Resources to Learn Arabic Poetry¶
In this section you will find resources to help you study arabic poetry and literature. Understanding classical Arabic poetry is extremely important to gain an indepth understanding of the language of the Quran.
Importance of learning Arabic Poetry
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas used to cite poetry a lot to explain the verses of the Quran. He used to say: “If your read something in the Quran that you do not understand then look for its meaning in the poetry of the Arabs, for poetry is the Diwan of the Arabs”. His story with the Kharijite Nafi’ Ibn Al-Azraq and the eminent poet ‘Umar bin Rabi’ah is well known. The legacy of citing poetry to explain the Quran was preserved by the exegetists (Al-mufassirun). The books of Tafsir are filled with verses of poetry.
Prerequisite for this section
You can start reading these books alongside other courses. But ideally you should first complete the three Madinah Books before you will be able to understand these books.
This is a work in progress and I will keep adding new books/resources so please check back often.
Poetry Lessons by Dr Abdur Raheem¶
Highly recommended A collection of short lessons on classical Arabic poetry by Dr Abdur Raheem. All lessons contain, as other lessons by Dr Abdur Raheem, explanation of indiviual words along with lexical and grammatical notes. An excellent book to get the learners comfortable with arabic poetry which helps understand Quranic language at a deeper level.
Course Materials
- You can download the book from Dr Abdur Raheem's official site. Download part one here.
- Download part two here.
QnAs on Arabic Poetry by Dr Abdur Raheem¶
A collection of questions and their answers on classical Arabic poetry by Dr Abdur Raheem.
Course Materials
- You can download the book here.
An Introduction to Poetic Metres (علم العروض)¶
This webinar by Shaykh Shahin-ur Rahman answered the question of what is and isn’t poetry. Aimed for beginners, it introduced and explored some of the most popular poetic metres, both in Arabic and in English.
The webinar covered enough to enable those interested to self-study further and practise composing their own poetry.
Course Materials
Metre and Rhyme in Arabic Poetry¶
This course will give you the ability to analyse and appreciate the metre (aroud) and rhyme (qafiyah) of Classical Arabic poetry. Those skilled in Arabic would also be able to use the skills learned in the course to compose Arabic verse.
Course Materials
- Watch all five parts of the course on YouTube
Diwan Imam ash-Shafee¶
Collection of poetry by Imam Shafee
Imam Shafee doesn't need any introduction. Not only was he a great Faqeeh, he wasl also a great poet. His poetry is full of hikam (wise sayings) and lessons. A must read for any student of Arabic language. A lot of his poetry has been collected by his students and compiled in a book for in later years.
Download links
- Download the book from here
- English translation of selected poems
- Urdu translation of most of his poems
- Watch explainer videos for many of his work in Arabic here