Al-Khansa’s Works and Poetry Style
About her life: Al-Khansa was her nickname. Her real name was Tumadir bint ‘Amr ibn Al-Sharid. She was born approximately 575 in Najd in central Arabia (now Saudi Arabia) and belonged to the tribe of Sulaim a pastoral tribe in Najd. She was a contemporary of the Prophet Mohammad who is said to admire her poetry. In about 630, after meeting him she embraced Islam. She died approximately 664 at the age of 89 in her Arabian hometown and is regarded as the greatest Arab poetess who ever lived. Her works: The Arabic poetry is classified in two groups: classical and modern. Al-Khansa belonged to the classical Arabic poetry. She was the poetess of Ritha (Elegy) (الرثاء) in which a poet praises the qualities of a dead person. Among the elegy composers Al-Khansa is regarded as the greatest poetess in the history of Arab literature and that is why she was given the title of the ‘Poetess of Ritha’. The most traumatic events in her life were the deaths of her two beloved bro...