U N I V E R S I T Y O R L O N D O N
F A C U L T Y OF ARTS
School of Oriental and Afri c a n Studies
T H E M E T H O D S A ND TEC H N I Q U E S OF T H E E A R L Y A R A B ANTHO L O G I S T S
by
E Z Z E D I N I B R A H I M M U S T A F A
being' a Thesis sub m i t t e d for the Ph* D# Degree*
1 9 6 3
.
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XX
A B S T R A C T
The aim of this study is to p r o v i d e a critical s urvey of the e a r l 3r Arabic anthologies c o m p i l e d between the end of the first century and the beginning' of the f o urth c entury A.H. T hese are s four c o n s i s t i n g oX
complete poems (treated in c h s • 1 - ty), Xour oX extracts (chs. 5 - 6 ) > and three oX single verses (ch. 7 )*
A l t h o u g h it seemed convenient and p r e f e r a b l e to
group these anthologies in this way, they have been studied individually. Xn c hapter 7, however, the anthologies oX single verses have also been studied collectively.
The study oX each a n t h o l o g y opens w i t h an enquiry about the worlc as it n o w exists. This u s u a l l y entails
re f e r e n c e to the v a r i o u s recensions, editions, ma n u s c r i p t s and commentaries k n o w n and available. This is followed by a ’ 'threefold study of (l) the subject matter, (2 ) the a u t h e n t i c i t y of the w o r k and genuineness of the contents and (3 ) the criteria of selection and m e t h o d of compilation,
Xn the epilogue, r e f e rence is made to eight anthologies compiled b e t w e e n the f o u r t h and s eventh centuries - thus
p o i n t i n g to the c o n t i n u i t y of this k i n d of works.
Ill
F r o m th&se investigations, conclusions have been drawn about the anthologies as a whole - their development, p reservation, reliability, criteria of excellence, and
other s t r i k i n g features*
A critical s u r v e y of the ki n d p r o v i d e d has not
been made before, and it covers several w o r k s not i:>reviously studied*
XV
C O N T E N T S
I N T R O D U C T I O N ... V
A ntho l o g i e s of complete poems Chapter
I " A L - M U 1A L L A Q A T ".. ... 1 - 42
XX »AL-MUFADDALIYYAT" 4-3 - 79
« t
XXI " A L - A S M A 1IYYAT" ... 80 - 114 IV " JAMHAHA'X A S H 1A R AL- ’ARAB" ... ' 115 - 149
An t h o l o g i e s of Extracts
V nA L - H A M A S A H "OP A B U T A M M Am " ... '•...150 - 195 V I "ANTHOLOGIES OF E X T R A C T S COMPILED IN TH E
T H I R D C E N T U R Y ... 196 - 227
" A l - W a h s h i y y a t "
d
" A l - H a m a s a h 11 of a l - B u h t u r i sl
o •
"Al-Zahrah"
A n t hologies of Verses
V I I A N T H O L O G I E S OE SING L E VERSES ... * ... 228 - 278
" H a 1ani a l -Shi'r al-Kabir" oi Ihn Q u taibah
"Ma'ani a l ~ S h i fr 6P Al- ’Uslinandani"
"Kitab al-Tashbiliat"
E P I L O G U E ... . 279 - 293 L a t e r anthologies
Conclusions
B I B L I O G R A P H Y ... ’... 294
V
I N T R O D U C T I O N
In this study the beginning' of the f o urth century A.H. is taken as a d i v i d i n g line betw e e n what m a y be termed early and l ater Arabic anthologies, Works compiled after the f o urth century are m o s t l y imitations of those p r e c e e d i n g them and they u s u a l l y contain selections from obviously
later poets.
Ea r l y anthologies are of great im p o r t a n c e for two reasons*. First, they preserve a great deal of early Arabic poetry, e s p e c i a l l y the works of the Muqillin, most of w h i c h are not found elsewhere, Secondly, they set b e fore us n u merous specimens of early works that we r e considered
o u t s t a n d i n g either by general opinion or by the compilers, who were themselves eminent scholars and critics.
Some of the anthologies, n a m e l y " a l - M u 1a l l a q a t ",
" a l - M u f a d d a l i y y a t 11 and the l,H a m a s a h n of A b u T a m m a m have been the subject of several valuable studies; but, others
such as "Jamharat A s h ’ar a l - ’Arab", the " H a m a s a h 11 of al-Buhuri,
* •
,fa l » ¥ a h s h i y y a t 11, not to m e n t i o n the anthol o g i e s of single verses w h i c h are u s u a l l y overlooked, have not rec e i v e d due a 11 e n t i o n .
This study is an attempt to fill this gap as well as p r o v i d i n g a general survey of all the e arly anthologies.
VI
The anthologies have be e n cl a s s i f i e d into three groups! (l) complete poems, (2 ) extracts, and (3 ) single verses# This arran g e m e n t is r o u g h l y chro n o l o g i c a l and, b ecause it reveals the n a t u r e of the works was p r e f e r r e d
to a strict chro n o l o g i c a l c l a s s ification • W i thin their groups, the a n t h ologies have been studied individually*
The s tudy is f u n d a m e n t a l l y a f resh e x a mination of the a n t hologies surveyed and, w h e n e v e r possible, of their extant manuscripts. E a r l y commentaries on these works
and the wri t i n g s of e arly scholars, w h i c h f u r n i s h val u a b l e b a c k g r o u n d information, have also been r e g a r d e d as main sources* The studies pf m o d e r n scholars ha v e been always consulted and discussed*
In c o n s i d e r i n g the contents of the antho l o g i e s and the anthologists*.1' methods and techniques, the s tudy is somewhat detailed. R e g a r d i n g the d i f f icult q u e s t i o n of the g e n uineness of the contents, however, the s t u d y tends to be of a general nature - a d e t a i l e d e x a mination for this purpose of the vast m a t e r i a l contained in the antho l o g i e s is obv i o u s l y b e y o n d the scope of this work. In this connection, studies of m o d e r n r e s e a r c h e r s have been utilised.
This st u d y is thus h oped to ill u m i n a t e an important series of early A r a b i c poetic works.
C H A P T E R I
"AL-MU*ALLAQAT"
I
So far as is known, the collection of the seven odes constitutes the earliest Arabic v e r s e anthology*
The p o p u l a r name of these poems is " a l - M u f a l l a q a t M . This name arises from the b e l i e f that, in token of honour,
they were suspended in the Ka'bah. The n u m b e r of the poems is commonly given as seven.
These traditions, 1 however, have been contested.
To arrive at the Tacts, a survey of the d i v e r g e n t views will be helpful.
* • #
As to the title, 11 a l - M u 1 a l l a q a t ,f, it is found that the earliest scholar to a pply it was Ibn 1 Abd R a b b i h
1. fAbd a l -Qadir ’U m a r al-Baghdadi, Khizancft a l - A d a b , (Bulaq 1299 A.H.)> I. 6l.
