Mu'allaqat

The Mu‘allaqāt (Arabic: المعلقات, [al-muʕallaqaːt]) is a group of seven long Arabic poems that are considered the best work of the pre-Islamic era. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung on or in the Ka'ba at Mecca. It has also been called The Mu‘allaqāt because its like precious gems that hangs in the mind and is watched in silence.

Along with the Mufaddaliyat, Jamharat Ash'ar al-Arab and Asma'iyyat, the Mu'allaqat are considered the primary source for early Arabic poetry.

History

Compilation

The grammarian Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Nahhas (d. 949 CE) says expressly in his commentary on the Mu'allaqat: "The true view of the matter is this: when Hammad Ar-Rawiya (Hammad the Rhapsodist) saw how little men cared for poetry, he collected these seven pieces, urged people to study them, and said to them: 'These are the [poems] of renown.'" This agrees with all our other information, firstly the recitation of poems was his profession. Hammad (who lived in the first three quarters of the 8th century) was perhaps of all men the one who knew most Arabic poetry by heart. To such a rhapsodist the task of selection is in every way appropriate; and it may be assumed that he is responsible also for the somewhat fantastic title of "the suspended".