Tabi‘un

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The Tābi‘un (Arabic : التابعون‎, also Tābi‘eenالتابعين, singular tābiالتابع), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the Sahaba ("companions" of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and thus received Muhammad's teachings second hand. [1] A Tabi knew at least one Sahaba. [2] As such, they played an important part in the development of Islamic thought and philosophy, and in the political development of the early caliphate. The next generation of Muslims after the Tabi'un are called Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in . The three generations make up the salaf of Islam.

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah), and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24% of the world's population, most commonly known as Muslims. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 50 countries. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, unique and has guided humankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative example of Muhammad.

Muhammad prophet and founder of Islam

Muhammad was the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to present and confirm the monotheistic teachings preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the final prophet of God in all the main branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Contents

Sunni definition

Muslims from the Sunni branch of Islam define a Tâbi`î as a Muslim who:

  1. Saw at least one of the companions of Muhammad.
  2. Was rightly guided (according to the Sunni, one who adheres to the beliefs and actions of the Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama'ah).
  3. One who died in that state. The Khawarij are therefore not referred to as Tabi‘un even though they saw many of Muhammad's companions.

Sunni Muslims also regard the Tabi‘un as the best generation after the Sahabah. 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 Tabi'un are divided by most Muslim scholars into three classes: [3]

  1. The students of Sahaba who accepted Islam before the conquest of Makkah
  2. The students of Sahaba who accepted Islam after the conquest of Makkah
  3. The students of Sahaba who were not yet adults at the time of Muhammad's passing

List of Tabi‘un

The earliest of the Tabi'un 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 A.H. Alternatively, since the status of Khalaf ibn Khalifa as a Tabee is strongly challenged by reputed scholars, the last to die from amongst them may have been Jarir bin Haazim (died 170 A.H.).Therefore, many of the Tabi'un were tasked with the preservation of Islamic traditions from the era of the Sahaba to later Muslims. [3]

Abu Muslim Al-Khawlani was a well-known tabi'i 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 Khuthaym, al-Aswad ibn Yazid, Masruq ibn al-Ajda', Sufyan al-Thawrt ibn Said and Hasan al-Basri.

Al-Ahnaf Ibn Qays was a Muslim general who lived during the time of Muhammad. He hailed from the Arab tribe of Banu Tamim and was born of two noble parents. His father named him ad-Dhahhak, but everybody called him al-Ahnaf, because of a defect in his feet.

Disputed

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Glasse, Cyril (2001). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Altamira. p. 443. ISBN   0-7591-0189-2.
  2. ↑ Esposito, John L. (2003). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 301.
  3. 1 2 Siddiqi, Muhammad (1993). Hadith Literature (PDF). Oxford: The Islamic Texts Society. p. 29. ISBN   0946621381.
  4. ↑ MSA
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts Archived 2006-07-15 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. ↑ Hazrat Ali bin Usman Al-Hujwiri (2001). The Kashf Al-Mahjub:A Persian Treatise on Sufism. Justice Karam Shah. Zia-ul-Quran Publications Lahore Pakistan.
  7. ↑ Upholding the Opinion that Imam Abu Hanifa was One of the Tabi`in
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