Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of
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 ...
. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but
oral poetry
Oral poetry is a form of poetry that is composed and transmitted without the aid of writing. The complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain.
Background
Oral poetry is ...
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
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
collected and explained by
al-Farahidi
Abu ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Tammām al-Farāhīdī al-Azdī al-Yaḥmadī ( ar, أبو عبدالرحمن الخليل بن أحمد الفراهيدي; 718 – 786 CE), known as Al-Farāhīdī, or Al-Khalīl, ...
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 rhymed poetry, every ''bayt'' has to end with the same rhyme (''qāfiyah'') throughout the poem.
Al-Kʰalīl b. ˀAḫmad al-Farāhīdī (711 – 786 A. D.) was the first Arab scholar to subject the prosody of Arabic poetry to a detailed phonological study. He failed to produce a coherent, integrated theory which satisfies the requirements of generality, adequacy, and simplicity; instead, he merely listed and categorized the primary data, thus producing a meticulously detailed but incredibly complex formulation which very few indeed are able to master and utilize.
Researchers and critics of Arabic poetry usually classify it in two categories: classical and modern poetry. Classical poetry was written before the Arabic renaissance (''
An-Nahḍah''). Thus, all poetry that was written in the classical style is called "classical" or "traditional poetry" since it follows the traditional style and structure. It is also known as "vertical poetry" in reference to its vertical parallel structure of its two parts. Modern poetry, on the other hand, deviated from classical poetry in its content, style, structure, rhyme and topics.
Pre-Islamic poetry
One of the first major poets in the pre-Islamic era is
Imru' al-Qais, the last king of the
kingdom of Kinda. Although most of the poetry of that era was not preserved, what remains is well regarded as among the finest Arabic poetry to date. In addition to the eloquence and artistic value, pre-Islamic poetry constitutes a major source for classical Arabic language both in grammar and vocabulary, and as a reliable historical record of the political and cultural life of the time.
Poetry held an important position in pre-Islamic society with the poet or ''
sha'ir
A ''sha'ir'' was a pre-Islamic Arab poet believed to have magical powers.
History
The origin of the term ''sha'ir'' is unknown. The ancient Arab culture viewed the ''sha'ir'' as a type of wizard, able to commune with supernatural forces, or '' ...
'' filling the role of
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
,
soothsayer and
propagandist
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
. Words in praise of the tribe (''qit'ah'') and lampoons denigrating other tribes (''hija) seem to have been some of the most popular forms of early poetry. The ''sha'ir'' represented an individual tribe's prestige and importance in the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, and mock battles in poetry or ''
zajal'' would stand in lieu of real wars. 'Ukaz, a market town not far from
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 sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, would play host to a regular poetry festival where the craft of the ''sha'irs'' would be exhibited.
Alongside the ''sha'ir'', and often as his poetic apprentice, was the ''rawi'' or reciter. The job of the rawi was to learn the poems by heart and to recite them with explanations and probably often with embellishments. This tradition allowed the transmission of these poetic works and the practice was later adopted by the ''
huffaz
Hafiz (; ar, حافظ, ḥāfiẓ, pl. ''ḥuffāẓ'' , f. ''ḥāfiẓa'' ), literally meaning "memorizer", depending on the context, is a term used by Muslims for someone who has completely memorized the Quran. Hafiza is the female equiva ...
'' for their memorisation of the
Qur'an
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.: , sing. ...
. At some periods there have been unbroken chains of illustrious poets, each one training a ''rawi'' as a bard to promote his verse, and then to take over from them and continue the poetic tradition. For example, Tufayl trained 'Awas ibn Hajar, 'Awas trained
Zuhayr, Zuhayr trained his son
Ka`b, Ka`b trained al-Hutay'ah, al-Hutay'ah trained Jamil Buthaynah and Jamil trained
Kuthayyir `Azza.
Among the most famous poets of the pre-Islamic era are
Imru' al-Qais,
Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya
As-Samaw’al bin ‘Ādiyā’ ( ar, السموأل بن عادياء بن رفاعة بن الحارث بن كعب / he, שמואל בן עדיה) was an Arabian poet and warrior, esteemed by the Arabs for his loyalty, which was commemorated ...
