Yahya al-Sarsari and the image of the prophet Muhammad in his poems

Abstract

The first poems about the Prophet Muhammad appeared while he was alive. These first examples, which are panegyrics (madih, i'tizar, fakhr and risa), largely reflect the cha-racteristics of the pre-Islamic qasida poetry. Due to the developments in the following centu-ries, the number of poems about the Prophet increased. And thus, a separate literary genre was formed under the name al-madih al-nabawi. Especially the fact that sufi leaning poets contributed to the literary richness in this field. Another factor is the beginning of the tradi-tion of writing mawlid poems in memory of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The thirte-enth century was an important period for poems praising the Prophet Muhammad. Two im-portant poets emerged in this century. One of them is Egyptian poet al-Busiri and the other is Baghdad's famous poet, Yahya al-Sarsari. Even after his death, Sarsari's works with high lite-rary value were read and memorized in the circles of science, literature and Sufism. Due to his competence in the field, al-Sarsari was known as the poet of the Prophet and Hassan b. Thabit of his time. However, it is understood that his poems, which lost their importance in literary circles over time, were not studied as much as they deserved in the modern period. In this article, his life and works are introduced and basic language and stylistic features of his poems are examined. Also, the image of the Prophet in his poems was determined within the framework of the political conditions of the period.