Arabic Poetry - Poetry Under Islam

Poetry Under Islam

These early poems were to some extent considered a threat to the newly emerging faith of Islam and if not actually suppressed, fell into disuse for some years. The sha'ir and their pronouncements were too closely associated with the religion practiced before Islam, and the role of the poet was singled out for criticism in the Qur'an. They also praised subjects of dubious merit such as wine, sex and gambling, which clashed with the new ideology. Satirical poems attacking an idea or leader were less censured. While some poets were early converts, poetry about or in praise of Islam took some time to develop.

It was the early poems' importance to Islamic scholarship, though, which would lead to their preservation. Not only did the poems illuminate life in the early years of Islam and its antecedents but they would also prove the basis for the study of linguistics of which the Qur'an was regarded as the pinnacle.

Many of the pre-Islamic forms of verse were retained and improved upon. Naqa'id or flytings, where two poets exchange creative insults, were popular with al-Farazdaq and Jarir swapping a great deal of invective. The tradition continued in a slightly modified form as zajal, in which two groups 'joust' in verse, and remains a common style in Lebanon.