,
al-Nabigha,
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 ...
,
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-I ...
, and
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 ...
. Other poets, such as
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 ...
,
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 archetypa ...
,
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 ...
, were known as ''
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 soc ...
'' or vagabond poets, much of whose works consisted of attacks on the rigidity of tribal life and praise of solitude. Some of these attacks on the values of the clan and of the tribe were meant to be ironic, teasing the listeners only in order finally to endorse all that the members of the audience held most dear about their communal values and way of life. While such poets were identified closely with their own tribes, others, such as
al-A'sha, were known for their wanderings in search of work from whoever needed poetry.
The very best of these early poems were collected in the 8th century as the ''
Mu'allaqat'' meaning "the hung poems" (traditionally thought because they were hung on or in the
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 c ...
) and the ''
Mufaddaliyat'' meaning
al-Mufaddal's examination or anthology. The Mu'allaqat also aimed to be the definitive source of the era's output with only a single example of the work of each of the so-called "seven renowned ones," although different versions differ in which "renowned ones" they chose. The ''Mufaddaliyat'' on the other hand contains rather a random collection.
There are several characteristics that distinguish pre-Islamic poetry from the poetry of later times. One of these characteristics is that in pre-Islamic poetry more attention was given to the eloquence and the wording of the verse than to the poem as whole. This resulted in poems characterized by strong vocabulary and short ideas but with loosely connected verses. A second characteristic is the romantic or nostalgic prelude with which pre-Islamic poems would often start. In these preludes, a thematic unit called "''nasib''," the poet would remember his beloved and her deserted home and its ruins. This concept in Arabic poetry is referred to as "''al-woqouf `ala al-atlal''" (الوقوف على الأطلال / standing by the ruins) because the poet would often start his poem by saying that he stood at the ruins of his beloved; it is a kind of ''
ubi sunt''.
Some famous pre-Islamic poets:
*
Abu Layla al-Muhalhel Abu Layla ʿUday ibn Rabīʿa ibn al-Ḥāriṯ at-Taḡlibiyy ( ar, أَبُو لَيْلَى عُدَيّ بْن رَبِيعَة بْن الْحَارِث التَّغْلِبِيّ; 443 – 531 CE), also known by the nicknames al-Muhalhil ...
*
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 ...
*
Imru' al-Qais
*
Al-Khansa
Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah ( ar, تماضر بنت عمرو بن الحارث بن الشريد السُلمية), usually simply referred to as al-Khansāʾ ( ar, الخنساء, links=no, meaning "snub-n ...
*
Al-A'sha
*
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-I ...
*
Amr ibn Kulthum
*
Harith ibn Hilliza Al-Yashkuri
*
Labīd
Abū Aqīl Labīd ibn Rabīʿa ibn Mālik al-ʿĀmirī (Arabic: أبو عقيل لَبيد بن ربيعة بن مالك العامِري) (c. 505 – c. 661) was an Arabian poet.
He belonged to the Bani Amir, a division of the tribe of the Hawaz ...
*
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 ...
*
Al-Nabigha
Islamic poetry
It was the early poems' importance to Islamic scholarship which led to their preservation. Not only did the poems illuminate life in the early years of Islam and its antecedents but they would also prove the basis for the study of
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
of which the Qur'an was regarded as the pinnacle. Many of the pre-Islamic forms of verse were retained and improved upon. ''Naqa'id'' or
flyting
Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse.
Etymology
The word ''flyting'' comes from the Old English verb meaning 'to quarrel', made into a noun with the suffix -''ing''. ...
s, where two poets exchange creative insults, were popular with
al-Farazdaq
Hammam ibn Ghalib ( ar, همام بن غالب; born c. 641; died 728–730), most commonly known as Al-Farazdaq () or Abu Firas, was an Arab poet.
