1. Imru' al-Qais is sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry.
18 Facts About Imru' al-Qais
1. 2.
Imru' al-Qais's father was said to be Hujr bin al-Harith, the Kindan regent over the Arab tribes of Asad and Ghatafan, and it is believed that Imru' al-Qais was born in the territory of Asad.
3.
Imru' al-Qais's mother was said to be Fatimah bint Rabi'ah al-Taghlibi.
4.
Legend has it that Imru' al-Qais was the youngest of his father's sons, and began composing poetry while he was still a child.
5.
Imru' al-Qais's father disapproved of Imru' al-Qais' scandalous lifestyle of drinking and chasing women and eventually banished him from his kingdom, or so the legend goes.
6.
Imru' al-Qais was referred to as "the Lost King" because he was never able to recover his father's throne.
7.
The name Imru' al-Qais means "man of Qais", Qais being the name of a pre-Islamic deity.
8.
Imru' al-Qais was succeeded by his son 'Amr, who was succeeded by his son al-Harith, who was the greatest of all the Kindite kings.
9.
Historians are divided as to the year of Imru' al-Qais' birth, but one estimate is that he was born sometime around 526 AD.
10.
Imru' al-Qais was said to be the youngest of the sons of Hujr, king over the tribes of Asad and Ghutfan.
11.
Imru' al-Qais began composing poetry from an early age, an activity that his father strongly disapproved of because it was not considered appropriate for the son of a king.
12.
Some stories tell that Imru' al-Qais was in his father's army fighting the tribe of Asad when his father was slain, but this is not agreed by all the biographers.
13.
Ibn al-Kalbi holds that Imru' al-Qais was still in exile at the time of his father's death, and that the news reached him while he was in the midst of a party with his friends.
14.
Imru' al-Qais let me stray when I was small, and now that I am grown he has burdened me with his blood.
15.
However, most historians downplay the likelihood of this account, in favour of the story that Imru' al-Qais actually died from a chronic skin disease, a disease which he mentioned in one of his poems.
16.
Makki summarizes the accounts of the biographers in identifying three older poets who Imru' al-Qais could have met and learned from.
17.
Makki reports that some historians have suggested Imru' al-Qais could have been influenced by the purported Mazdakism of his grandfather, but states that, in his opinion, there is little direct evidence to support this.
18.
Imru' al-Qais coincides with Imru' al-Qays in most aspects, including his eloquence, intelligence and poetic skill, as well as his ability to seduce women.