Labid ibn Rabia
- Died
- 41 AH
- Born in
- -
Labid ibn Rabia (d. 41 AH / 661 CE) was an Arabian poet, knight, and Companion of the Prophet Muhammad from Najd, celebrated as the author of one of the pre-Islamic Mu'allaqat .
Lineage and Early Life
Labid was Abu 'Aqil Labid ibn Rabi'a ibn Malik ibn Ja'far ibn Kilab ibn Rabi'a ibn 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'a al-'Amiri . He hailed from the highlands of Najd and was counted among the prominent nobles and horsemen of his tribe . His father, Rabi'a, was nicknamed Rabi' al-Muqtirin ("the spring of the destitute") on account of his extraordinary generosity, a virtue Labid commemorated in his verse . His father was killed while Labid was still a child, leaving him to be raised by his paternal uncles .
Conversion and Later Life
In the year 9 AH, Labid traveled to Medina among a delegation of thirteen men from his tribe, where they lodged at the house of Ramla bint al-Harith (also named as Ramla bint al-Hadath) . He embraced Islam before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and was regarded as having practiced his faith devoutly . Following the death of the Prophet ﷺ, Labid relocated to Iraq and settled in Kufa, where he maintained his hospitality and communal stature . During the governorship of al-Walid ibn Uqba in Kufa under Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, al-Walid sent him a gift of a camel along with verses; finding himself disinclined to compose poetry in response, Labid instructed his daughter to compose the poetic reply on his behalf .
Poetry and Stance in Islam
Labid was ranked among the foremost poets of the pre-Islamic era, best known for his eighty-eight-line Mu'allaqa and collected Diwan . The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ praised the monotheistic sentiment in one of his pre-Islamic verses, stating: أصدق كلمة قالها الشاعر كلمة لبيد: ألا كل شيء ما خلا الله باطل ("The truest word spoken by a poet is the word of Labid: 'Truly, everything save Allah is false'") .
Following his conversion, the majority of historical reports indicate that Labid ceased composing poetry entirely . When Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab directed his governor in Kufa, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, to ask local poets for verse they had composed before and after Islam, Labid transcribed Surat al-Baqara (and according to some transmissions, also Surat Al Imran) onto parchment, declaring that Allah had substituted the Quran for his poetry . Impressed by his reverence for the scripture, 'Umar rewarded him by raising his annual state stipend . Some authorities noted that he uttered only one or two isolated lines of verse after becoming a Muslim, though commentators differed over whether those verses belonged to him or to other poets .
Longevity and Death
Labid lived an exceptionally long life, being counted among the long-lived figures (al-mu'ammarun) . Malik ibn Anas reported that he lived to the age of one hundred and sixty .
He died in Kufa, most prominently reported in 41 AH (or 40 AH), around the time Mu'awiya I entered the city and encamped at al-Nukhayla following the peace treaty with al-Hasan ibn Ali . An alternative report favored by Ibn Abd al-Barr places his death earlier during the caliphate of 'Uthman, while another report dates it to beyond 60 AH .
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List of Works
This collection brings together the poetic corpus of pre-Islamic and early Islamic verse, featuring sixty-one poems and shorter pieces alongside miscellaneous verses. It spans classical genres such as descriptions of Bedouin desert life, riding animals, tribal and personal boast, martial valor, elegy, and moral wisdom, centered around an eighty-eight-line Mu'allaqa.