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Tuban As'ad Abu Karib

تبّان أسعد أبو كرب

Medina

The Himyarite king through whom Judaism entered Yemen: he went to fight at Yathrib, adopted Judaism there and brought two rabbis of Banu Qurayza back to Yemen, where Judaism then spread; his son Yusuf Dhu Nuwas was the king of the Najran trench, in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum's account. In Ibn Zabala's version preserved by al-Samhudi, he came meaning to destroy the town until two rabbis of Qurayza — Suhayt and Munabba — told him it was protected, the future refuge of a prophet of the Ishmaelites named Ahmad, so he believed them and desisted, built each scholar a house and married him off, wrote a gold-sealed letter attesting his Islam and testifying to Ahmad to be passed to the Prophet ﷺ or whichever descendant met him, and built the Prophet a house that passed through heirs until it reached Abu Ayyub, a descendant of that scholar 1. The hadith says: 'Do not curse Tubba', for he had become Muslim.'

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Ruler
Era
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In space

Medina

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Converts and those who leave

Place in the story

    Jewish (transmitted)

    Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.

    Overview

    Tubban As'ad Abu Karib, king of Himyar in whose time Judaism entered Yemen, according to the account in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum. He went out to fight to Yathrib, embraced Judaism there, and brought two rabbis from the Banu Qurayza to Yemen, and Judaism then spread and expanded there 2 3 4.

    His son Dhu Nuwas

    When his son Yusuf, Dhu Nuwas, succeeded him in Yemen, he attacked the Christians of Najran and invited them to Judaism. When they refused, he dug the trench for them 2. See the trench of Najran and Judaism in the Arabian Peninsula.

    What is not covered here

    The story of Tubba' with Yathrib, and the reason for his going there, in Ibn Ishaq, has not yet been added from its source.

    For young visitors

    Tubban As'ad was an ancient king of Yemen who embraced Judaism when he visited Yathrib, and he took two Jewish scholars back with him to Yemen.

    Connections

    Explore the connections

    Member of
    Himyar
    Ruler of
    Yemen
    Parent of
    Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar)
    Traveled to
    Medina

    People and things also explored

    Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar)· Judaism in Arabia before Islam· The First Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen· The letter of the kings of Himyar· The sending of Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen and the Prophet's charge to him· Nasr· Muwatta 762· Muwatta 927

    Sources

    1. Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print) , p. 200-201
    2. al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.40
    3. Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi , 6/297-298
    4. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham , 1/20-36
    Cite this page

    islam.museum contributors. “Tuban As'ad Abu Karib”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/tuban-asad-abu-karib/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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    Wing

    People

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

    Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar)

    The last Himyarite king before the second Abyssinian occupation: a convert to Judaism who in October 523 tried to force the Christians of Najran to apostatize and, on their refusal, dug the trench of fire — the event the Quran recalls in Surat al-Buruj.