The Image of the Friend in Sa‘alik Poetry from the Pre-Islamic Era to the End of the Umayyad Era
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.9590Keywords:
Friend, Image, Pre-Islamic poetry, Saalik, Umayyad poetry.Abstract
Objectives: This research aims to study and analyze the image of a friend in Saalik poetry from pre-Islamic era to the end of the Umayyad period, highlighting the unique perspective these poets held on friendship, characterized by independence in a particular doctrine of thought and lifestyle.
Methods: The research relied on the descriptive analytical approach, the investigative approach, and the psychological approach. The study is structured into two main parts; The first part discusses the emergence of the Saalik phenomenon in Arab society, its continuity factors, and the concept of "friend" along with its synonyms and significance in the lives of Saalik. The second part studies the image of the friend in the poetry of Saalik, analyses poetic texts related to this image and clarifies its details, characteristics and psychological dimensions.
Results: The results reveal that friendship held a crucial place in the lives of the Saalik; which appeared in the poets’ depiction and description of their friends. This image varied between the image of a human friend and the image of other creatures such as animals and weapons. The poets revealed their feelings towards them and attributed human qualities to them.
Conclusions: the human friend’s image represents part of the poet's personal identity and aligns with the collective identity of the Saalik, while friendships with non-human entities reflect a psychological need to fill the social void of isolation. These poetic depictions express the Saalik's thoughts and feelings toward humanity, society, and nature.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2025-01-28
Published 2026-02-01
