Literature
Family: Arts, economy and the world · 28 entries
Entries on this theme
Person
al-Walid ibn al-Mughira
c. 550 CEThe grand old man of Banu Makhzum — arbiter of Quraysh's elders, father of Khalid, and the man whose poetic verdicts shaped how Mecca first named the Prophet's recitation.al-Nadr ibn al-Harith
c. 575 CEA Qurashi who had traveled to al-Hira and returned with Persian tales of kings and heroes, offering them against the Prophet's recitation — captured at Badr and executed on the march home.Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf
c. 585 CEA poet of Banu Nadir — Jewish on his father's side, Arab on his mother's — whose verses mourned the Meccan dead of Badr and satirized the Muslims and their women; assassinated with the Prophet's sanction in the first political killing of the Medinan period.Abd Allah ibn Rawaha
Companion from the Ansar and poet of early Islam; appointed third commander of the Mu'tah expedition. After both of his comrades Zayd and Ja'far were killed he hesitated briefly then charged and was martyred. The Prophet announced his death while still in Medina, reporting in a vision that his throne was slightly tilted beside his companions' because of his hesitation before pressing on.Durayd ibn al-Simma
A legendary pre-Islamic knight, tribal champion and poet of Banu Jusham (Hawazin); an old, blind veteran carried in a litter at Hunayn, he vehemently criticized Malik ibn Awf's strategy of bringing women and herds into battle, and was slain at Awtas.Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami
A knight, poet and chieftain of Banu Sulaym; he embraced Islam prior to the conquest of Mecca after a miraculous encounter with his idol Dimar, led the Sulaym contingent at the Conquest and Hunayn, and was renowned for his stirring war poetry.Abdullah ibn al-Zib'ara
One of the finest poets of Quraysh, harsh against the Muslims, who embraced Islam at the conquest; he fled to Najran after the fall of Mecca, verses of Hassan ibn Thabit reached him, he returned and became Muslim and composed verses of apology; al-Marzubani says the Prophet ordered him a robe when he praised him.Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith
The Prophet's paternal cousin and milk-brother, fostered with him in Banu Sa'd under Halima's care; he later became one of the poets of Islam after initially opposing it.al-Akhzar ibn Lut al-Dili
A poet of Banu al-Dil who boasted in verse of driving Banu Ka'b of Khuza'a away from al-Watir; Budayl ibn Umm Asram answered him in a poem Ibn Hisham records under a non-Ibn-Ishaq strand.Amr ibn Salim al-Khuza'i
A man of Banu Ka'b of Khuza'a who stood before the Prophet in the Medina mosque and recited his famous plea for help after the al-Watir attack — 'that which stirred the conquest of Mecca', in Ibn Ishaq's words.Budayl ibn Warqa' al-Khuza'i
A Khuza'i leader of the truce years: he sheltered the driven-in Khuza'a in his house, led their complaint delegation to Medina, met Abu Sufyan at Usfan while concealing his own visit, and scouted the Muslim army with him at Marr al-Zahran — where he slipped away to warn the Prophet. As 'Budayl ibn Umm Asram' he answered al-Akhzar's war poem.Hassan ibn Thabit
The renowned 'Poet of the Prophet'; an Ansari chief of Banu al-Najjar who defended Islam and the Prophet with his eloquent poetry, endorsed by the Prophet with the supplication 'O God, support him with the Holy Spirit'; lived to over a hundred years.Himas ibn Qays al-Dili
A warrior of Banu Bakr who prepared weapons before the Conquest boasting he would kill Muhammad's companions; he fought at al-Khandama, broke and fled to his house, reciting famous verses to his wife.Ka'b ibn Malik al-Ansari
One of the three chief poets of the Prophet from the Ansar (Banu Salama of Khazraj); he witnessed the Second Pledge of al-Aqaba, fought in the early campaigns, defended the community with his eloquent verses at Hunayn, and was later one of the three whose repentance at Tabuk was accepted.Ka'b ibn Zuhayr
One of the most gifted Arab poets, son of the poet Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma, who had satirised the Prophet, then came to Medina repentant, recited Banat Su'ad and was pardoned; the ode became known as the Burda.Suwayd ibn Samit
A renowned poet and noble warrior of the Aws tribe in Yathrib, called 'al-Kamil' for his valor and lineage; he met the Prophet in Mecca carrying the wisdom of Luqman, listened to the Qur'an, approved of it, and was killed at the battle of Bu'ath before fully establishing his practice.Tamim ibn Asad al-Khuza'i
The Khuza'i man who escaped the al-Watir night attack when his companion Munabbih fell; the long apology poem to Budayl ibn Umm Asram is his — though Ibn Hisham notes it is also ascribed to Hubayb ibn Abdullah al-A'lam al-Hudhali.al-Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi
A noble chief and renowned poet of the Daws tribe who arrived in Mecca around the eleventh year of prophethood; warned against listening to Muhammad, he stuffed his ears with cotton but upon hearing the recitation at the Kaaba embraced Islam, later calling his entire tribe to the faith.
