Poetry has historically been an integral part of the Arab tradition. Poets were considered spokesmen for their tribes, and their works often celebrated the illustrious past and tribal grandeur. It was common for Arab warriors to recite poetry on the battlefield to demoralise the enemy. The verses were as much a weapon as the sword.

Arabic poetry is categorised into two main periods: the pre-Islamic era and poetry composed after the rise of Islam or Islamic poetry.

Imra-ul Qays, remains a celebrated poet of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. According to noted Iraqi researcher Abu Saeed Al-Sukri, Qays was born in 497 AD in the royal family of Najd. He was the youngest son of Hujr, the last chieftain of Kunda’s kingdom, which ruled over the Banu Asad and Banu Ghitfan. Imra-ul Qays was one of his nicknames. His real name was Hunduj.

As a member of the royal family, Qays led a luxurious life and spent most of his days pursuing his several worldly passions. In his book Imra-ul Qays, Mohammad Saleem Al-Njadi, an Arab historian, writes that “his father (Hujr) was quite distressed about his wanderer son’s future.”

To get his reckless son back on the right path, Hujr once sought counsel from Qays’s close friends. He proposed that Hujr assign Qays the care of camels so that he mends his ways.

The efforts proved futile because nothing could keep the passionate poet from reciting his verses. Qays would often recite his poetry to the camels at night. Hujr worried that he could do nothing for his son.

When nothing worked, the father banished Qays from court for his devious behaviour and erotic poetry.

The chieftain even ordered his son’s killing and asked the huntsman to bring his eyes back to court as proof. However, he soon regretted the decision and retracted his command, allowing Qays to return to the royal household. He was quickly expelled again for his continued rebellion.

The exiled Qais pitched his tent wherever he found water and lush land. Later he shifted to Damun (a region of Yemen) with a band of companions.

Qays received the shocking news of his father’s murder, at the hands of Banu Asad’s men while in Damun. His father’s death proved a turning point in his life. Now Qays took the sword and devoted himself to avenging his father.

Imra-ul Qays massively contributed to Arabic literature by composing heart-wrenching, unparalleled and unprecedented verses. The Sab’aa Mua’llaqat (seven hanging odes) collection began with a lengthy ode by Imra-ul Qays.

Saleem Al-Najdi writes, “he swore that he would neither drink, eat meat nor put oil on his head unless he avenged his slain father by killing at least a hundred men of Banu Asad (the assassin tribe) and cutting the forelocks of a hundred more of the tribe”.

With help from allies, Qays attacked Banu Asad and inflicted heavy casualties but was not satisfied. He went from tribe to tribe seeking aid against the rival tribe but in vain.

Qays finally gained access to the court of Byzantine emperor Justinian I.

In the beginning, Justinian lent him an army to avenge his father but later gave up his support. Some historians say the Byzantinaians withdrew their army after Qays seduced the emperor’s daughter.

Others say the chief of Banu Asad incited Justinian against him. It is believed that Justinian sent a poisoned cloak to him that caused his death in Ancyra (modern Ankara) in 544 AD.

Qays is credited with introducing the genre of classical ode in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. Imra-ul Qays massively contributed to Arabic literature by composing heart-wrenching, unparalleled and unprecedented verses.

The Sab’aa Mua’llaqat (seven hanging odes) collection began with a lengthy ode by Imra-ul Qays. In the opening verses, the poet regrets his irretrievable past, asking his companions to stop a while to lament the washed-up bivouac where once his beloved dwelt.

Many Arab writers and poets have interpreted and translated Dewan-i-Imra’ul Qays. Qays‘s poetry was first translated into English by Sir William Jones (1746-1812), a British specialist in oriental languages.

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, a British poet and diplomat, did an English translation of Qays’s Muaa’laqa in 1903.

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, an eminent orientalist and specialist in Arabic literature, has translated a short but fascinating segment of the Muaa’laqqa into English, including some other poets’ odes and prose that published in 1922 by the name of Translations of Eastern Poetry and Prose.

Several scholars have translated the seven hanging odes into Urdu because the book is taught in Madrassahs. Mulana Mohammad Nasir has translated these by the name of Tas’heelat.

Maulana Qazi Sajjad Hussain and Maulana Attiqu Rehman Attique have translated some other works and Qassidas of Qays into Urdu.

In the preface of to Dewan-i-Imra’ul Qays, Egyptian writer Mohammad Abu-ul- Fazl Ibrahim (1900-1980) has mentioned two manuscripts, Diwans of Imra-ul Qays; the first manuscript named Nazha-to-Zawil-keis was prepared in 571 Hijri, however the second manuscript was written in the 1100 Hijri by the name of Tuhfatul- adab min Qasaed Imra’ul Qays.

The writer teaches literature at Zhob Degree College and is a columnist. He can be reached at hussainhunarmal@gmail.com