1.

1: Origin of Arabic poetry:

The origin of Arabic poetry is traditionally traced back to the rhymed prose (saj).

This form of expression was adopted by the pre-Islamic Arab seers to distinguish it

from the common speech and to make their invocations, divinations and forecasts

more resonant, rhythmic, awe-inspiring, and even enigmatic. From the saj’

developed the rajaz,, from the rajaz, other forms of poetry. The rajaz is thus the

oldest and the simplest poetic form. The first Arab to use ‘rajaz’ was, according to

tradition, a man known as Mudar b. Nizar. It so happened that once he fell from his

camel and got his hand fractured. When he was taken up from the ground he cried in

agony: Wayadah! Wayadah! (Oh my hand! Oh my hand!) He had a very sweet voice

and his cries so pleased the she-camel that her pace was quickened. The Arabs,

imitating Mudar, adopted hayadah hayadah to urge their camel’s on. This is the

most popular view about the origin of Arabic poetry. Taking a different but not

necessarily opposite line, the eleventh century North African critic Ibn Rashiq says

that it was the desire of the Arabs to sing and perpetuate their traditions in an easily

memorable form that led to the invention of poetry. “At first, all speech,” he

observes, “was in prose. Later, the Arabs in order to rouse their hearts to acts of

gallantry and bring up their children in good manners, felt it necessary to sing the

fine qualities of their character, celebrate their noble birth, describe their splendid

battle- days, their distant homelands, their brave warriors and generous men. So they

thought out some meters as balances of speech and when it was properly balanced

they called it shi ‘r….” .

11
A far more different view is held by the author of I’jaz al-Quran, al-Baqillani, and

an Ashari savant of the fourth Islamic century (d.403/1012). He thinks that the birth

of Arabic poetry was accidental. “The Arabs”, says he, “started speech with prose

and through it, they came upon poetry. Their discovery of it, however, was

accidental and not a sought for end. But when they found it pleasing and attractive,

agreeable to the ear, appealing to the soul, they cultivate it.”1 There existed two

forms of poetry ‘Qitah’ (meaning pieces of few lines) and the ‘Qasida’ the long

poem. This ‘Qasida’ is said to have appeared a century and a half before Islam. Who

was the first composer of the qasida. This question has not been answered with any

certainty. “It is not possible”, says ‘Umar bin Shabba (173-262/789-875) in his

classes of poets’ to ascertain the first poet. Literary men have expressed different

views about the matter. Every tribe claims that the first poet belonged to it. The

Arabs do not give the title of poet to one who has composed a few verses only.

1.2: Characteristics and themes

The Pre-Islamic poetry is the impression of the academic and social condition of

the Arabs. Through it they conveyed their sentiments and assumptions and, on time

of hazard or a crisis, those of their tribe additionally. It is broadly called the diwan

al-Middle Easterner, as such, a sort of mental register which safeguarded their

practices, history, battles, morals, even geography and fauna. However, the essayist

was not only their collector, he was furthermore their ministrel, as he gave them

tunes; he was moreover their mouthpiece in huge between tribal issues: he protected

their qualification against assailers at the hour of attack by an adversary and

stimulated them to military excitement by his mixing section. The climb of an

12
unbelievable author among a group was for the most part an occasion of mass

cheering. The north-African savant Ibn Rashiq (d.457/1064) says: "on the rising of

an inconceivable essayist in a family, friendly tribes would come to adulate it;

victories would be held, women would gather and play on guitar, as would be

considered normal in marriage merriments and men and children would praise one

another. The support for these festivals was that the craftsman safeguarded their

honor, revered their fundamental deeds and spread their standing… ..'

The pre-Islamic poetry is reasonable. We don't find it any fake both of

enunciation or thought. Probably we sometimes find in it incredible words and dull

verbalizations which are either challenging to fathom or at change with the rest of

the text; but the pre-Islamic essayist, we ought to remember, isn't such a ton of liable

for this issue as the transmitters and the copyists, who have through disappointments

of memory or cognizant objective or imprudence, changed, degraded and destroyed

numerous statements of the pre-Islamic section. Arabic refrain owes its allure, to a

broad degree, to the colossal invigorating and melodic constraint of its language. As

a rule, it isn't exceptionally profound or philosophical. It by and by is entirely

significant, as it provides us with a valid and genuinely clear image of the social,

moral and scholarly existence of the Arabs. And even for depth of thought, we find

it a treasure of maxims and adages born of long experience.

The pre-Islamic Arab held noble descent, bravery, revenge, chivalry, hospitality,

even prodigal hospitality steadfastness to word and good neighbourly relations in

high esteem, and it is in the singing of these qualities which he or his tribe possesses

that he feels great pleasure and pride.

13
1. Hamasa to him didn't mean boldness in war alone yet a ton other than. It inferred

a determined and steady disposition towards the powers of nature whatever their

design.

2. Recognition (madh) was brief direct and unexaggerated and suggested the gallant

qualities of the craftsman or his family, managers and legends. It was not impelled,

except for master craftsmen, in the hankering to get reward.

