The Epistle of Forgiveness: Volume Two: Hypocrites, Heretics, and Other Sinners 9780814768969

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The Epistle of Forgiveness Volume Two

Library of Arabic Literature Editorial Board General Editor Philip F. Kennedy, New York University Executive Editors James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge Shawkat M. Toorawa, Cornell University Editors Julia Bray, University of Oxford Michael Cooperson, University of California, Los Angeles Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania Tahera Qutbuddin, University of Chicago Devin J. Stewart, Emory University Managing Editor Chip Rossetti Volume Editor James E. Montgomery

Letter from the General Editor

The Library of Arabic Literature is a new series offering Arabic editions and English translations of key works of classical and pre-modern Arabic literature, as well as anthologies and thematic readers. Books in the series are edited and translated by distinguished scholars of Arabic and Islamic studies, and are published in parallel-text format with Arabic and English on facing pages. The Library of Arabic Literature includes texts from the pre-Islamic era to the cusp of the modern period, and encompasses a wide range of genres, including poetry, poetics, fiction, religion, philosophy, law, science, history, and historiography. Supported by a grant from the New York University Abu Dhabi Institute, and established in partnership with NYU Press, the Library of Arabic Literature produces authoritative Arabic editions and modern, lucid English translations, with the goal of introducing the Arabic literary heritage to scholars and students, as well as to a general audience of readers. Philip F. Kennedy General Editor, Library of Arabic Literature

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The Epistle of Forgiveness or

A Pardon to Enter the Garden by

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī edited and translated by Geert Jan van Gelder and Gregor Schoeler

Volume Two: Hypocrites, Heretics, and Other Sinners

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London Copyright © 2014 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abū al-ʻAlāʼ al-Maʻarrī, 973-1057. The epistle of forgiveness or, A pardon to enter the garden / by Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī ; edited and translated by Geert Jan van Gelder and Gregor Schoeler. volumes cm Bilingual English and Arabic edition. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-8147-6378-0 (cl : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6899-0 (e-book) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-7197-6 (e-book) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-7194-5 (cl : v. 2) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6896-9 (e-book : v. 2) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6970-6 (e-book : v. 2) I. Gelder, G. J. H. van, translator editor. II. Schoeler, Gregor, translator editor. III. Abū al-ʻAlāʼ al-Maʻarrī, 973-1057. Risālat al-ghufrān. IV. Abū al-ʻAlāʼ al-Maʻarrī, 973-1057. Risālat al-ghufrān. English. V. Ibn al-Qāriḥ, ʻAlī ibn Manṣūr, b. 962. Risālat Ibn al-Qāriḥ. VI. Ibn al-Qāriḥ, ʻAlī ibn Manṣūr, b. 962. Risālat Ibn al-Qāriḥ. English. VII. Title. VIII. Title: Pardon to enter the garden. PJ7750.A25R513 2013 892.7’134--dc23 2013007519 CIP New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Series design by Titus Nemeth. Typeset in Tasmeem, using DecoType Naskh and Emiri. Typesetting and digitization by Stuart Brown. Manufactured in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Josef van Ess, who, like no other, knows about Islamic heretics, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday

? BA D67EF HI ...) (!=>@ CG

Table of Contents

Letter from the General Editor

iii

Abbreviations used in the Introduction and Translation Introduction

x xi

Notes to the Introduction

xiv

The Epistle of Forgiveness

1

On Hypocrisy

2

Hypocrisy in humans and animals On Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s excessive praise of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ

2 10 16

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s arrival in Aleppo

16

The stolen letter

26

Proverbs

26

The plight of men of letters

30

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

36

Al-Mutanabbī and the diminutive

36

Al-Mutanabbī, the would-be prophet?

