THE CAMEL IN ALHOTHALYYIN POETRY; DESCRIPTIVE AND ANAlYTICAI STUDY

This study is based on the collected poetry of the Al Hathlis -;its entitled “Camels in the Al-Hathli’s verses” as contained in their Diwan-Poetry . Al-Hathlis lived in both, pre-Islamic and Islamic eras, the lives of some of them also spanned both periods. Hence, their poetr pertinently expressed their reality and life’s characteristics and sufficiently containe all the elements of success and artistic excellence. It was superbly composed and profoundly conveyed. As for the focus of the study, I chose the topic of camels in the poetry of the Al-Hathli Tribe. Various reasons prompted me to choose this topic; notably, no scholar, as far as I know, has ever tackled the topi exclusively. I also aimed at probing certain hazy aspects of the Al-Hathli’s poetry and attempted to highlight a literaryand important feature of the pre-Islamic poetry in general, and the Al-Hathli poetry in particular; i.e. the importance of the ties that bonded the Al-Hathlis with their camels. I utilized several approaches in my study, such as, the historic, descriptive, mythological, psychological, social and the symbolic. Some of the important findings of the study include the following . Al-Hathlis’ poetry was imbued with honorable feats, glorious deeds, and cherished values. Furthermore, their poetry contains glimpses that reveal to us many aspects of their life. Camels became a symbolic expression of Al-Hathli life, feelings and sentiments, and occupied a sacred place in Al-Hathlis’ religious and mythical mind. They (the camels) defined the realistic, social and psychological dimensions. The poets employed the five senses to create an image of their camels, and portrayed them in their realistic colors and sounds; resourcefully dipping into the richness of their language and the sublimity of their similes. They never dedicated a certain poem exclusively to their camels; rather, they alluded to their camels in all types of their poetry, such as eulogies, acclaim, praise, longing and satire, as these forms of poetry represent a real part of their natural environment. They did not isolate their camels from the natural elements; rather, their images and depictions were mirrors that reflected the places, times, colors and sounds of their reality. The study revealed that the Al-Hathli poetry was the foundation stone of the poetic edifice that was constructed during the pre-Islamic era and the dawn of Islam according to the concepts, values and trends they described and the events, places and lineage they pointed to. I call upon all those who are interested in the acquision of knowledge to attempt the study of pre-Islamic poetry in general and the Al-Hathli poetry in particular. There are numerous hidden artistic and poetic treasures that remain to be discovered by diligent study and that will enable us to reveal some of the artistic and literary characteristics