Hatim al-Tai
Encyclopedia
For Indian television series Hatim, see Hatim (TV series)
Hatimtai (also Hatem at-Ta'iy i.e. Hatim of the Tayy
tribe), formally Hatem ibn Abdellah ibn Sa'ad at-Ta'iy was a famous pre-Islamic (Jahiliyyah) Arab
ian poet
, and the father of the Sahaba
Adi ibn Hatim and Safana bint Hatem. He was a Christian, and belonged to the Ta'i Arabian tribe. Stories about his extreme generosity
have made him an icon to Arabs up till the present day, as in the proverbial phrase "more generous than Hatem" (Arabic: أكرم من حاتم).
(now in Saudi Arabia
). He was mentioned in some Hadith
s by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad
. He died in 578, and he didn't overtake Islam. He was buried in Toran
, Ha'il
. The tomb is described in the Arabian Nights.
He lived in the sixth century CE, a legendary personality famous for his generosity, goodness and adventures. He also figures in The Arabian Nights . According to legends in various books and stories, he was a famous personality in Tai (Najd province in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula, now in Saudi Arabia). He is also a well-known figure in the rest of the Middle East as well as India & Pakistan.
He travelled to dangerous, distant places to solve the seven questions that he faced, in the cause of justice and truth, and to help the poor and the weak.
Many books have been written about him in different countries and languages. Several movies and TV Series have been produced about his adventures.
Rozat-ul-Sufa mentions that “In the eighth year after the birth of his eminence the Prophet, died Noushirwan the Just, and Hatim Tai the generous, both famous for their virtues.”, around in 579 CE. According to D'Herbelot, his tomb is still present at a small village called Anwarz, in Arabia.
. Some people say that Hatim means "Generous". Another definition of the name Hatim is "Determined".
"But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot
Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:
Let Rustum lay about him as he will,
Or Hatim Taiy cry Supper--heed them not."
. Multiple movies (see below) about Hatim Tai are based on this story.
It consists of a short introduction describing his ancestors and his own virtues. In seven chapters, seven of his adventures are given.
The stories are based on seven questions, asked by a beautiful and rich woman Husn Banu, who will marry only the person who will obtain answers to these questions:
A prince falls in love with her and wanders around, not knowing where to go or what to do. By chance he meets Hatim Tai, to whom he tells his story. Hatim undertakes to find the answers to the questions.
Hatim (TV Series)
Hatim is an Indian television series that originally aired on STAR Plus channel, about an Arab prince Hatim Tai, a pre-Mohammad era Christian from Yemen.-Airing history:...
Hatimtai (also Hatem at-Ta'iy i.e. Hatim of the Tayy
Tayy
Tayy is a large and ancient Arabian tribe belonging to the southern or Qahtanite branch of Arab tribes. Their original homeland was the area of the two mountains Aja and Salma in north central Arabia , though, like all Qahtanite tribes, it is believed they originally moved there from Yemen...
tribe), formally Hatem ibn Abdellah ibn Sa'ad at-Ta'iy was a famous pre-Islamic (Jahiliyyah) Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ian poet
Arabic poetry
Arabic poetry is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry is categorized into two main types, rhymed, or measured, and prose, with the former greatly preceding the latter...
, and the father of the Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
Adi ibn Hatim and Safana bint Hatem. He was a Christian, and belonged to the Ta'i Arabian tribe. Stories about his extreme generosity
Generosity
Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need...
have made him an icon to Arabs up till the present day, as in the proverbial phrase "more generous than Hatem" (Arabic: أكرم من حاتم).
Biography
At-Ta'iy lived in Najd Ha'ilHa'il
Ha'il , also spelled Hail, Ha'yel, or Hayil, is an oasis city in Nejd in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of the Ha'il Province. The city has a population of 356,876 according to Ha'il Province....
(now in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
). He was mentioned in some Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. He died in 578, and he didn't overtake Islam. He was buried in Toran
Toran
Toran is the name in Hinduism of a sacred or honorific gateway in Buddhist architecture. Its typical form is a projecting cross-piece resting on two uprights or posts...
, Ha'il
Ha'il
Ha'il , also spelled Hail, Ha'yel, or Hayil, is an oasis city in Nejd in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of the Ha'il Province. The city has a population of 356,876 according to Ha'il Province....
. The tomb is described in the Arabian Nights.