3
(ob. 327 A .H .) In bis "al-^Iqd a l - F a r i d n , be writes,
” *Tbe M u d h a h h a b a t * , i.e. 'The Gilded P o e m s 1, are seven and they mi gilt be called 1 al-Mu * allaqat " 1 It is patent from tbis statement that, a l though the title, 11 al-Mu • a l l a q a t 11 is applied, it is given a subordinate p o s i t i o n to that of the other title, ua l - M u d h a h h a b a t . 11
Similarly, al-Qurashi, who was more or less a
c o n t e m p o r a r y of Ibn fAbd Rabbih, 2 apx^lied the title, nal- Mu *a l l a q a t "; but stated that the Arabs us e d to name the
O
poems " a l - S u m u t tr , i.e. "The Necklaces".
* •
Later on, the title, " a l - M u ' a l l a q a t w a s used by Ibn Rasb i q ^ (ob. 463 A.H.), Ibn Khaldun"* and a l - S u y u t i ;^
and has come to be commonly used.
On the other band, all the critics b e fore Ibn 'Abd
^ a b b i h and all the main commentators on the poems employed titles other than "al-Mu ' a l l a q a t . "
1. Ah m a d b. M u h a m m a d b* 'Abd Rabbih, al-' I q d a l - F a r i d , (Cairo 1398, 1316 A.H.), III, S 3 .
2. See ch.IV of this thesis,
3 . Abu Zaid M u h a m m a d b.Abi al-IChattab al Q u r a s h i , Jamharat A s h 1 ar a l - ' A r a b , (Bulaq 1308 A . H . ), 3^-•
4. Hasan^b. Rash i q a l - Q a i r a w a n i , al-*Umdah, ed. Muhammad
Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-^amid, (Cairo 1955), X, pp. 9 6 , 102, 105.
5. 'Abd al-Rahman b. M u h a m m a d b. Khaldun, a l - M u q a d d i m a h , (Bulaql902, 13^0 A . H . ), p . 576.
4
Ibn S a l l a m (ob, 232 A.H.) applies the title, ”al- Wahidah", i.e. ’’The Unique O n e 1’, to four of these poems*
He also calls their composers »' , i.e. "The Composers of fThe Ones While c o n s i d e r i n g the p o e m of ’Antarah, he writes, ’’This po e m is u n i q u e among the abundant output of fA n t a r a h and was therefore included among ’The Ones ’ * "
T wice in his " a l - S h i ’r w a l - S h u 1a r a " , Ibn Q u taibah
(ob. 276 A.H.) refers to these poems simply as ’’The S e v e n . ” About the po e m of 'Antarah, he writes, "it u s e d to be called 1 a l - M u d h a h h a b a h ’ , 4 i.e. ’The Gilded P o e m 1'1, and to the p o e m of T a r a f a h he applies two titles: ”T a w i l a h ” , i.e. "The Long P o e m ” and, on the a u t h ority of A bu ’Ubaidah, ”¥ a h i d a h ” , i.e. ”The O n e . ”5
6 . (Contd. from previous page) ’Abd al R a h m a n b. Abi.. Ba&r Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, a l - M u z h i r , e d . ’M u h a m m a d Ahmad Jad a l - M a w l a and others, (Cairo, n.d.), l l , 487.
1. M u h a m m a d b, S a llam a l - J u m a h i , T a b a q u l Puhul a l - S h u ’a r a * ed. M a h m u d M u h a m m a d Shakir, (Cairo 1952 ) , p p .127,1 2 8 ,115.
2. Ibid, 128.
The title ”al~¥ahidah" means either ”The Unique P o e m ” , in the sense that*it is unparallelled, or ”The One Poem p r o d u c e d by its c o m p o s e r . ” Since the composers of such poems p r o d u c e d more than one p o e m each, the first
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is clearly that intended.
3. ’Abd A l l a h b. M u s l i m b. Qutaibah, a l - S h i ’r w a l - S h u ’a r a * ed. De Goeje, (Leiden, 1904), p p . 120, 144.
4. Ibid, 132.
5 . Ibid, p p . 8 8 , 9 2 .
5
Ahmad b. Abl T a h i r T a i f u r (ob* 280 A.H*) names the
* * >•
1 - - - 1
poems "Qasa'id al-Sab* al-Tj£wal a l - J a h i l i y y a t ," i.e.
11 The Seven Lo n g Pre-Islamic Poems*" A c c o r d i n g to Ibn al-Nadim, an a b b r eviation of this name is applied by al-'Umari, the judge of Takrit, who calls the poems "al- Sab f a l - J a h i l i y y a t , i.e. "The X^re-Islamic Seven, 11
The earliest commentaries that have reached us are those of Ibn Kaisan (ob. 299 A . H . ), A bu BafcSr b. al-Anbtari
(ob. 327 A.H.) and Ibn al-Nahhas (ob. 33^ A.H.). A c c o r d i n g
* •
_ 3 - - - 4
to Ibn a l - N a d i m and !Abd al-Rahman b. al~Anbari, the
poems in these commentaries are called "al-Sab* a l - f l w a l , 11 i.e. "The Seven Lo n g Poems." However, in Frenkel's
edition of a portion of I b n - a l - N a h h a s 's commen t a r y 5 and
• •
in the India Office M s . ^ of Ibn Kaisan*s, the poems are na m e d "The Seven Famous Poems;" w hereas in the B r i t i s h M u s e u m Ms. of Ibn al-Nahhas*s commentary 7 the name is
1. Ahmad b. Abi T a h i r Taifur, al-Man t h u r w a l - M a n z u m , B r i t i s h M u s e u m _ M s . V n o • Add^ 18532, Fol. 50.
2. M u h a m m a d b. Ishaq b. al-Nadim, a l - F i h r i s t , ed. Flilgel, (Leipz ig 1 8 7 1 ), p . 82.
3. Ibn al-Nadim^ p . 75* _
^4. *Abd al-Rahman b. M u hammad b. al-Anlaari, Nuzhat al- A l i b b a * , ed. a l - S a m a r r a ’i (Baghdad 1959) PP*l62, 202.
5. F. Frenkel, An-Nahhas C o m m e n t a r , (Halle I 8 7 6 ).
6 . India Office Ms. N o .8 0 0 / B . 122.
7 . B ritish M u s e u m Ms. No. OR.415.
6
"The Seven Chosen P o e m s " , A m o n g the works of Abu Ba|£r
— — — 1
b. al-Anbari, Yaqut reckons a c o m m e n t a r y e n t i t l e d ,"Shark a l - J a h i l i y y a t ", w h i c h is almost certainly the same
commentary m e n t i o n e d p r e v i o u s l y but u n d e r another title*
The c o m m e n t a r y of a l - Z a u z a n i v (ob. 486 A.H.) is—2 entitled, "Sharia a l - Q a s a ’id a l - S a b 1 11, and that of al-
• •
T ibr i z i ^ (ob. 502 A.H.) is entitled, "Shark a l - Q a s a ’id
• *
a l - 1A s h r ."
It seems, therefore, that a l though the popu l a r title,
" a l - M u 'a l l a q a t ", has pre v a i l e d over other titles, it was almost cer t a i n l y u n k n o w n before the four t h century A.H.
• • •
The scholars who a\ithenticate the title, "al- M u 1a l l a q a t ", support the theory that the p oems were
suspended in the K a ’b a h or h u n g on its walls. 4
On the other hand, Ibn al-Nahhas s t r o n g l y rejects that theory on the grounds that none of the rhapsodists
1* Yaqut b. * A bd A l l a h al-Hattiawi, Irshad a l - A r i b , ed.
