Islamic poetry is a form of

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...

written & recited by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. Islamic poetry, and notably Sufi poetry, has been written in many languages including

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Turkish. Genres of Islamic poetry include

Ginans Ginans ( ur, گنان, gu, ગિનાન; derived from sa, ज्ञान ''jñana,'' meaning "knowledge") are devotional hymns or poems recited by Shia Ismaili Muslims. Literally meaning gnosis, ginans are the devotional literature of the ...

, devotional hymns recited by Ismailis;

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

, poetic expression of the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. and

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 ...

, written poetry, often translated as ode, passed on through the Arab Muslim expansion; and

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and Pa ...

(''shi'r musal'').

History and origins

Beginning with the migration of

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 mon ...

and his followers from Mecca to

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

(A.D. 622), also known as the

Hijrah The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its date e ...

, the

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 ...

or ode was a sharp contrast to the sacred

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

. Writers at the time of pre-Islamic poetry were considered to be lacking the knowledge and authority necessary to be writing such poetry, thus leading this period of time to be called the "Age of Ignorance". This time period caused tension amongst the early

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

world, since the ode style of writing was seen as profane to the sacred text of the Quran. Islamic poetry is very important and it is heritage passed generation to generation. These poems and features examine Muslim faith and Islamic culture and address important events, holidays, and occasions such as Ramadan. These poets explore a range of spiritual, literary, and political concerns from the 6th century to the present day. Also, Islamic poetry is found centuries ago. Islamic poetry is different in many ways like cultural, Traditions, Literature, etc. Hashem stated, "Islamic religious poetry has been composed in a wide variety of languages". (Deen) poetry is a very important thing in the Islamic religion because poetry has equality of beauty to the Islamic religion. Also, poetry use in many different languages around the world. Most importantly, poetry, which had once been shunned for representing the ideals of paganism, was brought into the service of Islam. Islamic art has always retained its intrinsic quality and unique identity. Just as the religion of Islam embodies a way of life and serves as a cohesive force among ethnically and culturally diverse peoples, the art produced by and for Muslim societies has basic identifying and unifying characteristics. Hashem stated, "Islamic art is a modern concept created by art historians in the 19th century to facilitate categorization and study of the material first produced under the Islamic peoples that emerged from Arabia in the seventh century" ( Deen).

Islamic poetry in different languages

In English, Islamic poetry now tends to be free-form (unrhymed). Current Muslim poets in English include Rafey Habib,

Joel Hayward Joel Hayward (born 1964) is a New Zealand-born British scholar, writer and poet. The daily newspaper '' Al Khaleej'' called Hayward "a world authority on international conflict and strategy". '' The National'' newspaper called Hayward "eminent" ...

Dawud Wharnsby Dawud Wharnsby (born David Howard Wharnsby; June 27, 1972) is a Canadian Universalist Muslim singer-songwriter, poet, performer, educator and television personality. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his work in the musical/poetic g ...

, and the late Daniel Moore. In

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 ...

, the

(ode) is considered by scholars to be one of its most distinguishing aspects. originating around 500 bc, it is also considered to be fundamental to the development of pre-Islamic

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

. It is composed in

monorhyme Monorhyme is a passage, stanza, or entire poem in which all lines have the same end rhyme. The term "monorhyme" describes the use of one ( mono) type of repetitious sound (rhyme). This is common in Arabic, Latin and Welsh work, such as '' The Book o ...

having between fifteen and eighty lines. The qasida contains three subtopics or recurring

themes Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

; the nasib or the story of a destroyed relationship and home, the fakhr which portrays self-praise for a tribe or oneself, and the rahil which is a journey into the desert involving camels. The qasida also involves biographical

anecdotes An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...

called akhbar, which shows stories of revenge-taking and blood-sacrifice necessary to go through a

rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisat ...

