bahr

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A baḥr (from Arabic: بحر, lit. 'sea'; Persian: بحر; Azerbaijani: bəhr; Turkish: bahir; Urdu: بحر; Uzbek: bahr) refers to the poetic meter used in Arabic, Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry. The concept and system of baḥr were originally formulated for Arabic poetry in the 8th century by Arab philologist Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, who established the foundational rules of Arabic prosody (ʿarūḍ). Essentially, a bahr is a specific rhythmic pattern defined by the sequence of basic metrical feet (tafāʿīl or arkān). While originating in the Arabic linguistic tradition, this metrical framework was later adopted by other literary traditions in the Islamic world, such as Persian and Urdu. In classical Arabic poetry, the bahr is determined by the specific sequence of consonants and vowels, grouped into basic metrical feet known as tafāʿīl (تفاعيل). Al-Khalil initially identified 15 standard meters, such as al-Ṭawīl, al-Kāmil, and al-Basīṭ, mapping the rhythmic structures used by pre-Islamic Arabs. A 16th meter (al-Mutadārik) was later formalized by his student Al-Akhfash al-Akbar. Each meter creates a distinct rhythmic signature that defines the musicality of the poem.