He was born in, Kazma. He was a member of Darim, one of the most respected divisions of the Bani T ...
and
Jarir swapping a great deal of invective. The tradition continued in a slightly modified form as ''zajal'', in which two groups 'joust' in verse, and remains a common style in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
Court poets
![Al-Mamun listens to a poet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Al-Mamun_listens_to_a_poet.jpg)
Ghaylan ibn 'Uqbah (c. 696 – c. 735), nicknamed Dhu al-Rummah, is usually regarded as the last of the
Pre-islamic poets. His works had continued the themes and style of the pre-Islamic poets particularly eulogising the harsh but simple desert life, traditionally recited round a campfire. Although such themes continued and were returned to by many modern, urban poets, this poetic life was giving way to court poets. The more settled, comfortable and luxurious life in
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
courts led to a greater emphasis on the ''
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 ...
'' or love poem. Chief amongst this new breed of poet was
Abu Nuwas. Not only did Abu Nuwas spoof the traditional poetic form of the
qasida and write many poems in praise of wine, his main occupation was the writing of ever more ribald ''ghazal'' many of them openly
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
.
While Nuwas produced risqué but beautiful poems, many of which pushed to the limit what was acceptable under Islam, others produced more religiously themed poetry. It is said that Nuwas struck a bargain with his contemporary
Abu al-Alahijah
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
: Abu Nuwas would concentrate on wine and love poems whilst al-Alahijah would write
homilies. These homilies expressed views on religion, sin and the afterlife, but occasionally strayed into unorthodox territory. While the work of al-Alahijah was acceptable, others such as the poet Salih ibn 'Abd al-Quddus were executed for
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
.
Waddah al-Yaman
Waddah al-Yaman ( ar, وضّاح اليمن), born Abdul Rahman bin Isma’il al-Khawlani ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن اسماعيل الخولاني) (died 708), was an Arab poet.
Biography
Al-Yaman was born in Yemen in the second half of the ...
, now the national poet of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, was also executed for his verse, but this was probably due to his over-familiarity with the wife of the caliph
Al-Walid I
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad ca ...
.
Court poets were joined with court singers who simply performed works included
Ibrahim al-Mawsili
Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī (; 742–804) was an Arab musician of Persian origin who was among the greatest composers of the early Abbasid period. After Arab and Persian musical training in Ray, Iran, Ray, he was called to the Abbasid ...
, his son
Ishaq al-Mawsili
Ishaq al-Mawsili ( ar, إسحاق الموصلي; 767/772 – March 850) was an Arab musician of Persian origin active as a composer, singer, music theorist and writer on music. The leading musician of his time in the Abbasid Caliphate, he served ...
and Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi son of caliph
al-Mahdi. Many stories about these early singers were retold in the ''
Kitab al-Aghani'' or ''Book of Songs'' by
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani.
The
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
tradition also produced poetry closely linked to religion. Sufism is a
mystical interpretation of Islam and it emphasised the
allegorical nature of language and writing. Many of the works of Sufi poets appear to be simple ''ghazal'' or ''khamriyyah''. Under the guise of the love or wine poem they would contemplate the mortal flesh and attempt to achieve
transcendence
Transcendence, transcendent, or transcendental may refer to:
Mathematics
* Transcendental number, a number that is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients
* Algebraic element or transcendental element, an element of a field exten ...
.
Rabia al-Adawiyya
Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya ( ar, رابعة العدوية القيسية) (714/717/718 — 801 CE) was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic and carried her life out as an influential religious figure. She is known in some parts of th ...
, Abd Yazid al-Bistami and
Mansur al-Hallaj
Al-Hallaj ( ar, ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج, Abū 'l-Muġīth Al-Ḥusayn bin Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj) or Mansour Hallaj ( fa, منصور حلاج, Mansūr-e Hallāj) ( 26 March 922) (Islamic calendar, Hijri ...
are some of the most significant Sufi poets, but the poetry and doctrine of al-Hallaj was eventually considered heretic for saying "I am the Truth," which came to be compared as literal incarnation. Al Hallaj was
crucified and later became known as a Martyr.
The caliph himself could take on the role of court poet with
al-Walid II
Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.
...
a notable example, but he was widely disliked for his immorality and was deposed after only a year.
''Badi'' poetry
An important doctrine of Arabic poetry from the start was its complexity, but during the period of court poetry this became an art form in itself known as ''badi`''. There were features such as
metaphor
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 wit ...
