Tamim al-Dari

Tamim al-Dari (died ca. 40 AH / 660 CE) was a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ who had converted from Christianity. He was from the Arab Christian tribe of Lakhm in Palestine and was one of the most distinguished worshippers among the Companions. He became famous for the length and intensity of his night prayers — the Prophet ﷺ praised him and said that he was the most devoted worshipper of his community after him.

He is remembered as the first person to light lamps in the Prophet's mosque in Medina. He brought oil and lit the mosque, and the Prophet ﷺ, upon returning from a journey, asked who had done this and expressed his pleasure at the act, calling Tamim "a luminary (munawwir) of the mosques." This deed became associated with the Sunnah of illuminating mosques.

Tamim al-Dari narrated the famous hadith about al-Jassasa — the account of the Dajjal that he claimed to have heard directly from a strange figure on an island, an account that the Prophet ﷺ confirmed when Tamim told him. This narration, found in Sahih Muslim, is one of the longest and most discussed accounts related to the signs before the Last Day.

When Umar ibn al-Khattab established the practice of Tarawih prayers in congregation during Ramadan, he appointed Tamim al-Dari and Ubayy ibn Ka'b as imams. He was known for praying 1,000 rakats in a single night according to some accounts, and for his grief during recitation. After Uthman's murder, he moved to Palestine (his homeland) and died there.