38

Other poets: Di ʿbil and Abū Nuwās

40

Heretics in Islam: Quraysh

40

Stories about al-Mutanabbī

42

On collaborative authorship

44

Al-Mutanabbī on Time

46

More heretics and apostates

50

Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs

56

The Fuller, the Box-Maker, and others

58

Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd

64

Abū ʿĪsā, the son of al-Rashīd

66

Al-Jannābī

68

The leader of the Zanj

68

Al-Ḥallāj

74

Ibn Abī ʿAwn

84

viii

Table of Contents

Various forms of belief

84

Shi’ite beliefs

88 92

Ibn al-Rāwandī’s books Ibn al-Rūmī and his superstition

100

Abū Tammām

108

Al-Māzyār and Bābak

114

Abū Muslim

114

The vanity of worldly things

114

Claims of extremist Shi’ites

116

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

122

Old age

122

Servants, slaves or freemen

130

On drinking wine and other sins

134

Repentance

152

The author’s acquaintance with Ibn al-Qāriḥ

156

Pilgrimages

162

The Sheikh’s thoughts in Antioch and Malatya

174

Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s praise of al-Maʿarrī

178

Pleasure and wine

182

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

188

Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s eighty stolen dinars

188

The number eighty

200

The Sheikh’s naughty niece

208

Finis

214

Notes

217

Glossary

272

Bibliography

293

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint 305

al-Shāṭi ʾ Index

330

About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

344

About the Typefaces

345

About the Editor-Translators

346

ix

Abbreviations used in the Introduction and Translation

EI2

Encyclopaedia of Islam, New [= Second] Edition

Gh

Risālat al-Ghufrān / The Epistle of Forgiveness

IQ

Risālat Ibn al-Qāriḥ / The Epistle of Ibn al-Qāriḥ

JRAS

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

L

(in prosody) long syllable

O

(in prosody) overlong syllable

Q

Qurʾan

S

(in prosody) short syllable

x

Introduction

At the end of the first part of al-Maʿarrī’s Epistle of Forgiveness the author says that he has been “long-winded in this part. Now we shall turn to reply to the letter.” In other words, Part One is merely the introduction to the proper answer to Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter. This introduction is in fact what made the Epistle famous, the part that has received the lion’s share and more of the attention of critics and translators. One is reminded of the even lengthier introduction that Ibn Khaldūn wrote several centuries later to his History: this Muqaddimah or Introduction has become a seminal text, one of the great achievements in the intellectual history of the world. Part One of the Epistle of Forgiveness is a text about the idea of forgiveness, cast in the shape of an imaginary narrative in which the protagonist is, unusually, neither a fictional persona nor a thinly disguised version of the author, but the addressee and recipient of the Epistle, Ibn al-Qāriḥ, “the Sheikh.” In Part Two1 al-Maʿarrī turns directly to Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s somewhat rambling letter, commenting on it point by point, topic by topic, in the order in which they appear in the letter. As a result, Part Two is equally rambling, jumping from item to item, without the overarching narrative and the more or less unified theme (in spite of all its digressions) of Part One. One of al-Maʿarrī’s prominent methods in responding to Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter is to treat the points made by Ibn al-Qāriḥ with profound and pervading irony, for it is rather obvious that, just as in Part One, the writer is mocking his correspondent. This begins right at the start: when al-Maʿarrī declares the Sheikh to be free of hypocrisy we can be certain that he means exactly the opposite of what he is saying. Much of the rest of the point-by-point reply should be read in the same light. When he objects to the Sheikh’s praise by playing down his own learning, one suspects that he was not unaware of his superior erudition. The clearest instance of mockery is the passage in which he ponders the Sheikh’s potential prowess on the marriage market, if he were to seek a mature spouse in the prime of life. It is impossible to decide to what extent, if at all, the lengthy section on heresy and heretics is to be read as irony. Abū l-ʿAlāʾ is a master of dissembling.

xi

Introduction

Another conspicuous method of al-Maʿarrī in commenting is to take up a theme or even a word and toy with it, in a manner that evokes the well-known description of the sermons of Bishop Lancelot Andrewes (1555–1626); a “Scotish Lord,” asked by King James I how he liked them, replied that2 he was learned, but he played with his Text, as a Jack-an-apes does, who takes up a thing and tosses and playes with it, and then he takes up another, and playes a little with it. Here’s a pretty thing, and there’s a pretty thing!