3. Satire 'hija' was relied upon far defending one's honor or that of one's group and to

reveal the obscenities of the other party. So this satire could be either perceived (for

instance without demonstrating the name of the singular farce) or unequivocal (for

instance joined to individuals name) The Pre-Islamic 'Qasida' contains striking parts

of portrayal comfortable. The refrain shows the portrayal of riding beasts, for

instance, the camel and the horse, battle, camps, executes, evenings, first lights,

storms, game scenes, desert animals, especially the sand-grouse, the wild ass, the

wild cow, the ostrich and snakes, etc. We find the vivid description of nature, riding

beasts, and the tribal pride in the ‘Qasida’ of Pre-Islamic poets.

4. As far ‘elegy’ (ritha) is concerned it can be said that both men and women are its

exponents. It was the tradition of the Pre-Islamic Arabs that they gave the expression

of their inner feeling of grief’s to mourn the dead in song and dance. Women were

used to be hired “to weep for dead” They would beat themselves rhythmically with

their hands. And at times they would tie their neck with their gowns and face one

another beating themselves on their breasts.

14
1.3: Noted Pre-Islamic poets and specimens of their poetry.

So far the poetry of Pre-Islamic is concerned it may be mentioned here that the

development of ‘Rajaz’ was an independent poetic form where as ‘Qasida’ (the ode)

came into existence under the patronage of the early Caliphate. But mostly all the

Pre-Islamic ‘Rajaz’ belonged to the category of ‘Qitah’ (the short of piece)

consisting seven or ten lines at the most. Now coming to ‘Qasida’ it is a collection

of verses ranging from ten to over a hundred lines and sometimes more as in the

case of ‘ Mu’allaqah’ of Amar bin Kulthum which covers thousand verses.

So, while discussing about noted Pre-Islamic poets, it is obvious to discuss here

about ‘Mu’allaqah’ poets and their ‘Qasida’. As we know the ‘Mu’allaqat’ they are

seven in number and sometimes ‘ten’ with the addition of three more poems. The

‘Mu’allaqat’ represents the standard form of Pre-Islamic ‘qasida’, usually ranging

from thirty to hundred lines but seldom exceeding a hundred. But whatever be the

number of lines the poets worked hard to achieve brevity and clarity in their

composition maintaing the rhyming words. Out of seven ‘Mu’allaqat’ poets here

only three poets have been brought under discussion because of pancity of spare and

time. They are: Imrau’l Qais, Zuhair bin Abi Salma, Labid bin Rabia and the Qasida

of Hassan bin Thabit, and al-Khansa. Among these mentioned above three poets

namely Labid bin Rabia, Hassan bin Thabit and al-Khansa lived upto to early Islam

and they embraced Islam. The poets of early Islam followed the style of ‘Qasida’ of

Pre-Islamic in their composition except that they maintained a different theme away

from Pre-Islamic themes. The poet of Pre-Islamic composed their ‘Qasidas’ wholly

or partly maintain seven main elements. Such as panegyric (madih), Satire (hija)

15
love (nasib) and elegy (ritha), self glorification (fakhr) , description (wasf), and wise

saying (hikmah). All these element are found in their ‘Qasidas’. To begin with the

‘Mu’allaqah’ of Imra’ul Qais it may be said he is considered as the oldest and the

most famous ‘Mu’allaqah’ composer. He is from the descendent of the ancient king

of Yemen. He was the youngest son of Hujr bin al-Harith.

1.3.1: Imrau’l Qais (d. 540 A.D.)

As Imrau’l Qais grew up, he became increasingly fond of adventure and sport. He

also took to poetry and would very often sing the praise of his horse and stop at the

ruins of forsaken camps and compose amatory verses. The nature of his being a poet

was not liked by his father and so he found it impossible to do so. For this reason he

was expelled from home. According to another more creditable report, his expulsion

was brought about by his connection with an unprincely lady called Fatima or

Unaiza of Udra tribe and his profession of love to her in his poetry which badly

displeased his father.2 Being expelled, Imrau’l Qais joined some Young man who

liked adventure like him and bag and bagan to wander hither and thither in the

desert. On finding an oasis, a pool or a garden, he along with his party would alight

there and pass some days in merriment and hunting. Thus he lived a wild life and

that is why he is called ‫ا‬ ‫( ا‬a misled king).The grandfather of Imrau’l Qais

was the antagonist of Mundhir III, the king of Hira by whom he was defeated and

slain. After the death of his grandfather, his sons divided among themselves

different tribes of which it was composed. As a result of such distribution poet’s

father Hujre ruled for sometimes over the Banu Asad in central Arabia but they

revolted and killed him. Imrau’l Qais at that time happened to be in the Yemen. On

16
hearing the news of his Father’s murder, he cried, “Father wasted me while I was

young, and now that I am grown up, he has imposed on me the duty of his revenge,

‘Today wine, tomorrow business”. He took a vow that he would not drink wine or

eat flesh or oil his hair or play any game until he had avenged his father by killing

one hundred notables of the Asad and cutting the forelocks of another hundred.