. The major components of the akhbar are the recurring themes of blood-revenge, initiated by the death of a father or loved one, and the "arrested development" of a person during their youth. :Example of a ''nasib'' poem by Labid ibn Rabiah: :The common theme of pre-Islamic

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

poetry is the description of Bedouin life, the stories of rites of passage and sacrifice, depicted through imagery and the use of

metaphors A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared with ...

. This was mostly oral in composition until the third century.

Persian poetry Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...

originates in the modern-day countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, along with some areas in India during the tenth century. Genres present in classical Persian poetry vary and are determined by rhyme, which consists of a vowel followed by a single-rhyming letter. The most common form of Persian poetry comes in the ghazal, a love-themed short poem made of seven to twelve verses and composed in the monorhyme scheme. :The

is another genre of Persian poetry that depicts the themes of spiritual or worldly praise, satire, or the description of a patron. In regard to Islamic poetry, the most common form of a qasida is in the form of praise of Muhammad, along with people related to him. These religious qasidas emphasize the power and beauty of Allah from different points of views. Qasidas end in a series of anaphoras. :The use of visual poetry throughout Persian history helps readers visually understand the emotions portrayed by the poets through arranging letters and phrases in various shapes related to the message or central theme of the poem.

Bengali poetry Bengali poetry is a rich tradition of poetry in the Bengali language and has many different forms. Originating in the Bengal region of South Asia, the history of Bengali poetry underwent three successive stages of development: poetry of the ear ...

, originating in the 15th century, depicts the themes of internal conflict with the

nafs ''Nafs'' () is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", " ego" or " soul".Nurdeen Deuraseh and Mansor Abu Talib (2005), "Mental health in Islamic medical tradition", ''The Internati ...

, Islamic cosmology, historical battles, love and

existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

ideas concerning one's relationship with society. This search for meaning that is present in most Bengali poems leads to the frustration depicted by poets through their dark and melancholy tones. Frustration is not pessimism, which according to scholars, some readers can misinterpret from the negative tones throughout Bengali poetry. The recurring theme of ideological values rather than societal ones is also present. The historical works of

Shah Muhammad Sagir Shah Muhammad Sagir ( bn, শাহ মুহম্মদ সগীর) was one of the earliest Bengali Muslim poets, if not the first. Life Shah Muhammad Sagir was a poet of the 14/15th century, during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Ghiyasuddi ...

Alaol Syed Alaol ( bn, সৈয়দ আলাওল; 1607 – 1680) was a 17th century poet of Bengal. His most well known work is ''Padmavati'', which depicts the story of Padmavati, the Sinhalese princess. He is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Abdul Hakim Abdul Hakim ( ar, عبد الحكيم, translit=ʻAbd al-Ḥakīm) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, first name or surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' al-'' and ''Hakim''. The name means "servant of the All-wise ...

Syed Sultan Syed Sultan ( bn, সৈয়দ সুলতান) was a medieval Bengali Muslim writer and epic poet. He is best known for his magnum opus, the ''Nabibangsha'', which was one of the first translations of the Qisas Al-Anbiya into the Bengali la ...

and

Daulat Qazi Daulat Qazi ( bn, দৌলত কাজী; ) was a medieval Bengali poet, was born into a Qazi family in the village of Sultanpur in Raozan Upazila, Chittagong. Not getting any recognition at home, he left for Arakan, where he seems to have been ...

mixed Bengali folk poetry with Perso-Arabian stories and themes, and are considered an important part of the Muslim culture of Bengal. Modern Bengali poetry is considered to be not rhetorical and romantic in composition. In

Punjabi poetry Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Sha ...

, the central theme is the internal conflict caused by worldly problems, along with existential ideas presented by the poet. Another theme present throughout Punjabi poetry is the paradoxical idea of life and how although wealth and knowledge is presented to a person, it is that wealth and knowledge that can distance them from the real meaning and truth of life. :Punjabi poetry is written in a Perso-Urdu style with some Arabic and Persian vocabulary. The topics of Punjabi poetry range from romances to satires, because they are mostly written by villagers and those influenced by the village lifestyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic Poetry Poetry movements