Qasida is a poetic form that was conceived and developed in pre-Islamic
Arabia way before Islam was introduced. Nevertheless this art form was
perpetuated in the world through the literary movement that accompanied
Islam on its conquest of the world. Qasida is basically a laudatory and
elegiac poem that is found in Arabic, Persian and Urdu literatures. An
orthodox Qasida is an elaborately structured ode of 60 to 100 lines. It
maintains a single end rhyme that runs through the entire piece; the
same rhyme also occurs at the end of the first half-line of the first
verse. It is strange that any kind of meter is acceptable in Qasida.
The Qasida opens with a short prelude that is known as 'Nasib', which is
elegiac in mood and is intended to gain the audience's involvement.
After this conventional beginning follows the 'Rahil', this consists of
descriptions of the poet's horse. It concludes with a piece on 'Fakhr',
or self-praise, the main theme, called 'Madih', or panegyric.
The Qasida has always been seen as a respectable Art Form. This art form
saw a decline with the coming of Ghazal and Nazam. Thus, by the end of
the 8th century the Qasida had begun to decline in popularity. Qasida
were also written in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu until the 19th century.
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