Accordingly Imrau’l Qays returned to the Asad tribe for taking revenge of his

father’s killing. The Asad sought to placate him by offering the ransom of his father

but he rejected it and waged the war. With the help of Taghlib and the Bakr, raided

the Asad and killed many of them. The survivors fled under the cover of night and

Imrau’l Qays his allies to pursue the fleeing foe but they refused saying that he had

already taken revenge by killing many of them. This event could not satisfy him as

wanted to fulfill his vow by killing one hundred notables and cutting the forelocks of

the same number from the Asad. Being deserted by his allies he started for the

Yemen and was able there, to get an contingent of five hundred strong from a

friendly chief. On his way back he passed from Tabala where he, according to the

custom of age, consulted the idol ‘dhulkhalasa’ and had given up the promise for

taking total revenge against the Asad. Then being purchased by his enemies who

were aided by Mundhir, he fled to Samual, the rural or Taimiya.3 About 530 A.D.

the emperor, Justinian summoned him to Constantinople to employ his services

against the Persians. After living for some years in the capital, he was appointed

governor of Palestine but on his way there he died at Angora (Ancora) in about 540

A.D. According to an Arab legend-Justinian whom he insulted by seducing his

daughter, sent for him a poisonous robe as a gift and by putting on this robe, he

perished at Ankara in about 540 A.D.4 Imru’l Qais began writing poetry at an early

17
age. Besides his famous Mu’allaqa, Imrua’l-Qais claims many other poems of

varying length, which make a small printed diwan (collected by Hasan al-Sandubi,

Cairo, 1930 A.D.). His mu’allaqa which consists of eighty-one lines (diwan and

commentary by al-Zauzani) is a combination of several isolated episodes. It opens

with reminiscences of his adventures with a number of Arab women whose charms

he celebrates with zest and skill. He takes great delight in instituting comparisons,

and his similes, drawn exclusively from desert life, are quite often striking and apt.

Over half the mu’allaqa is taken up by interesting references to feminine beauty or

his romances with dame’s .This is followed by a challenging but novel description

of a very dark and long night (four lines); next he turns to the celebration of his

horse, its speed and endurance (eighteen lines). The ode comes to a close with a

portrayal of an exceptionally heavy shower and the devastating flood which it

caused (eight lines).5

The opening verses of the Mu’allaqah of Imra’ul Qais shows the theme of ‘Nasib’

and a nostalgic note:

! ‫ " ل‬#‫ا‬ ‫ا ى‬ ‫ل‬ ‫و‬ ‫ذآ ى‬

Stop, O my two friends, let us weep in remembrance of my beloved and her abode,

(dwelling place) situated on the heap of (side of) a sandy place between al-Dakhul

and Hawmai.

Since he was a ever wandering Bedouin and mentioned above verse shows his love

for the abode and anything associated with it, reminded him of the memories of his

beloved and the past hours of happiness. This was the fashion to begin a prelude

18
with which almost every ode begins a lament over the deserted encampment. He

says later in his poem:

$ %&! $ ' () ‫ أز‬# ( ‫وإن آ‬ #. ‫ا ا‬/‫ ه‬1) 23 45 !‫أ‬

Oh Fatima give up some of the coquetry (of yours) and if you had firmly decided to

cut off your relation (with me) do it in a gentle way.

)6 ‫& ى ا‬7 3 ‫وأ‬ $7 ‫ أن‬$ ‫ ك‬9‫أ‬

Does the fact deceive you that my love for you is killing me and then what even you

ordered to my heart, he does it.

. ‫ أ<; ر‬$! 3 $ . =‫و ذر!( < ك إ‬

Your two eyes do not shed tears, but shoot your arrows in the ten parts of my

shattered heart.

7 > $ >$ ! ? "$ 7‫ ء‬A # ( ‫ن آ‬B!

If any one of my habits has caused you annoyance then put away my heart from your

heart and it will be put away.

$ . ‫ م‬3 ‫ & اع ا‬E < F ‫و‬#A $"‫أر‬ ‫آ جا‬ ‫و‬

(And I travel) many a night (as vast and dangerous) as the waves of the Sea, it is a

night which has laid down its curtains on me with all sorts of worries just to test me

with sufferings

J J ‫ زا و ء‬K<‫وأردف أ‬ F H $I 7 F ( !

19
Then I said to it (night) when it stretched its lions and flowed it with his buttock and

removed distant its chest.

N& ‫ و ا=' ح‬P H $ K ‫ أ= ا‬6 I ‫ا‬ ‫ ا‬36‫أ= أ‬

(I also said) behold, O the long night be bright by dawn, although your becoming

morning is not better then you.

J ‫ ه‬# ‫ و ا‬Q‫ ا‬# ‫ د‬K 37 ‫ و آ‬$! I ‫ى و ا‬#.9‫ أ‬# ‫ و‬6

And verily I go out early in the morning, while the birds are still in their nest, on a

well bred (short haired) horse which is very speedy and strong bodied.

All the mentioned above verses show the broken heart of the poet and his

lady love, her separation; his impatience for the long night which reminds him his

visit to his beloved. Above all these his thoughts of past happiness came to his mind

like the waves of the sea. His Mu’allaqah is the manifestation of his sweet flow of

verses, beautiful similes, diction and splendid images. Besides in contrast to all these

similes and lady love, these runs in his poem the description of wild animals while

the poet passes through the barren waste hears the howling of a starved wolf and

address him as a friend.

