Ḥassān ibn Thābit ( ar, حسان بن ثابت) (born c. 563, Medina died 674) was an

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and one of the

Sahaba The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

, or companions of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

, hence he was best known for his poems in defense of the Islamic prophet

. He was born in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, and was member of the

Banu Khazraj The Banu Khazraj ( ar, بنو خزرج) is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era. The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia in the Karib'il Watar 7th centu ...

tribe. He was gifted

Sirin Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl), borrowed from the siren of the Greek mythology. According to myth, the Sirin lived in Iriy or around the Euphrates R ...

as a concubine. After Muhammad's death, Hassan was supposed to have traveled east as far as China, preaching for Islam along with

Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas , image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png , alt = , caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia , death_place ...

, Thabit ibn Qays, and

Uwais al-Qarni Awais bin Bashir ( ar, أُوَيْس ٱبْن عَامِر ٱبْن جَزْء ٱبْن مَالِك ٱلْقَرَنِيّ, ), also spelled Uways or Owais, was a Muslim from Yemen who lived during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.B ...

. His writings in defence of the Muhammad contain references to contemporary events that have been useful in documenting the period. He was also Islam's first religious poet, using many phrases from the Qur'an in his verses. The work of Hassan Ibn Thabit was instrumental in spreading the message of Muhammad, as poetry was an important part of Arab culture. The work and words of Hassan Ibn Thabit are still regarded as the most beautiful in praise of Muhammad. Muhammad was so happy with Hassan Ibn Thabit that he ordered to establish and construct for him a minbar-pulpit for him to stand upon when he delivered his poetry. Muhammad prayed for him saying that the

Angel Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

will support you as long as you preach the message of Allah and defend His Prophet. He is also the original writer of the famous nasheed "As subhu bada min tala'atihi". He is the earliest known person to mention the events of the Khumm pond, where he mentions that Muhammad appointed Ali as his successor.

Life

According to Islamic tradition Hassan lived for 120 years, sixty years before converting to Islam and another sixty thereafter.

Thomas Patrick Hughes Thomas Patrick Hughes, (26 March 1838 - 8 August 1911) was a British Anglican missionary who served under the auspices of the Church Mission Society (CMS) in Peshawar in British India (now Pakistan) for 20 years. Noted for his facility with lang ...

, 1885/1999 rept., ''Dictionary of Islam'', New Delhi: Rupa & Co. In his youth he traveled to

Al-Hirah Al-Hirah ( ar, الحيرة, translit=al-Ḥīra Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. History Kingdom of the Lakhmids Al-Hirah was a significant city in pre ...

and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, then he settled in

, where, after Mohammad's arrival, he accepted

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

and wrote poems in his defense.Tabari, p. 131.

Notes

References

Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

(1997). Vol. 8 of the '' Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk''.

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan ibn Thabit 563 births 674 deaths 6th-century Arabs 7th-century Arabic poets Poets of the early Islamic period Year of birth unknown Ansar (Islam) Muslim panegyrists Poetry collections Khazrajite people Companions of the Prophet

Life

Notes

See also

References