Explanation of the Ten Hanging Poems

Author's name: Al-Tabrizi

In “Jamharat Ash’ar Al-Arab,” which consists of forty-nine poems, they represent, according to the consensus of ancient and modern poets, the highest levels of pre-Islamic poetry in terms of authenticity of narration, faithful representation, and abundant preservation and care. The authors of these Mu’allaqat were classified to shed light on their status, the reason for their precedence over one another, and the argument for such precedence or delay. Given the importance of these Mu’allaqat, Samir Shams was keen to authenticate their texts. He firstly, completely punctuated the Mu’allaqat and compared them with what was mentioned in references and sources. He preserved the text included in Al-Tarizi’s commentary without alteration. Secondly, he commented on Al-Tarizi’s commentary, explaining words that were no longer used or difficult to understand. He extracted some of the roots of the words and corrected them for further clarification for the reader. Thirdly, he extracted the Qur’anic verses and hadiths mentioned in the commentary. Fourthly, he established the meters of the verses mentioned in the text and commentary, attributed them to their authors, and identified their references. Fifthly, he identified the places, countries, and prominent figures mentioned in the text.