Judge and Teacher to Yemen
Mu’adh ibn Jabal was a young Ansari of the Khazraj, among the few who had memorised the whole Qur’an in the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime. When the Prophet ﷺ sent him to Yemen as judge and teacher, he asked how he would judge; Mu’adh answered: by the Book of Allah, then by the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, and if he found it in neither, he would exert his own reasoning (ijtihad) sparing no effort. The Prophet ﷺ struck his chest in approval and praised Allah for guiding His Messenger’s envoy to what pleased Him. 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 3 · pp. 294 — Kandhlawi — the Prophet's dialogue with Mu'adh on judging by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, then ijtihad, and his approval. So great was his learning that when he left Madinah for Syria, Umar lamented the gap his absence left in the city’s knowledge of fiqh and fatwa. 2 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 3 · pp. 236–237 — Kandhlawi — Umar laments the loss to Madinah's fiqh when Mu'adh departs for Syria.
Virtues in the Hadith
The Prophet ﷺ ranked him first of the Ummah in knowledge of the lawful and the unlawful:
أَعْلَمُهُمْ بِالْحَلاَلِ وَالْحَرَامِ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ
”The most knowledgeable of them concerning the lawful and the unlawful is Mu’adh ibn Jabal.”
Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3790 · Book 49, Hadith 189 · narrated by Anas ibn Malik · graded Sahih (Darussalam)
He died young in the plague of Amwas in 18 AH, after his commander Abu Ubayda had appointed him his successor. 3 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 3 · pp. 239 — Kandhlawi — Mu'adh dies in the plague of Amwas after Abu Ubayda appoints him successor.
Life Timeline
Born in Madinah
Of the Khazraj; among the few who memorised the whole Qur'an.
Sent to Yemen as judge and teacher
The famous dialogue on how he would judge.
Dies in the plague of Amwas
References
- Hayatus Sahaba — Kandhlawi — the dialogue with the Prophet ﷺ on judging by the Book, then the Sunnah, then ijtihad Vol 3 · pp. 294
- Hayatus Sahaba — Kandhlawi — Mu'adh's standing in fiqh; his being sent to Yemen; his death in the plague of Amwas Vol 3 · pp. 236–239
- Jami' at-Tirmidhi — 'The most knowledgeable of them in the lawful and unlawful is Mu'adh ibn Jabal' — Sahih (Darussalam) pp. 3790 (Book 49, Hadith 189)