D.S. M a r g o l i o u t h (C a i r o _ 1 9 2 5 ), VI,
2. al-Zauzani, S h a r h al-Q.asa*id a l - S a b 1, (Cairo 1271 A.H.) 3* YaJ^ya b. !A1I al-Tibrizi, Sharh a l - Q a s S ’id a l - fA s h r ,
e d . C.J. L y a l l , (Calcutta 1894)*
4. Ibn 1A b d _ R a b b i h ,I I I , 83 - Ibn Rashiq,_I, - al-
B a g h d a d i , K h i z a n a h , I, 6l - Ibn IChaldun, M u q a d d i m a h ,p .5 7 6 .
7
ac k n o w l e d g e d it. He seems r eady to accept another
theory that some kings preserved the famous poems in their libraries, and that if they admired a p o e m they would say,
2 -
"Hang it in our gallery." However, Ibn al-Nahhas
• t
concludes that H a m m a d , the Khapsodist, on n o t i n g that the Arabs aba n d o n e d poetry, collected these poems, urged the
people to study them and said, 3 "These are the famous poems."
T h e r e f o r e the poems acquired this name.
Most of the m o d e r n researchers r e ject the theory that the poems were suspended in the Ka'bah, as it lacks
h i s t o r i c a l substantiation. N e i t h e r do they seem ready
to accept the other theory that they were h u n g in the kings * libraries. The general tendency is to get away from the sense of ’suspension* in i n t e r p r e t i n g the title,"al-
M u 1 allaqat." Xn this direction, m a n y attempts have been made. 4 Perhaps the best interpr e t a t i o n is that "al-
Mu* allaqat" means " a l - ^ a i a ’i d " , i.e. "The Ne c k l a c e s . " Xt accords w i t h al-Qurashi's statement that the poems in
1. Frenkel, al-Nahhas C o m m e n t a r ,p . Y X X seq*
3.
4. For d i f ferent interpretations of this title see:
J. R o b s o n ,'J . R . S . A . , (London 1936), p .83 seq.
A>:Jv£ A r b e r r y , The Seven O d e s , (London 195?)> P*22 seq.
N01deke, a l - M u *a l l a q a t , E n c y c l o p a e d i a Brittannica, 11th ed., XVIII, 633.
8
q u e s t i o n were called " a l - S u m u t w h i c h also means nThe N e c k l a c e s .
Recalling' the conclusion that the title, "al-
M u 1 allaqat", is a late invention, one Teels that the tales about the suspension of the poems in the ICa'bah or in the k i n g s 1 libraries were advanced m e r e l y to justify the title*
Although, however, the tales are not h i s t o r i c a l l y substantiated, they do not seem to be u t t e r l y false* One cannot easily dismiss the p o s s i b i l i t y that some of the poems were w r i t t e n on sheets of p a p e r and d i s p l a y e d to the people g a t h e r i n g in the sacred Haram* To be read easily, the sheets might have been hu n g in a conspicuous pos i t i o n on the wall of the K a ' b a h for a while and then taken down.
Similarly, some of the kings or tribal chiefs might have h u n g certain poems in their libraries. It is still a
1* Al-Qurashi, ijamharah, p.35*
2. In this context two suggestions could be put forward.
F i r s t , that the title is derived from the roo t i.e.
'to love*. T h e r e f o r e it means "The Most Liked Poems"
The r o o t 11 1 Aiiqa" is u s e d in this sense five times in the M u ' a l l a q a h of a l - A fsha and once in the M u ' a l l a q a h of 'Antarah. Second, that the title means
"The Poems that rema i n e d in P e o p l e s 1 Memories."
A c c o r d i n g to Ibn Sallam, the expres s i o n
means that two verses have stuck in one's m e mory (Tabaqat p . 317)
3* This v i e w is alluded to by al-Baglidadi (K h i z a n a h I, 61) It is attri b u t e d to Ibn al-Kalbi by an anonymous w r i t e r g l o s s i n g on the commentary of al-Zan z a n i (see al-
Zanzani , Sharh al p . 1. )
9
common practice in A r a b i a for manuscripts of poems to be rec e i v e d and p r e s e r v e d by eminent people after the poet has read these poems in their presence*
These possibilities, however, cannot be I'egarded as adequate support for the theories of suspension, though they show w h y some scholars endorsed such theories*
* • »
It is agreed, p r a c t i c a l l y without exception, that
the M u 1allaqat are seven. 1 The literary sources, however, d i ffer in n a m i n g the c ontributing poets*
— 2 - -3
The earliest commentators, Xbn Kaisan, X b n - a l -Anbari and Ibn al-Nahhas agree that the c o n t r i b u t i n g poets are
• •
I m r u ’1 - Q a i s , Tarafah, Zuhair, Labid, fAntarah, al-Harith
• *
and * Arnr b. Kulthum. Ibn al-Nahhas s t r o n g l y criticises
• •
any altera t i o n or attempted improvement in this list* 4 However, as m a n y learned people consider the La m - r h y m i n g
— 5 — 6
p o e m of al- A ' s h a and the D a l - r h y m i n g po e m of a l - N a b i g h a h
1 . Ibn a l - N a d i ^ p .8 2 . Ibn Qutaibah, al-Shi'r, pp. 120, 144.
Ibn al-Anbari, Nuzhat p . 364. Yaqut, II, 7 3 . 2. India Office Ms* No. 800/B.122.
3* Z D M G ( L e i p z i g .1910), 64, p.2l6.
4. Frenkel, An-Nahhets Commentar p«7> se<l* ^
5* The first line reads: 6
6 . " « « "
10
the equals of "The Seven Poems" b o t h in q u a l i t y and fame, Ibn al-Nahhas appends them to his r e c e n s i o n but emphasises
* 4
that they are not a m o n g the original collection.
The commentator, al-Zauzani lists the original seven poets alre a d y reckoned; whereas al-Tibrizi'*' follows ibn al-Nahhas in r e p r o d u c i n g the nine poems in his r e c e nsion
* *
- - 2
plus the B a * - r h y m i n g poe m by ’ Abid b. a l - A b r a s . Like Ibn al-Nahhas, he does not treat the poems of a l - A !sha,
• •
a l - N a b i g h a h and ’Ab i d as an integral part of the anthology.
Taifur, who proves acquainted w i t h the various accounts
*
of the rhapsodists, confirms that the c o n t r i b u t i n g seven are I m r u ’l-Qais, Zuhair, Tarafah, ’Amr, fAntarah, Labid and al-I-Iarith. He also states that some rhapsodists include ’Abid, a l - A ’sha and a l - N a b i g h a h*^
— b
Ibn ’Abd R a b b i h lists the same seven n a m e d by Taifur,
«
On the other hand, al-Qurashi mai n t a i n s that the
c o n t r i b u t i n g poets are I m r u ’l-Qais, al-Nabighah, al-A?sha, Labid, *Amr and Tarafah, Moreover, the two poems by
1. a l - T i b r i z i , Sharh a l - Q a s a ’i d , p .1.
2. The first line reads: \ f
3. Taifur, a l - M a n t h u r , Fol.50.
ibn ’A b d Rabbih, III, 8 3 .
