Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab (; ''The Gathering of the Arabs' Verses'') is a

pre-Islamic Arabic poetry Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry is a term used to refer to Arabic poetry composed in pre-Islamic Arabia roughly between 540 and 620 AD. In Arabic literature, pre-Islamic poetry went by the name ''al-shiʿr al-Jāhilī'' ("poetry from the Jahiliyyah" or " ...

anthology by . The date of publication is unknown, and al-Qurashi is supposed by various scholars to have lived in the 8th, 9th or 10th centuries. It contains seven sections, each containing seven ''

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...

s''. The ''Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab'' is one of five canonical primary sources of early

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 ...

. The four others are ''

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 ...

'', '' Hamasah'', ''

Mufaddaliyat The ''Mufaddaliyyat'' (Arabic: المفضليات / ALA-LC: ''al-Mufaḍḍaliyāt''), meaning "The Examination of al-Mufaḍḍal", is an anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic poems deriving its name from its author, Mufaḍḍal al-Ḍabbī,

'' and the ''

Asma'iyyat The Aṣmaʿiyyāt () is a well-known early anthology of Arabic poetry by Al-Asma'i. The collection is considered one of the primary sources for pre-Islamic Arabic poetry along with the Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab, Hamasah, Mu'allaqat and Mufaddaliy ...

''.

Sections

The first section consists of the seven ''

''. The anthology is the first source to use the name ''Mu'allaqat''; earlier writers describe the poems simply as "the Seven." Al-Qurashi's choice of poems is somewhat idiosyncratic, as he includes

Al-Nabigha Al-Nābighah (), al-Nābighah al-Dhubiyānī, or Nābighah al-Dhubyānī; real name Ziyad ibn Muawiyah (); was one of the last pre-Islamic Arabian poets. "Al-Nabigha" means genius or intelligent in Arabic. Biography His tribe, the Banu Dh ...

and

Al-A'sha Al-A'sha () or Maymun Ibn Qays Al-A'sha (d.c. 570– 625) was an Arabic Jahiliyyah poet from Al-Yamama, Arabia. He claimed to receive inspiration from a jinni called ''Misḥal''. Although not a Christian himself, his poems prove familiarit ...

among the seven and excludes

Antarah ibn Shaddad Antarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi (; 525–608 AD), also known as ʿAntar (), was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet and knight, famous for both his poetry and his adventurous life. His chief poem forms part of the '' Mu'allaqāt'', the collection of seven "h ...

and Al-Harith. The second section is called "al-Mujamharat" ("the assembled"). It contains poems by Abid ibn al-Abras, Adi ibn Zayd, , , , , and Antarah ibn Shaddad. The third section is "al-Muntuqayat", "the chosen". Represented poets include Abu Layla al-Muhalhel,

Urwa ibn al-Ward 'Urwa ibn al-Ward al-'Abasi (; 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 ...

, and Dorayd bin Al Soma. The fourth section, "al-Mudhahhabat" ("the gilded ones") consists solely of poetry from the

Banu Aws The Banū Aws ( , "Sons of Aws") or simply Aws (, also romanised as Aus) was one of the main Arab tribes of Medina. The other was Khazraj, and the two, constituted the Ansar ("Helpers of Muhammad”) after the Hijra.. The Aws tribe desc ...

and

Banu Khazraj The Banu Khazraj () is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era. The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian Qahtanite tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia as a result of the destruction of the Marib ...

tribes. It contains poems by

Hassan ibn Thabit Hassan ibn Thabit () (born c. 563, Medina died 674) was an Arabian poet and one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was best known for poems in defense of the prophet. He was born in Medina, and was a member of the Banu Khazr ...

, Abdullah ibn Rawaha, and Amr ibn Imru al-Qays. The fifth section contains elegies, and the sixth, "al-Mashubat", contains "testimonies of faith mingled with heresy". One of the Mashubat is by

Ka'b ibn Zuhayr Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr () was an Arabian poet of the 7th century, and a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr was the writer of ''Bānat Suʿād (Su'ād Has Departed)'', a qasida in praise of Muhammad. This was the first na'at ...

, famous for reciting the poem in question in front of

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 ...

. The final section, "al-Mulhamat", is ambiguous in meaning but probably means that the poems refer to bloody fights or struggles.Mustafa 1963, pp. 125–6. Represented poets include

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

Al-Akhtal al-Taghlibi Ghiyath ibn Ghawth ibn al-Salt ibn Tariqa al-Taghlibi () commonly known as al-Akhtal () (The Loquacious), was one of the most famous Arab poets of the Umayyad period. He belonged to the Banu Taghlib tribe, and was, like his fellow-tribesmen, a Ch ...

References

{{Authority control 9th-century Arabic-language books 10th-century Arabic-language books Abbasid literature Arabic anthologies Medieval Arabic poems