qafia

Qaafiya, also written qafia or qafiyah, is a term in Arabic and related literatures for the rhyming ending of a line in a poem. It designates the final sound, syllable, or word that all lines in a poem share, establishing the rhyme scheme. In classical Arabic verse and its descendants, the qaafiya operates together with meter to shape rhythm and musicality. The ghazal, a prominent form in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, relies on a fixed qaafiya to unify its couplets, commonly accompanied by a repeating refrain called a radif.

Practice and usage: poets select a qaafiya before composing and ensure that each line ends with a word that conforms to that rhyme. In ghazal composition, the first couplet sets the qaafiya (and often the radif); subsequent couplets maintain the same rhyming ending, creating a characteristic sonic unity across the poem. The relationship between qaafiya and radif gives the form its distinctive sound.

Etymology and scope: the term derives from Arabic qāfiya (قافية) meaning "rhyme" and is used in many languages that borrow Persian-Arabic literary terminology, including Persian, Urdu, Turkish, and others. Today qaafiya is discussed as a formal element of traditional poetics and is also used more broadly to describe rhyme patterns in poetry beyond the ghazal.