11
a l - N a b i g h a h and al-A*sha, w h i c h occur in a l-Qurashi*s re c e n s i o n are not the same poems w h i c h u s u a l l y appear in
1 -
othex' sources. Ibn Khaldun * s list is s i m i l a r to that of al-Qurashi w i t h 'Alqamah b. fA b a d a h r e p l a c i n g fAmr b.
- 2
Iiulthum. The inc l u s i o n of 1 A l q a m a h b. *Abadah in Ibn Khaldun *s list gains r e i n f o rcement from the fact that, on the a u t h o r i t y of H a m m a d , Arabs called two poems by this poet, "Stmts", 3 w h i c h is one of the titles of the
"Suspended Poems."
Ibn Q u t a i b a h has not advanced any special list; but he mentions two poems inci d e n t a l l y as b e l o n g i n g to "The S e v e n . T h e s e are the "Mu'allqah" of *Amr and the Ba*- r h y m i n g p o e m of 'Abid b. al-^bras. The l a tter is one of the appe n d e d poems in al-Tibrizi's recension.
N e i t h e r does Ibn Sallam contribute a list; but he
1 . al-Qurashi, J a m h a r a h , p. 35-
2. Ibn Khaldun, p . 5 7 6 . _
Af t e r his list of seven poets, Ibn K h a l d u n adds, "and others." This phrase might mean, as Prof. Blachere seems to think, that in Ibn K h a l d u n *s opinion, the
composers of the Mu'al l a q a t are more than the seven he has listed. The context, however, shows that this phrase refers to other poets were also allowed,
a c c o r d i n g to Ibn Khaldun's belief, to h a n g their poems on the Ka'bah. (see: Regis Blachere*s H i s t o i r e de la Litte'rature A r a b e , Paris 1952 > 147
3* A bu al-JTaraj al-Isfahanl, Aghclnl, ed. R u d o l p h E, Brdnnow, (Leyden 1888), XXI, 173- The two "Simts" by 'Alqamah are poems Nos. 119 & 120 in " a l - M u f a d ^ a l i y y a t ."
4. Ibn Qutaibah, al-Shi'r, p p . 120,144.
12
applies the title "al-Wahidah" to six p o e m s .1 These are the four Mu'all a q a h s of Tarafah, 'Antarah, *Amr b.
K u l t h u m and al-Iiarith, the 'Ain-rhyming p o e m of Suwaid b.
- - - 2
Abi ICahil al-Yashfcfuri and the D a l - r h y m i n g p o e m of al- A s w a d b. Y a'fur? Xn his UllUmdah",^ Xbn Rash i q (ob. 910 A.H.) gives a list of the poets who composed "The Ones."
Xt includes the six poets already rec k o n e d by Ibn Sallam, plus the poets 'Ainr b. Ma ' d i k a r i b and al- A s h ' a r b. Himran
♦
al-Ju'fl. That one of 'Ainr b. M a ' d i k a r i b ' s poems is a m o n g "The Ones" a n d is reinforced by the fact that Xbn
'abd a l - B a r r (ob. 463 Ayll.) des i g n a t e d a po e m by this poet as "one of *The Mudhahhabat'." "The Mudhahhabat"
and "The Ones" are two alternative titles for the
s uspended poems. If one of al-Ash'ar's poems is among
"The Ones" at all, it must be the famous p o e m that has
-6 - - 7
been selected b y b o t h al-Asma'i and Abi Tamniam in their
1. Ibn. Sallam, p p . 115, 127, 128.
2. Xt is p o e m No . 4 0 in " a l - M u f a d d a l i y y a t ." The first line
reads : ^
3* It is p o e m N o .44 in J'al-Mufaddaliyyat•" The first line reads:
4. al-Suyuti, a l - M u z h i r , I X , 487 ~~ Jbr> _ 5. Y u s u f b.’ 'Abd A l l a h b. 'Abd al-Barr, a l - X s t i ' ab
(^Iaiderabad 1336 A.H.), p . 452. The p o e m is N o . 6l in
" a l - A s m a 'i y y a t " (ed. S h S k i r ) . The first line reads:
6 . 'Abd a l - M a l i K b. Quraib al-Asma'i, a l - A s m a 'i y y a t , ed.
Ah m a d M u h a m m a d ShalsCir & 'Abd a l - S a l a m ’Harun, [Cairo 1955), Poem N o . 44. The first line reads:
13
- -1
a n t h o l o g i e s . A l - M a r z u b a n i quotes this and. calls it
"the poet's famous poem."
These divergent lists confront us w i t h three possible alternatives: either to adhere to the old theory that the poems ax^e seven*,, and to attempt to select the most authentic list of* the poets; or to abandon that theory and to accept w h a t e v e r lists can be h i s t o r i c a l l y
s u b s t a n t i a t e d regardless of the total n u m b e r of the poems (according to the lists already surveyed, 18 poems are totalled); or to try to reconcile these two points of vi e w .
The fir’st of these is rigid. Xt leads to the
a r b i t r a r y rej e c t i o n of some authentic traditions. One instance of this is Ndldeke's examination of Xbn K h a l d u n 's list, w h i c h includes 'Alqamah b. 'abadah a m o n g the
o
c o n t r i b u t i n g poets of the "Mu ' a l l a q a t . " NdJldeke suggests that the i n c l usion of 'Alqamah is a m i s t a k e n transcrijjtion;
7* (Contd. from p r evious page) H a b i b b. Aws a l - T a ’i, al-
¥ a h s h i y y a t , Ms. No.330, T o p k a p u Sarayi K & t u p h a n e s i ,F o l .33•
1. M u h a m m a d b. 'Imran al-MarzufeSnt» Mu 1jam a l - S h u 'a r a *, ed.
Krenkow, (Cairo 1935 )> P»^7*
2. Ndldeke, Encyclop. Brit., XVIIX, 633*
14
whereas on the aut h o r i t y of al-Isfahani, the inclusion of this poet is c o n f irmed b y H a m m a d al-Rawiyah. 1
The second attitude, tempting as it is w i t h its novelty, contradicts its ovm histor i c a l basis by
s a c r i f i c i n g the u n a n i m o u s l y accepted tradition that the poems are seven.
The f o l l o w i n g suggestion w ould perhaps reconcile all the a p p a r e n t l y d i v ergent histo r i c a l f a c t s :
In p r e - I s l a m i c times, the poetic m a s t e r p i e c e s u s e d to be selected a c c o r d i n g to certain methods that will be
co nsidered later. It appears that the n u m b e r of poems selected was not limited and there were m a n y titles, w h i c h were not always c o n s i s t e n t l y applied. Two poems could be
c o n t ributed by one poet, as in the case of 'Alqamah; and two titles could be b e s t o w e d on one poem, as in the case of the "Mu ' a l l a q a h 11 of 'Antarah w h i c h was called "al-Simt"2
•
3 ^ ^ o /
and "al-Mudhhabah" . A mong titles for other poems were
" a l - Y a t i m a h " ^ , "al-Dahiyah"^ and " a l - M u n s i f a h . T h e
1 . al-Isfahan!, al-Aghanx > ***> 173 2. al-Qurashx, J a m h a r a h , p . 34.
