Wahb ibn Munabbih
| Wahb ibn Munabbih | |
|---|---|
| Born | AH 34 (654/655) |
| Died | 725 CE to 737 CE |
| Era | Medieval era |
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Wahb ibn Munabbih (Arabic, وهب بن منبه ) was a Yemenite Muslim traditionist of Dhimar (two days' journey from Sana'a) in Yemen; died at the age of ninety, in a year variously given by Arabic authorities as 725, 728, 732, and 737 C.E. He was of Persian origin.He is counted among the Tabi‘in and narrated Isra'iliyat.
His full name was Abu 'Abd Allah al-Ṣana'ani al-Dhimari or Wahb ibn Munabbih ibn Kamil ibn Sirajud-Din Dhee Kibaar Abu-Abdullah al-Yamani al-San'ani.
On his father's side he was descended from Persian knights, while his mother was a Himyarite.
His father, whose name was Munabbih ibn Kamil, had been converted to Islam in the lifetime of the Prophet, although a single authority, the "Al-Tibr al-Masluk" (ed. 1306 A.H., p. 41), states that Wahb himself had turned from Judaism to Islam. Other biographers such as Al-Nawawi and Ibn Khallikan, did not write that he was a Jew either in race or in religion. The fact that he was well versed in Jewish traditions, on which he wrote much, probably gave rise to the statement that he was a Jew, although he might have acquired his knowledge from his teacher Ibn 'Abbas.
He also had a brother named Hammam ibn Munabbih, who is reported to have written 138 Hadiths in his Sahifa.
He was born in AH 34 (654/655)
He was made a judge during the reign of ‘Umar II.
He died at the age of ninety, in a year variously given by Arabic authorities as 725, 728, 732, and 737 C.E.
Some sources for date of death: (d. c 110 [728/9] )
Wahb is said to have read more than seventy books on the prophets, and he was an extremely prolific narrator ("rawi") of stories regarding Mohammed and Biblical personages. He had a son named Abdallah al-Abnawi.
Among Wahb's many writings may be mentioned his "Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiya'" ("Story of the Prophets") and "Kitab al-Isra'iliyat" ("Book of the Israelites," "Ḥajji Khalfa," iv. 518, v. 40). The former, which is believed to be his earliest literary work, is, as its title indicates, a collection of narratives concerning Biblical personages, the accounts being drawn from Jewish folk-lore though presented in Islamitic guise. Thus, like Ibn 'Abbas and Ka'b al-Aḥbar, he was an authority for many legends narrated by Al-Ṭabari, Mas'udi, and others. The "Kitab al-Isra'iliyat," or "Book of Jewish Matters," is lost, but was apparently a collection of Jewish stories, many of them incorporated by a Jewish compiler into the "Arabian Nights." In the latter collection there are indeed many stories that bear the Jewish stamp, and some of them, such as the "Angel of Death," are ascribed to Wahb by the author of "Al-Tibr al-Masluk." There are also other stories which are attributed to Wahb, and many more which, from their Jewish character, may be traced to him. His Jewish learning may be illustrated by his opinion of the Shekinah (Arabic, "Sakinah") as stated by different Arabic authors.
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