A good example, albeit a rather extreme one, is Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s little story about the eighty-three dinars that were stolen from him by his niece.3 Abū l-ʿAlāʾ begins with congratulating the Sheikh on retrieving his money; then he embarks on a mock eulogy on these dinars in prose, quoting many verses and some anecdotes about dinars, and mentioning a few people called Dīnār, comparing the Sheikh’s dinars favorably with all of these. Next he takes up their number, quoting verses and stories involving the number eighty, followed by general thoughts on gold, and finally about sisters, women, and kinship. Thus an incident that in Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s Arabic is told in some forty words is blown up by our author to a passage of approximately 2,200 words. In all this he displays his usual stupendous erudition. No doubt the author’s ostensible purpose is to honor the Sheikh, but the reader cannot escape the feeling that the real point is to flaunt his vast knowledge and often rather ponderous wit. Moreover, the hyperbolic descriptions and comparisons involving the Sheikh’s coins can be read as a form of ironic mockery of the triviality of the incident. Another example of his playing with words is the passage in which he takes up the titles of the heretic Ibn al-Rāwandī’s books. His al-Dāmigh (The Brain-Basher) will only bash the brains of its author, his al-Tāj (The Crown) is not even fit to be a sandal, and so on. Potentially the most interesting part of al-Maʿarrī’s reply is his reaction to the lengthy passage in Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter about heretics in Islam, particularly in the light of the many accusations leveled at al-Maʿarrī himself on account of his numerous aberrant or even heretical statements. Alas, he does not discuss theology or doctrine. One could hardly expect him to defend any of the alleged heretics listed by Ibn al-Qāriḥ, but he does not even discuss or attack their views apart from condemning them in general and strong terms. The long section on heretics contains much that is interesting, but one searches in vain for the author’s ideas that could be connected with the often startling utterances that can be found the poems of his Luzūmiyyāt collection. Most of his “refutation” of Ibn al-Rāwandī consists of a long and somewhat excruciating series of puns on the titles of Ibn al-Rāwandī’s books, as mentioned above, in a passage full of prose

xii

Introduction

rhyme, without any comments on what these books actually contain.4 It seems that Ibn al-Qāriḥ, with his insistence on the subject of heresy, wanted to provoke al-Maʿarrī. But the latter does not take the bait and carefully makes it clear from which heretical views he distances himself and presents himself as “orthodox.” We know nothing about Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s reaction upon receiving the reply to his letter, so one can only speculate on the mixed feelings he may have had. No doubt he was honored by the extraordinary length of the epistle and the effort al-Maʿarrī bestowed on its composition. But unless he was wholly obtuse he cannot have been blind to the irony that pervades it. In Part One we have attempted to render the author’s prose rhyme in the English translation, wherever it occurred. In Part Two there is much more of it in the Arabic and we decided that it was impossible to imitate it, except sporadically. Al-Maʿarrī consistently employs “rich rhyme,” involving two consonants rather than the usual one, which enables him to display his vast knowledge of obscure words. Translating such words and expressions is difficult enough; providing rhymes in addition is beyond the realm of the humanly possible without unacceptable sacrifices of the meaning. Led by his rhyming skill and obsession the author often makes strange connections, leaping from one concept to another, very remote idea. Readers of the English, not alerted by rhyme, will have to take this into account whenever the text looks somewhat strange. On some occasions a note explains that the rhyme lies behind the odd juxtaposition of ideas, for instance when al-Maʿarrī comes up with a “mewing cat” (māghin, §31.2.1) because, unsurprisingly, it is the only word he can think of that rhymes with “brain” (dimāgh). Just as in Part One a lot of poetry is quoted, sometimes with brief comments on technical matters. However, lengthy passages on grammar or lexicography such as are found in Part One, the direct result of imagined discussions with poets and grammarians, are lacking in Part Two. An alphabetical index of the Arabic poetry contained in both volumes, with opening rhyme word, meter, number of lines, and poet for each verse quotation (all in Arabic), is provided at the end of this volume. The text is often difficult and in need of much annotation to make it understandable to the reader. On several occasions we have acknowledged our ignorance. Extreme care should be taken in using Monteil’s French translation, which seems to read well, being based on frequent guesswork, some of it inspired but very often wide of the mark. It is riddled with astonishing howlers.

xiii

Notes to the Introduction

1

Editions of Part Two: Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ, 381–584; al-Iskandarānī & Fawwāl, 273–419; Qumayḥah, 239–361; Kaylānī, 193–324 (shortened); al-Yāzijī, 118–206; Nicholson, JRAS 1902, 87–101, 337–62, 813–47 (selections with translation or summaries). Translations: Monteil (abridged in places) 187–313; Nicholson (partial). For bibliographical details, see Part One.

2

Aubrey’s Brief Lives, ed. by Oliver Lawson Dick, 169.

3

Part One, IQ §9.3.

4

For this, see van Ess, Theologie und Gesellschaft, 4:295–349, 6:433–90. On heretics in general, see this work and idem, Der Eine und das Andere. Beobachtungen an islamischen häresiographischen Texten.

xiv

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2

On Hypocrisy

I have understood the Sheikh’s words, “may God make me his ransom”;1 21.1 he does not intend to be a hypocrite in saying this. Mankind is far from being in agreement; yet this2 is a natural trait by which the Sheikh is distinguished

Hypocrisy in humans and animals

from others. People coexist by means of deceit; they have come to invent novel ways of lying. If Queen Shīrīn had said to Kisrā, “May God make me your ransom, whether you are staying here or traveling,” she would be merely have been beguiling him and dissembling, no matter how much she pleased him with her unadorned beauty and appealed to him. He had taken her from a lowly state and brought her to resplendent luxury, while his close friends rebuked him for it. There are several stories and reports about them concerning this.3 It is mentioned that they said to him—but only God knows who is to be blamed or blessed—“How can the King bring himself to approve of this prostitute, who has crept into the sewer?”4 Thereupon the king gave them a parable of a wine cup (if a beautiful woman finds favor, she does not need magic beads5). He put some hair and blood in the cup and said to the person with him, unrepentingly, “Are you willing to drink the contents?” To correct him was his sole intention. “It is not nice,” replied the man, “for it is mixed with filth!” Then the king emptied the cup and rinsed it. He cleaned the vessel, sweetened it with honey, and filled it with wine. He offered it to his drinking companions. All now were happy to drink from it—who would loathe a vintage wine? “It is thus,” he then said, “with Shīrīn. So do not rush into impudence!”6 Many a lion cub dissimulates towards a lion, secretly harboring rancor and 21.2 envy. Many a lioness flatters the male, liberally displaying her affection but loath to touch him. Many a lion has vented his rage on a whelp, wishing he could bury it in a deep place (“whelp” is a lion’s cub in the language of the tribe of Asad Shanūʾah).7 But the Sheikh—may God cheer this region with his vicinity!—is above being in need of such explanations. However, I fear that this letter may fall into the hands of a young servant boy, who is not very

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4

On Hypocrisy

quick of understanding, so some expressions may be like a foreign tongue to him and he will be as if fettered by it, unable to proceed swiftly or slowly. Many wolves have been beguiled by she-wolves, while calamities were hidden in their hearts! “Calamities” (filaq) means misfortunes; compare the verse by Khalaf:8 The death of the imam is a calamity (filqatun mina l-filaq). The word silaq (“she-wolves”) is the plural of silqah, meaning a female wolf. Many a king has treated his queen with a gentle disposition, after which she prepared his perdition. Someone may say, “I would give my own father to ransom you, you have done well, you acted perfectly!” But if he could he would cut his jugular vein, for all he did was flatter and feign. A cockerel will sometimes spit out for a hen a grain of wheat, being friendly to her in the cold or the heat, while extraordinary rancor rankles his heart. Manājīb are many and few. The word manājīb can here be interpreted in two different ways: firstly, it means “those who have noble sons,” from najābah (“nobility”), and secondly it means “weaklings,” as in the verse by the poet of the tribe of Hudhayl:9 I sent him off into the blackness of the night, while he was watching me; for only weaklings would prefer to sleep and to keep warm. What I mean is therefore: manājīb meaning “those who have noble sons” are few and manājīb meaning “weaklings” are many. Perhaps that deceitful fowl wishes the mother-of-eggs to die, rather than wanting to protect her. He says to himself with his inner voice, “I wish the slaughterer would come in the morning to this cackling hen, for she is utterly hateful!” Or he will say, “If I were put into a cauldron or into an oven, so that I would meet my end for nothing,10 then this hen would marry a cockerel in the prime of youth who would properly love her henceforth.” I shall remind the Sheikh of that expression that occurred (in his letter),11 21.3 since he began with such friendly words, and distanced himself from the malicious wiles of mankind. Is it not strange that the expression of the Bedouin Arabs fidāʾin laka (“may I be your ransom!”) has the ending -in?12 The rajaz poet said:13

٥

5

      