1.3.2: Zuhair Bin Abi Sulma:

Zuhair bin Abi Sulma was a poet before Islam and is considered by the early

literary masters of the native critics, together with Imrau’l Qais and Nabigha as one

of the three greatest representatives of pre-Islamic poetry. He was born and brought

up in Najd in the tribe of Muzaina which had the distinction of producing a galaxy

20
of fine poets. His father had married a sister of a certain Ka’b bin Asa’d of the clan

of Murrah bin Awf bin Sa’d bin Dhubya and had settled among them. He left them

owing to a quarrel over some blunder taken in a raid against the tribe of Tayyis and

took up his residence among the kindred tribe of Abdullah bin Ghatafan. It is here at

Ghatafan, Zuhair is reported to have been born and married his first wife, a sister of

the poet Bashama. This may be the Umme Awf whom he mentions in several of his

poems and to whom he addressed a poem of regret, when he had divorced her. His

second wife named Kabsa bint Ammar of the tribe of Abdullah bin Ghatafan, was

the mother of his sons viz. Ka’b, Buzair and salma. The first two were poets like

their father and lived unto the days of Islam. Buzair being an early convert to Islam

while Ka’b had to wait for his hostility to the prophet by his celebrated poem often

called ‘Qasidatul Burda’. His most celebrated poem which has found a position in

the collection of muallaqah is in the praise of the two chief of the tribe of Murrah bin

Ghatafan (Dhubyan bin Gatafan) –al- Harith bin Awf and Harim bin Sinan. In

earlier poems, Zuhair celebrated the father of one of those chiefs Sin bin Abi Harith.

These poems as far as their content in his collection do not contain a single poem

dealing with his own tribe of Muzaina. Though his poems are preserved better than

those of any other ancient Arabic poet, nearly all his poems refer to the affairs of the

tribe of Ghatafan or personal events. There are three poems concerning a slave and

cattle, robbed from him by al Harith bin Waraka of the tribe of Asad, other are

addressed to various tribe with a view to preventing them from making raids against

Ghatafan; one is addressed to the tribe of Tamim and another to Banu Sulaim. There

is also one poem addressed to the king of al-Hira-Numan bin al-Mundhir. But

according to Asmai it is not found in the style of Zuhair and is by al Ansari an

21
unknown poet. Two poems of the collection of his poetry are attributed to his son

Ka’b and the former verses are cited in the Lisanul Arab and elsewhere, sometimes

in the name of the one or the other. Zuhair is started to have been a man of wealth,

we do not find in his Diwan (poetry) in which he tries to obtain presents from rich

persons. There are critics praising him for not indulging in undue praise nor using

uncommon words in his verses. In his poem we find also a pious strain which has,

by some modern critics, been assumed to be an indication of his being a Christian

but all we can assert is that- that probably he might have been by a Christian

thought. In Zuhair and in his family we have an example of art of poetry inherited by

several generations an instance which is by no means isolated in early Arabic poetry.

Zuhair is reported to have been a rawi of the poem of Aws bin Huzre who in turn

works a raw; of Tufail al-Aghnabe but from several sources we come to know that

he might have inherited the art from his brother in law Bashama bin al-Ghadir. As

already stated that his two sons were poets, so were his great grandsons Amr bin

Suaid, as Shaber and al-Awam. The later three had forsaken the desert and lived in

Basra and with them the poetic talent seems to have come down to us, apart from his

muallaqah, have been collected in his Diwan and commented in many languages.7

According to tradition Zuhair has been reckoned with Imrau’l Qais and

Nabigha to be the greatest pre-Islamic poet. Hazrat Umar, the second caliph, is also

reported to have praised some of Zuhair’s verses as has been recorded in the

‘Kitabul Aghani’ and called him the foremost pre-Islamic poet. And when the caliph

was asked to give his reasons for his regard to Zuhair he simply said that Zuhair did

not use uncouth words and obscure language and did not praise anyone for qualities

22
which he did not posses. Those who like to put Zuhair at the top, maintain that his

verse surpassed that of others in beauty in its freedom from silly fewest words, in

effective praise and in the excess of proverbs.8 These and similar views of the old

critics are based as have pointed out before, not on a Complete picture of the poetry

of either Pre-Islamic poets but on some part of it which particularly thrilled or

pleased them. As such very few of them had ever had the full collection of a poet’s

compositions before them. Sometimes, their judgments would be influenced by

consideration other than poetic merit. For example a poet might be unduly praised of

his belonging to the same tribe or town of the critics or his benefactor or was

esteemed by the school of literary men to which the critic himself belonged. We

should not therefore take the judgments’ of early critics at their face value. Father

Cheikho has collected more than five hundred verses in his ‘Shuara al-Nasraniya’

which comprise odes and fragments. The odes including the muallaqah are

addressed mainly to the murra chief Harim bin Sinan. An ode in which a hunting

scene is described celebrates the valour the army, the judgement and generosity of