3. Ibn Q u t a i b a h ^v al-Shi 1 r , p. 132.
4. "Al-Yatxmah" , i.e. "The U n e q u a l l e d 11 was applied to the 'Ain-rhyming p o e m of Suwaid b. Abx Kahil. Ibn Sallam reckons this p o e m a m ongg "The Ones." It is No . 4 0 in
"al-Muf a d d a l i y y a t 11 (ed. Shakir, Cairo 1943, II, 188)
15
p r a c t i c e of m a k i n g suck selections lasted years and t herefore one assumes that more than seven or eighteen poems must have been chosen*'*’
A f t e r Islam, Hammad, The Rhapsodist, p o n d e r e d over these favourite poems and gathered from them those he a s serted to be the most famous seven. 2
S cholars reacted, in three d i f ferent w a y s . Some p r e s e r v e d the original collection* Others thought that some altera t i o n might improve it. Some scholars, like Ibn S a l l a m and al-Isfahani, indifferent to H a m m a d 1s w o r k
5♦ (Contd. f r o m j^nevious page) * A l ~ D a h i y a h n , i.e. "The Great’ O n e ” was applied to a p o e m by a l - M u h a l h i l b.
Habl'ah. It is N o . 19 in "Jamharat A s h 1 ar a l - ' A r a b ,*1 See: The Brit i s h M u s e u m Ms. of this a n t h o l o g y (NO.OR.
415), Fol.139 where it is glossed, "
6 . a l - M u n s i f a h n is a title applied to some poems in w h i c h the poets speak justly about their tribal enemies. Ibn S a l l a m m e ntions two poems, one by al-Mu f a d d a l al-Nukrl and the other by K h i d a s h b. Zuhair, b o t h entitled
"Mun^ifah* 11 In the "Hamasah of A b u Taramant?, there is a p o e m by A bu al-AKhyal al-'Ijlr, w h i c h is said to have borne the same title. The two K h alidls ment i o n the p o e m b y al-Mu f a d d a l al-Nukrl and add two others by fAbd a l - S h a r i q al Jtlhanx and al-* Abbas b. M i r d a s , also called
" M u n s i f a s " , in ^Majmu'at a l - M a ’a n i ” , moreover, there are two pieces b y H i k m a t b. Q^is al-Kinanl and al-
M u s a w w a r b. Ziyadah similarly described. See: Ibn Sallam p p . 121-123 - a l - B a g h d a d x , K h i z a n a h , 111,52 - al-Marzujji, Sharh al-Hamasah.,I I ,7^9, note - A b u ^ B a k r M u h a m m a d _ a l - Khal i d i and Abu fU t h m a n S a 1Id al-Khalidl, a l - A s h b a h w a l - N a z a 1i r , ed, M u h a m m a d Yusuf, (Cairo 1958), p p . 148-153
1 Abd Al l a h b. M u h a m m a d b, al-Sid a l - B a t a l y u s i , al-Iqtidab (Beirut 1 9 0 1 ), p . 3 6 7 .
16
continued to quote the pre-Islamic famous poems under their old titles.
This is the cause of the d i s crepancies in the accounts d e a l i n g w i t h "The Seven Poems" and the favourite p o e t r y in general. Xt is almost certain, however, that all the scholars were r e p r o d u c i n g masterpieces a l r e a d y selected in p r e - I s l a m i c times.
* • •
Xt is obvious from the previous survey that most of the scholars, Taifur, Ibn Kaisan, Ibn a l - A n b a r i , Ibn al-
*
N a h h a s » Ibn fAbd Rabbih, al-Zauzani and al-Tibrizi agree
• *
about the c o n t r i b u t i n g poets. These poets are I m r u ’al- Qais , Tarafah, Zuhair, fAmr, ’Antarah, Labid and al-Haritli.
The order of these poets varies; on the whole Irnru'al- Qais, Tarafah, and Zuhair precede the four others.
1. (Contd. from previous page) One of the poems w h i c h received public acclaim is that^by Qais b. al-Khatlin, It begins
UAI U' U — -v . A c c o r d i n g to al-Isfahanx, this p o e m was selected by a l - N a b i g h a h in the fair of
lUkaz. The Prophet asked for a special recital of this poem. See: al-Isfahanl, II, 162 seq.
2. Ibn An-Nahhas Commentar, p.Vii seq. - al-Anbari, N u z h a h , p . 32.
17
The five m a i n recensions of the anthology, n a m e l y those of Xbn Kaisan, Ibn al-Anbari, Ibn al-Nahhas, al-
• •
SSauzani and al-Tibrizi d i f f e r slightly, as is usual in all early works, in the texts they give of the poems.
R e c a l l i n g that al-2auzani and al-Tibrizi are
r e l a t i v e l y late, and dependent on their f o r e r u n n e r s , and that the extant Mss. 1 of Ibn K a i s a n fs c o m m e n t a r y are
incomplete, one feels justified in b e l i e v i n g that the recensions of Ibn al-Anbari and Ibn al-Nahhas, represent,
• *
between them, the truest record of the anthology.
* * #
The four poems of Imru f«tL-Qais, ^arafah, Labid and
*
■Antarah m i r r o r the p e rsonal lives and experiences of their composers. Apart from the amatory preludes and the
descr i p t i o n s of she-camels or horses, the poems exhibit r e s p e c t i v e l y the love-affairs of Iinru ML-Qais , the family disputes of Tarafah, the personal and tribal boasts of
• v':
Labid, and the romance and chivalry of 'Antarah.
1 . The B e rlin Ms. consists of five poems and that of the
India Office contains only one. See: Carl Brockelmann, B-eschichte der A r a b i s c h e n L i t t e r a t u r , trans* 1 Abd al- H a l i m al-Najjar, (Cairo 1 9 5 9 ), 1, 7 0 .
1 8
Tlae two poems of 'Amr and a l — H a r i t h r e c o r d both, vocal and b l o o d y battles b e t w e e n their tribes, T a g h l i b and
B a k r .
Unique among' them is the £>oem of Zuhair, in w h i c h the poet px'eaches the gospel of peace among all people*
19
II
Except for some m o d e r n scholars who have different degrees of doubt, the a u t h enticity of the poems, "al- Mu'a l l a q a t , " has be e n taken for granted by p r a c t i c a l l y
e v e r y o n e .
Ea r l y scholars, however, observe that, in every
"Mu *a l l a q a h " , there are one or more lines w h i c h are not genuine. 1 T h e y also r e mark that the open i n g lines of the "Mu 1a l l a q a h " of ' Arar are in fact b y the poet * Amr b. fA d d i y y and have been p r e f i x e d to this Mu*allaqah.
The real o p e n i n g line is said to be No. 8 in a l - T i b r i z i ’s recension. 2 Similarly, the existing o p e n i n g line of
the " M u 1allaqah" of *A n t a r a h is not by that poet. The
~ ? 3
real open i n g line is No. 2 in a l - T i b r i z i *s recension.
1. al-Tibrizi, Sharh al Q a s a ’i d , pp.21, 48, 6 3 , 110 - T a r a f a h * s M o ^ l l a q a , ed. 0. R e s c h e r (istatibul 191l)
• d 1^4 iHn .