He lived in the sixth century CE, a legendary personality famous for his generosity, goodness and adventures. He also figures in The Arabian Nights . According to legends in various books and stories, he was a famous personality in Tai (Najd province in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula, now in Saudi Arabia). He is also a well-known figure in the rest of the Middle East as well as India & Pakistan.
He travelled to dangerous, distant places to solve the seven questions that he faced, in the cause of justice and truth, and to help the poor and the weak.
Many books have been written about him in different countries and languages. Several movies and TV Series have been produced about his adventures.
Rozat-ul-Sufa mentions that “In the eighth year after the birth of his eminence the Prophet, died Noushirwan the Just, and Hatim Tai the generous, both famous for their virtues.”, around in 579 CE. According to D'Herbelot, his tomb is still present at a small village called Anwarz, in Arabia.
Works
Poems:- ON Avarice by Hatem Taiy
In popular culture
Hatim is a common name among Muslims, mostly among the BohrisMustaali
The Musta‘lī Ismā'īlī Muslims are so named because they accept Al-Musta'li as the nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir...
. Some people say that Hatim means "Generous". Another definition of the name Hatim is "Determined".
Books on Hatim Tai
- The Story of Hatim in The Arabian Nights (AD 800-900 in modern form).
- The Adventures of Hatim Tai (Qissa-e-Hatim Tai, from a 1824 Persian manuscript) by Duncan Forbes.
- Adventures of the second Darwesh in Bagh-o-Bahar or Qissa Chahar Darvesh, Mir Amman of Delhi, Urdu 1804, translated by Duncan Forbes http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urdu/baghobahar/index.html#index
- Edward FitzGeraldEdward FitzGerald (poet)Edward FitzGerald was an English writer, best known as the poet of the first and most famous English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The spelling of his name as both FitzGerald and Fitzgerald is seen...
(1809–1883) mentions Hatim Tai in his translations of the Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamRubaiyat of Omar KhayyamThe Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
. See quatrain IX in Fitzgerald's first edition:
"But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot
Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:
Let Rustum lay about him as he will,
Or Hatim Taiy cry Supper--heed them not."
- Many books written and translated in Arabic, Persian, UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
etc. - Hatim Tai in Tamil by Prema Pirasuram
Outline of Qissa-e-Hatim Taiy
Qissa-e-Hatim Tai is very popular in the South AsiaSouth Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. Multiple movies (see below) about Hatim Tai are based on this story.
It consists of a short introduction describing his ancestors and his own virtues. In seven chapters, seven of his adventures are given.
The stories are based on seven questions, asked by a beautiful and rich woman Husn Banu, who will marry only the person who will obtain answers to these questions:
- ' What I saw once, I long for a second time.'
- ' Do good, and cast it upon the waters.'
- ' Do no evil; if you do, such shall you meet with.'
- ' He who speaks the truth is always tranquil.'
- ' Let him bring an account of the mountain of Nida.'
- ' Let him produce a pearl of the size of a duck's egg'
- ' Let him bring an account of the bath of Bad-gard.'
A prince falls in love with her and wanders around, not knowing where to go or what to do. By chance he meets Hatim Tai, to whom he tells his story. Hatim undertakes to find the answers to the questions.
Movies about Hatim
- Hatimtai (1990) - A Bollywood Hindi movie starring Jeetendra http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242509/. video clip
- Hatamtai (1967) - A PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i Urdu movie starring Muhammad AliMohammad Ali (actor)Mohammad Ali was a Pakistani actor. He was known as Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat , means The Emperor of Emotions. He had starred in over 250 movies playing roles as hero and villain. He was included among 25 greatest actors of Asia by CNN survey...
. - Hatimtai (1956) - A Bollywood Hindi movie starring Jayraj and Shakila http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325527/.
- Hatimtai (1933) - A Bollywood Hindi movie starring Pran http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372958/.
- Many other old and regional versions were also produced.
TV series on Hatim
- Dastaan-e-Hatimtai - An IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n TV Series aired on DD NationalDD NationalDD National or DD1 is Doordarshan's flagship channel and the most widely available terrestrial television channel in India.-The Early Years:...
. - HatimHatim (TV Series)Hatim is an Indian television series that originally aired on STAR Plus channel, about an Arab prince Hatim Tai, a pre-Mohammad era Christian from Yemen.-Airing history:...
- An IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n TV Series on STAR TV (Asia)STAR TV (Asia)Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
produced by Sagar Films (Pvt.Ltd.).