,
pun, juxtaposing opposites and tricky theological allusions.
Bashar ibn Burd was instrumental in developing these complexities which later poets felt they had to surpass. Although not all writers enjoyed the baroque style, with argumentative letters on the matter being sent by Ibn Burd and
Ibn Miskawayh
Ibn Miskawayh ( fa, مُسْکُـوْيَه Muskūyah, 932–1030), full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Miskawayh was a Persian chancery official of the Buyid era, and philosopher and historian from Parandak, Iran. As ...
, the poetic brinkmanship of ''badi'' led to a certain formality in poetic art, with only the greatest poets' words shining through the complex structures and wordplay. This can make Arabic poetry even more difficult to translate than poetry from other languages, with much of a poet's skill often lost in translation.
Arabic poetry declined after the 13th century along with much of the literature due to the rise of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Turkish literature
Turkish literature ( tr, Türk edebiyatı) comprises oral compositions and written texts in Turkic languages. The Ottoman and Azerbaijani forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, were highly influenced by Persian la ...
. It flowered for a little longer in
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
(Islamic Spain) but ended with the expulsion of the Arabs in 1492. The corpus suffered large-scale destruction by fire in 1499 when
Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros made a public ''
auto-da-fé'' in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, burning 1,025,000 Arabic volumes.
Poetic genres
Romantic poetry
Another medieval Arabic love story was ''
Hadith Bayad wa Riyad
''Hadith Bayāḍ wa Riyāḍ'' ( ar, حديث بياض ورياض, "The Story of Bayad and Riyad") is a 13th-century Arabic love story. The main characters of the tale: Bayad, a merchant's son and a foreigner from Damascus, Riyad, a well-educate ...
'' (''The Story of Bayad and Riyad''), a 13th-century
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...
love story written in
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
. The main characters of the tale are Bayad, a merchant's son and a foreigner from
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, and Riyad, a well-educated girl in the court of an unnamed
Hajib
A ''hajib'' or ''hadjib'' ( ar, الحاجب, al-ḥājib, to block, the prevent someone from entering somewhere; It is a word "hajb" meaning to cover, to hide. It means "the person who prevents a person from entering a place, the doorman". The ...
of
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
(vizier or minister), whose equally unnamed daughter, whose retinue includes Riyad, is referred to as the Lady. The ''Hadith Bayad wa Riyad'' manuscript is believed to be the only illustrated manuscript known to have survived from more than eight centuries of Muslim and Arab presence in Spain.
There were several elements of
courtly love
Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...
which were developed in Arabic poetry, namely the notions of "love for love's sake" and "exaltation of the beloved lady" which have been traced back to Arabic literature of the 9th and 10th centuries. The notion of the "ennobling power" of love was developed in the early 11th century by the
Persian psychologist and
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
,
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
(known as "Avicenna" in English), in his Arabic treatise ''Risala fi'l-Ishq'' (''Treatise on Love''). The final element of courtly love, the concept of "love as desire never to be fulfilled," was also at times implicit in Arabic poetry.
The 10th century ''
Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity
The ''Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' ( ar, رسائل إخوان الصفا) also variously known as the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity'', ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' and ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal ...
'' features a fictional anecdote of a "prince who strays from his palace during his wedding feast and, drunk, spends the night in a cemetery, confusing a corpse with his bride. The story is used as a gnostic parable of the soul's
pre-existence and return from its terrestrial sojourn."
Many of the tales in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' are also love stories or involve romantic love as a central theme, including the
frame story
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
of
Scheherazade
Scheherazade () is a major female character and the storyteller in the frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''.
Name
According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade'' deri ...
, and many of the
stories she narrates, such as "
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
," "
Ali Baba," "
The Ebony Horse
The Ebony Horse, The Enchanted Horse or The Magic Horse is a folk tale featured in the Arabian Nights. It features a flying mechanical horse, controlled using keys, that could fly into outer space and towards the Sun. The ebony horse can fly th ...
" and "
The Three Apples."
