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Arabic Poetry
Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry is categorized into two main types, rhymed or measured, and prose, with the former greatly preceding the latter. The rhymed poetry falls within fifteen different meters collected and explained by al-Farahidi in ''The Science of ‘ Arud''. Al-Akhfash, a student of al-Farahidi, later added one more meter to make them sixteen. The meters of the rhythmical poetry are known in Arabic as "seas" (''buḥūr''). The measuring unit of seas is known as "''taf‘īlah''," and every sea contains a certain number of taf'ilas which the poet has to observe in every verse (''bayt'') of the poem. The measuring procedure of a poem is very rigorous. Sometimes adding or removing a consonant or a vowel can shift the ''bayt'' from one meter to another. Also, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Literature
Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and which implies politeness, culture and enrichment. Arabic literature emerged in the 5th century with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The Qur'an, widely regarded as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language, would have the greatest lasting effect on Arab culture and its literature. Arabic literature flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, but has remained vibrant to the present day, with poets and prose-writers across the Arab world, as well as in the Arab diaspora, achieving increasing success. History ''Jahili'' is the literature of the pre-Islamic period referred to as ''al-Jahiliyyah'', or "the time of ignorance". In pre-Islamic Arabia, markets such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zuhayr Bin Abi Sulma
Zuhayr bin Abī Sulmā ( ar, زهير بن أبي سلمى; ), also romanized as Zuhair or Zoheir, was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet who lived in the 6th & 7th centuries AD. He is considered one of the greatest writers of Arabic poetry in pre-Islamic times. Zuhayr belonged to the Banu Muzaina. His father was a poet and his elder son Ka'b bin Zuhayr also became a poet, reading his works to the Prophet Muhammad. Zuhayr's poems can be found in Hammad Ar-Rawiya's anthology, the ''Mu'allaqat'' ("the Suspended"), a collection of pre-Islamic poetry. He was one of the '' Seven Hanged Poets'' who were reputed to have been honoured by hanging copies of their work in the Kaaba at Mecca. He was Umar ibn Khattab's favourite poet. Zuhayr's poetry was written when two Arabic tribes ended a longstanding hostility. His poems deal with raids and other subjects of nomadic desert life. He also wrote satirical poems and poems about the glory of his tribe, but in his verses he was less satiri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam.Wensinck, A. J; Kaʿba. Encyclopaedia of Islam IV p. 317 It is considered by Muslims to be the ''Bayt Allah'' ( ar, بَيْت ٱللَّٰه, lit=House of God) and is the qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah. The current structure was built after the original building was damaged during the siege of Mecca in 683. In early Islam, Muslims faced in the general direction of Jerusalem as the qibla in their prayers before changing the direction to face the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to be a result of a Quranic verse revelation to Muhammad. Accordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mu'allaqat
The Muʻallaqāt ( ar, المعلقات, ) is a group of seven long Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca, while scholars have also suggested that the hanging is figurative, as if the poems "hang" in the reader's mind. Along with the '' Mufaddaliyat'', '' Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab'', '' Asma'iyyat'', and the ''Hamasah'', the ''Mu'allaqāt'' are considered the primary source for early Arabic poetry. Scholar Peter N. Stearns goes so far as to say that they represent "the most sophisticated poetic production in the history of Arabic letters." History Compilation The original compiler of the poems may have been Hammad al-Rawiya (8th century). The grammarian Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Nahhas (d. 949 CE) says in his commentary on the ''Mu'allaqat'': "The true view of the matter is this: when Hammad al-Rawiya saw how little men cared for poetry, he collected these seven pieces, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-A'sha
Al-A'sha ( ar, ٱلْأَعْشَىٰ) or Maymun Ibn Qays Al-A'sha (d.c. 570– 625) was an Arabic Jahiliyyah poet from Najd, Arabia. He traveled through Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia and Ethiopia. He was nicknamed Al-A'sha which means "weak-sighted" or "night-blind" after he lost his sight. He continued to travel even after becoming blind, particularly along the western coast of the Arabian peninsula. It was then that he turned to the writing of panegyrics as a means of support. His style, reliant on sound effects and full-bodied foreign words, tends to be artificial. His love poems are devoted to the praise of Huraira, a black female slave. He is said to have believed in the Christian eschatological themes of Resurrection and Last Judgment, and to have been a monotheist. These beliefs may have been due to his interactions with the bishop of Najrān and the 'Ibādites of Al-Hirah. His poems were praised for their descriptions of the wild ass, for the praise of wine, for their s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Su'luk
In early Arabian history, su'luk ( ar, صعلوك; pl. sa'alik ) was a term that can be translated as brigand, brigand-poet, or vagabond. The sa'alik were mostly individuals who had been forced out of their tribes and who lived on the fringes of society, although some of them maintained ties with their tribes. Some of the sa'alik became renowned poets, writing poetry about the hardships of desert life and their feelings of isolation. Famous sa'alik include Al-Shanfara, Ta'abbata Sharran, and Urwa ibn al-Ward. The sa'alik were most prominent in pre-Islamic Arabia, but persisted during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Terminology The precise meaning of the term ''su'luk'' is difficult to determine, because in biographical materials about the ''sa'alik'' poets, the term is used most frequently in the sense of "honorable brigand". However, in poetic texts the term seems to mean "poor". Khatim al-Ta'i and al-A'sha make comparisons between wealth (''ghina'') and ''tasa'luk'', which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urwa Ibn Al-Ward
