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Al-A'sha

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Pre-Islamic Arabian poet

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Al-A'sha
Born	Maymun Ibn Qays Al-A'sha c. 570 Al-Yamama,Arabia
Died	c. 625 Durnā, Arabia
Occupation	Poet
Language	Arabic
Nationality	Arabian
Period	Pre-Islamic
Genre	Panegyrics,Love poetry
Notable works	Mu'allaqat

Al-A'sha (Arabic:ٱلْأَعْشَىٰ) orMaymun Ibn Qays Al-A'sha (d.c. 570– 625) was anArabic Pre-Islamic poet fromAl-Yamama,Arabia. He claimed to receive inspiration from ajinni calledMisḥal.^[1] Although not a Christian himself, his poems prove familiarity withChristianity.^[2]

He traveled through Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia and Ethiopia. He was nicknamed al-A'sha which means "weak-sighted"^[3] or "night-blind" after he lost his sight. He continued to travel even after becoming blind, particularly along the western coast of the Arabian peninsula. It was then that he turned to the writing ofpanegyrics as a means of support. His style, reliant on sound effects and full-bodied foreign words, tends to be artificial.^{[citation needed]}

His love poems are devoted to the praise of Huraira, a black female slave. He is said to have believed in the Christian eschatological themes ofResurrection andLast Judgment, and to have been amonotheist.^{[citation needed]} These beliefs may have been due to his interactions with the bishop ofNajrān and the 'Ibādites ofAl-Hirah. His poems were praised for their descriptions of the wild ass, for the praise of wine, for their skill in praise and satire, and for the varieties of metre employed.^[4]

Philip F. Kennedy writes of Al-A'sha's love ofwine that:^[5]^[6]

It is said that he almost converted to Islam in 629 but fell just short of the act, dissuaded at the last minute upon finding out, already on route to visit Muhammad, about the Islamic proscription of wine.

One of hisqasidah or odes is sometimes included in theMu'allaqat, an early collection of Arabic poetry.^[7]

References

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^Eddisford, D. (2019). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 49 2019: Papers from the fifty-second meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held at the British Museum, London, 3 to 5 August 2018: 297-298
^Jones, Alan. "Early Arabic poetry: select poems." (2011). p. 443-444
^"Asha",The Free Dictionary, retrieved2021-01-12
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Thatcher, Griffithes Wheeler (1911). "A'Shā". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 724.
^Abu Nuwas: A Genius of Poetry (2005), Philip F. Kennedy: "It is said that he almost converted to Islam in 629 but fell just short of the act, dissuaded at the last minute upon finding out, already on route to visit Muhammad, about the Islamic proscription of wine."
^The Development of Tropes in Arabic Wine Poetry up to the 12th Century AD (2019), Nader Masarwah: "Al-A'sha occupied himself considerably with wine, so much so that it has been given as the reason for his refusal to convert to Islam."
^Abu Nuwas: A Genius of Poetry (2005), Philip F. Kennedy