Satirical poetry
The genre of Arabic
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
poetry was known as ''hija''. Biting satirical poetry was dreaded for its power to immortalize its subjects in insulting ways, and could include sexual, scatological, and religiously profane material. The only way to recover from a satirical insult delivered in poetry was to respond in kind, which meant naqa'id, or satirical duels involving exchanges of poems, were a distinctive part of early Arabic poetry.
In a tribal context, ''hija'' was often used to mock the poet's enemies or the virtue of rival tribes. Court poets like
Abu Nuwas also employed satire, lampooning political figures like the vizier
Ja'far ibn Yahya
Jafar ibn Yahya Barmaki, Jafar al-Barmaki ( fa, جعفر بن یحیی برمکی, ar, جعفر بن يحيى, Jafar bin yaḥyā) (767–803) also called Aba-Fadl, was a Persian vizier of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, succeeding his father ...
. After leaving Egypt,
al-Mutanabbi mocked the
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
ruler
Abu al-Misk Kafur
Abu al-Misk Kafur () (905–968), also called al-Laithi, al-Suri, al-Labi was a dominant personality of Ikhshidid Egypt and Syria."Kāfūr, Abu'l Misk al-Ikhsidi." ''E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936''. Edited by: M. Th. Hout ...
with a satirical poem: "Till I met this eunuch, I always assumed that the head was the seat of wisdom, but when I looked into his intelligence, I discovered that all his wisdom resided in his testicles."
In the 10th century, the writer
al-Tha'alibi
Al-Tha'alibi (961–1038), was a writer famous for his anthologies and collections of epigrams. As a writer of prose and verse in his own right, distinction between his and the work of others is sometimes lacking, as was the practice of writ ...
recorded satirical poetry written by the poets as-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with as-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's
wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing as-Salami in return. Another 10th-century poet,
Jarir ibn Atiyah
Jarir ibn Atiyah al-Khatfi Al-Tamimi ( ar, جرير بن عطية الخطفي التميمي) () was an Arab poet and satirist. He was born in the reign of Najd Arabia, and was a member of the tribe Kulaib, a part of the Banu Tamim. He was a nat ...
, satirized Farazdaq by using the term "Farazdaq-like" to describe an individual who was a "transgressor of the Shari'a". Abu Nuwas, in the 9th century, once responded to an insult from Hashim bin Hudayj, a philosopher, by composing verses sarcastically praising his wisdom, then imploring him to use his knowledge to explain how the penis functions.
Poetic themes
*''Madih'', a eulogy or panegyric
*''
Hija
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 ...
'', a lampoon or insult poem
*''
Rithā'
Rithā’ ( ar, رثاء) is a genre of Arabic poetry corresponding to elegy or lament
A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. La ...
'', an elegy
*''
Wasf'', a descriptive poem
*''
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 ...
'', a love poem, sometimes expressing love of men
*''Khamriyyah'', wine poetry
*''Tardiyyah'', hunt poetry
*''Khawal'', homiletic poetry
*''Fakhr'', boasting
*''
Hamasah
The Hamasah (; ) is a genre of Arabic poetry that "recounts chivalrous exploits in the context of military glories and victories".
The first work in this genre is Kitab al-Hamasah of Abu Tammam.
Hamasah works
List of popular Hamasah works:
* ''Ha ...
'', war poetry
Poetic forms
Poetry in Arabic is traditionally grouped in a ''
diwan'' or collection of poems. These can be arranged by poet, tribe, topic or the name of the compiler such as the
Asma'iyyat The Aṣmaʿiyyāt ( ar, الأصمعيات) is a well-known early anthology of Arabic poetry by Al-Asma'i. The collection is considered one of the primary sources for early Arabic poetry along with the Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab, Hamasah, Mu'allaqat ...
of
al-Asma'i. Most poems did not have titles and they were usually named from their first lines. Sometimes they were arranged alphabetically by their rhymes. The role of the poet in Arabic developed in a similar way to poets elsewhere. The safe and easy patronage in royal courts was no longer available but a successful poet such as
Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines simp ...
was able to set up his own publishing house.
A large proportion of all Arabic poetry is written using the
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 of ...
, ''Qasidah''. This is simply the same rhyme used on every line of a poem. While this may seem a poor
rhyme scheme for people used to
western literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, an ...
it makes sense in a language like Arabic which has only three
vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
s which can be either long or short.
