- .

Imru al-Qays
)(
Imrual-Qays was born c. 500 C.E, the youngest son of
Hujr, King of Kinda and ruler- by their consent of the
Assad and Ghatafan tribes. The tribe of Kinda originated
in southern Arabia, in Hadhramaut, where texts show that
a Kingdom of Kinda had been formed by the second half
of the first century B.C.E. After their defeat and
subjugation by the Shebans, the Kindites emigrated to
north and central Arabia where it became prominent in the
late and early sixth century C.E. Imru al-Qays is a
laudatory sobriquet, popular among pre-Islamic Arab
kings, meaning man of hard deeds. The poets real name
was Hunduj rich, fertile ground. He was brought up in
the manner of Arab princes of that age, and was taught
codes of chivalry, equestrian skills, archery and
swordsmanship. He frequented his maternal uncles, the
Taghlib tribe, where he learnt poetry from his uncle, alMuhalhal. But, to his fathers consternation, a lewd streak
developed with his accelerating poetic proficiency. His
lustful, amorous verses, anathema to the conduct codes of
princes, continually distressed his stern, over-righteous
father, who eventually banished his incorrigible son who,
with a band of vagrants, wandered about Arabia, drinking,
.hunting and womanizing
The central event of Imrual-Qayss life was the slaying of
his father,Hujr, by the rebellious vassal tribe of Beni
Assad. This tribe, leaderless, had agreed to accept Hujr as
their suzerain. But his heavy handed treatment of the Beni
Assad, and his tax-collectors beating them for delayed
payments of taxes drove the tribe to mutinous rebellion. A
force of Beni Assad horsemen and camel riders assaulted
pavilion and fell upon him while his servants tried Hujrs
to shield him with their bodies. Imru al-Qays dedicated
his life to avenge his fathers death, soliciting various
tribes for aid. Some tribes gave him reluctant support by
providing him with armed horsemen, but such aid soon

dried up. The Kindite avenger found himself alone and

friendless. He wandered, distraught and helpless, from
tribe to tribe in vain. A glimmer of hope finally appeared.
One Amr b. Jaber, of the Fazara tribe with whom he was
staying suggested to Imru al-Qays that he seek the
support and guidance of the prominent Jewish poet alSamawal (Samuel), famous for his hospitality and
proverbial for his loyalty to those who place their trust in
him. At his mansion al-Ablaq (The Piebald) al-Samawal
agreed to help the Kindite poet by writing to his friend
Arethas the Ghassanid, (al-Harith al-Ghassani) to
intercede for Imrual-Qays with his close friend and ally,
the emperor Justinian (527-565). This intercession took
place in 541 during Arethass state visit to Constantinople.
Arethas spoke well to Justinian of the Kindite poet,
suggesting that he might well be, with Constantinoples
help, the future king of a re-established kingdom of
.Kinda
Imrual-Qays received an invitation from Justinian to visit
him in Constantinople. He was graciously and hospitably
received by the emperor. In his verse the Kindite poet
mentions that A boon companion was I to Caesar in his
realm,/ he conferred on me precedence/ so I rode the State
Post. The State-Post was a stable of powerful swift
horses used to transport high ranking dignitaries, and
urgent mail, throughout the Byzantine empire. It is certain
that Justinian fully endorsed Imrual-Qays as the future
King of Kinda first, so that a re-established Kinda would
bolster the hard-pressed Ghassanids in their defense of the
Byzantine empires eastern limes (borders) against the
Persian enemy and its Lakhmid allies; and second,
because the present Kindite ruler, Qays b. Salameh, a
cousin of Imrual- Qays, was deemed grossly unsuitable
and needs to be replaced. But the future King of Kinda
was never to be. He was infected with the bubonic plague
which ran its course in the triennium (541-544) which hit
Constantinople and Ankyra (modern Ankara). ImrualQays died of the plague in Ankyra on his way home from
.Constantinople c. 542
Imrual-Qays is almost universally acknowledged by
as the greatest of the ,literary critics, classical and modern
pre-Islamic poets. The Prophet himself, notwithstanding

