He is Tubba' al-Himyari. He was a believer while his people were disbelievers. Therefore, Allah condemned his people but did not condemn him. He was the one who marched with armies, bewildered the bewildered, and built Samarkand. It is said that he destroyed it. When he wrote, he would say: 'In the name of Allah, who owns land and sea.' The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, meant by saying: 'Do not curse Tubba' for he had embraced Islam.' [Narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabarani, al-Tabari, and Ibn Abi Hatim from the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd, in which is Ibn Lahi'ah from Amr ibn Jabir. Both are weak. Habib narrated from Malik from Abu Hazim from Sahl similarly. Al-Daraqutni said: Habib is the only one who narrated it, and he is to be abandoned. There is a supporting narration from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, narrated by al-Tabarani in his Mu'jam and Ibn Mardawayh, said Muhammad ibn Zakariya from Abu Hudhayfah from Sufyan.] And from him, blessings and peace be upon him: 'I do not know whether Tubba' was a prophet or not.' [Narrated by al-Thalabi through Abdul Razzaq from Ma'mar from Ibn Abi Dhiyab from al-Maqbari from Abu Huraira with this wording. The well-known narration with this chain is: 'I do not know whether he is the one or not, and I do not know whether 'Uzayr is a prophet or not.' Narrated by Abu Dawood. Likewise, al-Hakim narrated but said: Dhul-Qarnayn instead of 'Uzayr. Al-Daraqutni said: Abdul Razzaq is the only one who narrated it, and others have transmitted it as a mursal narration.] And about Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both: He was a prophet. It is said that he looked at two graves in the direction of Himyar and said: 'This is the grave of Radwa and the grave of Habib bint Tubba'; they do not associate anything with Allah. It is said that he was the one who clothed the House. The kings of Yemen were called the Tubba' because they follow, just as they were called the Aqil because they follow. [The saying 'because they follow' in the dictionaries: Taqeel means to drink at noon, and Taqeel means he followed his father.] And the shade is called 'Tubba' because it follows the sun. If you say: What is the meaning of His saying, 'Are they better?' and 'There is no good in both groups'? I say: Its meaning is, are they better in strength and defense, like His saying, 'Are your disbelievers better than those?' after mentioning the people of Pharaoh. In the interpretation of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both: Are they stronger than the people of Tubba'?