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WOMAN OF DISTINCTION

      Al Khansa is considered by many as the greatest Arab poetess of all times, renowned for her eloquence and outspoken courage, and she remains to this day a legend in Arabic literary annals. She was born in 575AD, to a father who was the chieftain of his tribe, Bani Sulaym, and all circumstances surrounding her youth were preparing her to become the great poetess that she was. History does not tell us much about her childhood, except that she was nicknamed Al Khansa, which means either the ‘Gazelle’ or the ‘snub nosed one’ and that she had a very strong personality and presence since her early days.

      Al Khansa was so proud of her tribe that she rejected the marriage proposal of a very famous knight, Duraid Bin Al Samma, in favor of a cousin called Rawaha. But this marriage, the fruit of which was one child, Abullah, did not last long because her husband was addicted to gambling. She remarried another cousin, Murdas Bin Abi ‘Amer, by whom she had four children, Yazeed, Mu’awia, Amro and Amrah.

      In her early years, Al Khansa wrote a few lines of poetry every now and then. In fact most of what she wrote in her youth was lost because nobody at that time cared much about her inherent talent. But what gained her the prestigious status, as the most famous poetess was the profound sorrow and mourning she carried all her life, following the tragic deaths of her two brothers Mu’awia and Sakhr. Both were famous knights who were destined to die in skirmishes with rival tribes. She wrote several poems mourning the death of Mu’awia and inciting Sakhr to avenge his brother. It is clear from her poetry that Sakhr was actually her favorite brother; especially that he had shared his resources with his sister several times during her first marriage whenever her husband lost all he had in gambling.

      Sakhr in fact succeeded in killing the killer of his brother, but was fatally wounded in the battle. The bereaved sister had to watch her beloved brother suffering and withering in front of  her eyes for a whole year till he died. The poems she wrote during that year and the elegies she wrote on the death of her brother are regarded as the best elegies in Arabic literary history.

In one elegy she said:

"The herald of the dead announced the loss 
Of the most generous man, Sakhr; 
And he cried it so loud 
That far and wide he was heard. 

It wounded me so painfully 
That in my misery I looked like a drunken person.
Every morning when I awaken, 
The first rays of the sun remind me of him 
And every evening when the sun sets 
I mourn for him”

And in another she mourned:
“What have we done to you death
that you treat us so, with always another catch
one day a warrior
the next a head of state
charmed by the loyal
you choose the best
iniquitous, unequalled death"

      Not long after her ordeal, Al Khansa arrived in Madinah ca. 629 with a deputation from her tribe to embrace Islam, and start a new era that gained her further fame. She became the distinguished poetess of Arabia during the early Islamic period. Even Prophet Mohammed admired her verses and used to ask her to recite more of it.

      She was not only a poetess; she was very brave and valiant as well. When the Muslims fought the Persians in the battle of Qadisiyya she was present at the front with her four sons. On the eve of the battle by a fiery and inspiring speech she exhorted her sons to fight for the glory of Islam.

      She said: "My sons, I have borne you with pain and brought you up with great care. I have brought no dishonor to your family and no slur to your tribe. I have wrought no indignity to your father's prestige, and there can be no doubt about the sanctity of the character of your mother. Now, therefore, listen to me. Remember the great merit of fighting for defending your faith; remember the Quranic injunction of adopting patience in the midst of distress. Tomorrow morning, rise from your bed hale and hearty and join the battle with fearless courage. Go into the midst of the thickest of the battle, encounter the boldest enemy and if necessary embrace martyrdom."

      The four sons of Al-Khansa joined the battle with fearless courage. The words of their mother kept ringing in their ears and they plunged themselves heroically in the thick of the battle, and encountered the boldest enemies. They put many Persians to sword, but were killed one after the other. 

      The Muslims won the battle of Qadisiyya, but Khansa lost all her sons. When the news of the death of her sons reached her, she asked the messenger about the outcome of the battle. When she was told that the Muslims had won, she thanked God for the martyrdom of her sons, and said, "Who dies, if Islam lives." 

      When she saw the dead bodies of her sons, she did not weep. She burst into an elegy: 

"My sons I bore you with pain 
And brought you up with care; 
You have fallen today for the cause of Islam, 
Who says you are dead; 
You are very much alive, and alive with honour. 

I feel proud to be the mother of martyrs."

      When Khansa returned to Madina, Caliph Omar Bin Al Khattab went to her house to condole with her over the death of her sons. Khansa merely said: 

"Congratulate me, Amirul Mominin, 
For verily I am the mother of martyrs."