his disapproval of poets, admitted Imrual-Qayss poetical

excellence, describing him as leading poets into hell-fire.
The Prophets Companions, the Caliphs Umar and Ali
As to his Muallaqa .extolled his genius and originality
classical European critics, writes Nicholson have vied
with each other in praising its exquisite diction and
splendid images, the sweet flow of the verse, the charm
and variety of the painting and above all, the feeling by
which it is inspired of the joy and glory of youth. Of
Arabic classical sources al-Asmasays that ImrualQayss descriptive powers are unsurpassable, especially
when describing rainfall, citing his magnificent account of
a rainstorm and the ensuing flash floods at the end of his
Muallaqa (vide infra, verses 70-81). A modern western
critic writes of the Kindite poets paramount stature
among pre-Islamic poets as exemplified in his Muallaqa
which she describes as arguably the most widely quoted,
plagiarized, imitated, parodied poem in Arabic; that his
verses are the touchstones of the ancestral voice of the
Arabic poetic traditionhe was a prestigious and
formidable inspiration and influence. So much so that
even Tarafa, acknowledged to hold second place after
Imrual-Qays in the scale of poetic excellence, is alleged
.to have stolen verses from the Kindite
:Selected Bibliography
General R.A Nicholson Literary History of the Arabs
(New York: Charles Scribner, 1907, reissued by
Kessinger Publishing, undated). Some of Nicholsons
account is dated and draws on legendary information
given by classical Arabic sources which have now been
proven to be unhistorical. On his life and poetry see
Ibrahim Mumayiz The Vagabond King/The Life and
Poetry of Imrual-Qays (Amman: Jordan University Press,
2002) passim and Ibrahim Mumayiz Arabesques/
Selections of Biography and Poetry from Classical Arabic
Literature (Antwerp: Garant, 2006) pp.22-26; On his
birth, Gunnar Olinder The Kings of Kinda (Lundt: Lundt
Universitets Arsskrift, 1927) p.95; On his death, Irfan
Shahid The Last Days of Imru al-Qays in Tradition and
Modernity in Arabic Literature (Fayettville: University of
Arkansas Press, 1997) p. 217; On Imrual-Qays,alSamawal, Arethas the Ghassanid and Justinian see

Ibrahim Mumayiz Imru al-Qays and Byzantium

Journal of Arabic Literature Vol.36.2, 2006 passim ; and
al-Isfahani Al-Aghani (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al Ilmiyya,
1992) Vol.IX, p.117; on modern western critics praise of
Imrual-Qays, Julie Scott Meisami Imrual-Qays Praises
the Prophet in Tradition and Modernity (supra) p.223; on
Tarafa plagiarizing Imrual-Qays, Amidu Sanni Did
Tarafa Actually Steal from Imru al-Qays? On
Coincidence of Thought and Expression (Tawarrud) in
Arabic Literary Theory Arabic and Middle Eastern
.Literatures Vol.4, July 2001 pp. 117-136

The Muallaqa of Imru al-Qays

-1

Lets halt! And on the abode of .1

loved ones weep
Where, twixt Dukhool and
.Hawmal, sands pile deep

-2

Towdah and al-Miqrat .2

eer there will lay

Sands northern winds pile,
)southern blow away (1

-3

droppings in its spaces Oryx .3
youll see
Like pepper-corns scattered so
.wide and free

-4

Now that theyve gone, I feel .4

that I will lead
The life of pickers of bitter apple
)seed (2

-5

My mounted friends call out, .5

in cheer, to me
Die not of grief! Well armed
.with patience be
-6

My cure lies in a hot .6
downpour of tear
Are there, at ruins, ones that me
?could cheer
-7

For Umm al -Huwayrith, .7
and her neighbor
Umm al-Rabab; loves gone,
.now as before

 -8

When belles rise, there musk is .8

.so sweet and true
Like carnations oer which
.morning breezes blew


-9

My streaming tears, the pangs .9
of love they felt
Bedrenching me full, even my
)sword-belt! (3
-11

O for a day as that I once had .11

,spent

When maids to Juljul for an

.outing went

-11

That day I slew my mount .11

for thvirgins sake
They each some things of mine
)back home did take (4

-12

Each claimed that the mount .12

was slain for her alone
Its white oer- flesh like silks that
)on them shone (5
-13

