Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya

Who is Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya?

As-Samaw’al bin ‘Ādiyā’ was an Arabian poet and warrior, esteemed by the Arabs for his loyalty, which was commemorated by an Arabic idiom: "awfá min as-Samaw’al".

He lived in the first half of the 6th century. His clan converted to Judaism when they were in Yemen. Later, they moved to northern Arabia where al-Samw'al was born and lived his life. Some sources state that his clan were members of the Cohanim and moved from Israel to northern Arabia during the Roman invasion of Israel.