1 Périer, J., Vie d’al-îadjdj ˆdj ibn Yousof (41-95 de l’Hégire = 661-714 de J.-C.) d’après les sources arabes , Paris 1904, p. 317-21. Wieber, R., Das Schachspiel in der arabischen Literatur von den Anfängen bis zur zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts , Walldorf-Hessen 1972, pp. 9, 60, 67, 159, 205-10, 216. Sayed, R., Die Revolte des Ibn al-A’ÒaÆ und die Koranleser: Ein Beitrag zur Religions- und Sozialgeschichte der frühen Umayyadenzeit , Freiburg im Breisgau 1977, p. 345-53. 2 Chess during the classical period of Islam was known as Òa ran[. This game was played according to rules diVerent from modern chess. For a full discussion of this game see Murray, H., A History of Chess , Oxford 1913. 3 Ibn Qutayba, Ma’ˆrif, Mi§r 1969, p. 445; Mubarrad, al-Kˆmil , Wright, W., ed., Leipzig 1864, p. 275. 4 GAS I, p. 28. 5 Sayed, R., Die Revolte des Ibn al-A’ÒaÆ und die Koranleser: Ein Beitrag zur Religions- und Sozialgeschichte der frühen Umayyadenzeit , Freiburg im Breisgau 1977, pp. 341-348. SA’íD B. ]UBAYR: PIETY, CHESS AND REBELLION par JOHAN WESTSTEIJN & ALEX DE VOOGT Leiden University Sa’“d b. ]ubayr 1 was a Koran scholar in the rst century AH. He acquired fame not only as an interpreter of the Koran but also as a chess 2 player and polit- ical activist. The combination of scholar, player and rebel is the more unusual since he was a freed black slave from East Africa. 3 Sa’“d b. ]ubayr was one of the most learned of the second generation Muslims. 4 As a chess player he was the rst to have been associated with the skill of blindfold play. Finally, his execution after the revolt of the Koran scholars against the Umayyads, in which he parti- cipated, has made him a martyr in the eyes of later generations. Two aspects in Sa’“d b. ]ubayr’s life have received attention in the Arabic sources. First, his execution by al-Ha[[ˆ[ has been central in Sa’“d b. ]ubayr’s biography. Next to his execution there are traditions that connect Sa’“d b. ]ubayr with the skill of playing blindfold chess. In both cases it was his renown as a pious theologian that instigated a discussion in the Arabic sources. It seems that other aspects of his life have not been regarded as problematic in combination with his theological scholarship. One such aspect, his participation in a revolt, will be ana- lyzed with the help of the above discussions. The material provided by the two discussions has been treated separately in the literature. It is argued that a combination of these discussions provides material which also appears relevant to Sa’“d b. ]ubayr’s status as rebel. Sayed 5 mentions © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2002 Arabica, tome XLIX,3 Also available online – www.brill.nl