Owais al-Qarani
Owais al-Qarani (Arabic: أُوَيْس ٱبْن عَامِر ٱبْن جَزْء ٱبْن مَالِك ٱلْقَرَنِيّ, ʾUways ibn ʿĀmir ibn Jazʾ ibn Mālik al-Qaranī), also spelled Uways or Owais, was a Muslim from South Arabia who lived during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1]
Uwais al-Qarni Mosque in Raqqa (now in Syria) is his burial site, as he died during the Battle of Siffin there. It was destroyed by the Islamic State in 2013 and is currently awaiting reconstruction.[2]
Although he lived during the lifetime of Muhammad, he never physically met him so he is only honorarily counted among the Companions of the Prophet.
Among the Tabi‘un, he is specially known as Khayr at-Tābiʿīn (Arabic: خَيْر ٱلتَّابِعِين, lit. 'the best of the Tabi‘un') and Sayyid at-Tabiʿīn fī Zamānah (Arabic: سَيِّد ٱلتَّابِعِين فِي زَمَانَه, lit. 'leader of the Tabi‘un of his era').
Life[edit]
Muslim historians agreed Uwais descended from the Murad tribe sub-branch.[3] Furthermore, Arabian peninsula local traditions have traced the al-Qarani were a Nisba (onomastics) of Ibb city in Yemen, the place where Uwais was born.[3]
Uwais's father, Amir, was a strong believer in Islam. He died when Uwais was still young and Uwais was raised by his mother alone; He never physically met Muhammad, even though he lived in the same era. However, he met Muhammad's companion Umar and is therefore seen as from among the Tabi'un.[4] Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani has recorded the strong sense of filial piety by Uwais preoccupied him to leave his mother to meet Muhammad, thus, he sacrificed the chance to reach the rank of companions of the Prophet in an effort to take care of his elderly mother.
During the caliphate of Umar, according to Usayr ibn Jabir recorded by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, every time Umar received a batch of soldiers who volunteer from Yemen to be sent for the Muslim conquest of Persia, he always asked if there is Uwais among them, as Umar searching Uwais by relying on a Hadith regarding Uwais will reach him one day, Ibn al-Jawzi recorded that Umar was urged by Muhammad during his life, that someday in the future he should ask Uwais for prayer. In the next year after his meeting with Umar, during the Hajj season, it is recorded that Umar still remembered and asked any pilgrims from Kufa about the condition of Uwais.[3]
Uwais reside in Kufa around the year 19 AH (640 AD) and participated in the battle of Nahavand against the Sassanid army.[5] However, as he became famous in Kufa due to a recommendation from Hadith which was told by caliph Umar, Uwais moved to an unspecified location and was lost from the trace of historians.[3]
Uwais appeared again in history during the caliphate of Ali, when the majority of medieval scholars recorded Uwais met his demise during the battle of Siffin, while some others reported he fell in battle during the Muslim conquest of Azerbaijan.[6]