I slipped in Unayzahs .13

howdah. She cried
Damn you! Youll maim my
)mount. Ill walk alongside!(6


-14



Her howdah, with our .14
.weight, tilted aside
My camel! Down quick, Imru
.al-Qays! she cried

-15

Let go the reins! said I Be .15

.calm and still
Let me of your kisses have what I
will



-16



Pregnant, nursing mothers .16
Ive loved, through tact
And did, through wiles, from
.their own babes, distract
-17

When, from behind, wailed .17
loud her tiny tot
She nursed it but forgot to love
)me not (7
-18

Over a dune, me she once .18
.resisted
In vowing, loudest oaths, she

protested
-19

Do from your coyness, .19
)Fatima, desist (8
Or leave me, and on being coy,
.insist

-21

Youve turned vain, now .21

that by your love Im slain
Command my heart. Servant it
.shall remain

-21


If I gave you offence, then .21

you may
My heart take out from yours;
)free let it stay (9
-22

Your eyes drop tears, only .22
for you to start
to shoot two arrows at my dying
.heart

-23

She a howdah-egg, .23

.unbroken, unsoiled
In howdah-nest, I broke and her
.enjoyed




-24



To visit her, her guards in .24
)stealth I braved (10
If me theyd caught, theyd
.gladly me have slayed

-25

To her I went when night, .25

oer stars, unfurled
As dark nightgown is broidered
.and impearled

-26

Behind curtains, shes clad in .26

bed attire
.To let all see shes ready to retire


-27

By God! said she no .27

means have I at hand
To keep away what you from me
)demand (11

-28

With her I walked, and she, .28
without delay
With her gowns train our
footprints wiped away
.
-29

The tents were still. We left .29
.them far behind
Quiet we stood, in pleasure to

.unwind

-31




To me I drew her temples, .31
then she swayed
With ankles fine, full thighs, slim
.waist she laid

-31

Her waist and belly, smooth .31
they were and tight
Her chest: glittring mirror eer
.shining bright
-32

In depths of seas lie precious .32

white pearls
In loves fluids, my pearl from
.clam unfurls


-33




When shying off, she turns .33
the softest cheek
Like hind with fawn, her
.welcming eyes are meek



-34

No jewels does her fine .34
slender neck bear
Its oryx-like; its beauty white
.and bare

-35

with Her back is covred .35

coal-black hair, well-dressed
Her plaits, like palmy shoots, are
.wound and pressed





-36

Her locks, her plaits; with .36
.care they all are dressed
Some flow straight down; some
.on her crown do rest
-37

That waist! Slim-round, as if .37
by craftsman made
Lush as shoots in laden !Legs
palms cool shade

-38

She rises late from bed, .38

.scented with musk
Pampered, well-served is she,
.from dawn till dusk
-39

She picks with fingers long, .39
rounded and soft
Like worms, (12) or straight Is)hil shoots high aloft (13
-41

In darkest nights her face is .41
clear as light

A praying monks lit lantern

.glowing bright
-41

To her, gallants, in love, .41
.wisely behaved
Her clothes are between those of
)child, and maid (14

-42

Gallants attentions foreer do .42
not last
But my love for her, spite time,
.stands fast
-43

For loving you, reproached .43

Ive been and reviled
Yet I love, spite those who me
have defiled

-44

Like heavy waves, long .44

nights pon me descend
Im weighed with cares that
.longer nights extend
-45

I to the nights darkness, with .45
.grief, complained
The carefree find it brief; the
.care-worn, strained




-46

O longest night! I so await .46
your morn
Though my thorny cares wont
.by morn be shorn



-47

What kind of night are you! .47

!Your stars neer fade
As if rock-tied with strongest
)rope eer made.(15
-48

A full water-skin is eer there .48
to stay
On my camel that always drifts

)away (16
-49

Ive crossed dry wastelands, .49

where starved wolves prowl
Like gamblers starving young,
with hunger howl

-51
:


To howling wolf said I .51
.Were of a kind
We seek, but is sought we never
.find
-51

