Laila bint Lukaiz

Laila bint Lukaiz or Layla bint Lukayz (Arabic: لَيْلَى بنت لُكَيْز‎ died 483), otherwise known as "Layla the Chaste" (Arabic: ليلى العفيفة), was a legendary Arab poet and one of the leading poets of the fifth century.[1][2] She was promised in marriage to a Yemeni prince despite being in love with her cousin Barraq ibn Rawhan.[1] While on her way to Yemen to marry this Yemeni prince, she was kidnapped by a Persian prince who locked her up in his castle for rejecting his advances.[1] In response, Laila wrote her most famous poem, If Only al-Barraq Could See (Arabic: ليت للبراق عيناً), in which she appealed to Barraq and her brothers to rescue her.[1] The poem whipped up the courage of her people, leading to her successful rescue.[1] In the 20th century, the poem was set to music by Mohamed El Qasabgi and popularized by the singer Asmahan.[3]

Anthologies
  • Moris Farhi (ed) Classical Poems by Arab Women translated Abdullah al-Udhari, Saqi Books, 1999. ISBN 086356-096-2[4]
  • Handal, Nathalie (2001). The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology. Interlink Books. ISBN 9781566563741. Laila bint Lukaiz.
  • Udhari, Abdullah; al-Udhari, Abdullah (1999). Classical Poems by Arab Women. Saqi Books. ISBN 9780863560477.

References
  1. Classical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology, ed. and trans. by Abdullah al-Udhari (London: Saqi Books, 1999), pp. 26–27.
  2. Heath, Jennifer (1 November 2003). Scimitar the Veil. Hidden Spring. ISBN 9781587680212.
  3. Kamil, Mahmud (1971). Muhammad al-Qasabgi: Hayatuh wa-A'maluh. Cairo. pp. 52–53.
  4. ltd, codegent. "Poetry Magazines – Classical Poems by Arab Women". poetrymagazines.org.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2017.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.