Diwan al-Harith ibn Hilliza al-Yashkuri

Diwan al-Harith ibn Hilliza al-Yashkuri is the collected poetic corpus of the pre-Islamic Arabian poet al-Harith ibn Hilliza al-Yashkuri (d. ca. 50 BH / 570 CE), comprising his famous Mu'allaqah and a small number of surviving poetic fragments and occasional verses Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Scope and Contents

The collected poetry of al-Harith ibn Hilliza forms a relatively small collection (diwan saghir), as he was classified by literary scholars among the muqillun—poets with a limited recorded output who achieved renown through a single long ode Sharh al-Muallaqat al-Sab…+1.

The centerpiece of the diwan is his celebrated Mu'allaqah, which begins:

آذنتنا ببينها أسماء ... رب ثاو يمل منه الثواء
Asmāʾ has announced her departure; often a guest’s stay grows wearisome. Fath al-Kabir al-Mutaal I…+1

The ode opens with the conventional themes of lost love (ghazal) and the description of the she-camel, before moving into a polemical defense of the tribe of Bakr ibn Wa'il and tribal boast (fakhr) Ashar al-Shuara al-Sitta …+1. It incorporates extensive historical references to Arabian battle days (ayyam al-Arab), tribal pacts such as the alliance of Dhu al-Majaz, and rebukes directed at the rival tribe of Taghlib Muntaha al-Talab min Asha…+1.

In addition to his Mu'allaqah, the diwan contains other short poems and fragments scattered across classical anthologies, including an ode rhyming in sin praising Ibn Mariyah (Abu Hassan Qays ibn Sharahil) preserved in al-Mufaddaliyyat, as well as poems and single couplets in various meters—such as al-basit, al-rajaz, al-munsarih, and al-khafif—some of which are also attributed to other pre-Islamic poets al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-…+1.

Context of Composition and Reception

Classical accounts record that al-Harith composed his central ode to arbitrate a tribal dispute between Bakr and Taghlib before the Lakhmid ruler Amr ibn Hind (r. ca. 554–570 CE) in al-Hirah Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. A widely circulated tradition states that he delivered the ode leaning on his bow, while another account preserved by Ibn al-Anbari reports that he had prepared and rehearsed it beforehand with men of his tribe before delivering it himself when none could recite it satisfactorily Sharh al-Muallaqat al-Sab…+1. Because al-Harith was afflicted with leprosy, he originally recited from behind seven curtains; as Amr ibn Hind listened with growing admiration, he ordered each screen raised until the poet was seated near him Nashwat al-Tarab fi Tarik…+1.

Early critics held differing assessments of al-Harith's poetic corpus. Abu Ubaydah listed him among the three poets renowned for a single masterwork, alongside Amr ibn Kulthum and Tarafah ibn al-Abd al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-…+1. By contrast, Abu Amr al-Shaybani remarked that al-Harith would not have been blamed had he spent an entire year crafting the poem, yet he chose not to include it among the Mu'allaqat or provide a commentary on it Sharh al-Muallaqat al-Tis….

Modern Editions

In modern scholarship, the scattered poetry and fragments of al-Harith ibn Hilliza were gathered, verified, and published under the title Diwan al-Harith ibn Hilliza al-Yashkuri by the Iraqi literary scholar Hashim Sa'dun al-Ta'an Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham….