Al Heera was something of a centre for the development of the UAE's strong tradition of Nabati poetry. Among the first Classical Arabic UAE poets to gain importance in this part of the world during the twentieth century were Mubarak Al Oqaili (1880–1954), Salem bin Ali Al Owais (1887–1959) and Ahmed bin Sulayem (1905–1976). Al Owais was born in Al Heera.