Ka’b al-Ahbar

Abū Isḥāq Ka‘b ibn Mati‘
Died	32-5AH/652-6AD
Era	Rashidun Caliphate
Main interests	Isra'iliyyat

Ka‘b al-Aḥbār (Arabic: كعب الأحبار‎‎, full name Abū Isḥāq Ka‘b ibn Mati‘ ibn Haysu‘ or Haynu‘) was a Yemenite Jew who converted to Islam. He was considered to be the earliest authority on Isra'iliyyat and South Arabian lore. According to Islamic tradition, he accompanied Umar in his trip from Medina to Jerusalem, and afterwards, became a supporter of Uthman. He died in Hims around 652-6AD.

Aḥbār is the plural of ḥibr/ḥabr, from the Hebrew ḥābir, a scholarly title referring to a rank immediately below rabbi as used by Babylonian Jews.

Little is known about Ka'b, but according to tradition, he came to Medina during the reign of Umar. He then accompanied Umar in his voyage to Jerusalem. It is reported that when Umar marched into Jerusalem with an army, he asked Ka‘b: "Where do you advise me to build a place of worship?" Ka‘b indicated the Temple Rock, now a gigantic heap of ruins from the temple of Jupiter. The Jews, Ka‘b explained, had briefly won back their old capital a quarter of a century before (when Persians overran Syria and Palestine), but they had not had time to clear the site of the Temple, for the Rums (Byzantines) had recaptured the city. It was then that Umar ordered the rubbish on the Ṣakhra (rock) to be removed by the Nabataeans, and after three showers of heavy rain had cleansed the Rock, he instituted prayers there. Umar is said to have fenced it and, some years later, an Umayyad Khalif built the Dome of the Rock over the site as an integral part of the Aqsa Mosque. Until this day, the place is known as ḳubbat al-ṣakhra, the Dome of the Rock.

According to tradition, Ka‘b believed that "Every event that has taken place or will take place on any foot of the earth, is written in the Tourat (Torah), which God revealed to his Prophet Moses". He is said to have predicted the death of Umar using the Torah. According to one narration, Ka‘b told Umar "you ought to write your will because you will die in three days." Umar responded "I do not feel any pain or sickness". Abu Lulu assassinated Umar two days later.

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