٤٥٥. وَسُئِلَ (عليه السلام) : مَنْ أَشْعَرُ الشُّعَرَاءِ؟ فقال (عليه السلام) :
455. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, was asked about the greatest poet and he said:
Amīr al-mu’minīn's view on the greatest poet
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 3|Chapter 455
إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ لَمْ يَجْرُوا فِي حَلبةٍ تُعْرَفُ الْغَايَةُ عِنْدَ قَصَبَتِهَا فَإِنْ كَانَ وَلَا بُدَّ فَالْمَلِكُ الضِّلِّيلُ.
The whole group of them did not proceed on the same lines in such a way that we can know the height of their glory; but if it has to be done then it is the “al-Mālik aḍ-ḍillīl” (the mislead king).
قال السيد الرضي: يريد امرأ القيس
as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says : Amīr al-mu’minīn means Imriu’l-Qays. [1]