A ''rāwī'' was a reciter and transmitter of

Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ''ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy'') is one of the earliest forms of Arabic literature. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry contains the bulk of the oldest poetic material in Arabic, but Old Arabic inscriptions reveal the art of poetry existe ...

in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period (mid-seventh–early eighth centuries). The term was also applied to transmitters of ''akhbar'' (narrative traditions) and

hadiths Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

(sayings and traditions attributed to the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and his companions).

Meaning

''Rawi'' is an Arabic term, meaning "to bear by memory, to transmit or recite." It is a derivative of ''rawa'', an Arabic term, meaning "to carry or convey water." The term ''riwaya'' or ''kathir al-riwaya'', meaning "copious transmitter," was the intensive form of the word and was used synonymously with ''rawi'' by the early Muslim literary sources.

Institution

A ''rawi'' may have been a profession or semi-profession, though it was often occupied by a relative of a poet. The ''rawi's'' role was to memorize a poet's verses and publicly recite them, particularly during the annual fairs in Arabia, and pass them down to the next generation. The institution served as the principal tool for the preservation of

pre-Islamic poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. It is likely that the transmissions in the sixth century, especially among Bedouin poets, were oral, though the ''rawis,'' and poets operating in the courts of the

Lakhmids The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...

al-Hira Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...

and of the

Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

may have written down their poetry. During the early

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

period (661–750), the first volumes of poetry, the

Mu'allaqat The Muʻallaqāt (, ) is a compilation of seven long pre-Islamic Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, they were named so because these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca. Some scholars have also suggested th ...

("the Hanging Poems"), were recorded in written form. The prominent poets

al-Farazdaq Hammam Ibn Ghalib Al-Tamimi (; born 641 AD/20 AH died 728– 730 AD/110-112 AH), more commonly known as Al-Farazdaq () or Abu Firas (), was a 7th-century Arab poet and orator who was born in the Rashidun Caliphate of Umar and flourished durin ...

and Jarir were known to have dictated their verses to ''rawis'', suggesting that writing initially assisted oral transmission until eventually replacing it. In the early

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

period (750–1258) Bedouin poetry was systematically compiled by sophisticated ''rawis'', who recorded the poetry they possessed and memorized them for recitation as well. They gathered their poems from Bedouin and questioned them to verify their authenticity. The Bedouin transmitters were also called ''rawis''. The historian Renate Jacobi notes of the early Islamic-era transmissions, "presumably the term ''rawi/riwaya'' was applied, as long as learning by heart and reciting of verses still played a part, even if a marginal one, in poetic transmission."

References

Bibliography

*{{EI2 , last=Jacobi , first=Renate , article=Rāwī , volume=8 , pages=466–467 Arabic poetry Islamic poetry