Uyaina bin Hisn, a chief of the Fazara tribe, and one of the ringleaders of the ridda

revolts after the death of the Prophet. A few odes and fragments deal with personal

and tribal matters. The main subject matters of Zuhair’s poetry are three: nasib,

description and praise. He is not found to be interested in love poetry. He treats the

nasib no better than a formality. Portrayal feminine beauty does not find any place in

it. It takes the form of a reference to the mistress and her abode which she abandons

in favour of another. He usually counts one by one the desert stations she crosses on

her way to the new site of her choice. Description has occupied a major part of his

verse. He describes his camel, sometimes aptly, its speed, hands, feet, head and

23
back, comparing it to fast desert animals, pursued by hunters. Praise is based on the

heroic qualities of the patron, his well-equipped and large army which destroys all

enemies and rebels, his unfailing help to the needy his ripe judgment and

forgiveness of offenders. A few places mentioned and specimens of his satire hardly

deserve to be so called. Wine, sport, and revel have no existence in his poetry. Apart

from a dozen wise sayings which adorn his muallaqah, there is very little evidence

of them in the rest of his poetry.9

Considering all the view points, the poetry of Zuhair does not justify his

ranking with Imraul Qais, al-Nabigha or al-Asha. It confirms only partly the

assessment of the caliph Umar and wholly invalidates the claim of the poet’s

admirers who put him at the top. His style of composition is stiff and language is

also likewise, marked by an overflow of rare words and unfamiliar expression there

is little variety of freshness in his verse. We, very seldom, find in it any striking,

novel or pleasing simile or metaphor what we find in the verse of Imraul Qais, al-

Nabigha or al-Asha. This may have been owing to his limited vision as he never left

the desert surrounding, whereas the other three had travelled far and wide in

civilized countries where they had enriched their imagination and thought.10

(4> %) ‫! ق‬ (‫) ) ء‬ 7 ْ‫) ى‬S ‫ ى‬7 ‫ه‬E " H7

Oh my friend look carefully, do you see the woman in Hawda travelling in the high

ground over the Zursam streem.

‫م‬# ‫? ا‬3‫ ; آ‬3 W‫ا‬ ‫وراء‬ ? ‫ ق وآ‬.< ‫ن & ط‬V

24
They covered (their howdah) with valuable woolen clothes of rosy colour the fringes

of which were resembling with blood.

4 ‫ ا‬E! # ‫ادي ا س آ‬ 3! ‫ ة‬X ‫ن‬ .A‫ رأ وا‬J ‫ ن‬J

They got up early in the morning (i.e. before dawn) and went straight to the valley of

Rush as the hand goes automatically to the mouth (at the time of eating)

4A . ‫ ا‬S ‫ا‬ ) ] ‫أ‬ \ ‫ و‬V6#H $3 3 !‫و‬

And among them there is a source of entertainment for a man of good taste and

pleasant sight for the eye of the looker who look attentively.

4 . ‫ ا ^ ا‬EH< )^‫و‬ ? % ‫وردن ا ء زر‬ ! 11

When they arrived near the water which had been transported for depth and they

laid down their walking sticks (i.e. like the dweller of the city who had pitched his

tent).

‫م‬ ‫و‬ A ‫ل‬ ‫ آ‬$< 7 #%‫ان و‬# ‫ ا‬4) 6

I swear by the house of Kaba or Allah that you are found to be excellent leaders in

all circumstances at the time of easy and hardship.

4; I< 43 ‫ا ود ا‬ 7 #) ‫وذ ن‬ < .‫ار آ‬#7

Both of you established peace between ‘Abs’ and ‘Jubian’ after they had fought

serious fight with one another and they promised (either to kill or to get kill) by

using the perfume the Manshan lady.

47 ‫إ! ل ا‬ $.W 4 _ 4‫دآ‬27 43 ! ‫ ي‬K6 P '&!

25
Then their condition become such that various properties and young camels whose

ear’s cut slightly in heritage by you from your paternal side were being distributed

among those (distributed in the dispute).

‫ م‬3 ! ْ )6 ‫ء‬$IX7 ‫ و‬F. 7 H7 ‫<; اء‬ " 6 ‫( ا‬6‫رأ‬

I find death moving at random like a blind camel; it kills those whom it strikes,

whereas those whom it misses live for long.

12
‫م‬# ‫ وا‬4 ‫ ] إ= ' رة ا‬6 4 ! `‫اد‬V! aH ‫ و‬aH $. ‫ن ا‬

Man’s half is his tongue and half his heart, the rest is nothing but flesh and blood.

1.3.3: Labid bin Rabia (d. 41 /661):

Labid bin Rabia was a youngest Mu’allaqah poet. Abu Aqil labid was a

noted poet and horseman of the Banu Amir tribe. His father Rabia bin Malik was a

very generous person who profusely helped the poor. Labid bin Rabia had their

settlements in Najd, north-east and north-west of Mecca, about the great caravan

road that linked the red sea with the Persian gulf. After embracing Islam Labid bin

Rabia completely renounced poetry and said, “Allah has given me the Holy Qur’an

in exchange for poetry”. Labid connexion with the courts of al-Hira and the Ghassan

land is established by available records. On the eve of the battle of Halima, al-Harith

the Lame is said to have once sent him at the head of a cavalry regiment to raid the

camp of his enemy al-Mundhir III b. Ma’al-Salma, the king of al-Hira2 (505-54). A

long elegy composed on Abu Qabus al-Nu’man III (580-602), the grandson of al-

Mundhir, shows that be had become friendly to the court of al-Hira.13

26
 An interesting though unconvincing story is related about the beginning of

his poetic career. Al-Rabi bin Ziyad, the chief of the ‘Abs, Labid’s maternal uncles,

was hostile to his tribe, the Banu Amir. He wielded considerable influence over the

king of al-Hira. Abu Qabus al-Nu’man III and was one of his boon-companions.

