Urwa ibn al-Ward


'Urwa ibn al-Ward al-'Abasi was a pre-Islamic Arabic poet of the su'luk school. He was a member of the Banu Abs tribe.

Life

Little is known about his life, but he had a reputation for being "the most generous of the ancient Arabs."

Poetry

Urwa was the most prolific of the su'luk poets. Yaqub Ibn as-Sikkit wrote a commentary on his poetic diwan. His most famous poem is preserved in the Asma'iyyat. Some of his poetry expresses his love for Salma, his estranged wife who he divorced while drunk. When he recovered, he fell into despair at what he had done. His diwan was edited by Theodor Nöldeke, who published it as Die Gedichte des Urwa ibn Alward in 1864.

Cultural portrayals

Urwa ibn al-Ward has been portrayed in a number of plays, films, and television series in the Arab world. His association with the famous knight Antarah ibn Shaddad is because the two were from the same tribe, the Banu Abs.