Griffithes Wheeler Thatcher, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 2… (1911)
“ A‘SHĀ [Maimūn ibn Qais] , Arabian poet, was born before Mahomet, and lived long enough to accept the mission of the prophet. He was born in Manfūha, a village of al-Yemāma in the centre of Arabia, and became a wandering singer, passing through all Arabia from Hadramut in the south to al-Hīra in the north, and naturally frequenting the annual fair at Okaz (Ukāz) . His love poems are devoted to the praise of Huraira, a black female slave. Even before the time of Mahomet he is said to have believed in the resurrection and last judgment, and to have been a monotheist. ”
