nes or groups of lines are quoted to illustrate the
proper use of words, phrases or idioms. Moreover, many a reciter was not
content to declaim the genuine verses of ancient poets, but interpolated
some of his own composition, and the change of religion introduced by
Islam led to the mutilation of many verses to suit the doctrines of the
new creed.[3]

The language of the poems, as of all the best Arabian literature, was
that of the desert Arabs of central Arabia; and to use it aright was the
ambition of poets and scholars even in the Abbasid period. For the man
of the towns its vocabulary was too copious to be easily understood, and
in the age of linguistic studies many commentaries were written to
explain words and idioms.

Of the pre-Mahommedan poets the most famous were the six whose poems
were collected by Asma'i about the beginning of the 9th century (ed. W.
Ahlwardt, _The Diwans of the Six Ancient Arabic Poets_, London, 1870).
Single poems of four of these--Amru-ul-Qais, Tarafa, Zuhair and
'Antara--appear in the Mo'allakat (q.v.). The other two were Nabigha
(q.v.) and 'Alqama (q.v.). But besides these there were many others
whose names were famous; such as Ta'abbata Sharran, a popular hero who
recites his own adventures with great gusto; his companion Shanfara,
whose fame rests on a fine poem which has been translated into French by
de Sacy (in his _Chrestomathie Arabe_) and into English by G. Hughes
(London, 1896); Aus ibn Hajar of the Bani Tamin, famous for his
descriptions of weapons and hunting scenes (ed. R. Geyer, Vienna, 1892);
Hatim Ta'i, renowned for his open-handed generosity as well as for his
poetry (ed. F. Schulthess, Leipzig, 1897, with German translation); and
'Urwa ibn ul-Ward of the tribe of 'Abs, rival of Hatim in generosity as
well as in poetry (ed. Th. Noldeke, Gottingen, 1863). Among these early
poets are found one Jew of repute, Samau'al (Samuel) ibn Adiya (cf. Th.
Noldeke's _Beitrage_, pp. 52-86; art. _s.v._ "Samuel ibn Adiya" in
_Jewish Encyc._ and authorities there quoted), and some Christians such
as 'Adi'ibn Zaid of Hira, who sang alike of the pleasures of drink and
of death (ed. by Louis Cheikho in his _Les Poetes arabes chretiens_, pp.
439-474, Beirut, 1890; in this work many Arabian poets are considered to
be Christian without sufficient reason). One poet, a younger
contemporary of Mahomet, has attracted much attention because his poems
were religious and he was a monotheist. This i