Arab terms
Terms
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- Imru’ al-Qays
- Oldest of the seven mu’allaqas, wrote about seducing women in the desert, follows regular format, translations are debatable, sleeps with married women, rides a horse instead of the common camel, sense of nature and it potential violence is marvelously vivid and concrete.
- Antara Ibn Shaddad
- perhaps the most famous of the warrior poets of pre-Islamic times, created on of the Mu’allaqats. Poetry is described as fatalist, theme of fated doom of Arab people
- Sa’alik
- ‘one who follows the road’, poets who were restless outlaws, who had been cast out from their tribes, talked about hardships and often were bleak as well as independent.
- Al-Shanfara al-Azdi
- most notorious of the sa’aliks, most famous poem is the Lamiyyat, Lamiyyat omits nasib and rihla, “poet as thugâ€â€¦possible that the rawi Khalaf ibn Hayyan al-Ahmar wrote the lamiyyat, this shows that often times poems would be forged and changed, possibly by future Islamic peoples.
- Ta’abbata Sharran
- another sa’alik, friend of al-Azdi, wrote Qit’a Nuniyya, story of how he met a ghoul in the desert, is one the most famous qit’as, a qit’a was an extemporary composition which expressed a single emotion or experience that was a quarter or less than a normal qasida.
- Al-Khansa’
- “the Gazelleâ€, was not only the most celebrated specialist in the funeral elegy, but perhaps the greatest medieval woman poet. Poem talked about celebrates the male, tribal values of generosity and courage.
- Al-rasul
- the messenger
- al-Akhtal
- Christian Arab, famous for his panegyric qasidas, also composed epigrammatic poems and was one of the earliest poets in the Islamic period to celebrate wine. Famous for his alliance with the poet al-Farazdaq.
- al-Farazdaq
- tribesmen with al-Akhtal, reputation as cowardly, spiteful, drunk and dissolute, also a plagiarist. Quite a few of Farazdaq’s poems deal with love and domestic unhappiness.
- Jarir
- Bedouin poet, found favor with Umayyad royalty, specialized in satire.
- ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman Sibawayhi
- 799 - wrote first kitab, book, of the study of the Arabic language and his work is still considered the basic grammar.
- Khalil ibn Ahmad
- 791 - wrote first Arabic dictionary.
- ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi’a
- First great poet of love, offended the Caliph
- Jamil
- Leader of a school of poetry, fell in love, something with a women and threatening to kill her, died in Egypt, exiled from the one he loved.
- Abu Nuwas
- Most famous of the wine poets, also wrote erotic poems dedicated
- Khayriyya
- Poetry devoted to wine, drunkenness, drinking parties, wine cups and cup-bearers.
- Abu Dhu’ayb
- poetry about bees and honey, as well as on the grander things of love.
- Al-Tirimmah
- Celebrated Jihad
- ‘Abd al-Hamid
- known as al-katib, earliest prose, celebrated his duties as the Caiph’s secretary.
- Ibn Washshiyya
- Aramaic speaking population in Syria and Iraq known as Nabataeans, wrote book of poisons praising them.
- Ibn al-Muqaffa
- famous translator of Persian prose and important author, Kalila wa-Dimma, Indian collection of fables.
- Jahiz
- Master of Adab, witty learned, limpid prose. Big time translator. Most famous work is Kitab al-Hayawan, ‘book of animals’ which is a rambling discourse.
- Bashshar
- Ugly as hell, attacked the stereotyped forms of the imagery in desert poetry, favored the themes that seemed important to the courtly and urban environment in which he worked. Believed in modernization.
- Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf
- leading poet of courtly love and produced ghazals devoted to love.
- Abu al-‘Atahiyya
- renounced love poetry, favored poetry that was purely about aesthetics.
- Al-Hallaj
- poetry to the service of mystical doctrine.