Each looks for what he in .51

.hunger devours
Lean is the wretch whose living
)is like ours (17

-52

I rise before the birds in nests .52

awake
To mount a steed that none can
.overtake

-53

To charge, retreat, and wheel .53
hes strong and fast
As boulder, by floods, down
.from high, is cast

-54

Much sweat from its rock- .54

like back downward goes
Like rain oer polished stone so
.swiftly flows
-55





Though lean, its work- .55
power eer is at toil
Its neighs so like a cauldron
.brought to boil
-56

Onward it flies, when .56

swiftest steeds do tire
They, heavy-hoofed, bedusted,
.soon retire

-57

Weightless boys cannot, for .57

long, on it stay
At speed, its riders clothes are
.blown away

-58

Like stone-and- .58
oerhead string(18)that boys
entwirl
My steed, its stone-hard frame
.fast forward hurls
-59

With waist of deer, ostrich .59

pace, wolfish core

And fox-cub hind legs oer.leaping its fore

-61

Its ribs and flanks well- .61

curved, its rear will show
Its thick tail blocking its hind legs
.from view
-61

Its withers are like .61
grindstones, hard and sound
where brides incense and bitter.seed (19) are ground
-62




Its neck smeared with blood .62
of hunted prey
So like henna that, over gray)hairs, lay (20

-63

A herd whose ewes far ahead .63

)appeared (21
So like virgins unsunned, by sin
.unsmeared



-64

Their like Yemen beads that .64
well-born boys wear
Their necks and cheeks are black,
.their bodies fair

-65


My steed did soon the herds .65
vanguard oertake
The slow were left their slow
)way on to make (22
-66

ewe were felled in A ram and .66
the chase
sweatless was the steed
.throughout thhectic race

-67

The copious hunt cooks set .67
out to prepare

Some boiled some on hot stones

.roasted the fare


-68

In splendid form was this my .68
splendid steed
Upon its perfection eyes greedly
feed

-69


Saddled and bridled it I eer .69
keep
And neer to pasture let it happly
.leap

-71

Look up, my friend, and see .71

!those lightning streaks
So like the wildly flailing arms of
.freaks
-71

It flash lights all, like monks .71

lantern; well built
As oil rushes to soak its wick at
.tilt

-72

Twixt Dharj and .72
Uthayb cloud-watching sat
we
Amazed I was how far my eyes
.could see

 -73

Cloud-topped mount .73

Qatan was there on our right
To left, Sitar and Yethbel
)were in sight.(23

-74

Torrential rain over .74

Kutayfah poured
Uprooting trees that once up
.high had soared

-75



Qinans high mount was .75
struck by that deluge

Its frightened elk scurried for

.safe refuge

-76

Taymaas date palms were .76

.swiftly overthrown
The floods swept all but
mansions built of stone
-77



Thebeers high mount was .77
braced for that onslaught
As a cloaked lord, storm shelter
)would have sought (24

-78

loaded floods around The .78

Mujaymir swirled
And spun as swiftly as a spindle
)twirled (25
-79

Ghabeets desert was then .79
with color laid
Like wares Yemen merchants in
)full displayed (26
-81

Mikak bird-song .81
)throughout the valley rang (27
S if peppered wine had drunk,
.they happly sang


-81

The beasts that were in floods .81

,beswept and drowned
Like flooded crops, in mud were
.fully bound
NOTES
The locations Towdah and al-Miqrat are subjected )1(
to conflicting winds. Northern winds bury the two
locations with sand which southern winds blow away
again, revealing traces of deserted dwellings; distressing,
.says the poet for him to observe
is a Bitter-apple, or colocynth, the Arabic handhal )2(
proverbial for its small apple-like desert growth
unbearable bitterness. It is gathered by professional
pickers who roam the deserts to collect it; its seed used as
medicine and incense. Slicing bitter-apple, like onions
causes tear- flow. He likens himself, tearful and lonely at
.desolate locations, to pickers of bitter-apple
This hyperbolic downpour of tears is a standard poetic )3(
device showing depth of pained love for the beloved who
.once dwelt in the now deserted campsite
Having sacrificed his mount to feed the girls grilled )4(
meat, he is expressing his amazement at each girl taking
some of his belongings home with her as a souvenir of
.this occasion
The metaphysical conceit here is that the white layer )5(
of fat on the slain camels flesh is likened to silk. The
verse specifies silk as twisted silk braid
Imrual-Qays loved his cousin Unayzah (little goat). )6(
He asked for her hand but her family declined, due to his

