MUSLIMS: THE COMMUNITYThe position of these Companions was inherited by the next gen-
eration of Muslims who carried on their work of applying the precepts
of religion to government (usually in the form of criticism) and to
daily life and who passed on their traditions. Ibn Sa'd enumerates
some eighty-three such Followers (tabi'un) at Basra alone who knew
the Companions who had settled there, and it is significant that they
were beginning to include mawait.^12
The situation at Kufa was comparable. Three hundred Companions
who had been with Mul:lammad at Hudaybiya and seventy who had
been at the Battle of Badr settled there.13 'Abdullah ibn Mas'iid (d.
652-53) was one of the most prominent Companions in early Kufa.
He settled there in 642 as the administrative assistant (Ar. waztr) of
'Am mar ibn Yasir, for whom he was in charge of the treasury (Ar.
bayt ai-mal) and of rendering judgment (Ar. 'ala l-qucfii'), but he was
also a teacher (Ar. mu'allim) and preached on Thursdays.1^4 There
were also important Followers at Kufa such as Shurayl:l ibn al-J:Iarith
al-Kindi (d. bet. 695 and 699); 'Abd ar-Ral:lman ibn Abi Layla al-
Kindi (d. 701), who transmitted traditions from 'Ali and other Com-
panions; and Abu 'Amr ash-Sha'bi ibn Sharal:lil (640/47-721123),
who claimed to have heard traditions from over five hundred Com-
panions and was the teacher of Abu J:Ianifa.^15
VOCATIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Qar'i'
Memorizing and reciting the Qur'an was one of the religious vo-
cations of these people. Qur'an means recitation, and the revelations
received by Mul:lammad were delivered orally and used liturgically in
worship. Those who specialized in remembering, reciting, and teaching
the Qur'an to others were interested in applying Qur'anic ideals and
requirements to government and daily life. To a certain extent, their
own status depended on getting other Muslims to observe Qur'anic
principles, but they could not expect to be successful unless they lived
up to the ideals of the Qur'an themselves. Sura 2:44 asks, "Do you
enjoin people to be righteous and forget it yourselves although you
12 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiit, VII(!), 82-85.
\3 Ibid., VI, 4.
14 Abii Yiisuf, Khariij, p. 56; Baiadhuri, Ansiib, I, 163; idem, Futu~, p. 269; DInawari,
Akhbiir a(-(iwiil, p. 136; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiit, VI, 3; Tabari, Ta'rfkh, I, 2637, 2645,
- Ibn ai-Faqih (Buldiin, pp. 165, 171) adds that he was the mu'adhdhin.
15 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiit, VI, 35, 90-100.