''Mu'rabbah'', literary Arabic
*''Qarid''
**''Qit'ah'', an elegy or short poem about an event
**''
Qasidah
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 ...
'', an
ode, designed to convey a message. A longer version of qit'ah
*''
Muwashshah
''Muwashshah'' ( ar, موشح ' literally means "girdled" in Classical Arabic; plural ' or ' ) is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre. The poetic form consists of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written ...
'', meaning "girdled," courtly love poetry
*''
Ruba'i'' or ''dubayt'', a
quatrain
A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines.
Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
*''
Rajaz
Rajaz (, literally 'tremor, spasm, convulsion as may occur in the behind of a camel when it wants to rise') is a metre used in classical Arabic poetry. A poem composed in this metre is an ''urjūza''. The metre accounts for about 3% of surviving ...
'', a discourse in rhyme, used to push the limits of lexicography
''Malhunah'', vernacular poetry
*''Kan ya ma kan'', meaning "once upon a time"
*''Quma''
*''
Zajal'', meaning "shout"
*''
Mawwal'' or ''Mawaliya'', folk poetry in four rhyming lines
*''
Nabati Nabaṭī ( ar, الشعر النبطي), historically also known as najdi, is a vernacular Arabic poetry that stems from the Arabic varieties of the Arabian Peninsula. It exists in contrast to the poetry written according to the classical rules of ...
'', the vernacular poetry of the tribes of the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
and the
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of sou ...
.
*''Humayni'', the vernacular poetry of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
Literary theory and criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
in Arabic literature often focused on religious texts, and the several long religious traditions of
hermeneutics
Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
and textual
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
have had a profound influence on the study of secular texts. This was particularly the case for the literary traditions of
Islamic literature
Islamic literature is literature written by Muslim people, influenced by an Islamic cultural perspective, or literature that portrays Islam. It can be written in any language and portray any country or region. It includes many literary forms in ...
.
Literary criticism was also employed in other forms of medieval Arabic literature and poetry from the 9th century, notably by
al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
in his ''al-Bayan wa-'l-tabyin'' and ''al-Hayawan'', and by
Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz
Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz ( ar, عبد الله بن المعتز, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz; 861 – 17 December 908) was the son of the caliph al-Mu'tazz and a political figure, but is better known as a leading Arabic poet and the author o ...
in his ''Kitab al-Badi''.
Modern poetry
Beginning in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as part of what is now called "the Arabic renaissance" or "''
al-Nahda''," poets like
Francis Marrash
Francis bin Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1835,. 1836,. or 1837 – 1873 or 1874), also known as Francis al-Marrash or Francis Marrash al-Halabi, was a Syrian scholar, publicist, writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance, ...
,
Ahmad Shawqi and
Hafiz Ibrahim
Hafez Ibrahim ( ar, حافظ إبراهيم, ; 1871–1932) was a well known Egyptian poet of the early 20th century. He was dubbed the "Poet of the Nile", and sometimes the "Poet of the People", for his political commitment to the poor. His p ...
began to explore the possibility of developing the classical poetic forms. Some of these neoclassical poets were acquainted with Western literature but mostly continued to write in classical forms, while others, denouncing blind imitation of classical poetry and its recurring themes,
sought inspiration from French or English
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
.
A common theme in much of the new poetry was the use of the ''
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 ...
'' or love poem in praise of the poet's homeland. This was manifested either as a
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
for the newly emerging
nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
s of the region or in a wider sense as an
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
emphasising the unity of all Arab people. The poems of praise (''
madih''), and the lampoon (''
hija
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 ...
'') also returned. Shawqi produced several works praising the reforming Turkish leader
Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to:
;People
* Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey
* Kemal (name), a common Turkish name
;Places
* Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey
* Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey
;See also ...
, but when Atatürk abolished the
caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, Shawqi was not slow in attacking him in verse. Political views in poetry were often more unwelcome in the 20th century than they had been in the 7th, and several poets faced censorship or, in the case of Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati, exile.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, there was a largely unsuccessful movement by several poets to write poems in
free verse (''shi'r hurr''). Most of these experiments were abandoned in favour of
prose poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects.
