The crescent moon was spotted on Sunday, announcing the beginning of Ramadan on Monday, so Ramadan Mubarak, dear poetry readers. I thought it would be fit to venture to the Arabian Peninsula to discover a poet that was there at the beginning of Islam.

Best known by her nickname, al-Khansā (575-646 AD) or الخنساء , in Arabic, a nickname that means "snub-nosed" but was also a metaphor for a gazelle and encompassed female beauty- (fun fact-her portrait was composed by Khalil Gibran). Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah was an extraordinary poet in her time, born in an important clan and focused mainly on composing Rithā', or an elegy for a fallen warrior, which was the role of female poets. If you follow the link, you will read-yes, this poem as a prime example of the genre. Her most famous work was composed for her two brothers, Ṣakhr and Mu‘āwiya, killed during inter-tribal conflict. Mu‘āwiya was killed first in 612, and after insisting her brother, Ṣakhr, go to avenge his death, her second brother was also killed in battle. She would go on to compose over 100 works of elegy about her brothers alone.

Al-Khansāʾ gained fame in her day during performances in oral competitions among the other female poets and that fame has lasted into the modern era. In 629, she and members of her clan traveled to Medina from Najd and converted to Islam after meeting the Prophet Muhammad there. He was reputedly very fond of her poetry and would encourage her to recite it to him. Her poetry also played an important role in documenting the Arabic language to study other early Islamic texts and inspired women poets in the Islamic world for generations to come. Sadly, much of her work has not been translated into other languages, which seems a huge gap considering how important her work is.

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Al-Nabigha's famously backhanded compliment to al-Khansa':

"If Abu Basir had not already recited to me, I would have said that you are the greatest poet of the Arabs. Go, for you are the greatest poet among those with breasts".

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Al-Khansa's retort:

"I'm the greatest poet among those with testicles, too."

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When Night Draws On, Remembering Keeps Me Wakeful

by Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah (al-Khansā)

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When night draws on, remembering keeps me wakeful

And hinders my rest with grief upon grief returning

For Ṣakhr. What a man was he on the day of battle,

When, snatching their chance, they swiftly exchange the

spear-thrusts!

Ah, never of woe like this in the world of spirits

I heard, or of loss like mine in the heart of woman.

What Fortune might send, none stronger than he to bear it;

None better to meet the trouble with mind unshaken;

The kindest to help, whenever the need was sorest:

They all had of him a boon-wife, friend, suitor.

Oh Ṣakhr ! I will ne'er forget thee until in dying

part of my soul, and earth for my tomb is cloven.

The rise of the sun recalls to me Ṣakhr my brother,

And him I remember also at every sunset.

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Translated by Reynold A. Nicholson. This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on April 1, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.

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Some things to discuss is the poignant sense of loss in this poem. How she extols and compliments those attributes of her brother while still living and how the pain carries into each day, beautifully expressed in the final couplet. If you recall our study of Rumi's poem last March, Where Did the Handsome Beloved Go, how would you compare these two poems of loss? Which images or points were the most impactful for you? Which lines stood out to you? Why does this form of poetry continue to be important? If you are an Arabic speaker, please let us know how the translation compares to the original. Any other early Arabic poets you love?

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Bonus Poem: Tasakouba -set to music and recited by Kaltham Jassim.

Bonus Link #1: 10 Poems in extract including Al-Khansa and work inspired by her later in time. To hear the whole album by Fatima al-Qadiri discussed in the article (and featured in the Bonus Poem link) listen to the Medieval Femme playlist.

Bonus Link #2: More about the significance of Al-Khansa's work, especially her collection of poems which survived, titled the Diwan of Al-Khansāʾ.

Bonus Link #3: Arab Lit's Sunday Classics spotlights a classic piece of Arabic literature. In August 2020, al-Khansā was featured.

Bonus Link #4: More about the life and times and poetry of al-Khansā.

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If you missed last month's poem, you can find it here.

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