ZUHAYR (IBN ABL SULM) RABL!AH IBN RLY)E AL-MUZANL)

born c. 520 died c. 609, , Najd region, Arabia one of the greatest of the Arab poets of pre-Islamic times, best known for his long ode in the Mu'allaqat collection. Zuhayr was from the Muzaynah tribe but lived among the Gha tafan. Zuhayr's father was a poet, his first wife the sister of a poet, and two of his sons were poets. The elder son, Ka'b, is famous for the poem he recited for the Prophet Muhammad, thereby signalling his acceptance of Islam. Zuhayr's poem in al-Mu'allaqat (see Mu'allaqat, al-) praises the men who brought peace between the clans of 'Abs and Dhubyan. In the poem, war is compared to a millstone that grinds those who set it moving, and the poet speaks as one who has learned from a long life mankind's need for morality. Zuhayr's extant poetry, available in several Arabic editions, includes other poems of praise and satires.