On a sad night during Ramadan a year ago, the world of poetry lost a gifted lyrical poet who left a mark on the conscience and made his mark through words that created success in the leading voices of the Gulf.
Abdullah al-Asmari was not a poet who was satisfied with writing beautiful sentences. Rather, he was writing songs that would reach people’s hearts and settle into their memories silently. His vocabulary tended toward silence, and his images were closer to gentle confessions than shouts, giving preference to emotion over eloquence and honesty over display. That is why his name was associated with the conscience of Gulf listeners, as a writer who knows how to give space to the melody and, without losing its coolness, so that the lyrical phrase can be reproduced from the first hearing.
Al-Asmari was distinguished by his ability to blend emotion and linguistic economy without burdening the text or emptying it of meaning. He captures small details and turns them into big messages, leaving a shadow of a story at the end of each clip and repeating the song as if the listener were rereading himself. Since a true lyric poet is judged by his ability to move between different voices, his experience has enriched the Gulf singing library through extensive collaborations with an elite group of artists, including Abdul Majeed Abdullah, Rabeh Saqr, Nawal, Fahd Al Qubaisi, Jawad Al Ali, Shams, Rashid Al Fares, Abbas Ibrahim, and Abdullah Rashad.
In the works associated with his name, the presence of the title stands out, and it becomes a sign that the public circulates as part of the song’s memory, leading to him being called the poet of “What Is Just a Night,” a description that summarizes the extent to which his writing conformed to popular Gulf tastes without compromising his poetic sensibilities.
Abdullah Al-Asmari passed away on the night of Thursday, March 13, 2025, corresponding to Ramadan 13, 1446 AD, following sudden cardiac arrest. This came as shocking news to those who knew his influence and the serenity of his presence. After his death, his poems remained as evidence that the poet may be physically absent, but his voice continues to function in the songs like an indelible signature.
One year ago, on a sad night during Ramadan, the poetry scene lost a brilliant lyrical poet who left a mark on the hearts of many, and his name remained through the loud and successful words of the Gulf.
Abdullah al-Asmari was not a poet who was satisfied with simply writing beautiful sentences. He wrote songs that resonated with people and stuck in people’s memories without noise. His vocabulary leans towards clarity, his images more like quiet acknowledgment than shouting, emotion rather than eloquence, sincerity rather than expression. Because of this, his name became associated with the emotions of Gulf listeners as a writer who knows how to give space to a melody and easily repeat a lyrical phrase from the first time you hear it, without losing its weight.
Al-Asmari was distinguished by his ability to blend emotion and linguistic economy without making the text heavy or empty of meaning. He captured details and transformed them into epic expressions, leaving behind the shadow of a story at the end of each verse, allowing the listener to play the song as if rereading himself. And since a true lyric poet is judged by his ability to move between different voices, his experience has enriched the Gulf music library through extensive collaborations with a select group of artists, including Abdulmajid Abdullah, Rabi Saqr, Nawal, Fahd Al-Kubaisi, Jawad Al-Ali, Shams, Rashid Al-Faris, Abbas Ibrahim, and Abdullah Rashad.
In the works associated with his name, a title appears that became a feature of being circulated by the audience as part of the song’s memory, so much so that he was called the poet of “Not Just Tonight,” a description that sums up how closely his texts are tied to popular Gulf tastes, without compromising his poetic sensibilities.
Abdullah Al Asmari passed away due to sudden heart failure on the night of Thursday, March 13, 2025, corresponding to Ramadan 13, 1446 AD. This came as shocking news to those who knew his influence and the serenity of his presence. His poetry remained after his departure as evidence that the poet may physically leave, but his voice continues to echo in song like an indelible signature.
