Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr ( ar, كعب بن زهير) was an Arabian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

of the 7th century, and a contemporary of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr was the writer of ''Bānat Suʿād (Su'ād Has Departed)'', a

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

in praise of Muhammad. This was the first na'at in Arabic.Tarikhul adab AL arabi by Ahmad Hasan zaiyaat, . This is the original

Al-Burda ''Qasīdat al-Burda'' ( ar, قصيدة البردة, "Ode of the Mantle"), or ''al-Burda'' for short, is a thirteenth-century ode of praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad composed by the eminent Sufi mystic Imam al-Busiri of Egypt. The poem ...

. He recited this poem in front of Prophet Muhammad after embracing Islam. The Prophet was so moved that he removed his mantle and wrapped it over him. This original Burdah is not as famous as the one composed by

Imam al-Busiri Al-Būṣīrī ( ar, ابو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد بن حماد الصنهاجي البوصيري, Abū ʿAbdallāh Muhammad ibn Saʿīd al-Ṣanhājī al-Būṣīrī; 1212–1294) was a Sanhaji Berber Muslim poet belong ...

even though Prophet Muhammad had physically wrapped his mantle over Ka'b, not in a dream like in the case of Imam al-Busiri.

Life

Ibn Zuhayr started composing poetry as a child; his father - a renowned poet himself - prohibited him and suggested not to compose poetry till the strengthening of his ideas and speech. Nevertheless, he continued to compose poetry. At last one day his father Zuhayr took a hard test of him, when he succeeded in that hard test his father allowed him to compose poetry and Ka'b become a famous poet of that time.Arbi adab ki tarikh by Muhammad Kazem When Islam came, Ka'b and his brother Bujayr went out to

but in the way Ka'b's intention changed and he turned back. Bujayr went to

and accepted Islam . When Ka'b found out about his brother accepting Islam, he composed a satire of his brother and

. After that

declared punishment for Ka'b. Then his brother Bujayr advised him to seek pardon of

. At first, he did not listen to his brother and started seeking help of others in the matter. But later he reached

through

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

and accepted Islam. It was then that he recited the first na'at ''Bānat Suʿād''. In his book, ''Muhammad, Prophet of God'', Peterson reveals a very touching portrait of the conversion of this initially rather sceptic man.

Poetry

Ka'b found environment of poetry at his home. Because of this he started composing poetry at a young age and become a famous poet. Critic Khalful Ahmar says that if Zuhayr had not done the long poetry through which he became famous, he wouldn't have considered him a greater poet than his son. Another critic says that if he had not composed his poetry using hard language then he could be a great poet as his father before him.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Penzer, Norman Mosley.
The Harem
, Chapter XI
The Burda of Hadrat Ka'b bin Zuhair
* {{Authority control 7th-century Arabic poets Companions of the Prophet Poets of the early Islamic period