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٦

6

On Hypocrisy

Woe! May I be your ransom (fidāʾin laka), Faḍālah! Stab him with your lance and take no heed of him (lā tubālah). Another version that is transmitted has “do not fear him” (lā tuhālah).14 Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Nāṣiḥ, who is known as Abū ʿAṣīdah, mentions that in the expression fidāʾin laka, with -in, this ending is not allowed if there is something that requires a nominative.15 No doubt he adopted this view from the Kufan scholars. His specific evidence for this was the verse by al-Nābighah:16 Gently—may all men be your ransom (fidāʾun laka) and whatever wealth and children I may produce. The Basran scholars, however, transmit this verse with the reading fidāʾin laka. How can my sincere friend, who is so reluctant to stay away, say that he 21.4 yearns to meet me as a bereft she-camel yearns for her calf,17 whereas she forgets it as soon as she is made to carry a load? She may moan three or four times,18 after which she thinks of it no more! As for the bewailing dove, the Creator has given her widespread fame. She is widely characterized as grieving. She gets up to peck a grain and returns to her young with some food—but if she finds that it has been devoured by a peregrine (whoever sees its traces is not pleased!); the talons of a falcon have taken it away! Yet she, the wretch, will soon forget about it. She is but an animal, which is bored in the shortest time with being in the same state. Somebody has asserted— he should not be believed—that pigeons in the present time weep for an unfledged chick that perished in the time of Noah;19 either the event was inauspicious or the strike was propitious. The fact that they are still doing it proves their loyalty. What can compensate for a sincere friend? Compensation and proper substitute can only be found in such a person. But how can one reproach Time for its cruel behavior? It is replete with evil and perfidy; it is predestined to be mighty in the divine decree. The gazelle doe should not be described as yearning. She merely grazes with an unconscious mind. Who will give her a tender twig of the arāk tree? She will not say to the rider of the emaciated horses: “Reach!”20 If someone’s passion leaves his mind, then, when he longs for a (deceased) child,21 the passage of time will make him forget, as if he never grieved. How scarce is

٧

7

      

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8

On Hypocrisy

the sincerity of intimate friends, even if they could be bought for thousands of gold, let alone silver coins! My friend is never tired of me, nor will he, if I’m absent, sell me for another friend.22 I think that Kuthayyir was inexperienced when he uttered this, unaware of how much evil exists. How could one aspire to the friendship of angels, or be raised to the celestial sphere?

٩

9

      

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10

On Hypocrisy

As for what the Sheikh says about my situation (may his person be pro- 22.1 tected against Time’s evil eye and be given prodigious wealth to enjoy!)— “prodigious” (ḥiyar) means “much.” A rajaz poet says:23 O Lord of ours, if one is happy for him to grow old, Then send to him, O Lord, prodigious (ḥiyar) wealth! —how often has an idol been thought to bring good luck,24 so that, when it actually happened, the ignorant thought it was what was promised!25 If I should enjoy vain praise, then I might as well be publicly exposed as drinking wine in gulps! The steadfast will be rewarded and praised; he who changes his abode will surely be destined to drink from a nearly dry waterhole. I swear an oath like that of Imruʾ al-Qays, when he wished to stay with his beloved, unafraid of a woman spying or spied upon, and said, I said, I swear an oath by God: I shall not leave but stay, though they may cut my head off in your presence, and my limbs! or another such as was sworn by Zuhayr,26 when the north wind blew away the war that had risen; I mean his verses: So I swore upon the Building27 circumambulated by the men who built it, of Quraysh and Jurhum, An oath: How excellent you are, two chiefs, in every situation, whether unraveled or entangled! or the binding oath uttered by Sāʿidah,28 who said, when his soul was ascending to its Lord: (I swear) an oath of an honest man, whose pledge you’re not familiar with; anyone who governs is a man of experience.29 Further, I swear the pledge of al-Farazdaq,30 when he was afraid of (God’s) vengeance, and took the opportunity, standing between the Kaaba and the Standing Place,31 to say, describing what he had done: Have you not seen that to my Lord I’ve made a pledge, and that I stand between the Kaaba’s bolted door and the Standing Place, Swearing an oath that I shall never vilify a Muslim, and that false speech will never come out of my mouth.

١١

11

On Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s excessive praise of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ

      

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        (          )     ،(    ) : .    ١           ،       ،[   ] :  ٢  .              