Characteristics
Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...
, of which the first examples in modern Arabic literature are to be found in the writings of
Francis Marrash
Francis bin Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1835,. 1836,. or 1837 – 1873 or 1874), also known as Francis al-Marrash or Francis Marrash al-Halabi, was a Syrian scholar, publicist, writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance, ...
, and of which one of two of the most influential proponents were
Nazik al-Malaika and
Iman Mersal
Iman Mersal ( ar, إيمان مرسال; born November 30, 1966 Mit 'Adlan, Dakahlia, Egypt) is an Egyptian poet.
Life
Iman Mersal graduated from Mansoura University, and received her MA and PhD from Cairo University.
She co-founded ''Bint al-Ard ...
. The development of
modernist poetry also influenced poetry in Arabic. The closer the Arab poets approached to European poetry, the more anxious they became to look for new media, themes, techniques, metaphors and forms to liberate themselves from conventional poetry.
Iraqi poet
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
Badr Shakir al Sayyab ( ar, بدر شاكر السياب) (December 24, 1926 in Jaykur, near Basra – December 24, 1964 in Kuwait) was a leading Iraqi poet, well known throughout the Arab world and one of the most influential Arab poets of all ti ...
is considered to be the originator of free verse in Arabic poetry. More recently, poets such as
Adunis have pushed the boundaries of stylistic experimentation even further.
Poetry retains a very important status in the Arab world.
Well-known Iraqi poets include
al-Mutanabbi,
Abdul Razzak Abdul Wahid
Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...
,
Lamia Abbas Amara
Lamia Abbas Amara ( ar, لميعة عباس عمارة, also sometimes spelled Lamea Abbas Amara; 1929 – 18 June 2021) was an Iraqi poet. She was a pioneer of modern Arabic poetry and an important figure in contemporary poetry in Iraq.
Name
La ...
,
Nazik Al-Malaika,
Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri
Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri ( ar, محمد مهدي الجواهري ) (26 July 1899 – 27 July 1997) was an Iraqi poet.Adel Darwish, 'Obituary: Mohammed Al-Jawahri', ''The Independent'', 11 August 1997Online(subscription only) at HighBeam. Cons ...
,
Badr Shaker al-Sayyab
Badr Shakir al Sayyab ( ar, بدر شاكر السياب) (December 24, 1926 in Jaykur, near Basra – December 24, 1964 in Kuwait) was a leading Iraqi poet, well known throughout the Arab world and one of the most influential Arab poets of all ti ...
,
Ahmed Matar
Ahmed Matar (Arabic أحمد مطر, born 1954) is a revolutionary Iraqi poet who has been living in exile for decades, most recently in London.
His poetry is very critical of dictatorial Arab rulers, especially the Iraqi rulers, the lack of fr ...
,
Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati
Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati (December 19, 1926 – August 3, 1999) was an Iraqis, Iraqi Arab poet. He was a pioneer in his field and defied conventional forms of poetry that had been common for centuries.
Biography
He was born in Baghdad, near the s ...
,
Wahid Khayoun Wahid or Waheed is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "One", "Absolute One". Al-Wahid is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Given name
* Waheed Akhtar (1934–1996),
* Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 1964), British multimillionaire media entreprene ...
,
Mustafa Jamal al-Din
Mustafa Jamal al-Din, (Arabic: :ar:مصطفى جمال الدين, مصطفى جمال الدين) was an Iraqi Shia Islam, Shi'ite scholar, poet, and writer. He was born in Suq al-Shuyukh District, Suq Al-Shuyukh and studied in Najaf. He is a Shi ...
and
Muzaffar Al-Nawab.
Mahmoud Darwish was regarded as the Palestinian national poet, and his funeral was attended by thousands of mourners. Syrian poet
Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines simp ...
addressed less political themes, but was regarded as a cultural icon, and his poems provide the lyrics for many popular songs. Other well-known Syrian poets include
Badawi al-Jabal
Muhammad Sulayman al-Ahmad (1903– August 19, 1981) ( ar, محمد سليمان الأحمد), better known by his pen name Badawi al-Jabal ( ar, بدوي الجبل), was a Syrian poet known for his work in the neo-classical Arabic form. Accor ...
and
Adunis.
