The opening lines of the ten Mu'allaqat, the great pre-Islamic Arabic odes
The top 3 according to 144 votes from people: Are these mute traces of a camp Umm Awfa's, / at Hawmanat al-Darraj and al-Mutathallam? · Stop, let us weep for the memory of a beloved and a dwelling / at the edge of the sand dunes between al-Dakhul and Hawmal. · Khawla has traces of a camp on the stony ground of Thahmad / that shine like the remains of a tattoo on the back of a hand.. (Updated Jun 4, 2022.)
The Mu'allaqat are among the most famous poems ever written in Arabic; legend says they were written in gold and hung on the Kaaba. These are the opening lines of the ten odes that every student of Arabic learns, from Imru' al-Qais's "Stop, let us weep" to Antarah's "Have the poets left".
Automatically translated (original in العربية). See the original
Top 10
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1
Are these mute traces of a camp Umm Awfa's, / at Hawmanat al-Darraj and al-Mutathallam?
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma.
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2
Stop, let us weep for the memory of a beloved and a dwelling / at the edge of the sand dunes between al-Dakhul and Hawmal.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Imru' al-Qais.
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3
Khawla has traces of a camp on the stony ground of Thahmad / that shine like the remains of a tattoo on the back of a hand.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Tarafa ibn al-Abd.
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4
Have the poets left any spot to be patched? / Or did you recognise the abode only after doubt?
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Antarah ibn Shaddad.
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5
Asma has told us she is leaving; / many a guest is a guest one tires of.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Al-Harith ibn Hilliza.
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6
The dwellings are effaced, the halting places and the camps, / at Mina; Ghawl and Rijam have become wilderness.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Labid ibn Rabi'a.
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7
Malhub is empty of its people, / and al-Qutbiyyat and al-Dhanub.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Abid ibn al-Abras.
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8
O abode of Mayya on the heights and the slope, / deserted, with long ages passed over it.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani.
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9
Ho! Wake with your bowl and give us the morning drink, / and do not spare the wines of al-Andarin.
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Amr ibn Kulthum.
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10
Bid Hurayra farewell, for the caravan is leaving; / but can you bear a farewell, O man?
Opening line of the mu'allaqa of Al-A'sha.
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Comments (1)
حفظنا معلقة امرئ القيس في الثانوية بيتاً بيتاً، وما زلت أذكر «قفا نبك» كأنها البارحة. معلقة عنترة عندي الأجمل.