact to have a mnemonic quality, like two verses (with rhyme- jah)
quoted by Ibn hallikn in the article on Ab akr b. Abd al- amn Ubayd Allh, who was
blind, died in about 98/7167 and was buried at al- a .
VI. Sa d b. al-Musayyab b. azn al-Makhz m, Ab Muammad. A true urayshite, this oil
merchant collected traditions from his father-in-law Ab Hurayra and from other ompanions
and acquired a great reputation for piety and knowledge in the domain of a th, of fih, and of
taf . Given the title Sayyid al-Tbi n, he seems to have been preferred to the other fua by
the Medinans, who subsequently abandoned his doctrine, which was different from that of Mlik
(cf. Schacht, Origins, 7) but was judged sufficiently important to merit a monograph by alhahab. Politically, he affirmed his desire for independence by refusing to recognise Ibn alZubayr, which cost him sixty strokes of the lash, then refusing to pay allegiance to the sons of
Abd al-Malik, al-Wald and Sulaymn, which earned him a second flogging. His biographers
also speak of his ability to interpret dreams. The date of his death varies considerably in the
sources, but it is possible to pinpoint the year 94/71213. He was buried at al- a .

VII. al- sim b. Muammad b. Ab akr, Ab Abd al- amn/Ab Muammad. Grandson
of the first caliph, and, as the story goes, of the last Ssnid, because his mother was allegedly
one of the three daughters of Yazdadjird (see al-Mas d, u j, index, s.v. Shahrban ), he was
adopted by his aunt isha after the death of his father in 38/658. He transmitted to al-Zuhr and
to a number of other recipients traditions from his aunt and from several Companions, including
Ab Hurayra. He died in ca. 106/7245 at udayd and was buried at al-Abw [q.v.].
(Ch. Pellat)
Bibliography
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Mu ab al-Zubayr, a ab u a h, 3034
Ibn utayba,

a if, 282, 588, 599

Ibn hallikn, Wafa t, ed. Isn Abbs, eirut, no. 117

Ibn Sa d, abat, ed. Beirut 1388/1968, ii, 383
Mas d,

u j, v, 1324 = 188990

Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 104

Nawaw, Tah h b, 6723
Ibn adjar, ah hib al- ah h b, xii, 302
afad, Nakt al-him n, 131.
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Ibn Sa d, abat, index

Ibn hallikn, no. 211
Nawaw, ah h b, 223
Ibn adjar, ah h b al- ah h b, iii, 745
idem, Iba, no. 2136
Ibn Askir, a kh ima h, vi, 245
Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 118.

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Mu ab al-Zubayr, a ab u a h, 245 and index

abar, i, 1180, ii, 1266
Ibn Sa d, abat, index
Ibn al- alb-Caskel, Tab. 19 and ii, 575
Ibn hallikn, no. 416
Nawaw, ah h b, 4201
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a if, index

I. Goldziher, Muh. Studien, ii, 20.

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a if, 459

abar, index
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Ibn Sa d, abat, index
Ibn hallikn, no. 270
Nawaw, ah h b, 3023
Ibn adjar, ah h b al- ah h b, iv, 22830
Mas d, v, 462 = 2214
Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 134.
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ji , Ba n, i, 356 and index

idem, a a n, i, 14 and index
abar, index

Ab Tammm, am a, ii, 1267

Ibn utayba,

a if, 250, 251, 588

Ibn Sa d, abat, index

Mas di,

u j, v, 376 = 2129

ur, jam al- ja hi , 4

Haraw, Zi t, 94/215
Ibn hallikn, no. 356
Nawaw, ah h b, 4001
Ibn adjar, ah h b al- ah h b, vii, 1805
hahab, a hki at al- uff, i, 74
Abu Nu aym, il at al-a li , ii, 188
afad, Nakt, 1978
Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 114
Zirikl, iv, 360.
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Ibn al- alb-Caskel, Tab. 22 and ii, 501

Ibn utayba,

a if, index

Ibn Hishm,

a, index

abar, index
aldhur, Fut , index
Ibn Sa d, index
Mu ab al-Zubayr, a ab u a h, 345
Ya b, Historiae, ii, 276

Mas d,

u j, iv, 148, 254, 255, v, 118 = 1479, 1581, 1874

Ibn ia, Fakh , ed. Derenbourg, 167, 168

H. Laoust, Ibn Baa, 51
Haraw, Zi t, 94/125
Madis, Cration, index
Ibn hallikn, no. 262
Nawaw, ah h b, 2835
Ibn adjar, ah h b al- ah h b, iv, 848
hahab, a hki at al- uff, i, 513
Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 1023
Ibn Taghrbard, u jm, i, 228
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ji , Ba n, ii, 322
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a if, 175, 588

Mu ab al-Zubayr. a ab u a h, 279
Ibn al- alb-Caskel, Tab, 21
Ibn Sa d, index
Ab Nu aym, il at al-a li , ii, 183
Mas d,

u j, v, 463 = 2214

Madis, Cration, vi, 80

Ibn hallikn, no. 533
Haraw, Zi t, 89/205

Nawaw, ah h b, 5078
Ibn adjar, a h b al- ah h b, viii, 3335
afad, Nakt, 230
Ibn al- Imd, ha ha t, i, 135.
[Print Version: Volume XII, page 310, column 2]