Al-Khansaa: A poetess of courage and pride
Regional, Literature, 5/27/1998

She lived in both the pre-Islamic and the Islamic eras and her poetry was greatly appreciated by Prophet Muhammad himself, who used to listen to her reciting her verses. She was also a brave warrior and a brilliant and remarkable woman of her age.

Al-Khansaa, Tomader Bint Amre al-Sharid, is named so because of her likeness to deer in slenderness, beauty and dexterity.

Ancient Arabs used to name their children in the hope of protecting them against evils and bad omens by giving them names of animals to guard them against evil eyes. Names such as falcon, peregrine, lion, leopard etc. were a common tradition.

Al-Khansaa lived much of her life lamenting her brother Sakher, or "Rock," who had been killed in a tribal feud. His death was the tool that turned al-Khansaa from a minor poetess to a great one:

A bruised eye have I, or just a speck in it?
For all these tears running down lament the quit.
Have I to trust fate, as it reaps the dear?
I'll go on weeping him, though he will never hear.

Al-Khansaa also used metaphoric images from her surroundings:
"The she-camel losing its yearling," flag bearing
battalion marching to meet ultimate victory.
And she sees her brother's loss in everything around
her Dreariness befalls all vastness of the desert.

She described her brother as the most gallant of all. The leader of his tribe in time of war and peace. He is the flag that guides the lost on toward safety, the warrior who fights alone -- in short he is the whole army. Al-Khansaa had all her four sons killed in battles against the enemy, she boasted of their deeds as heroes; they will remain always as a symbol of courage and dignity.

The Arab area is the cradle of the oldest civilizations and it is the inexhaustible source of knowledge relating to pre-history testifying to man's activities on earth. Tablets unearthed in Ugarit (northern Syria), the ancient Phoenician kingdom show that Arab women were not only confined to be great poetesses such as al-Khansaa, but they played an important role in the ancient east on all levels: politically, economically and socially.

The woman in Ugarit Kingdom enjoyed all her rights. Many well-known queens were strong rivals to kings in neighboring kingdoms. The abundance of names of goddesses in Ugarit point to prominent places occupied by women in the ancient East. Many women were ambassadors representing their countries in distant kingdoms.

Previous Stories:
  Arab historic personalities in science   (5/26/1998)
  Amin al-Rihani: Pioneer of Arab literature, philosophy   (5/18/1998)
  Collapse of the Umayyad empire   (4/29/1998)

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