Abū Aqīl Labīd ibn Rabīʿa ibn Mālik al-ʿĀmirī (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: أبو عقيل لَبيد بن ربيعة بن مالك العامِري) (c. 505 – c. 661) was an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ian

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 ...

. He belonged to the Bani Amir, a division of the tribe of the

Hawazin ) , type = Qaysi , image = Hawazin Flag (20).png , image_size =170px , alt = , caption = Banner of the Hawazin at the Battle of Siffin , nisba = , location = , descended = Hawazin ibn Mansur ib ...

. In his younger years he was an active warrior, and his verse is largely concerned with inter-tribal disputes. Later, he was sent by a sick uncle to get a remedy from

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 ...

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 on this occasion was much influenced by a part of the Koran, shortest Surah, '

Al-Kawthar Al-Kawthar ( ar, الكوثر, "Abundance") is the 108th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran. It is the shortest chapter, consisting of three '' ayat'' or verses: : ۝ We have given thee abundance :۝ So pray to your Lord and sacrifice o Him alone : ...

'. 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 ...

soon after, but seems then to have ceased writing. In

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

ate he is said to have settled in

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...

. Tradition ascribes to him a long life, but dates given are uncertain and contradictory. One of his poems is contained in the

Mu'allaqat The Muʻallaqāt ( ar, المعلقات, ) is a group of seven long Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca, while scholars have also ...

. His ''muruwwa'' (virtue) is highlighted in the story that he vowed to feed people whenever the east wind began to blow, and to continue so doing until it stopped. Al-Walid 'Uqba, leader of the Kuffa, sent him one hundred camels to enable him to keep his vow. In an elegy composed for Nu'mh Mundhii, Labid wrote: :''Every thing, but Allah, is vain'' :''And all happiness, unconditionally, will vanish'' :''When a man is on a night journey, he thinks that he has accomplished some deed'' :''But man spends his life in hopes'' :... :''If you do not trust your self, approve it'' :''Perhaps the past would unclose it to you'' :''When you do not find a father other than 'Adnan and Ma'ad,'' :''The judge (God) will punish you'' :''On the day when every body will be informed of his deeds'' :''When the record of his life is opened before Allah'' أَلا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مَا خَلا اللَّهَ بَاطِلٌ Muhammad said regarding the first verse of the above eulogy, ❝The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The most true words said by a poet was the words of Labid." He said, Verily, Everything except Allah is perishable and Umaiya bin As-Salt was about to be a Muslim (but he did not embrace Islam).'❞ ��aḥīḥ Bukhāri, The Book of Manners, Ḥadīth No. 3841ref>

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The concept of Allah as the highest god in pre-Islamic Arabia
560 births 661 deaths 6th-century Arabic poets 7th-century Arabic poets Banu Kilab Companions of the Prophet {{MEast-poet-stub