١٢

12

On Hypocrisy

(With these oaths I swear) that I am lied against, just as the Bedouin Arabs lie about the ghoul,32 unconcerned with what is transmitted about her; just as what those slanderous proverbs say about the lizard,33 who cleaves to the rough, hard ground like a lover to his beloved; and just as they put words into the mouth of the hyena though it is dumb,34 its tongue never loosened, in broad daylight or the evening. I am supposed to be a man of learning; but I am neither its master nor its 22.2.1 fellow. It is, upon my life, an affliction in which one misses, despite one’s learning, certain truth. The various kinds of learning require application and someone who “threshes” books assiduously.35 It is also said that I am a man of religion; but if what lies behind the veil were to be revealed, those who describe my character could never find enough to their satisfaction to revile me and would be eager to make me drink poison mixed with vitriol. When a wild ass, which roams in lush, dark36 pastures, brays at dawn, how could one claim that it produces metered verses like those that are heard by a damsel kept in her chamber?37 And would any intelligent and astute person imagine that when a crow croaks he utters amatory poetry? Or that birds that fly with wings are like the “birds” of al-Mundhir that existed for the sake of being given away?38 How could one think that any bird can produce the cooing of the dove even when it is in fact deaf as well as ugly? Far from the truth is he who claims that stones will speak and that they feel pain when struck, or who seeks to make a cloak of the foam on a camel’s mouth! He will not find a model to follow. If I were unaware of what is being said about me, I would be relieved of 22.2.2 having to deny it and set things right. I would be like an idol, indifferent whether it is revered or laden with heavy loads, or like a salt swamp that does not care whether it is called a fertile pasture or one says, “what a bad crop!,” or like a slaughtered young lamb that does not mind whether he who eats it says, “it is really fat!” or, when it is cut up, “it is stingy with its fat!” God is the one whose help one asks against false reports (ilāqī); the unmoving earth39 is not weighed in ounces. The word ilāqī is derived from ilāq, “false lightning.”40 How could I be happy when people lie about me and when knowledge is attributed to me? I cannot be sure that, as a consequence, there will not be an unbecoming scandal. My situation, were I glad of this, is that of someone suspected of being rich, who then becomes convinced that the rumor will

١٣

13

      

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٣،٢،٢٢

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„

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&   ú .‹ T T

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               .(  ) :        ،(  ) :        ١

١٤

14

On Hypocrisy

actually bear fruit.41 He is happy when ignorant people say, “He is a man of ample means. Both his hands are full of gold!” But then some ruler demands that he bring him a large sum, and he finds it to be a lie, uttered as a sigh. The ruler has him beaten to make him confess, until he dies under torture and receives no mercy. God is my witness that I am glad when someone finds fault with me, 22.2.3 because he speaks the truth about his misgivings about me, and that I am worried by false praise, which leaves me like a hunted animal so thirsty it is unable to feed. If I were butted by a locust’s antennae I would give up all volition.42 A mountain goat could not head-butt me, because I would perish already by the horns of a gazelle. May God forgive him who thinks well of someone who does evil and who performs his pilgrimage in the intercalary month!43 Were I not so reluctant to appear in people’s company and would rather die like a gazelle in its covert, and then were those deluded people who think well of me to keep my company, it would soon turn out that they stray from the right course, the truth that had been obscured would shine bright for them, and those who grope around would grasp a thorny tragacanth(?).44

١٥

15

١،٢٣

C d

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T T 

W  

C E þ      a  ¾  IQ E  IQ( F  [  * F  Z+ /  . c 24=  !ÿ ý =>  GHà š½ *R ، c 24š & ' cb4_  ‰ _ q Y ,-.

١٦

16

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

The Sheikh mentioned that he arrived in Aleppo—may God protect it! If it 23.1 possessed reason it would have rejoiced at his arrival just as a bereaved crone who has lost her wits rejoices, a woman who has neglected the good management and care of her camels. Her only son has gone far away. He has not denied her what is due to her, and then returns after many years, and then she quenches, through him, her burning thirst. She was to him like a flatnosed oryx cow grazing with her calf in the late afternoon. The calf was not yet doomed to die. When she saw that the place was safe and did not fear the lurking of limping wolves, she went out into the wide pasture ground and left her calf behind, giving it the difficult task of finding fresh herbage(?), and so that she could save for the calf the milk in her udders(?).45 But there is no remedy after perdition. The poor thing returned and did not find him. “Do not cause him any pain,” she said to the Everlasting, “if he has fallen into the claws of a wolf and suffering has been his lot! You are able to replace lost children; You know the outcome of all augury and prognostication!” While she was wavering between being benumbed and distraught, her lost young lowed softly to her from a curved sand dune where it had lain down, not having seen any hunter drawing his bow. It felt at ease, having eaten its fill. Fate had not done any evil to it and it had not become a predator’s prey. Joy flooded her heart after the course of events had become clear to her. If the acacia gatherer would return to his tribe of ʿAnazah,46 the joy that would be evident in the tribe at his return and the providential end of their grief would be less than the delight that I harbor and hide in my breast at the Sheikh’s approaching these parts and casting down his walking stick. God be praised! He returns the lightning to the clouds in spring!47 A bright flash has come to adorn the skies. Aleppo (may God give it victory!) really is in need of someone who has a little knowledge, in days of war and peace. So what does the Sheikh think? May God establish literary scholarship by adding to his lifetime! Because he is the right equipment for the marvels of literature(?).48

