Virtues of ‘Antarah ibn Shaddaad

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Al-Zarkali said in his biography of ‘Antarah:

‘Antarah ibn Shaddad ibn ‘Amr ibn Mu’awiyah ibn Qarad
al-‘Absi was one of the most famous Arab knights of the Jahiliyyah
(pre-Islamic days of ignorance) and one of the foremost poets, one of the
people of Najd. His mother was an Abyssinian woman called Zabeebah, so he
got his black colour from her. He was one of the best of the Arabs in
character and one of the noblest. He was forbearing although he was so tough
and strong, and his poetry was refined and sweet. He was in love with his
uncle’s daughter, Ablah, and there is hardly any qaseedah (poem) of his that
does not mention her. When he was young, he met the poet Imru’ul-Qays, and
he was present at the battle between Dahis and al-Ghabra’. He lived for a
long time and was killed by al-Asad al-Ruhays or Jabbar ibn ‘Amr al-Tai. A
collection of poetry was attributed to him, most of which is fabricated.
There is also the fictional “Story of ‘Antarah” which the Europeans regard
as being among the most brilliant of Arabic literature. It has been
translated into German and French, but it is not known who wrote it. The
German Orientalist Thorbecke wrote a book about ‘Antarah that was published
at Heidelberg in 1868 CE. And Muhammad Fareed Abu Hadeed wrote Abu’l-Fawaris
‘Antar ibn Shaddad and Fu’ad al-Bustani wrote ‘Antar ibn Shaddad. End
quote.

Al-A’lam (5/91).

There is no report in the books of Sunnah (prophetic
teachings) and athar (statements of the Companions), as far as we know,
which suggests that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
mentioned ‘Antarah ibn Shaddad al-‘Absi (who died 22 years before the
Hijrah) in a single hadeeth. However, we find some people narrating that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I have never heard
a description of an Arab that I would have liked to meet more than
‘Antarah.”

But this also has no basis, and it is not permissible to
attribute it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and
it is not permissible to quote it as a hadeeth except by way of refutation
and classing it as da’eef (weak).

And Allah knows best.