Analyzing the conflicting roles of Ibn Shihab Zuhri as a scholar of the Ummah and an agent of the Caliphate, relying on the opinions of Steven Judd

Hajiali, Shahabodin; Sadeghi Kashani, Mostafa

doi:10.22034/nriihs.2025.2080039.1069

Analyzing the conflicting roles of Ibn Shihab Zuhri as a scholar of the Ummah and an agent of the Caliphate, relying on the opinions of Steven Judd

Document Type : Extension -Article

Authors

Shahabodin Hajiali ¹

Mostafa Sadeghi Kashani ²

¹ Master's student in Islamic History, Imam Reza, Seminary Institute of Higher Education, QOM, IRAN

² Associate Professor, Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture, QOM, IRAN

10.22034/nriihs.2025.2080039.1069

Abstract

This article, based on Steven Judd's analytical framework in his book Religious Scholars and the Umayyads, examines the conflict between Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri's roles as a "scholar of the community" and an "agent of the Umayyad Caliphate." The main question of the research is how Zuhri remained the preserver and transmitter of the Prophet's and Companions' traditions and acted in different roles in the service of the Umayyad Caliphs, and what impact did this duality have on his hadith legacy and scholarly status? Using the method of historical analysis and supplementing Steven Judd's data through favorable and unfavorable sources and criticizing some reports against Zuhri, the research shows that he operated in an area of unavoidable tensions between scholarly responsibility to the Muslim community and political obligations in the service of the Umayyad Caliphate. Zuhri's solution to this conflict was pragmatic management. On the one hand, while preserving and transmitting the tradition of the Prophet and his companions, he gained extraordinary scientific credibility and even acted insistently in narrating some narrations in support of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) or criticizing the behavior of the caliphs. On the other hand, he was influenced by political authority in some cases, and loyalty to the Umayyads led him to accept some positions, participate in succession plots, and most importantly, conceal some narrations of the Seerah and follow the caliphs' orders to compile written hadith. This study concludes that Zuhri should not be considered simply a court scholar or a forger of hadiths. He is a symbol of a new model in the relationship between knowledge and power, leaving behind a dual but decisive legacy.

Keywords

Ibn Shihab Zuhri

Umayyads

compilation of hadiths

court scholar

Steven Judd

Subjects