The Role of Poet In Pre-Islamic Arabia
Literature is a wonderful reflection of life. Poetry is a genre of literature in which the overall structure of society mirrored. Since antiquity, poets have appeared in almost all languages and cultures, and we have extensively inspired works that vary significantly in multiple cultures and periods. There is no society without poets. What about pre-Islamic era? Pre-Islamic poetry is widely referred to in Arabic as the time being called the time of ‘Jahiliyyah’ — ‘Jahiliyyah poetry’ literally means ‘the ignorant’.
In pre-Islamic poetry, the political, social, philosophical, and theological meditations of the Arabs are scattered. Poetry is a kind of record and resource of what they know regarding the days of ignorance. It is inevitable to not be affected by the atmosphere of the desert. So the economic path, social mobility, devices of meditation, and all the emotions were connected to the great work and desert challenges.
The Arabs remained without a government of any kind, decade after decade, century after century. Each tribe had various numbers of its own authority and duty to protect its members in their respective regions even though they had committed crimes.. Here are some dominant tribes examples, according to the region, in Makkah; Quraysh which regarded themselves superior to the Bedouins, in Yathrib; Aus and Khazraj, and the Jewish tribes of Nadheer, Qaynuqaa, and Qurayza. Animal farming and agriculture was one the main aspects of the Arabs economy of that period, their primary trade was foreign lands as regards trade or exchange.
Poetry has become a social instrument, and poets have gained a widely prestigious place in society. A truly gifted poet was a tribal artist, an oracle, guide, orator, historian, leader, public speaker, philosopher, and prophet of his community. The poet’s role in pre-Islamic culture was religious and ritualized. The poet would control or affect the destiny of the tribe through the poet’s blessed divine wisdom was a common view of people. Bedouin Arabs were usually proud of three things regarding their enemies. The number of their members, horsemen, and poets they had. In the pre-Islamic era, poetry had been used as a weapon against rivals and measured intelligence by poetry. Literature was like a masterful symbol of a sword targeted to the enemy’s heart. It is an overwhelmed and admirable idea of centuries not to take blood, but to insult the honor of their enemies by words. Additionally, poetry is a genuine archive of Bedouin Arabs’ cultural heritage which were written down the details of their private and public lives by Pre-Islamic poets. The Arabian Desert was the inspiration behind Arabic literature especially during their long journeys back and forth across the desert, they started singing songs which later evolved into poems.
Some of the virtues of Arabs had no comparable such as; tribal loyalty, masculinity, hospitality, desire for freedom, and kindness are only a few noble features of the Arab character. All scholars believe that poetry in the pre-Islamic era was the highest embodied development of the culture. Probably, the answer to what was the Arab culture at that time is a few stanzas of poetry. If there is a genius idea, a poet can form some verses. The Qaida was a poem indented the right way to convey a message. The Qaida's high level of thematic simplicity in that day, its usual rhythm, and refined curves indicate plainly that it is much older than anybody might have thought.
‘’Qaṣīdah, also spelled kasida, Turkish kasîde Persian qaṣīdeh, poetic form developed in pre-Islamic Arabia and perpetuated throughout Islamic literary history into the present. It is a laudatory, elegiac, or satiric poem that is found in Arabic, Persian, and many related Asian literatures. The classic is an elaborately structured ode of 60 to 100 lines, maintaining a single end rhyme that runs through the entire piece; the same rhyme also occurs at the end of the first hemistich (half-line) of the first verse. Virtually any metre is acceptable for the qaṣīdah except the rajaz, which has lines only half the length of those in other metres.’’ (Web. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Qasida, -1 par.)
The Mu’allaqat, group of seven long Arabic poets who were honored as masterpieces of poetic composition. ‘The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems’ (web, Wikipedia, 1 par,). Most of the Arabs used to gather in the annual prize at the fair of Okaz and recite verses; then the king said, ‘Hang it up, and preserve it among my treasures’ , when he satisfied any poem. Encyclopædia Britannica. 18 (11th ed.) And these poems hung up on the wall of Kaaba in golden letters.
It is said that these poets’ lives were scattered around more than 100 years. Among the best-known poets of the pre-Islamic period is Imru’ al-Qais, Samaw’al ibn ‘Adiya, al-Nabigha, Tarafa, Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma, and Antarah ibn Shaddad. Imru’ al-Qais is usually regarded as the father of the Arabic Poetry. There are two major themes in which Imru’l Qais arise; sexuality and the vowing of revenge of his slaughtered father. In the opening section which is called nasib, while resting at a desert camp, recalling his scandalous adventures with the numerous women of his tribe.
As reported by Krishna Chaitanya in A History of Arabic Literature, Ibn Rashiq of Kairouan informs us regarding the position of the poet in tribal days as thus: ‘’Whenever a poet emerged in an Arab tribe, the other tribes would come and congratulate it. Feasts would be prepared and the women would gather together, playing on lutes, as people do at weddings. For the poet was a defense to their honor, a protection for their good repute. He immortalized their deeds of glory and published their eternal fame. On three things, the tribes congratulated one another: the birth of a boy, the emergence of a poet in their midst, or the foaling of a mare.”
Literature is the product of real-life moreover; its interpretations are ultimately affected by social and environmental realities influencing the poet. Desert was the stage of Arabs where they were able to move with tents and flocks desiring pastures that changed by season, introducing their worlds, marriage, and dying in personal and tribal feuds. Pre-Islamic Arabs have made us the witness of a priceless heirloom treasure of history with the help of poets even after centuries.
Work Cited
Chaitanya, Krishna. “in A History of Arabic Literature, Ibn Rashiq of Kairouan”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Qasida”, -1 par.
Web: https://www.britannica.com/art/qasidah
Wikipedia, “Mu’allaqat” 1 par,
