Abu Mihjan

In year 9 AH (631/2 AD), he converted to Islam and afterwards joined the Muslim conquest of Persia. He may have fought at the Battle of Vologesias in 633, but Muḥammad's second successor, Caliph ʿUmar, ordered him into exile to a place called Ḥaḍawḍa. He escaped his escort, but was then imprisoned by Ṣaʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ for drunkenness. Ṣaʿd's wife obtained his temporary release so that he could fight at the Battle of al-Qādisiyya in November 636. His conduct in battle secured his full pardon from Ṣaʿd. After the battle, in 637 ʿUmar again exiled Abū Miḥjan, this time to Bāḍiʿ in the Sudan, according to al-Ṭabarī. He died not long after going into exile. According to tradition, his tomb could be seen either on the frontier of Gorgan or of Azerbaijan. The poetry of Abū Miḥjan is unoriginal and chiefly of interest for its author's evident oenophilia. The line "When I die, bury me at the foot of a vine" is attributed to him, as are several poems challenging the Qurʾānic prohibition on alcohol. It was drunkenness that got him exiled and imprisoned on several occasions.

The authorities additionally record the headings Abu Mihjan al-Thaqafi and Abu-Míhjan. His recorded language was Arabic. His recorded confession was Islam. Other recorded relations include Abu 'Ubayd ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi, Al-Mukhtar and Safiyya bint Abi Ubayd.