WAHB IBN MUNABBIH

WAHB IBN MUNABBIH (d. ca. 110/728), Yemenite scholar and ascetic, probably of Jewish origin. Wahb was one of the most important conduits of Isr???liyy?t or biblical materials (both Jewish and Christian), including "Tales of the Prophets" (Arabic: qi?a? al-anbiy? ?) into Islamic tradition; in his days the gates were still wide open. He claimed to have read the "books" (kutub) of the famous Jewish converts to Islam, ?Abdall?h ibn Sal?m and *K?ab al-A?b?r. According to one of Wahb's contemporaries, who was critical of his immodesty, he boasted that he commanded the combined knowledge of these two scholars. Wahb was born in *San?a or in Dhim?r south of San?a. His mother was of the aristocratic tribe of ?imyar. As to his father, the least prestigious, and hence the most trustworthy, version has it that he was a mawl? or client of the Abn??, i.e. the descendants of the Sassanian warriors who conquered the *Yemen in the sixth century c.e. Other versions have it that his father was of the Abn?? themselves, or even a descendant of one of the Sassanian emperors. After converting to Islam, his father became a disciple of *Muhammad's Companion Mu??dh ibn Jabal who was one of Muhammad's envoys to the Yemen. There were many scholars among Wahb's relatives and direct descendant?. His brother Hamm?m (d. 101/719 or 102/720), for example, left a collection of *?ad?ths, i.e., sayings and accounts ascribed or related to Muhammad and his Companions.

Under the caliph ?Abd al-Malik, Wahb officiated as a salaried preacher (q???, until 75/694). He was an expert reader of the *Koran, besides being one of the earliest compilers in Islam; his biography of Muhammad, which is replete with miracles, reveals a Sh??ite bias. Wahb's traditions are often quoted in Koran exegesis, and many of them deal with the merits of Jerusalem and Palestine (or Syria; Arabic: Sh?m). Under the caliph Omar ii, the former salaried preacher was appointed qad? or judge of San?a, an office he also held at the beginning of Yaz?d ibn ?Abd al-Malik's caliphate (more precisely until 103/721). His appointment was frowned upon by those who deplored any form of cooperation with the government. Also under Omar ii, probably in conjunction with his judgeship, Wahb was in charge of the treasury (probably in San?a). Taking the government's side, Wahb engaged in polemics against rebellious Kh?rijites who argued that it was illegitimate to pay taxes to oppressive ruler?. Still, under the caliph Hish?m ibn ?Abd al-Malik, Wahb was jailed and died as a result of flogging ordered by the governor of the Yemen. Wahb's adherence to the doctrine of qadar or free will was probably behind his chastisement, since there is in this context a reference to an ordeal he underwent (umtu?ina). In addition to human informants, Wahb relied on written materials: his brother Hamm?m is said to have bought for him "books." A prominent Yemenite scholar figuratively warned a pupil of his against the "saddle-bag" of Wahb and another scholar, since they were "owners of books, i.e. they transmitted from leaves." Wahb is rarely quoted in the canonical collections of ?ad?th, although most experts on the quality of ?ad?th transmitters considered him trustworthy.

bibliography:

Entry on Wahb, in Ibn ?As?kir, Ta?r?kh mad?nat Dimashq, ed. al-?Amraw?, 53:366–403; al-R?z?, Kit?b ta?r?kh mad?nat ?an???², ed. ?usayn ibn ?Abdall?h al-?Amr? (1981); J. Horovitz, "Wahb b. Munabbih", in: eis s.v., 1084a–1085b; R.G. Khoury, "Wahb b. Munabbih," in: eis² and the bibliography cited there; J. van Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra: Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im fruehen Islam (1991), 702–6.

[Michael Lecker (2^nd ed.)]