The tābiʿūn (, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn , singular ''tābiʿ'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s who followed the companions (''ṣaḥāba'') of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, and thus received their teachings secondhand. A ''tābiʿ'' knew at least one ''ṣaḥābī''. As such, they played an important part in the development of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic thought and knowledge, and in the political development of the early
caliphate
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
.
The next generation of Muslims after the ''tabiʿūn'' are called the '' tābiʿ at-tābiʿīn'' . The first three generations of Muhammad's followers make up the ''
salaf
Salaf (, "ancestors" or "predecessors"), also often referred to with the honorific expression of al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (, "the pious predecessors"), are often taken to be the first three generations of Muslims. This comprises companions of the ...
'' of Islam.
Sunni definition
Muslims from the Sunni branch of Islam define a ''tābiʿ'' as a Muslim who:
# Saw at least one of the companions of Muhammad
# Was rightly-guided (''ar-rāšidūn'')
# One who died in that state. The
Khawarij
The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenge ...
are therefore not referred to as tābiʿūn even though they saw many of Muhammad's companions.
Sunni Muslims also regard the tābiʿūn as the best generation after the companions. According to Sunni Muslims, Muhammad said: "The best people are those living in my generation, then those coming after them, and then those coming after (the second generation)"
The tābiʿūn are divided by most Muslim scholars into three classes:
# The students of companions who accepted Islam before the conquest of Mecca
# The students of companions who accepted Islam after the conquest of Mecca
# The students of companions who were not yet adults at the time of Muhammad's passing
List of tābiʿūn
The first tābiʿ to die was Zayd ibn Ma'mar ibn Zayd, 30 years after the hijra, and the last to die was Khalaf ibn Khalifa, who died in 180 AH. Alternatively, since the status of Khalaf ibn Khalifa as a tābiʿ is strongly challenged by reputed scholars, the last to die from amongst them may have been Jarir bin Haazim in 170 AH. Therefore, many of the tābiʿūn were tasked with the preservation of Islamic traditions from the era of the companions to later Muslims.
* Aban ibn Uthman
* Abbad ibn Abd Allah az-Zubair
*
Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyya () (died 98 AH; 716 CE), also known as Abū Hāshim was a member of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe in Mecca. He was one of the Salaf and a Muhaddith, narrator of hadith. After Muhammad ...
Abu Muslim al-Khawlani
Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani () (died 684) was a well-known ''tabi'i'' (plural: taba'een) and a prominent religious figure in Damascus, Syria. He was one of the 'Eight Ascetics,' who also included Amir ibn Abd al-Qays, Uways al-Qarani, Al-Rabi ibn Khut ...
*
Abu Hanifa
Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and epony ...
(80 - 150 A.H.)Öncü Sûfîlerden Fudayl b.‘Iyâd’ın (öl. 187/802) İlmî Şahsiyeti." Şırnak Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 11.24 (2020): 159-185. "..Tabi'un are the people who followed Sahaba, the companions of the prophet), is one of the important names in the history of Islamic science. Fudayl, who was an Arab, spent his life in three regions: Khorasan, Kufa, and Mecca. Names such as Abu Hanifa, Mansur bin Mu'temir.."
* Ahnaf ibn Qais
* Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin
* Alqama ibn Qays
* Amr ibn Uthman
* Amir al-Sha'bi
* Ata ibn Abi Rabah (d. 106 A.H.)
* Hammam ibn Munabbih
* Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (d. 100 A.H.)
*
Hasan al-Basri
Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge.
Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...
(21 - 110 A.H.)
*
Ibn Jurayj
Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj (, 80 AH/699 CE - 150 AH/767 CE) was an eighth-century ''faqīh'', exegete and hadith transmitter from the Taba' at-Tabi'in.
Biography
Ibn Jurayj was born in Mecca in 80 AH/699 CE. His father Abd al-Aziz w ...
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
Muhammad al-Baqir
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (; ) was a descendant of the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and the fifth of the Twelve Imams, twelve Shia imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Sajjad, and succeeded by his son, Ja'far al-Sad ...
Sulaiman al-Aʽmash Sulaiman is an English transliteration of the Arabic name 'peaceful' and corresponds to the Hebrew language, Hebrew Jews, Jewish name שְׁלֹמֹה ''Shlomoh'' and the English Solomon (/ˈsɒləmən/) . Solomon was the scriptural figure who w ...
Ubayd-Allah ibn Abd-Allah
Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Zuhayr ibn Abd Allah ibn Jud'an al-Taymi () was a Medinian hadith narrator. He was possibly the ''Judge (Islamic law), qadi'' of Ta'if for caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (). He retold the event of the pen and paper as ...
Uwais al-Qarani Uwais is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Uwais Khan, Mongol khan
* Iko Uwais (born 1983), Indonesian actor
* Mohammed Uwais (1936–2025), Nigerian jurist
{{Short pages monitor
* Al-Nakhai (d.714) Al-Nakhai
See also
*
Salaf
Salaf (, "ancestors" or "predecessors"), also often referred to with the honorific expression of al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (, "the pious predecessors"), are often taken to be the first three generations of Muslims. This comprises companions of the ...