Event
The killing of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf
c. September 624 CE · 14 Rabi' I 3 AHThe assassination of the Jewish poet Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf in Rabi' al-Awwal 3 AH by a band led by Muhammad ibn Maslama, after he incited Quraysh to war and satirized Muslim women.Khuza'a's appeal to Medina
629 CE · 8 AHAfter al-Watir, Amr ibn Salim al-Khuza'i stood before the Prophet in the Medina mosque and recited his plea invoking the pact of the fathers — 'and that was what stirred the conquest of Mecca' — then Budayl ibn Warqa' arrived with Khuza'i men reporting Quraysh's backing of Bakr.Ka'b ibn Zuhayr's pardon and recitation of Banat Su'ad
c. 630 CE · 8 AHWarned by his brother Bujayr after the Prophet's return from al-Ta'if, the poet Ka'b ibn Zuhayr came to Medina, announced himself in the mosque, was spared despite an Ansari's request to strike his neck, and recited his apology-ode Banat Su'ad before the Prophet.
Work
Hassan ibn Thabit's elegies for the Mu'tah martyrs
Three elegies by Hassan ibn Thabit mourning the Mu'tah commanders: the first for all three together, the second for Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and the third for Zayd and Ibn Rawaha. Transmitted by Ibn Ishaq within his Mu'tah account.Ka'b ibn Malik's elegy for the Mu'tah martyrs
Elegy by Ka'b ibn Malik al-Ansari praising the endurance and courage of the Mu'tah martyrs. Transmitted by Ibn Ishaq within the Mu'tah narrative.Abbas ibn Mirdas's ode on the Battle of Hunayn
The ode composed by Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami celebrating the steadfastness of Banu Sulaym and the Muslims' counter-rally at the Battle of Hunayn, answering Hawazin's poets.Ka'b ibn Malik's ode on Hunayn and the march to Ta'if
The ode by Ka'b ibn Malik al-Ansari commemorating the victory at Hunayn and the army's advance to besiege the fortress of Ta'if.Abbas ibn Mirdas's verses of reproach on the Ji'rana division
The verses of gentle reproach composed by Abbas ibn Mirdas when granted fewer camels than Uyayna and al-Aqra', upon which the Prophet ordered his share completed to a full hundred until he was satisfied.Malik ibn Awf's eulogy of the Prophet at al-Ji'rana
The verses recited by Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri upon coming to the Prophet in submission at al-Ji'rana, after having his family and wealth restored and receiving one hundred camels.Banat Su'ad (the Burda of Ka'b ibn Zuhayr)
Ka'b ibn Zuhayr's celebrated apology-ode beginning 'Su'ad has departed, and today my heart is love-sick', recited before the Prophet in Medina; it pleads for pardon and praises the Prophet as a light and an unsheathed sword of God.
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