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
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...
, 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
Abu Sa'id Aban ibn Uthman ibn Affan al-Umawi (; died 105 AH/723 CE) was a Muslim historian and traditionalist. He also served a seven-year stint as governor of Medina in 695–702, during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ().
Biograp ...
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 ...
*
Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i
Abū ʿAmr ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī (; 707–774) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, and the chief representative and eponym of the Awza'i school of Islamic jurisprudence.
Biography
Awzāʿī was of Sindhi or ...
* Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla al-Kindi (d. 701), transmitter of traditions on Ali and the companions, joined the uprising of Ibn al-Ash'ath and killed at the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim.
*
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
Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad (, – 712), also known as Zayn al-Abidin () was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the fourth imam in Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle, Hasan ibn Ali, and his gr ...
Amir al-Sha'bi
Abū ʿAmr ʿĀmir ibn Sharāḥīl ibn ʿAbd al-Kūfī al-Shaʿbī (), 641–723, commonly known as Imam al-Sha'bi or al-Sha'bi, was an Arab historian and jurist of the ''tabi'un'', born during the rule of Umar ibn al-Khattab.
As a prominent ...
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.)
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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 ...
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri
Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (; died 124 AH/741-2 CE), also referred to as Ibn Shihab or az-Zuhri, was a ''tabi'i'' Arab jurist and traditionist credited with pioneering the development of '' s� ...
(d. 124 A.H.)
*
Ibn Sirin
Muhammad Ibn Sirin (, romanized: Muḥammad Ibn Sirīn) (born in Basra) was a Muslim tabi' as he was a contemporary of Anas ibn Malik. He is claimed by some to have been an interpreter of dreams, though others regard the books to have been fal ...
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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 ...
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Malik Dinar
Malik Dinar (, Malayalam: മാലിക് ദീനാര്) (died 748 CE)Al-Hujwiri, "Kashf al-Mahjoob", 89 was a Muslim scholar and traveller. He was one of the first known Muslims to have come to India in order to teach Islam in the I ...
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 ...
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Mujahid ibn Jabr
Abū l-Ḥajjāj Mujāhid ibn Jabr al-Qāriʾ () (642–722 CE) was a Tabi' and one of the major early Islamic scholars.
According to some sources, Mujahid wrote a tafsīr of the Qur'an (exegesis/commentary), although it is likely that a writ ...
Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr () (born 36 or 38 AH and died 106 AH or 108 AH; corresponding to 660/662 and 728/730) The Four Imams by Muhammad Abu Zahrahchapter on Imam Malik was a jurist in early Islam.
In the Naqshbandi Sufi or ...
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 ...
(d. 98 A.H.)
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Umar II
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (; February 720) was the eighth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 717 until his death in 720. He is credited to have instituted significant reforms to the Umayyad central government, by making it much more efficient and ...
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Urwah ibn Zubayr
Urwa ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam al-Asadi (; ) was an early Muslim traditionist, widely regarded as a founding figure in the field of historical study among the Muslims. He was a son of Muhammad's close aide al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and a nephe ...
(d. 94 A.H.)
*
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 ...
*
Sahaba
The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...