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A hadith-transmitting Successor and ascetic, one of the eight great ascetics of the age of the Successors. His full name is Abu Yazid al-Rabi' b. Khuthaym b. 'A'idh al-Thawri al-Tamimi al-Kufi. In Khurasan, where his grave lies, he is known as Khwaja Rabi'.
He belonged to the Thawr b. 'Abd Manat tribe, which lived around Mount Athal near Mecca; his lineage reaches 'Adnan through Mudar. Although he lived in the Prophet's time he did not see him, and is therefore counted among the mukhadramun.
He was one of 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud's students in Kufa, learning from him exegesis, Qur'anic recitation, hadith and the literary sciences. He transmitted hadith from him and from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Layla and 'Amr b. Maymun, and transmitted from the Messenger of God in mursal form. Among those who transmitted from him were Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, Bakr b. Ma'iz al-Kufi, al-Sha'bi and his son 'Abd Allah. His reports are found in the Six Books except Abu Dawud's Sunan. The hadith critics speak of him with praise: al-Sha'bi called him “a mine of truthfulness”, and Yahya b. Ma'in said he was reliable (thiqa).
It is related that he spoke very little, spent his nights in worship, gave what he had to the poor though he himself was in need, was never heard to say an evil word, did not backbite and was exceedingly humble. 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud is said to have told him: “Abu Yazid! Had the Messenger of God seen you he would have loved you. Whenever I see you I remember the humble ones who stand in awe of God (mukhbitin).” The source also quotes some of his fine sayings: “Speak good, do good, persevere in righteous deeds. Life is short — do not let your heart grow hard! … If you have done an evil deed, follow it at once with a good one, for good deeds wipe out evil ones. … Sins are diseases, and their cure is repentance with no return.”
He is recorded as having died between 62-65 (682-685); the reports on the cause of his death differ (see Multiple Views).
His Tomb and Complex — His grave is in the city of Tus in Iran, on the bank of the Tus river. The Safavid ruler Abbas I built a tomb over his grave, and Reza Shah Pahlavi had it restored. The people of the region call him Khwaja Rabi' and visit his grave. According to the source, the location of his grave around Khurasan confirms the reports that he went there to fight.
Differing Scholarly Views
His closeness to 'Ali — Shi'i literature contains contradictory information. According to some Shi'i sources he served as 'Ali's governor of Qazvin, joined the Battle of Siffin with 4000 soldiers from the Rayy region and urged 'Ali to fight Mu'awiya. According to other sources this is untrue: Ibn Mas'ud and his students opposed 'Ali's fighting Mu'awiya, and when some 400 of them, al-Rabi' among them, said they wished to fight unbelievers rather than Muslims, 'Ali appointed al-Rabi' their commander and sent them to the Qazvin region. Shi'i authors who speak of him negatively count his not having embraced Islam in the Prophet's lifetime against him; some Shi'i sources even list him among those who refused allegiance to 'Ali. Because both those who took sides in the disputes among the Companions and those who stayed neutral faced grave accusations, al-Rabi' was accused by some of Rafidism and by others of Kharijism. Weighing these reports, the source concludes that he disapproved of the disputes among the Companions and tried to remain neutral, and that while he accepted the legitimacy of 'Ali's caliphate he did not approve of his fighting Muslims. The description “counted among the companions of 'Ali” in this atlas record's earlier text was not included because it reflects only one side of this debate.
Year and cause of death — The article places his death between 62-65 (682-685) and gives the date 65/685 with a question mark in its heading; the date in the atlas record's death field lies within this range but is not settled in the source. There are two reports on the cause of death: that he died of a wound from a stone that struck his face as he sat in front of his house; or that on hearing of the martyrdom of al-Husayn he recited the verse of Surat al-Zumar (39/46), “O God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You will judge between Your servants concerning that in which they used to differ”, shut himself in his house and died some time later. The atlas does not choose between them.
Tus or Mashhad — The article on al-Rabi' places his grave in the city of Tus, on the bank of the Tus river, whereas the atlas record is linked to Mashhad. According to the article TÛS, the city of Mashhad, which grew up around the tomb of Imam 'Ali al-Rida, over time took the place of Tus, which dwindled into a village; this relationship explains why the two names appear together. Neither article gives the tomb's present location within the city; the tomb's completion year in the atlas record's earlier text does not appear in TDV either and was not included.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Salahattin Polat · vol. 34, pp. 495-496, entry “REBΑ b. HUSEYM”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Rıza Kurtuluş · vol. 41, pp. 431-432, entry “TÛS”
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