'Urwa ibn al-Ward al-'Abasi ( ar, عروة بن الورد; 540–607 CE) was a pre-Islamic Arabic '' su'luk'' poet. He was a member of the Banu Abs tribe. Life Little is known about his life, but he had a reputation for being "the most generous of the ancient Arabs." Poetry Urwa was the most prolific of the ''su'luk'' poets. Yaqub Ibn as-Sikkit wrote a commentary on his poetic diwan. His most famous poem is preserved in the '' Asma'iyyat''. Some of his poetry expresses his love for Salma, his estranged wife who he divorced while drunk. When he recovered, he fell into despair at what he had done. His diwan was edited by Theodor Nöldeke, who published it as ''Die Gedichte des Urwa ibn Alward'' in 1864. References René Basset: Le Dîwân de ‘Orwa ben el Ward. Traduit et annoté par René Basset. Paris: Geuthner 1928. (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres d’Alger. Prémiere Série. Bulletin de correspondence africaine. Tome 62.) Theodor Nöldeke: Die Gedichte des � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Shanfara
Al-Shanfarā ( ar, الشنفرى; died c. 525 CE) was a semi-legendary pre-Islamic poet tentatively associated with Ṭāif, and the supposed author of the celebrated poem '' Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab''. He enjoys a status as a figure of an archetypal outlaw antihero ('' su'luk''), critiquing the hypocrisies of his society from his position as an outsider. Life The name ''Al-Shanfara'' means "he who has large lips." His full name may be either Thabit ibn Malik or Thabit ibn Aws. What is known about al-Shanfarā is inferred from the poems which he is believed with confidence to have composed. He seems fairly certainly to have belonged to the Yemenite al-Azd tribe, probably specifically to the Al-Khazraj clan. He is sometimes counted among the ''aghribat al-Arab'' (Arab crows), a term referring to Arabs with African mothers. Others argue against his inclusion in this group, which according to scholar Bernard Lewis is due to a confusion between the ''sa'alik'' and the ''aghribat al-Ara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ta'abbata Sharran
Thabit ibn Jabr, better known by his epithet Ta'abbata Sharran (; lived late 6th century or early 7th century CE) was a pre-Islamic Arabic poet of the '' su'luk'' (vagabond) school. He lived in the Arabian Peninsula near the city of Ta'if, and was a member of the tribe. He was known for engaging in tribal conflict with the Banu Hudhayl and Bajila tribes. He wrote poems about tribal warfare, the hardships of desert life, and ghouls. His work was prominent in the early poetic anthologies, being preserved in both the ''Mufaddaliyat'' (8th century) and the '' Hamasah'' (9th century). Details of his life are known only from pseudo-historical accounts in the poetic anthologies and the ''Kitab al-Aghani''. Name His proper name was Thabit ibn Jabr al-Fahmi. Al-Fahmi is a ''nisba'' indicating his membership in the Fahm tribe. Ta'abatta Sharran is a ''laqab,'' or nickname, which means "he who has put evil in his armpit." There are a number of traditional accounts of how he acquired t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarah Ibn Shaddad
Antarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi ( ar, عنترة بن شداد العبسي, ''ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād al-ʿAbsī''; AD 525–608), also known as ʿAntar, was a pre-Islamic Arab knight and poet, famous for both his poetry and his adventurous life. His chief poem forms part of the '' Mu'allaqāt'', the collection of seven "hanging odes" legendarily said to have been suspended in the Kaaba. The account of his life forms the basis of a long and extravagant romance. Life ʿAntarah was born in Najd in Arabia. His father was Shaddād al-ʿAbsī, a respected warrior of the Banu Abs under their chief Zuhayr. His mother was an Ethiopian woman named Zabeebah. Described as an "Arab crow" (''al-aghribah al-'Arab'') owing to his dark complexion,ʿAntarah grew up a slave as well. He fell in love with his cousin ʿAblah, but could not hope to marry her owing to his position. He also gained the enmity of his father's wife Shammeah. He gained attention and respect for himself by his remarka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarafa
Tarafa ( ar, طرفة بن العبد بن سفيان بن سعد أبو عمرو البكري الوائلي / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarafah ibn al-‘Abd ibn Sufyān ibn Sa‘d Abū ‘Amr al-Bakrī al-Wā’ilī''), was a 6th century Arabian poet of the tribe of the Bakr. He is one of the seven poets of the most celebrated anthology of ancient Arabic poetry, known as the '' Mo'allakat'', however just one of his poems is included. His fellow poets preserved in this work are Al-Nabigha, Antarah ibn Shaddad, Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma, 'Alqama ibn 'Abada and Imru' al-Qais. Life Ṭarafah was the half-brother or nephew of the elegist Al-Khirniq bint Badr. He traveled with his uncle Mutalammis to the court of the king of Al-Hirah, ʿAmr ibn Hind, and there became companion to the king's brother. According to one legend, having ridiculed the king in some verses he was sent with a letter to the ruler of Bahrayn, and, in accordance with the instructions contained in the letter, was buried alive. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Nabigha
Al-Nābighah (), al-Nābighah al-Dhubiyānī, or Nābighah al-Dhubyānī; real name Ziyad ibn Muawiyah (); was one of the last Arabian poets of pre-Islamic times. "Al-Nabigha" means "genius or intelligent" in Arabic. His tribe, the Banu Dhubyan, belonged to the district near Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ..., but he spent most of his time at the courts of Hirah and Ghassan. In Hira he remained under Mundhir III, and then his successor in 562. After a sojourn at the court of Ghassan, he returned to Hirah under Numan III. Owing to his verses written about the Queen he was compelled to flee to Ghassan, but returned ca., 600. When Numan died five years later he withdrew to his own tribe. His date-of-death is uncertain, but seems to predate Islam. His poe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
