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Arabic poets across the eras

Each poet below links to a page with an Arabic introduction and selected poems. Poem texts are Arabic; this page gives you the English map of who is who and when they wrote.

Pre-Islamic Era (Jahiliyya)

c. 150 years before Islam

Arabic poetry reaches maturity before the rise of Islam. The poet is the voice of his tribe: he praises its heroes, defends its honour and records its battles. Poems were recited at fairs such as Ukaz, and the seven celebrated odes known as the Mu'allaqat embody the classical structure: a halt at the abandoned campsite, the journey and the camel, then boasting, praise or wisdom. Outcast poets (the sa'alik) such as al-Shanfara and Ta'abbata Sharran wrote of solitude and survival.

Early Islamic Era

from the Prophet's mission to 41 AH

Poets who lived through both eras are called mukhadramun. Themes shift toward defending the new faith and its community, as in the verse of Hassan ibn Thabit, while the language and the qasida form remain faithful to the older tradition.

Umayyad Era

41 – 132 AH

With the capital at Damascus and the state expanding, poetry diversifies. The naqa'id, the rival flytings of Jarir, al-Farazdaq and al-Akhtal, dominate public life. Chaste 'Udhri love poetry arises in the Hijaz and Najd with Jamil and Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, while Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a develops a witty urban love lyric in Mecca.

Abbasid Era

132 – 656 AH

Baghdad becomes the cultural centre of the world. Poets such as Abu Nuwas, Abu Tammam, al-Buhturi and al-Mutanabbi renew imagery and rhetoric (badi'); al-Ma'arri turns poetry toward philosophy, and Abu Firas writes from Byzantine captivity. Wine poems, hunting poems, praise and ascetic verse all flourish.

Andalusian Era

from the conquest in 92 AH to the fall of Granada

Al-Andalus gives Arabic poetry nature description, nostalgic laments for lost cities and the strophic muwashshah. Ibn Zaydun's longing for Wallada, al-Mu'tamid's exile in prison and Ibn al-Khatib's 'Jadaka al-ghaythu' are among its best-known voices.

Later Eras: Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman

13th – 19th centuries

Poetry turns to Sufi love (Ibn al-Farid), devotion to the Prophet (al-Busiri's celebrated Burda) and highly crafted rhetorical verse. Ibn al-Wardi composes proverbial didactic poems, and poets such as Safi al-Din al-Hilli write on rhetoric itself.

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