Imru\\\'u al-Quais - A pre-Islamic Arab poet

Ameru' al-Qays or Imru'u al-Quais Ibn Hujr Al-Kindi, was a celebrated pre-Islamic Arabian poet of the sixth century, circa 501-544 CE and the author of one of Al-Mu'allaqat or "Suspended Ode", an anthology of Arabic literature attributed to seven famous poets. Al-Quais's Mu'allaqat is based on the Qasida, usually translated into English as "ode." This complex literary form possesses a rigid structure, and al-Quais's masterpiece consists of at least 60 couplets. Also, the poet must strictly adhere to a chosen metre, as well as follow an identical rhyme. In addition, the Qasida is composed of a tripartite structure: a beginning, middle, and an end. Due to this compact organization, the Qasida utilizes metaphor to a large extent rather than mere description in order to convey meaning.
Al-Quais was named after Imru'u al-Quais Ibn Aban who was a close friend of his uncle named al-Muhalhl. Al-Quais was introduced to poetry by his uncle al-Muhalhil, his mother's younger brother; also self-taught. Reputedly, al-Quais's poetic skill was praised by Muhammad (pbuh) and by such early Muslim leaders as Ali (r) but he was also the subject of condemnation because of the content of his work.      
Al-Quais was the son of Hujr, the last king of Kindah which is part of the present Republic of Yemen. He was born around 501 AD and died around 544 AD. His mother was Fatmah bint Rabi'ah, the sister of Kulib and al-Muhalhl, two of the well-known Arabic tribe leaders. Al-Quais married a woman named Jundhub while in exile. He had one known daughter although it is unclear whether Jundhub is her mother. His reputation for writing erotic poems resulted in his banishment from court on two occasions, when he became a wondering minstrel. His father was assassinated by the Banu Asad, a rebel tribe whose leader usurped the throne. Al-Quais pledged revenge, although he never succeeded to the throne. That is why Arabs called him al-Malek-al-Delleel or the Shadow King. He continued to seek help from tribe to tribe until he was introduced to the Emperor, Justinian I. The Emperor provided assistance but is also rumoured to have had al-Quais poisoned because he seduced one of the imperial princesses. It is believed that he avenged his father, although their relationship was not good enough.
Al-Quais wrote passionate love poetry, and is believed to have invented the Qasida, or classical Arabic ode. He wrote one of the famous "seven odes" in the work known as Al-Mu'allaqat. This means "hung" and it is said that the poems "hung in the pagan shrine of the Ka'ba in Mecca." Love poetry continued to be written, especially by the Sufis and his thematic influence can be identified.
In translation, an example of his poetry is the opening stanzas of the poem "Stop, oh my friends" of al-Quais,: "Stop, oh my friends, let us pause to weep over the remembrance of my beloved./ Here was her abode on the edge of the sandy desert between Dakhool and Howmal./ The traces of her encampment are not wholly obliterated even now./ For when the South wind blows the sand over them the North wind sweeps it away./ The courtyards and enclosures of the old home have become desolate;/ The dung of the wild deer lies there thick as the seeds of pepper./ On the morning of our separation it was as if I stood in the gardens of our tribe, / Amid the acacia-shrubs where my eyes were blinded with tears by the smart from the bursting pods of colocynth". Tragedy in one of the poems attributed to him: "Weep for me, my eyes! Spill your tears/And mourn for me the vanished kings/ Hujr ibn 'Amru's princely sons/Led away to slaughter at eventide; / If only they had died in combat/ Not in the lands of Banu Marina! / No water was there to wash their fallen heads,/And their skulls lie spattered with blood/ Pecked over by birds/ Who tear out first the eyebrows, then the eyes."
Al-Quais is considered by many Arabic literary scholars to be poet par excellence of the pre-Islamic period. The testimony to this epithet is his famous Mu'allaqat, which was written in Qasida form and composed during the sixth century AD. This literary masterpiece, only one of seven of his works to have survived, is without a doubt the most influential poem in Arabic literature not only for its premature fascinations but also for its aesthetic qualities and innovative imagery, which has served as a model for later generations of Arab poets, especially those who lived during the 'Abbasid period (C 750-1258 AD). The Mu'allaqat of the pre-Islamic Arab poet al-Quais is his most important poem. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest masterpieces of ancient Arabic literature, or even of Arabic literature in general. Although poetry was the genre of choice for the pre-Islamic poets, only vestiges remain due to the fact that the means of transmission was strictly oral. It was not until the end of the eighth century AD that great pains were taken to collect, record, and edit this massive body of work.
Al-Quais, also known as "al-Malik al-Dillil," which can be translated as either the "Vagabond King" or the "Errant King," is believed to have been the youngest son of Hujr. Hujr is reportedly the last king of Kindah, an influential South Arabian tribe who achieved prominence in the Arabian Peninsula in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Sources mention that al-Quais was banished because he had been enamored of his cousin Fatima and had supposedly composed erotic poetry about her. Thus began perhaps the most famous chapter in Arabic literature and certainly in pre-Islamic poetry: the wayward, and oftentimes scandalous, adventures of al-Quais. After his banishment from his father's kingdom, he spent his days roaming the length and breadth of the Arabian Peninsula with a band of companions, drinking, reciting poetry, and enjoying the company of women. It was during this time, it is said, that he had learned of his father's murder while he was playing backgammon with a companion. At first, he paid no attention to the messenger. Al-Quais loved wine to such an extent that when he was informed of his father's death while drinking, he shocked every one around him by his response when he said "Tonight is for drinking and tomorrow we will see what the matter is."  According to A J Arberry, it was only after he inquired further about his father's murder that he is said to have exclaimed, "He left me to rot when I was a boy, and now that I am a man he has loaded me with his blood." It was then that he vowed to avenge his father's death. These circumstances in al-Quais's early life provide the context for his famous Mu'allaqat.
The events in al-Quais's Mu'allaqat revolve around two main themes: premature sexuality and the vowing of vengeance for his murdered father. In the opening section, known as the Nasib, we see the poet stopping at a deserted desert encampment remembering his youthful, and often scandalous, encounters with various women of his tribe. Several scholars, among them Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych, believe that these events of this extended Nasib, which is longer than the traditional Nasib, are illustrative of the poet's "arrested development" into manhood. As Stetkevych observes, "whereas mature men are consoled or diverted from the foolish infatuations of their youth, al-Quais's heart remains bound to puerile passion." There are numerous other indications of al-Quais's arrested development both in his real life and in his Mu'allaqat, which in the latter takes a metaphoric form. Two examples from his poetry that demonstrate a lack of maturity are his cavalier reaction to his father's murder and the slaughtering of his camel for maidens who, instead of cooking the raw meat and consuming it, prefer simply to play with it.
The famous storm scene, reproduced in part below from quatrains 71-72, "The Mute Immortals Speak", introduces the second major event of al-Quais's Mu'allaqat. Since it occurs in the text where there is traditionally a battle fought and also is a fairly common metaphor in pre-Islamic poetry, it is very probable that the storm is symbolic of an engagement to have been fought in revenge for his father's murder: "O friend, do you see the lightning? There is its flash-/ Like two hands shining in a high-crowned cumulus! / Its flashing illumining the sky, or like the sudden flare of a monk's lamp/ When, tilting it, he soaks with oil the tightly twisted wick". By including the storm scene, al-Quais, in effect, elevates his Qasida from the earthly level to that of the cosmic. Or in Stetkevych's words, "a military triumph has given way to a poetic one."  
Imru'u al-Quais died in C 544 AD, under mysterious circumstances but most likely from the bubonic plague.
        
The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre. Email: [email protected]