One day the Banu Amir headed by Labid’s uncle the malaib al-Asmina, visited al-

Nu’man in some of their needs and was honourably received. But when they

returned after preliminary talk al-Rabi poisoned the king’s ears against them, so that

when they came back to their camp and conferred how to counteract al-Rabi. Labit

was at that time a mere led. He asked them what was the matter; but they would not

let him know about it in view of his small age. They had however, soon to yield to

his threat if not informed, he would not look after the camels and the camp which he

did when they were away. On knowing the matter, he said that he would satirize al-

Rabi and would wean him forever from the friendship of the king. Before allowing

Labid to do that, his uncle wanted to test his ability and asked him to satirize a grass,

called tariba, which stood before him. He said: “This tariba cannot kindly a fire,

cannot be worthy of a house, cannot please a neighbor. Its wood is thin, its utility

small, its branches tender. It is the worst of all grasses for pasturing, the shortest of

all in stalk and the hardest of all in uprooting. This disparaging description of the

grass won him their approval. Labid composed a rajas poem (20 lines) in which he

lauded his tribe for nobility and generosity and in the last three verses referred to al-

Rabi’s leprosy and an extremely duty habit of his. In disgust, the king discarded al-

Rabi, took the Amirids into his favour and satisfied their needs.14 It is said that this

poem, which was Labid’s first effort in the domain of poetry, popularized him.

Thereafter, he took to versification and became a prolific poet. “In al-jahiliya,” says

27
al-Jumahi, “Labid was a fine poet of his tribe. He praised and elegized them,

celebrated their battales and heroes and fed people whenever the east wind blew.”15

Before Islam, Labid had taken a vow to feed the poor whenever the east wind blew

and he kept on doing so even after his conversion.16

On the rise of Islam, Labid visited the Prophet with a delegation of his tribe

and accepted Islam. He totally renounced poetry and would proudly say that God

had given him the Qu’ran in exchange for the former. He died in the early days of

Mu’awiya’s caliphate at al-Kufa, where he had settled and lived with honour, at a

very old age, estimated at one hundred and forty or one hundred and forty-five

years, of which he is said to have passed ninety years as a pagan Arab.17

Labid was a fine poet of his tribe as well as of the pre-Islamic age. The first

twenty one verses of Labid’s mu’allaqa relate to ‘nasib’ of these the majority refer

to a number of places where he had kept the company of a mistress and which after

her departure have become haunts of wild life. He makes no reference to the

physical charms of the beloved but only mentions her departure along with other

women who were like ‘wild cows and gazelles’. Next he refers to her new home

which is doing far away that union with her is impossible. He counsels, therefore,

his heart to give up her thought. In the final stage of his mu’allaqa, he makes an

unexpected digression and tells his beloved that he believes in tit for tat and that if

she will forget him, he will do likewise, that he is a man of self- respect, and that he

at once abandons a place where he is not happy. Lastly he upholds the qualities of

his tribe. His tribesmen play a leading role in inter-tribal matters. They are honest in

dealings, Abstain from disgraceful acts and their influence is high.18

28
 The latest ‘diwan’ of Labid, edited by Dr. Ihsan ‘Abbas of the American

University, Beirut and printed at Kuwait in 1962 A.D. comprises over 1,300 verses

including eighty-eight of him mu’allaqa. About half the diwan has a glossary by an

obscure scholar, Abu’l-Hadan al-Tusi, a class-mate of the famous Ibn al-Sikkit (d.

circa 243/857), and the rest has been annotated by the editor himself with the help of

the commentaries of old savants. The diwan consists of ods, fragments, elegies etc.

The odes are not in praise of great men and are not motivated by a desire for reward.

These are mainly in praise of mainly deeds, sacrifice, high aspirations and qualities

of leadership of his tribe, clan, family and his own self.

A study of Labid’s diwan shows that part of it is difficult and part of it in a

tolerably easy diction. His odes represent the difficult part and his elegies and

fragment the easy one. There are no doubt that Labid’s odes, and particularly those

portions of them which relate to his riding beast have a high percentage of

unfamiliar words, but on the whole, his style is neither dull nor cramped; the

construction of his verse is always orderly and it has a pleasant blend of vigour, flow

and melody.

3 % ! 3 9 # &7 $ 3 ! 3 ‫< ( ا ىً ر‬

The house of beloved and its site and locality have become obliterated and the two

places of Mina namely Gawl and Rajeam have become depopulated.19

In this line the poet has expressed the ruinous condition of the abode of his beloved

and its surrounding places, which have become depopulated.

29
3 2A $ ‫ا‬ ^ ‫" آ‬ 3 A ‫ ن < ى ر‬6 ‫ ا‬c!‫ ا‬# !

And also the stream of Rayyan hill have become obliterated whereas uncovered

worn traces of it were remained like the insertion of letters inscribed on the hard

and broad side of stone.

The poet wants to say that after the departure of its people the relied of the beloved

has become desolated which looked like the inscriptions inserted on the hard and

broad side of a stone.

3 ‫ا‬ ‫ و‬3 2 ‫ " ن‬dK 3 ‫ ا‬#3< #) ‫ م‬K7 ‫د‬

These are the ruins of such abodes that after the departure of its inhabitants

respectively several years have been passed over it, in which there were so many

lawful and unlawful months of the years.

3 ‫ ده ! ه‬% #<‫ودق ا وا‬ 3 '‫ م و‬K ‫ ا‬c ‫ا‬ ( ‫رز‬

The abodes of the beloved and its traces were bestowed with the early shower of

spring rain and some time heavy rains and some other time small light rains fell on

it from the thundering clouds.

