Tabi'in (The Successors)
The generation of Muslims who met the Prophet's companions but did not themselves meet the Prophet.
Tabi'in (plural of tabi'i) is the generation of Muslims who met one or more of the Prophet's companions (sahabah) as believers but did not themselves meet the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). They are the second most esteemed generation in Sunni Islam after the sahabah.
The Prophet said: "The best of people are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them" (Sahih al-Bukhari). The Tabi'in played a crucial role in the systematization of Islamic knowledge, including prayer legislation. Prominent Tabi'in include Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Hasan al-Basri, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, and Ata' ibn Abi Rabah.
Many of the four schools of law's founders studied under the Tabi'in. Imam Abu Hanifah studied under Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (a tabi'i), and Imam Malik studied under several Tabi'in in Medina. The Tabi'in's legal opinions and prayer practices are an important source for understanding how the sahabah understood and practiced the Prophet's sunnah.
Related terms
Imam (Prayer Leader)
The person who leads the congregational prayer at the mosque.
Umrah (Lesser Pilgrimage)
The lesser pilgrimage to Mecca, which can be performed at any time of the year.
Salat al-Wahsha (The Prayer of Loneliness)
A prayer performed on the first night after burial for the soul of the deceased.
Shahadah (Declaration of Faith)
The first pillar of Islam: the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.
Amr bil-Ma'ruf wa Nahy 'an al-Munkar
Enjoining good and forbidding evil — an Islamic duty connected with prayer.
Khums (One-Fifth)
The obligatory payment of one-fifth of the year's surplus in Shia Islam.