reputation as a womanizing libertine. A group of girls,

including Unayzah, went on a days outing to Juljul
springs (vide supra, verse 10). Having dismissed their
servants, they were bathing in the spring when Imru alQays came upon them. He collected their clothes, refusing
to hand them over till each girl emerged from the spring to
collect her clothes herself. The last one to do so,
embarrassed and coy, was Unayzah. Later that day the
girls complained of hunger, so the poet killed his camel to
feed them grilled meat. Late in the evening he mounted
with Unayzah on her howdah-camel and delivered her
safely home. Verses 13-15 descibe the scene inside the
howdah. Her criesto him to get down was part of her arch
coyness which endeared her to him.((Mohammad Abul
Fadhl Ibrahim Diwan Imrual-Qays (Cairo: 1959 ed.)
))p.10
This and the following lines refer to other, married, )7(
. and single women, excluding Unayzah
Fatima is her proper name. Unayza (little goat) is her )8(
.nickname
Arabic verse speaks of clothes, meaning the The )9(
heart, as is usual in Arabic metaphorics. He says If Ive
given offence and you mislike anything in me, give me
back my heart and I then shall leave. In other words, take
my heart out of yours so that it my heart would go its
.own separate, way
It is not clear if the nocturnal amorous rendezvous )10(
.here was with his cousin Fatima or with someone else
Another version of this verse: By God! said she )11(
your scandal comes so late/ No means have I your
passions to abate
We have a metaphysical conceit in worms. The )12(
womens fingers, pre-Islamic Arabs usually compared
actively and nimbly at work, picking or weaving, to
articulated, serpent-like worms burrowing their way
.energetically through damp soils
Is-hil is a species of oasis tree known for its dead- )13(
straight shoots growing higher up the foliage. In this verse
he likens her fingers either to articulate, burrowing worms
.or to dead-straight Is-hil shoots
Her clothes being between child and maid is related )14(
to her being pampered. Pre-Islamic Arabs considered part
of the attractions of a young woman of prosperous,
her being indolent, well-served, distinguished parents

the completely work-free, pampered, and her clothing as

.poet is describing between child and maid
He sees long nights of care as never ending; their )15(
stars never fading with daylight as if they are secured
.firmly in place, tied to rocks with stoutest rope
The full water skin on his wayward camel that is )16(
always drifting away stands for his good deeds: bearing
others burdens; feeding the weary and the thirsty; giving
to those who ask; paying the blood-money of those who
cannot afford to. He feels that all this is vain and wasteful
like a wayward camel drifting away with water for those
.and who just happen to be thirsty he does not know
The translation of this line is based on that of )17(
Nicholsons in Literary History p. 107
is a flat circular stone Stone-and-string khudhroof )18(
pierced in the middle, with a length of string tied to it
through the hole. Young boys, playing, twirl it over their
.head
Bitter-seed is the seed of the bitter-apple, colocynth )19(
.(handhal) vide supra verse 4n
.Henna is an organic dark-red hair dye )20(
The herd refers to a herd of oryx, specifically to the )21(
.females in the herd
The swift steed soon overtakes the swiftest of the )22(
.herd, leaving the slower ones behind
Watching clouds over distant heights, in expectation )23(
.of rainfall, was a pastime in pre-Islamic times
Mount Thabeer, heavily enveloped by cloud, with )24(
rain falling on it in thick straight lines is likened, in its
towering eminence, to a lord muffled in a white striped
.cloak; the rain-lines standing for the garments stripes
The high, swift and swirling floodwaters were loaded )25(
.with debris
This desert, after heavy rainfall, burst with blooming )26(
vegetation; flowers of every hue. Sudden heavy rainfall is
likened to the hectic descent of Yemeni merchants upon a
market. The floral exuberance is like the merchants
.numerous colorful wares
Mikak is a species of song-birds. They warble )27(
happily in celebration of the valleys sudden, exuberant
.floral display after heavy rainfall

...

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