al-Khansa

Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥarth ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah, usually simply referred to as al-Khansā’ (translated from Arabic as either "gazelle" or "short-nosed") is a 7th-century Arabic poet.

She was born and raised in the Najd region (the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia).

She is a contemporary of Muhammad, and eventually converts to Islam.

In her time, the role of a female poet is to write elegies for the dead and perform them for the tribe in public oral competitions.

Al-Khansa’ wins respect and fame in these competitions with her elegies for her brothers, Ṣakhr and Muʿāwiyah, who had died in battle.

She is the best known female poet in Arabic literature.

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