Thread by @aaolomi

Throughout Islamic history poetry held status as one of the most important literary pursuits. Women in the Islamic world wrote stirring verses which reverberated through the ages.

A thread-

Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima was reputed to be a brilliant poet. In addition to her unimpeachable piety and character, her skill as a poet would be remembered for centuries

The legendary sufi, Rabia al-Basri is another whose devotion stirred verse.

Though it’s unclear how many of the poems attributed were actually written by her they certainly capture the essence of her teaching of divine love

One verse attributed to her:

“I look everywhere for Your Love—Then suddenly I am filled with it.”

Poetry was one way women transcended class.

Rabia was born in poverty, while Lubana bint Ali ibn al-Mahdi was a princess.

The wife of 9th century caliph al-Amin, her husband died before they consummated their marriage

She lamented:

Oh hero lying dead in the open, betrayed by his commanders and guards. I cry over you not for the loss of my comfort and companionship, but for your spear, your horse, and your dreams. I cry over my lord who widowed me before our wedding night (trans: Guthrie)

Inan bint Abdallah was an enslaved poetess bought for Abbasid masters. Yet her skill in poetry would lead her to running a salon in the heart of Baghdad where the who’s who of the elite would come to hear her recite

She would become the consort of caliph Harun al Rashid

But it was her bawdy wit which would earn her fame, often clashing in verse with the OG Arab twink, Abu Nuwas

then there was Shariyah who al-Isfahani wrote about. A famous Abbasid poet whose verse was sung:

And if my heart wants my beloved to separate there are two advocates pleading her cause deep in my heart: her braids (trans: Imhof)

Women poets could in verse buck social conventions and expectations.

The little known Safiyya al-Baghdadiyya wrote boldly:

I am the wonder of the world, the ravisher of hearts and minds.
Once you’ve seen my stunning looks, you are a fallen man.

Women from diverse backgrounds found in poetry open and welcoming spaces.

In al-Andalus, Amazigh Hamda bint Ziyad al- Muaddib wrote:

The dawn, me thinks, bereaved
Of so dear brother, grieved
For so sad loss, and so
Put on the garb of woe (trans: Arberry)

Qasmuna was a Jewish poet who wrote in Arabic as part of the literary culture of al-Andalus.

She writes:

Just like the sun, from which the moon derives it’s light always, yet afterward eclipses the sun’s body (trans: Nichols)

Fitting given the eclipse later this week 🙂

The medieval Islamic world was a world of poetry. A time and place in which verse and word expressed the longing of the soul, conveyed wit, and shaped whole societies.

And women were are at the top of the poetry game.

if you enjoyed this thread check out my previous thread on women poets.

https://twitter.com/aaolomi/status/1395083462634319873