MUFADDALIYAT, AL-

(Arabic: The Examination of al-Mufaddal), an anthology of ancient Arabic poems, compiled by al-Mufaddal ibn Muhammad ibn Ya'lah between 762 and 784. It is of the highest importance as a record of the thought and poetic art of Arabia in the last two pre-Islamic centuries. Not more than five or six of the 126 poems appear to have been composed by poets born under Islam, and, though a certain number converted to Islam, their work bears few marks of it. The ancient virtues alonehospitality to the guest and to the poor, profuse expenditure of wealth, valour in battle, faithfulness to the cause of the tribewere praised. The 126 pieces are distributed among 68 poets, and the work represents a selection from the composition of those called al-muqillun, authors of whom little has survived, rather than from the famous poets whose works had been collected in divans, or diwans. Not all poems of al-Mufaddaliyat are complete, many are mere fragments, and even in the longest there are often gaps. Al-Mufaddal, however, always tried to present complete poems and evidently set down all that he could collect of a poem from the memory of a rawi (professional reciter). Despite the sparseness of their extant work, several of the poets of al-Mufaddaliyat are well known and highly respected, such as 'Alqamah ibn 'Abadah, Mutammim ibn Nuwayrah, Salamah ibn Jandal, Shanfara, 'Abd Yaghuth, and Abu Dhu'ayb. Al-Harith was already celebrated for his ode in the Mu'allaqat collection.