Ethics And Moral Values As Reflected In Arabic Poetry

Abstract

Poetry that is the earliest form of Arabic literature is well reflection of the entire Arab society. All reputed characteristics that prevailed among the Arabs are described in Arabic poetry of all the stages. Words praising the own tribe criticizing other tribes unfairly have been observed in most of the forms of Arabic poetry. Above this, ethics and moral values that govern a person or groups behavior made an impact on the early Arabic poetry and poetry in the further stages. In the early Islamic period several poets were influenced by the ethics and moral values of Islam i.e. Quran and Hadith and composed verses that contain the moral principles which make motivated one’s behavior and the quality of peaceful social adjustment. This paper is an attempt to picturize the presence of the thought of ethics and moral values in both of the categories of Arabic poetry --- Classical Arabic Poetry and Modern Arabic Poetry. It will present and discuss the noble spirit of the Arab poets as manifested through their poetical works.