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Thabit Qutna

ثابت قطنة

Thabit 'Qutna' — the Khurasani warrior-poet of Yazid b. al-Muhallab's staff, nicknamed for the cotton in his lost eye; famed for the frozen-on-the-minbar anecdote and his sword-line 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Poet
Era
The Umayyad Period
Review
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Overview

Thabit Qutna al-Azdi. He was called Qutna because his eye had been put out, and he used to place a wad of cotton (qutna) over it 2.

Transoxiana

He was angered on behalf of the people of Transoxiana when Ashras took the poll tax from the peaceful people after they had embraced Islam. Ashras imprisoned him, then released him on surety and sent him to face the enemy. The Turks came out against him and killed him 2.

Connections

Explore the connections

Participated in
al-Ashras and the Converts' Jizya

People and things also explored

al-Ashras ibn Abdallah al-Sulami· al-Ashras and the Converts' Jizya

Sources

  1. Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan
  2. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Thabit Qutna”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/thabit-qutna/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-17.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

al-Ashras ibn Abdallah al-Sulami

al-Ashras ibn Abdallah al-Sulami; Hisham's governor, guided by his Nabati katib Abu Umayya — raised the levies, freed converts from jizya, watched the kharaj collapse, clawed it back as musalama, and sent the jailed-then-bailed Thabit Qutna to a death by Turks.