20
3 ‫ وب ارزا‬K. ? ;<‫و‬ %# ‫ د‬9‫? و‬6‫ ر‬A ‫آ‬

Heavy shower was poured on the abode of the beloved from all type of clouds of the

year i.e. from the cloud appeared at night, the cloud appeared at morning when the

sky remains cloudy and the cloud appeared at evening; while thundering of one side

responded to the roaring of other side.

3 ) ‫ و‬3ْ‫ ى‬S .3 K ( 5‫ ن وا‬36=‫ ! وع ا‬2)!

30
Due to heavy shower (on her locality of beloved’s ruin traces) the branches of

Ihuqan trees have become elevated and the deer’s and Ostriches of the valley in its

two different sides have started to givebirth their infant Childs.

In this line the poet expresses that due to heavy shower on that locality various kinds

of trees were grown there and those places turn in to the resting and pasturing of

different wild animals.21

1.3.4: Hassan bin Thabit:

Hassan bin Thabit was a town poet who was born and brought up at Medina.

In pre- Islamic times, he was a professional poet lived with the earning of poetry. He

belonged to the tribe of Khazraj. He lived for one hundred and twenty years of

which he lived sixty years in Pre-Islamic and the rest sixty years in Islam. He was a

court poet of Ghassanids and paid regular visit to their court and gave a glowing

description of their luxury and magnificence. His poetry is based on five themes: (i)

Satire (ii) Praise (iii) Elegy (iv)Glorification and (v) love and revenge. Besides he

composed some short poems before Islam ranging from three to twenty verses-

which were mainly satires targeted to the leaders of the Quraish and other unfriendly

tribes. But after embracing Islam he became the ardent champion of Islam and a true

defender and protector of Prophet and his companions. He was the most

distinguished poet of early Islam who gave a befitting reply through his satirical

verses against the enemies of Islam. He earned the title ‘poet of the Prophet’ and

was one of his dearest disciples. With the demise of the Prophet Hassan bin Thabit

lost interest in composing verses. Hassan bin Thabit occupied an illustrious position

31
among the Mukhadram poets exhibiting a high degree of poetic talent. He is credited

with the poems composed in praise of the Prophet in which he himself was the

master. As a satirist he earned great success because of his sharp tongue. He accuses

the opponent of treachery and dishonesty through his satirical verses. His love

poetry is marked by attractive descriptions of feminine beauty. A number of

beautiful poems relate his happy days which he had passed with genial companions,

drinking wine and listening to the rapturous tunes of singing girls. His poem in

Islam sounds Islamic ideals love for new religion and love for Prophet. Some critics

are of the opinion that his verses composed in Islamic period did not reach the high

level of excellence attained by him in Pre-Islamic period. He had his own distinct

style. His compositions, on the whole, are quite clear dignified and even elegant. He

composed elegies in general and some elegies were particularly on the Prophet.

Hassan composed some short poems where he glorifies the many sided qualities of

his tribe including his noble ancestry and of himself.

Here follows some specimen of his poetry composed in Pre-Islamic period:

‫ دو و= رب‬F ‫ان‬ ‫ < ذب‬#) )7 #

'‫` و ا‬#<‫ ر‬46/‫وه‬ F E 7 P6 ‫ ا‬47 9

22
< ‫ رة آ‬J ? 5 F ‫ ن‬J7 ( ‫ آ‬# ‫و‬

1.3.5: Al-Khansa:

Among Arabian women who excelled in poetry, the place of honour is due to

Khansa whose real name was Tumadir who flourished in the last years before Islam

32
in the influencial tribal family of sharid which was an off-shoot of the Banu Salaim,

the descendants of the famous north Arabian ancestor Mudar. Her father Amr bin

Sharid was the headman of her clan and as such had embarked, more than once, on

raids in the neibouring settlements. Raids for plunder or under the pretext of revenge

were not considered as heinous in the Pre-Islamic as are considered today. For the

existence these were treated great achievements in the then society of the Arabs.

Bravery, horsemanship and authority were the features of her house and it was a

respectable house. The numerous anecdotes referring to al-Khansa and the noble

tone of her poetry suggest a picture of her mental horizon what is different from

what the expression ‘Pagan Arab’ conveys. She seems to have been a very beautiful

as well as cultured lady of an inflexible disposition. She was not only good looking

woman but also dignified and self-reliant. Her first suitor was Duraid bin al-Simma

who tried her bost to have the hands of al-Khansa in marriage through her brother

Muawiya but she rejected totally. Her first marriage was arranged with a youngman

of her tribe who died before its sublimation and she married another man and born

hher a son called Abu Shajara, one of the future ring leaders of the ridda rebels. Her

last husband was Mirdas, a high-aspiring Arab of moderate habits and the best of her

husband’s. By him she gave birth to six children-five male and one female whose

name was Amra. All of them were poets like their mother and Abbas the eldest son

of her surpassed them all in poetry, horsemanship, fame and tribal authority. She

accepted Islam in 629 A. D. and celebrated some of the victories of the Prophet in

poems of her own. Four of her sons were destined to meet with death as Muslim

martyrs. When, in the early caliphate of Umar bin al-Khattab, a war was to be waged

between the Muslim and the armies of Rustam at al-Qadisiya, al-Khansa resolved to

