Tarafa ibn al-Abd

Tarafa ibn al-Abd (ca. 86–60 BH / ca. 538–564 CE) was a pre-Islamic Arabian poet from the tribe of Bakr ibn Wa'il, best known for composing one of the celebrated pre-Islamic odes (al-Mu'allaqat) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His given name was 'Amr ibn al-'Abd ibn Sufyan ibn Sa'd ibn Malik ibn Dabi'a ibn Qays ibn Tha'laba al-Bakri al-Wa'ili, bearing the kunya Abu 'Amr al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. "Tarafa" was a nickname derived from a type of desert tamarisk shrub (al-tarfa'), or reportedly from a verse he composed Dirasa fi Nusus al-Asr al…+1. He belonged to a lineage of poets that included his maternal uncle al-Mutalammis, his sister al-Khirniq, as well as al-Harith ibn Hilliza, al-Muraqqish al-Akbar, and al-Muraqqish al-Asghar Dirasa fi Nusus al-Asr al….

Tarafa was born in the desert region of al-Bahrayn and traveled throughout Najd al-Alam lil-Zirikli. His father died while he was a young child, leaving him an orphan alongside his brother Ma'bad Diwan Tarafa ibn al-Abd+1. His paternal uncles neglected his upbringing and withheld his inheritance as well as his mother Warda's due rights Majallat al-Risala+1. In response, Tarafa rebelled against tribal constraints and spent freely on wine, leisure, and companions, prompting his kin to shun and isolate him Diwan Tarafa ibn al-Abd+1.

Court of al-Hira and Death

Tarafa entered the court of Amr ibn Hind, the Lakhmid king of al-Hira, and became one of his companions al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. However, he composed satirical verses targeting the king and his brother Qabus Sharh al-Muallaqat al-Sab…+1. When Tarafa and his uncle al-Mutalammis approached the king seeking gifts, 'Amr ibn Hind concealed his anger and handed each of them a sealed letter addressed to his governor over al-Bahrayn and Oman (or Hajar), al-Muk'abar (also named in a variant report as Rabi'a ibn Harith al-'Abdi), feigning that they were orders for their reward Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1.

En route, al-Mutalammis grew suspicious, had a boy read his letter, discovered that it contained an order for his execution, and fled to the Ghassanids Rijal al-Muallaqat al-Ash…+1. Tarafa refused to break the king's seal and carried his own letter to the governor, who executed him al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Tarafa died at a young age, recorded variously as twenty, twenty-five, or twenty-six years old (around 60 BH / 564 CE; another estimate places his death around 565 CE, while Jurji Zaydan dated it to 550 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Poetic Style and Standing

Tarafa is regarded by classical critics among the foremost pre-Islamic poets Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. His most celebrated work is his Mu'allaqa, opening with the line:

لخولة أطلال ببرقة ثهمد "For Khawla there are traces at the stony tract of Thahmad" al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1

The ode is noted for its anatomical description of the camel, its reflections on tribal injustice, its defense of carpe diem and sensual indulgence in the face of inevitable death, and its gnomic verses that entered Arabic proverb literature, such as his line:

ستبدي لك الأيام ما كنت جاهلا / ويأتيك بالأخبار من لم تزود "Days will reveal to you what you were ignorant of, and one you did not provision will bring you news" Nashwat al-Tarab fi Tarik…+2

Ibn Sallam al-Jumahi placed Tarafa in the fourth tier of pre-Islamic poets, remarking that he was the greatest of poets in a single supreme ode, while Abu Ubayda ranked him in the second tier alongside al-A'sha and Labid Ashar al-Shuara al-Sitta …. When Labid was asked about the greatest poet, he named Imru' al-Qays ("the straying king"), then Tarafa ("the slain youth"), and then himself Nashwat al-Tarab fi Tarik…+1. Later poets such as Jarir and al-Akhtal also praised his poetic stature Rijal al-Muallaqat al-Ash…+1. His surviving poetic corpus was collected into a Diwan and commented upon by classical philologists al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.