persontraditional
Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, monotheist poet of Ta'if
c. c. 560 – c. 631
Place: taif · coming soon
21.270, 40.420 · On the map
The poetry survives in later collections. Whether it is authentic is disputed; some may be later imitation of the Qur'an.
Named scholars here are as cited in the handoff, not a new survey.
Poems attributed to Umayya retell biblical and apocalyptic themes — creation, the flood, judgment — in Arabic, and some resemble Qur'anic passages. Tradition says he hoped to be the awaited prophet himself and never accepted Muhammad.
People named here
- Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt
Where scholars disagree
For
- Tilman Seidensticker — 'The Authenticity of the Poems Ascribed to Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt' (1995), as cited in the Wikipedia article: much is doubtful
Against
No names on this side.
Links
Text and wording
In
The hanifs: Abraham's 'pure monotheism'
Umayya is often grouped with the monotheist seekers.
includes
traditional
Sources
- Wikipedia: Umayya ibn Abi as-Salt
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (OUP 1955) — insider tradition, compiled c. 750, recension of Ibn Hisham d. 833
Internet Archive (lending record). Accessed 2026-11-11.