Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr () was an

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the 7th century, and a contemporary of 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 ...

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

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 ...

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'' (, "Ode of the Mantle"), or ''al-Burda'' for short, is a thirteenth-century ode of praise for Muhammad composed by the Shadhili mystic al-Busiri of Egypt. The poem, whose actual title is "The Celestial Lights in Praise of ...

. He recited this poem in front of Muhammad after embracing Islam. Muhammad was so moved that he removed his mantle and wrapped it over him. According to traditional accounts, the mantle has been preserved as a relic. This original Burdah is not as famous as the one composed by Imam al-Busiri even though 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 Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

and accepted Islam. It was then that he recited the first na'at ''Bānat Suʿād''.

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-language poets Companions of the Prophet Poets of the early Islamic period