Al-Khans¯a’, whose name means “the snub-nose” or
gazelle, is the foremost exponent of the Arabic ritha,
funeral elegy. She is also considered perhaps the
greatest female Arabic poet of the classical period
(ancient and medieval).
Few biographical details are known about al-
Khans¯a’ apart from her six children and unhappy
marriage. She was born a pagan but converted to
Islam, traveling to Medina with tribesmen to meet
MUHAMMAD. Her brothers Sakhr and Mu’awiya
were killed in different tribal battles early in her
life. Lamenting these losses and demanding revenge
from her Banu Sulaym tribesmen became
her chief poetic themes, as can be seen in the poem
“The Dust Is Blown Over His Beauties.”
The ritha was a particularly important genre in
pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, which generally celebrated
military prowess and courage.Most of these
dirges were written by women, and Al-Khans¯a’ was
the first to render these themes in exalted literary
meters and rhymes.
Contemporary and later poets celebrated Al-
Khans¯a’’s passion and intensity. She would recite
her poetry as if in a trance, adding great emotional
impact:
To the pool that all men shun in awe
you have gone, my brother, free of blame,
as the panther goes to his fight, his last,
bare fangs and claws his only defense.
(from “For Her Brother”)
Al-Khans¯a’ reputedly won a competition in the
annual gathering of poets at the ‘Ukaz market, and
so impressed was Muhammad with her recitation
that he made her repeat several lines over and over.
As a result of the quality of her work, Muhammad’s
appreciation, and her own passion for poetry,
al-Khans¯a’ became a much-imitated model
for later generations of Arabic women poets.
An English Version of Works by al-Khansa¯ ’
Selections from the Diwan of al Khansa’. Translated by
Arthur Wormhoudt. Oskaloosa, Iowa: William
Penn College, 1977.
Works about al-Khansa¯ ’
Irwin, Robert. Night and Horses and the Desert.
Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 2000, 25–27,
239.
Nicholson, R. A. A Literary History of the Arabs. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1966, 126–127.