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
poetry competitions like ''
Prince of Poets
''Prince of Poets'' is a reality television Arabic poetry, poetry competition on the United Arab Emirates, Emirati television network Abu Dhabi TV. It was created in April 2007 by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and airs live from ...
'' and ''
Million's Poet
''Million's Poet'' ( ar, شاعر المليون) is a reality television show in the United Arab Emirates, which was first broadcast in December 2006. The show is a Nabati vernacular poetry competition in which the participants compose and reci ...
'' exist to promote classical Arabic poetry and Nabati poetry respectively. Notable contestants in these competitions include
Tamim al-Barghouti
Tamim Al-Barghouti ( ar, تميم البرغوثي) is a Palestinian-Egyptian poet, columnist and political scientist. Nicknamed the "poet of Jerusalem" (), he is one of the most widely read poets in the Arab World.
Life
Tamim al-Barghouti was ...
,
Hissa Hilal
Hissa Hilal ( ar, حصة هلال) is a Saudi Arabian poet. Previously published under the pseudonym Remia ( ar, ريميه), she gained fame outside the Arab world in 2010 when she recited a poem against fatwas on ''Million's Poet'', an Emirati ...
, and
Hisham al Gakh.
See also
*
List of Arabic language poets
List of Arabic language poets, most of whom were or are Arabs and who wrote in the Arabic language. Each year links to the corresponding "earin poetry" article. The alphabetical order is by first names.
Alphabetical list
__NOTOC__
A
*Abbas Al Akk ...
*
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 ...
*
Arabic music
Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...
References
Sources
*
*Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1976). ''The Mediaeval Islamic Underworld: the Banu Sasan in Arabic Society and Literature''. Brill. .
*Hamori, Andras (1971). "An Allegory from the Arabian Nights: the City of Brass", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies''. Cambridge University Press.
*Jayyusi, Salma Khadra (1977). ''Trends and Movements in Modern Arabic Poetry''. Volume I. Brill. .
*Marzolph, Ulrich; van Leeuwen, Richard; Wassouf, Hassan (2004). ''The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO. .
*Monroe, James T. (2004). ''Hispano-Arabic Poetry: a Student Anthology''. Gorgias Press. .
*Moreh, Shmuel (1976). ''Modern Arabic Poetry 1800–1970: the Development of its Forms and Themes under the Influence of Western Literature''. Brill. .
*Moreh, Shmuel (1988). ''Studies in Modern Arabic Prose and Poetry''. Brill. .
*Somekh (1992), "The Neo-Classical Poets", in M. M. Badawi (ed.), ''Modern Arabic Literature''. Cambridge University Press. .
*Wagner, Ewald (1987), ''Grundzüge der klassischen arabischen Dichtung''. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
*Von Grunebaum, G. E. (1952). "Avicenna's Risâla fî 'l-'išq and Courtly Love", ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies''.
Further reading
*El-Rouayheb, Khaled (2005). "The Love of Boys in Arabic Poetry of the Early Ottoman Period, 1500–1800," ''Middle Eastern Literatures''. Volume VIII.
*Kennedy, Philip F. (1997). ''The Wine Song in Classical Arabic Poetry: Abu Nuwas and the Literary Tradition''. Clarendon Press. .
*Stetkevych, Suzanne Pinckney (1993). ''The Mute Immortals Speak: Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Poetics of Ritual''. Cornell University Press. .
* Athamneh, Waed (2017). ''Modern Arabic Poetry: Revolution and Conflict''. University of Notre Dame Press.
Abdel-Malek, Zaki N Towards A New Theory of Arabic Prosody: A Textbook For Students and Instructors.'
External links
Online classical Arabic poetry, to read and to listenSpecimens of Arabian poetry, from the earliest time to the extinction of the Khaliphat, with some account of the authors (1796)*
Arabic Chrestomathy : selected passages from Arabic prose-writers, with an appendix containing some specimens of ancient Arabic poetry; with a complete glossary (1911)The Tajdid Online Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arabic Poetry
Poetry by language
sr:Арапска књижевност