33
send her four sons to the battle field so that they might vindicate the heroic tradition

of her family and assist the new faith of her. She accompanied them to the theatre of

war and inspired them to face the war bravely and sincerely.23 When all of them fell

in the war, her grim reaction was, “I think Allah who has honoured me by their

martyrdom and I entreat my Lord to unite me with them in the abode of her

blessing.”24

Al-Khansa’ was one of the distinguished poets of elegy in early Islam. She

belonged to the tribe Sulaym. She was a dignified and self-reliant. She has earned

name and fame in the literary circle for her beautiful composition.the lexicographers

and the rhetoricians. The Prophet was highly impressed and pleased by her poetry

when she met him along with her clansmen to accept Islam. He called her best of the

Arab poets.25 “The tone of her verses was dignified, sober, sweet and smooth. In

these qualities she equalled Nabighah, Jarir and Bashshar. Her elegies were the

outcome of grief and personal suffering”.26 The hero of al-Khansa’s poetry was

Sakhr whom she mourned, praised and adorsed. Her poems comprise descriptions of

various praiseworthy qualities of Sakhr his role in war and peace and his bravery

and exploits and dash during his raids on enemies. But the descriptions are nor

panegyrical; they are invariably adorned by a deep sadness of tone and expression.

Every poem begins in a storm of grief, stirred up in her mind by the sense of some

loss to her, her family, her tribe or peoples at large. The poems, technically

accomplished, are relatively accessible by their direct appeal to the emotions. “She

has been often compared to a wailing turtle dove perched on the branch of a tree

bereft of a mate”.

34
26 5 ‫ ز‬$ .J ^‫ أ‬# ! $ < ( J ‫ ان أ‬X' 6 =‫أ‬

O Sakhr, if you have caused my eye to weep,

You have also made me laugh for long

27
2 K ‫ ا‬IX ‫ ا‬c!#6 ‫ذا‬ ! $ ( ‫ ب وأ‬IX ‫ا‬ ()!‫د‬

When you were alive, I warded off calamity by your help,

But who is now to help me ward off this great tragedy of your death.

The above mentioned verses are only a specimen of al-Khansa’s poems. The details

of al-Khansa will be followed in later chapter.

Here it may be mentioned that after an in depth study of the poetry of Pre-

Islamic period, namely Mu’allaqat and other Qasidas-T-that poetry was the mental

activity of the pagan Arabs and the submit of their artistic manifestations. There they

have depicted their social condition bravery, warfare, honour, blood feud, lady love,

hospitality, tribal pride etc.

After a thorough study we can assess that Mu’allaqat poets have been

categorized as poets “par-excellence” and their odes are regarded as the master

pieces of Pre-Islamic poetry. Besides, we see that the poets other than ‘Mu’allaqat’

have excelled in the composition of their ‘Odes’. Mention may be made of Hassan

bin Thabit, Layla al-Akhayliyyah and al-Khansa. They occupy an illustrious position

among the Mukhadram poets by virtue of their poetic talent and generous attitude.

Their ‘Odes’ depicted a realistic picture of the situation as seen in satire, eulogy and

35
elegies composed by them during Pre-Islamic and early-Islamic period. Discussion

on the early-Islamic poets will follow in the next chapter.

References

1. Zayyat, p. 261

2. Qutaiba, Sho’r, p. 48

3. Dr. Chand Mohammad Ali, A Study of literary history of the Arabs, p.37

4. Nicholson R.A. A literary history of the Arabs, pp. 103-104

5. Dr. Chand Mohammad Ali, A Study of literary history of the Arabs, p. 38

6. Tarikh al-Adabul-Arabia, Mohammad Jalilur Rahman, pp. 14-15

7. Dr. Chand Mohammad Ali, A Study of literary history of the Arabs, pp. 39-40

8. Ispahani, Kitab-al Aghani, Vol-IX, p, 156-158

9. K.A. Fariq, History of Arabic literature, pp. 76-77

10. Dr. Chand Mohammad Ali, A Study of literary history of the Arabs, pp. 42-43

11. Ahmad Hassan al-Ziyad, Tareekhul Adabul Arabi, pp. 42-43

12. Ahmad Hassan al-Ziyad, Tareekhul Adabul Arabi, pp. 43-44

13. Qutaiba, Shei’r, p. 148

14. Aghani, Vol-XIV, pp. 94-95 24.

15. Aghani, Vol-XIV, p. 48

16. Abu Zaid, Jamhara, p.30, Ahgani, Vol-IX, p.97

17. A.Barr, Vol-I, p. 229, Aghani, Vol-XIV,p.94

18. K.A. Fariq, A History of Arabic literature, pp. 86-87

19. Khan. J.Abedin, A Guid book on Arabic poetry, p. 160

20. Ibid, pp. 52-55

36
21. Ibid, p.56

22. Al-Barquqi, Diwan Hassan bin Thabit, p. 90, Beirut-1966

23. Kitabul Aghani, Vol-XIII, p. 72

24. Dr.Chand Mohammad Ali, A Study of literary history of the Arabs, p.80

25. Ibid, pp.119-32

26. Hameed, Classical Arabic literature, p.77

27. K.A. Fariq, History of the Arabic literature, pp.49-50

37