Abà « l-ḤÃÂrith GhaylÃÂn b. ÿUqba, generally known as Dhà « al-Rumma ('the one with the frayed cord', possibly referring to a cord amulet; c. 696 â c. 735) was a Bedouin poet and a rÃÂwë of al-RÃÂÿë al-Numayrë (died c. 715). In the assessment of Nefeli Papoutsakis, 'he stands at the end of a long poetic tradition which, for the most part, expressed the ethos and intellectual preoccupations of the pre-Islamic tribal society of Bedouin ArabsâÂÂa fact reflected in the saying of Abà « 'Amr b. al-'AlÃÂ' that "poetry was closed with <u>D</u>à « r-Rumma" '.
Little reliable information about Dhu ar-Rumma's life is available, but various later sources suggest the following: his mother was called áºÂabya and of the Asad tribe. He himself belonged to the ÿAdë tribe, which was part of the RibÃÂb confederation, and therefore probably lived in Al-YamÃÂma and its vicinity. He had three brothers, who also composed poetry: HishÃÂm, MasÃ¿à «d, and JirfÃÂs. He seems to have spent part of his life in the cities of Iraq, notably Basra and Kufa, where it seems he spent time with such poets as al-Farazdaq (d. c. 728 CE), Jarër ibn 'Atiya (d. 728ÃÂ29 CE), Ruþba (d. 762 CE), and al-Kumayt (d. 743 CE), and the scholars Abà « ÿAmr b. al-ÿAlÃÂþ (c. 770ÃÂ72 CE), ÿêsàb. ÿUmar al-Thaqafë (d. 766 CE), and ḤammÃÂd al-RÃÂwiya (d. 772ÃÂ73 CE). He may have been a professional poet. He fell in love with and later married a woman called Mayya, from the Banà « Minqar (Tamëm), but his odes also celebrate one ḤarqÃÂ', of the 'ÃÂmir b. á¹¢a'á¹£a'a.
Ar-Rumma's extensive diwan was widely studied, attracting commentaries from Abà « Naá¹£r Aḥmad ibn ḤÃÂtim al-BÃÂhilë (d. 846 CE) and (building on al-BÃÂhilë's) Abà « al-ÿAbbÃÂs Thaÿlab (d. 904 CE). Its themes and forms included love poetry (in the nasëb and ghazal forms), self-praise (fakhr) about himself and his tribe, eulogy, invective, and riddles (among them the noted Uḥjiyyat al-ÿArab). His poetry is particularly noted for its detailed descriptions of animals.
In the assessment of Nefeli Papoutsakis, <blockquote>Contemporary views of his poetry were generally negative: he is said to have been incompetent in satire and eulogy (al-Jumaḥë, 551; al-BalÃÂdhurë, 10:238; al-Iá¹£fahÃÂnë 18:31), an unjustified criticism, due to the prevalence of travel fakhr in his poetry. He is, nevertheless, regarded as the best poet, in Islamic times, at drawing comparisons (al-Jumaḥë, 549; al-Iá¹£fahÃÂnë, 18:9). Despite all the reported criticisms, his poetry never ceased to be studied and was often quoted in lexicographical and grammatical works, as well as in adab literature, which speaks for its high artistic quality and popularity. Many prominent figures in Arabic lettersâÂÂsuch as the poets al-á¹¢anawbarë (d. c.334/945) and al-Maÿarrë (d. 449/1058), who wrote commentaries on his work, and literati, including the caliph HÃÂrà «n al-Rashëd (r. 170âÂÂ93/786âÂÂ809)âÂÂadmired his talent. Dhà « l-RummaâÂÂs poetry represents a mature phase in the development of the Bedouin poetic tradition but also marks the end of its supremacy. This is succinctly expressed in Abà « ÿAmr b. al-ÿAlÃÂþâÂÂs saying that âÂÂpoetry came to an end with Dhà « l-Rummaâ (al-Iá¹£fahÃÂnë, 18:9).</blockquote>
The following list of manuscripts is based on Macartney's edition.