2* al-rMarzubanl, Mu 1 j a m , p. 203 “ al-Isfahani, al-Aghani , XIV, 7 3
.
3. Ibid, IX, 222.
20
Besides, o wing to differences in transmissions,
the extant recensions exhibit d i s c r e pancies in the texts and order of the lines. 1
None the less, for these early scholars, the
genuineness of the anthology, on the whole, is u n d i s p u t a b l e .
On the other hand, the modern scholars, Margoliouth, T a h a H u s a i n and Blachere put forward arguments w h i c h can be sum m a r i s e d as follows: l) that the transmitter,
Iiammad, is unreliable, Z) that the contents of the poems
•
suggest late f o r g e r y and 3 ) that the poems w h i c h have been o v e r e s t i m a t e d are not truly r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the
ancient poetry.
• • •
The t r a n s mission argument is a d vanced by Prof.
Margoliouth, who writes, tfIt is asserted by Y a q u t , on the au t h o r i t y of Xbn a l - N a h h a s , that the seven M u ' a l l a q a t
• •
were collected b y this Hainmad; one could w i s h their
♦
d i s c o v e r y had been made by someone more respectable. 112
1. For disc r e p a n c i e s see: Ahmad b. al-Ainin al-Shin^xti, a l - M u 1allaqat a l ~ TAshr w a ’Abhb a r u Q a ’i l x h a , ,(Cairo 1331 A.H.).
2. Margoliouth, The Origins of Arabic P o e t r y , J.jR.A.S., (London 1925T> P • s e q .
21
The assertion that Hamrnad collected the poems does not n e c e s s a r i l y imply that he was their first discoverer.
The truth is that the poems tvere kn o w n and b e i n g
transmitted by rhapsodists even before H a m m a d 1s birth.
*
1 - -
T a i f u r relates, on the authority of al-Hirmazi, that these
• *
poems were among the poetic masterpieces ordered by
- - 2
M u ’awiy a h to be taught to his son. Al-Tib r i z i relates that Abu Zaid 3 studied the 11 Mu * a l l a q a h ft of ^uhair un d e r Abu ,Axrir b. a l - fA l a ’ (ob. l $ k A.H.), who asserted, in his turn, that he had read it fifty years previously,
that is when H a m m a d was a little child.
The poems appear in the Diwans of their composers and in the commentaries on the a n t h o l o g y„ T h e y are also quoted in the general literary sources like "Tabaqat
♦
Fuhul a l - S h u 1 a r a ’ 11, na l - S h i ?r w a l - S h u ' a r a ’ 11 and na l ~ A g h a n i n .
*
An examination of the authorities for these works shows that, as far as the transmission of the poems is concerned, Hammad did not always go unqxies tioned as the ultimate
•
authority.
1 . Taifur, a l - M a n t h u r , Fol.^O.
2 . a l - T i b r x z x , Sharh al Q d a a 1 i d , p . 6 5 . ___
3 . The chain of authorities given by al-Tib r i z i indicates that this Abu Said is the famous s c h o l a r Abu 3aid al- A n s a r l *
22
The " M u ’allaq.ahs" of 'Antarah, Tarafah, Zuhair and ImruVl-Qais appear in "The Divans of the Six" edited by Ahlwardt. 1 The chain of authorities for this w o r k goes bac k to al-Asma'i. Whet h e r or not al-Asma'i consulted
*
H a mmad in the course of compiling his work, the hi g h
«
re p u t a t i o n of the former as a trustworthy scholar, who wo u l d not endorse with o u t thorough ex a m i n a t i o n what was handed down to him, vouches for the g e n uineness of "The D i v a n s ♦"2
The "Mu *a l l a q a h " of ImruVl-Qais occurs also in al- Tusi's r e c e n s i o n of that poet's D i w a n ? w h i c h is based on
*
the tran s m i s s i o n of al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi. Similarly, al-
i • “
Tusi's r e c ension of L a b i d 1s D i w a n , w h i c h includes the M u ' a l l a q a h of that poet, k might also be ba s e d on al-
Muf a d d a l 's transmission, since al-Tusi was a K ufan student and since, in his commentary on the poerns, he f r e q u e n t l y quotes Ibn al-A'rabi, the stepson of al-Mu f a d d a l al-Dabbi.
* • «
The latter's t e s t imony is as original and sound as would be
- 5
expected from H a m m a d 's rival, whose i n t e g r i t y is unquestioned.
1. The Divans of the Six Ancient Arabic P o e t s , ed. W.Ahlwardt (London 1870 ) , p p *S k j'""53“ 94 , 146^
2. Arberry, The Seven O d e s , p . 46 seq.
3. Diwan I m r i *a l - Q a i s , ed. M. Abul-Fadl Ibrahim, (Cairo 1058), pp. 1 0 -2 2 .
ti‘ P er Di w a n Des L e b i d , ed. Y.D. al-Chalide. (Wien 1 8 8 0 ), p.150.
23
The M u !a l l a q a h of Zuhair is inc l u d e d in his Diwan w h i c h was collected and commented on b y the ICufan
g rammarian Tha*lab. 1 A l t h o u g h T h a flab does not reveal his authorities, his sta n d i n g as a s cholar gives weight
to his e n d orsement of the poems.
The Mu'al l a q a s of fA m r and a l - H a r i t h a p pear in al-
- - - 2
F a t i h Ms, of their D i w a n s . Unfortunately, however,
*
this Ms, is anonymous.
The m a i n c o m m e n t a r i e s , wh i c h represent the poems as a separate anthology, show that m a n y authorities have been c onsulted about the text, Al~Tibrizi, who sums up the inform a t i o n given by the commentators b e f o r e him, quotes scholars like Abu ,A mr b. al~*Ala, Abu *Ubaidah, a l - A s m a ’i,
„ - - - 3
Sibawaihi, Xbn a l - A frabi, al-Mubarrad, and others. He also states that, to authenticate a suspected line, m a n y rhapsodists and sometimes the Bedouins m a y be consulted, k
5. (Contd. from previous page) Y a q u t , VII, 171.
1 . Tha'lab, Sh a r h Diwan Z u h a i r , ed. Ahmad ZakI al-'Adawi (Cairo 1 ) *, Poem No. I,
2 , A l - P a t i h library, Ms. No, 533. See: F. Krenkow, Diwan f Amr ,b . ICulthum, al-Mas h r i q (Beirut 1$>22), V IX , 596.
3* al-TibrizI, Sharh a l - Q a s a ’i d , pp. 58,12,20,10,35,55.
h. » ' " pp. 51,3-
zk
Even if such commentaries were origi n a l l y b ased on H a m m a d fs transmission, this wide consultation of the most eminent scholars of the second and third centuries A.H, confirms that the a n t h o l o g y has been endorsed after thor o u g h
conside r a t i o n and enquiry.
S i m i l a r w e i g h t y y endorsements appear in the general l ite r a r y sources m e n t i o n e d previously, A scholar like Xbn Sallam, who proves aware of H a m m a d rs failings in
connection w i t h the transmission of poetx’y wo u l d not have quoted " a l - M u *a l l a q a t M without v e r y careful examination.
