Literacy was existent among the Arabs, but little. With the exception of a few distinct individuals, the entire country was illiterate, and of these educated individuals, most resided in the cities. However, despite this illiteracy, the Arabs were quite proud of their eloquence and fluency of speech, to such extent as they called the rest of the world ‘Ajamī, meaning dumb and mute. There is no doubt in the fact that with respect to their eloquence, the Arabs did in fact possess a kind of perfection, the magnitude of which was second to none. The poetry of many poets of the Jāhiliyyah is preserved to this day. The apparently noticeable eloquence, purity and fluency of speech, the powerful passion and enthusiasm, the refulgent glimpse of a life of complete freedom and expression in the likeness of naturally flowing waves, cannot be found in the poetry of any other nation or of any other era. The inimitability of these people was that they were able to express their heartfelt thoughts with extreme informality in an explicitly depictive tongue. Their words were not an empty exhibition of art; they did not possess hypocritical ostentation, nor is the disposition subjected to stress or coercion as a result of them. It is for this very reason that their poetry is a pure and perfect depiction of their thoughts, emotions and lifestyle.
The Arab nation themselves also recognized this intrinsic excellence. Therefore, a historian has written that the Arab people congratulated each other on three instances alone: firstly, at the birth of a boy, secondly, at the rise of a new poet and thirdly, at the birth of an exceptional calf.1 This brief sentence portrays a complete silhouette of Arabian lifestyle.
Poets were considered the chieftains and leaders of Arabia. They possessed the power, through their poetry, to send two tribes into war, thus instigating a wildfire in the land. Arab poets would gather at certain locations and would compete in a demonstration of skill and genius. ‘Ukāẓ, a verdant place situated between Nakhlah and Ṭā’if to the east of Makkah, was particularly renowned in the Jāhiliyyah for carnivals and gatherings of this sort. It is here that a carnival would be held in Dhī Qa‘dah2 every year. Participants would gather from far and wide. In addition to other activities, a competition of poetry, eloquence and fluency of speech would be held between various tribes of Arabia.
After the Fall of Makkah, when delegations from all over Arabia began to present themselves before the Holy Prophetsa, the criterion of truthfulness, which the Banū Tamīm presented before the Prophetsa, sheds light on the significance of poetry in the country of Arabia. Rather than indulging in an argumentative discussion, this tribe stated that we have merely come before you in the observance of a contest between your poet and ours. Hence, they gave rise to a poet of their tribe who presented a few couplets in the extolment of his tribe. Then the Holy Prophetsa instructed Ḥassān bin Thābit Anṣārī to stand, who presented a few vigorously formidable couplets in praise of the Holy Prophetsa and his companions. The Banū Tamīm was compelled to accept the eloquent superiority of these couplets and subsequently accepted Islām.3
1 Al-Mazharu fī ‘Ulūmil-Lughati wa Anwā‘ihā, By Jalāl-ud-Dīn Suyūtī, An-Nau‘ut-Tāsi‘ wal-Arba‘ūn, Part 2, p. 236
2 The eleventh month of the Islāmic Calendar (Publishers)
3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, pp. 482-486, Qudūmu Wafdi Banī Tamīm wa Nuzūlu Suratil-Ḥujurāt, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)