HASSAN IBN THABIT

born c. 563, , Medina, Arabia died c. 674? Arabian poet, best-known for his poems in defense of the Prophet Muhammad. Hassan had won acclaim at the courts of the Christian Arab Ghassanid kings in Syria and the Lakhmid kings of al-Hirah in Iraq, where he met the poets an-Nabighah and 'Alqamah. He settled in Medina, where, after the advent of Muhammad, he accepted Islam at about the age of 60. Hassan, who is said to have lived to be more than 110 years old, became Islam's earliest poetic defender. His poetry thrived under the traditional requirement that literary attacks be countered with satires on the offending poets. His writings in defense of Muhammad contain references to contemporary events that have been useful in documenting the period. He was also Islam's first religious poet, using many phrases from the Qur'an in his verse. Much of the work ascribed to him in his divan, or collection of poetry, appears to be spurious, however.