The conclusion is that H a m m a d ‘s t r a n s mission of the
♦
poems cannot, as Prof. M a r g o l i o u t h suggests, be inval i d a t e d since his vers i o n has been carefully e x amined and ap p a r e n t l y c ollated w i t h other r h a p s o d i s t s 1 versions,
• * *
The argument that the contents of the poems suggest late f o r g e r y is advanced by Prof, M o r g o l i o u t h and Dr, Taha Husain. The illustrations given suggest four lines of approach.
25
1 . The use of themes, images and modes of expression that are c h a r acteristic of later p o e t s *
Obs e r v i n g that the platonic and erotic pax'ts of the M u ' a l l q a h of Iffiru’al-Qais resemble, b o t h t h e m a t i c a l l y and
F ar a z d a q and have been interpolated in the M u 'allaqah.
To support this suggestion, he relates the tradition that a l - F a r a z d a q e n t e rtained a group of b a t h i n g women by
n a r r a t i n g the tale about I m r u *a l - Q a i s *s love adventures in "Darat Juljul" and r e c i t i n g the erotic part of that Mu'allaqah. Dr. T a h a comments, "It was customary, while
«
n a r r a t i n g such t a l e s , to fabricate some lines and attribute them to early p o e t s ."
The inference drawn from the previous tradition is
- 2.
not justified. A c c o r d i n g to Xbn Sallam, al-Farazdaq was a great a u t h ority on I m r u ’a l - Q a i s *s tales and poet r y since I m r u ’al-Qais had dwelt wit h Darim, a l - P a r a z d a q 1s tribe.
The erotic part of the M u 1allaqah is so original that, if
, (Cairo-1927), P . 221 technically, the love poems of ’U m a r b. Abi R a b i * ah and
- - 1
a l - P a r a z d a q respectively, Dr. Taha H u s a i n concludes that these parts are r e ally b y 'Umar b. Abi R a b i 'ah and al-
2. Ibn Q u t a i b ahlal-Shi r, p . 47 seq s e q .
26
it were by al-Farazdaq, be would p r o b a b l y pride h i m s e l f on its c o m position ratber than attribute it to another poet.
The evidence advanced by Dr. T a h a Husain, if not di s t o r t e d to prove certain presuppositions, indicated
that 'Umar b. Abi R a b i ' a h and a l - F a r a z d a q emulated I m r u ’al- Qais and d e v e l o p e d his technique in the p l a t o n i c and
erotic verses. This v e r y line of reasoning' is adopted by the same scholar when he considers the similarities betw e e n the tactual images employed by the poets ’ A w s ,
Zuhair, a l - H u t a i ’ah and Ka'b. There, Dr. Taha H u s a i n
* # *
concludes that ’ Aws started the vogue and the other poets f o llowed his example.^"
2. The use of Q u r ’anic v o c a b u l a r y and Islamic e x p r e s s i o n s .
Of this Prof, M a r g o l i o u t h gives two instances. He thinks that the phrase, " *-**** " > w h i c h occurs in line No.lB in T a r a fah's Mu'allaqah, is taken from the Qur'anic 2 phrase, M " (Ch. 27* V.44). R e f e r r i n g to line No. 91
1. T a h a Husain, F i - l - A d a b , p . 296
2. al-Tibrlzi, S harh a l - Q a s a ’id, p . 35.
27
X —
in the M u 1 allaqah of ' Amr b, Kulthum, he x^rites, "it
is like' the »Amr b. Kulthum, xvho by the use of this word displays acquaintance xvith the doctrine of* the
Qur * an * n
To start with, Moi'goliouth1 s ihterpx’etation of the
^ ^ >
urords and is not p h i l o l o g i c a l l y b e y o n d question.
^ - * — — 2.
The xford , as al-Tibrizi suggests, m a y r efer to the height of the she-camel and not to the smoothness of its flanks, xvhich the Q u r ’anic xvord indicates; and can simply mean f,the xvorld” x?ithout any r e l i gious implication.
Even if these xirords be a r the same senses that they have in the Q u r ’an, this does not prove that they have been borroxved from it.
Al-Suyuti, in his learned study on the Q u r ’anic o
vocabulary, concludes that the Q u r ’an has employed Arabic as it was commonly used in poet r y and e v e r y d a y talk,
i n c l u d i n g the ar a t i c i z e d words already in use. Likextfise, several Islamic notions, Xirhich x^ere clarified and stressed
1. a l - T i b r i z i , Sharh a l - Q a s a ’i d , p . 123•
2. J* _ « J 1 P-35_
3* Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, al-Ijrqan Fi *Ulum al Q u r ’a n , (Cairo 1287 A.H.), ±, 168 seq.
28
In the Q u r ’an, were alre a d y known in p r e - I s l a m i c times.
The n e w l y coined Q u r ’anic expressions are so distinct that the student cannot miss them. The words and ,
h o w e v e r , are by no means d i s t i n c t i v e l y Q u r ’anic exx>ress±ons . This rules out the p o s s i b i l i t y that later Mosl e m s have
f abric a t e d the two M u fallaqas in question,
3, The use of dict i o n u n f a m i l i a r in p r e -Islamic t i m e s .
Dr, T a h a H u s a i n finds that the M u 1a l l a q a h of 'Amr
• *
is too simple in d i c t i o n to have been p r o d u c e d in pre-
1 - -
Islamic times. However, when Dr, T a h a studies the part on the she-camel in Tarafah's Mu'allaqah, he states that the n u m b e r of obsolete words in that part is too great to be g e n u i n e l y pre-Islamic. He suggests that it is faked by late iihilologists,2
It should be borne in mind, as Ibn Q u t a i b a h indicates, 3 that 'Amr composed and del i v e r e d his poem as a political oration. Besides, a study of his extant poems, 4 shows that 'Amr's style is d e c i d e d l y simple. He also seems v e r y
1 . Ta h a Husain, F i - l - A d a b , Tup. 236-241 2 . * 11 ' » « _ _ p> 246.
3. al-Isfahani, a l - A g h a n i , IX, 183*
4. Diwan 'Amr b. Kulthum, e d . K r e n k o w .
29
fond of the metre, al-Wafir, wh i c h he uses in one third of his o u t p u t • Significantly, the M u 1allaqah. of 'Amr is in this metre*
It is true that the part on the she-camel in farafah's M u ' a l l a q a h contains m a n y rare words; but this does not
prove forgery*
It is no t i c e a b l e that, in most early poems,
d e s c r i p t i o n s of s h e - c a m e l s , horses and other animals contain words not commonly used. Perhaps this is due to the fact that m i n u t e d e s c r i p t i o n requires exact and technical words, w h i c h are u s u a l l y abstruse. Moreover, the fact that
those animals and their pre-Islamic settings are u n f a m i l i a r to m o d e r n r e a d e r s , Arabs or n o n - A r a b s , m akes the language in w h i c h they are d e s c r i b e d more d i f f i c u l t to understand.
Nowadays, animals have so little to do w i t h our lives that m a n y people would stumble for lack of v o c a b u l a r y if they
tried to d e scribe an animal minutely.
