Diwan al-Afwah al-Awdi
- Author died
- 61 BH
- Editions
- Dār Ṣādir
Diwan al-Afwah al-Awdi is the collected poetry (diwan) of the pre-Islamic Yemeni poet and tribal leader al-Afwah al-Awdi (Sula'ah ibn 'Amr ibn Malik, d. c. 61 BH / 570 CE) .
Content and Themes
The author was the chieftain of the Awd tribe (a branch of Madhhij) in the region of Najran and was regarded as one of the sages of the pre-Islamic Arabs (hukama' al-'Arab) . His poetry primarily encompasses tribal pride (fakhr), martial leadership, and aphoristic wisdom (hikma) . Several of his poems address the tribal conflicts and blood feuds between Awd and Banu 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah .
Among his most celebrated verses preserved in classical anthologies are those reflecting on political order, social stability, and governance, including his famous dictum:
والبيت لا يبتنى إلا بأعمدة ... ولا عماد إذا لم ترس أوتاد
لا يصلح الناس فوضى لا سراة لهم ... ولا سراة إذا جهالهم سادوا
("A tent cannot be erected without pillars, and no pillar stands unless tent pegs are firmly driven; people cannot prosper in disorder without leaders, nor can leaders prevail if the ignorant among them hold sway.")
A report by 'Umar ibn Shabba recorded in later literary compilations noted an early tradition claiming that al-Afwah was among the first poets to compose formal, multi-thematic odes (qassada al-qasid) . His verses were widely cited as authoritative linguistic evidence (shawahid) across classical Arabic lexicons and grammatical treatises .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript fragments and copies of his collected poems, occasionally titled Ash'ar al-Awdi, have been preserved in several historical repositories, including the Museum of Antiquities (MS 2015/2, fols. 23–35) and Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (Adab 12 shin, pp. 14–18) .
In the modern era, the collection has appeared in multiple critical editions:
- Edited by Abd al-Aziz al-Maymani (al-Rajkuti) and published within his anthology al-Tara'if al-Adabiyya by Lajnat al-Ta'lif wa-al-Tarjama wa-al-Nashr (Cairo, 1937 CE; reprinted by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in Beirut) .
- Edited by Muhammad al-Tunji and published by Dar Sader (Beirut, 1998 CE) .
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