The Ten Mu'allaqat: Jewels of Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry

What Are the Mu'allaqat?

The Mu'allaqat ("The Hanging Odes") are pre-Islamic Arabic qasidas so admired that Arabs reportedly wrote them in gold and hung them on the Ka'ba. Even if that legend is disputed, their literary preeminence is not.

Originally seven (as narrated by Hammad al-Rawiya), later expanded to ten by adding al-A'sha, al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani, and 'Abid ibn al-Abras.

The Original Seven

1. Imru' al-Qays: the greatest opening in Arabic poetry: Qifa nabki min dhikra habibin wa manzili…
2. Tarafa ibn al-'Abd: killed at age 26; his ode is full of wisdom.
3. Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma: "the sage of poets."
4. Labid ibn Rabi'a: a mukhadram (bridged Jahiliyya and Islam).
5. 'Amr ibn Kulthum: a Taghlibi tribal boast.
6. 'Antara ibn Shaddad: the knight-poet, symbol of chivalry and love.
7. al-Harith ibn Hilliza: of the Bakr tribe.

The Three Later Additions

8. al-A'sha: nicknamed "cymbalist of the Arabs."
9. al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani: court poet of the Ghassanids.
10. 'Abid ibn al-Abras

Why Read the Mu'allaqat

• Purest classical Arabic before external linguistic influences.
• Vocabulary and rhetorical device treasury.
• Windows into Bedouin life.
• Excellent material for i'rab analysis.

Reading Tips

1. Start with Zuhayr: easiest and wisest.
2. Use al-Tibrizi or al-Zawzani commentaries.
3. Read aloud to appreciate meter and rhyme.
4. Try scanning each poem's meter.

Read the full Arabic version: «المعلقات العشر»

Keywords: Muallaqat, pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, Imru al-Qays, Zuhayr, Antara, Jahili poetry.