Tarafah, who lived as a w a n d e r i n g vagabond, displays a great talent for d e s c r i b i n g animals. Po e m N o .5 in his
1. See, for instance, poems N o s . 10,11,16 in " a l - M u f a d d a l i y y a t .n
3 0
Diwan, 1 in w h i c h he describes gazelles and horses,
illustrates his d e s c r i p t i v e p ower and shows, especi a l l y in the part on horses, that his stock of rare xvrords is l a r g e •
k . The d i s p l a y of kn o w l e d g e more l i k e l y to be p o s s e s s e d b y M o s l e m s rather than p r e - I s l a m i c p o e t s .
To illustrate this, Prof, Margoliouth, r e f e r r i n g to
2 3
lines N o s . 22, 28, k in T a r a f a h 1s Mu*allaqah, w r i t e s ,
"Tarafah is clea r l y a learned man; he knows about B y z antine bridges and n a v i g a t i o n on the T i g r i s , as we l l as that in
the Pers i a n Gulf, or p r o b a b l y the Red Sea."
Such k n o w l e d g e on the part of T a r a f all is b y no means extraordinary. The poet was born in al-Bahrain, and led
«
a v a g a b o n d life w a n d e r i n g throughout the desert. For him, to k n o w about n a v i g a t i o n on the Tigris or round 1Adawla is quite natural. The Red Sea, incidentally, is n ot m e n t i o n e d in the M u 1allaqah.
M a r g o l i o u t h selects from 'Amr*s M u 1a l l a q a h two lines
1 . A h l w o r d t , The Divans of the S i x , p.60.
2. al-Tibrlzi, Sh a r h a l - Q a s a * i d ,p p. 3
6 ,
3 7» 30•3. Margoliouth, J.R.A.S. (1 9 2 5 ), p . 4 4 9 .
31
in w h i c h the poet "states that he has d r u n k wine in
Baalbek, Damascus, and Qasirin; that w h i c h he solicits is
1 "
of Andarin. He argues that a c q u a intance w i t h these Xolaces reminds the reader of* the time when the M o s l e m empire inc l u d e d Syria and Arabia." The lines referred to b y Prof. M a r g o l i o u t h need not be d i s c u s s e d since they have been judged spurious by al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi and
• • 9
others.
z
However, Prof. Arberry, r e f e r r i n g to these two qlines, states rightly, "Even if it is genuine (which I doubt) it n e e d not represent anything more concrete than poetic e x a g g e r a t i o n ,"
* • •
Prof. Blachere argues that, in spite of the c e l e brity accorded to a l - M u 1allaqat by M o s l e m scholars, these poems are not truly r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the ancient poetry. 4
So far as I am able to trace, this v i e w has not been shared by any other occidental scholar. Prof. NMldeke,
5
for example, w r i t e s , "The Seven M o fallaqat, and also the
1. Margoliouth, J.R.A.S. (l925)» p . 443* _ _
2. a l - I s f a h a n i , a l - A g h a n l , XIV, 73 - a l - M a r z u b a n i , Mu 1j a m , p . 205* One of these lines does not a p p e a r in al-
I'ibriza^s recension.
3. Arberry, The Seven O d e s , p . 242.
4. Blachere, H i s t o i r e ,p .147 *
5. Ndldeke, a l - M o 1a l l a q a t , Encyclop. Brit. XVIII, 634
32
poems app e n d e d to them, represent almost e v e r y type of4
ancient Arab i a n p o e t r y in its excellences and its weak n e s s e s . "
As Profs, Nflldeke, N i c h o l s o n and A r b e r r y indicate, 1 for E u r o p e a n readers to u n d e r s t a n d p r o p e r l y what the poets intended to convey in these poems is not v e r y easy. This is pax'tly b e c a u s e no rendering* of the poems can be claimed p e r f e c t l y adequate, and part l y because the B e d o u i n life p o r t r a y e d in these peoms is alien to such readers.
However, a close consideration of the poems confirms that they typify the ancient poetry in its maturity; that is a fter the establishment of the long t(Qasid&h. "
The themes are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y pre-Islamic,
conveyed p r e c i s e l y and imaginatively. In the treatment of the t h e m e s , the Arab i a n life and manners are revealed w i t h the Bedo u i n frankness that suffered no inhibitions
or restrictions. The linguistic aspect has been examined by Prof. Arberry, who states rightly, 2 "The M u * a l l a q a t exhibit these two Arab virt u e s - dramatic i n t e n s i t y and epigrammatic terseness - to a d e gree appro a c h i n g p e r f e c t i o n . "
1. Ndldeke, a l - M o 1 allaq a t , E n cyclop Brit., XVIII, 63^-* - Arberry, The Seven O d e s , p2^5.
2. Arberry, The Seven O d e s , p . 250.
33
T he poems reveal the characters of seven distinct authors, who form a r epresentative c o llection o f pre- Islamic personalities: the playful pri'ce, the w a n d e r i n g libertine, the old moralist, the sentimental knight, the b o a s t i n g tribesman, the frantic regicide and the cunning chief.
3 4
III
The selection of the poems, ,fa l - M u f a l l a q a t , " passed through two phases, pre-Islamic and Islamic, In the lirst phase, they were selected among other poetic m a sterpieces 011 certain occasions; in the second, they were extracted from the Tirst selection "by Hammad, the rhapsodist.
In n e i t h e r phase were the criteria of selection disclosed. It is some help, however, to examine the circumstances and considerations that influenced the s e l e c t i o n .
In pre-I s l a m i c times, the poets uised to make known their n e w l y - c o m p o s e d poems by reciting' them in public g a t h e r i n g s , These gatherings took place m a i n l y on the iollo^ving' occasions :
!• The Season of P i l g r i m a g e , This was the largest annual gathering; and consequently only able poets could
35
hold the attention of the masses. A i - i s f a h a n i relates,
*
2 -
on the a u t h ority of Ibn Qutaibah, that 'Amr b. K u l t h u m recited, his M u ' a l l a q a h before the multitide in one of
these seasons. It is also l-elated, on the a u t hority of Hammad, that, in two successive seasons, the poet 'Alqamah
*
b. 'Abadah enraptured his audience, who n a m e d each of his two poems, "The Gem of all Time."3
2. The fair 'IJKaz. — •P ..r The poetic recitals in 'U&az * .
were addressed either to the crowd 4 or to an influential connoisseur. Al- A s m a ' i states, 5 "Arabs used to pi t c h a red leather tent for a l - N abighah in 'Ulstfaz, w h e r e i n the poets gathered and gave their recitals b e fore h i m . M It was in 'TJltfaz that al-A'sha recited his poem, and was
£
judged "The Best Poet." The M u ' a l l a q a h of 'Amr was also recited in 'UTSiaz.7
•
3* The h o l d i n g of Icings 1 c o u r t s . It is believed that the M u ' a l l a q a h of al-Iiarith was first reci t e d before
1. al-Bag'hdadi, K h i z a n a h , I, 6l.
2. a l - I s f a h a n l , al-Agha.nl, IX, 183*
3 . -AU— 'A**
4. al-Isfahani, a l - A g h a n i , n , 1 62.
5. Ibid, VIII, 194 - IX, 163 - Al-Shi'r, 78 - M u h a m m a d b.
'Imran a l - M a r z u b a n l , a 1-M u w a s h s h a h . (Cairo 1343 A.H.),p.60.
6. See: al-Aghani, VIII, seq. 194.
7. Ibid, IX, I 8 3 .
