Hasan al-Basri الحسن البصري

Al-Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah (21-110 AH) stands among the most celebrated scholars, preachers, and spiritual exemplars of early Islam. Born in 21 AH, he grew up in the household of Umm Salama radiyallahu anha, a wife of the Prophet ﷺ, which afforded him the rare opportunity to sit with many of the Companions. His command of the Qur'an and hadith, combined with an exceptional personal piety and restraint, elevated him above his contemporaries in Basra and Kufa. Contemporary scholars praised him in the highest terms: Thabit ibn Qurra described him as resembling a bright star in learning, piety, forbearance, restraint, frankness, and sound judgment. His lectures on the hereafter and his accounts of the Companions were renowned for moving his audiences to tears, a quality attributed not merely to rhetorical skill but to the sincerity of his character and the nobility of his soul. He passed away on Friday, 5 Rajab 110 AH, at the age of 89. The entire population of Basra attended his funeral, and for the first time in the city's history the congregational mosque was left empty at the time of the Asr prayer.