١٧

17

Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s arrival in Aleppo

      

  ‰  

٢،٢٣

١،٣،٢٣

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١٨

18

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

I am truly amazed that a society is colluding in something that is neither good 23.2 nor pious; something that has no firm ground of certainty, but is polished and made to look good by a skilled artisan! I had almost joined the company of non-existence,49 without sorrow or remorse, but I feared to appear before the Almighty without having set my palm grove in order by pollinating it. Someone said to a certain sage, “So-and-so has employed subtle means to kill himself; he was unable to detain himself in the Passing Abode, loath to commit novel deeds of evil, and wanted to move on to the Dwellings of Joy.” Thereupon the sage spoke, saying words to the effect that this person, still in the prime of his life, committed a sin; it were better for him and his mother if she had lost him as a child. Why did he not suffer with fortitude the vagaries of Time, until Destiny would afflict him? He had no inkling of what he was recklessly undertaking. Every house will come to ruin. But for the wisdom of God (great is His omnipotence), and His holding back men from death through fear of its agony and of annihilation, then everyone who is on fire with anger, or whose sword50 is too blunt to strike, would wish cups of death to be filled for him. God knows how He will recompense. Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī—which human being is ever set free from misfor- 23.3.1 tunes?—was a poet of love lyrics and futile themes, dedicating himself to pretty maidens and idleness. I have no doubt that the Sheikh—May God delight literature by lengthening his life!—yearns more strongly for Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, in spite of his deafness, or for Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram, in spite of his broken tooth, than al-Marrār ibn Saʿīd yearned, hoping for a promise and fearing a threat. That man was madly in love with Waḥshiyyah, though he had to forgo a soft bed, being separated from her. He thought of a mouth with teeth white like the flowers of a palm tree, a cheek that could be compared to the color of safflower. But the love of a beautiful woman is deceptive and delusive. In his passion he suffered ever-new miseries. If this woman had died while Marrār was still alive, he would have thought himself as carried upon her bier,51 particularly in old age, with his soul’s strength in decline. Perhaps, if Abū l-Qaṭirān had been able to enjoy this woman for a hundred epochs, without anxiety or being spied upon, it is possible that he would have tired of being united with her, knowing that his bond was lasting. If something had happened to her that had made her change her loyalty, he would have wished that she were cast into something other than a cradle,52 because a human being is miserly and easily bored; a trusty, docile she-camel53 will bring him

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The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

to his death. If she had lost an eye, which once was black and lustrous, he would have thought this was an unforgiveable incident, beyond expiation. But how can someone who has been careless be rebuked, or revenge taken on the neglectful? God—glorified be He—has kept this away from someone who has forgotten and does not know, or from a sleeper who feels pain when perceiving something that hurts.54 How could the loyalty of this man from the tribe of Asad be compared 23.3.2 with the great loyalty that God has bestowed on the Sheikh? If al-Samawʾal had known of it, he would have acknowledged that he had been a traitor; if al-Ḥārith ibn Ẓālim had known of it, he would have testified that he had been insouciant (sādir). This is from the expression “he did such-and-such a thing insouciantly (sādiran),” i.e., not being concerned with anything. Abū l-Qaṭirān lived among camel-herding slaves, male and female; when he looked at his heels he found them bleeding from treading on thorny shrubs. Who could give him farās dates in the grazing ground? Farās are black dates. The following verses are quoted in works on obscure expressions:55 When they eat farās you see black “moles” produced by them on the mud from the wells and the hollows. Incessantly you hear rumbling claps like the sound of thunder in a year of abundance. Perhaps, if he had found a woman prettier than Waḥshiyyah by even half a stone of a doom-palm date he would have forgotten about her and she would have caused him no more pain. It was the habit of this man and people of his kind merely to describe a she-camel or a campsite. The trees he planted were no nabʿ trees. When he gathered some truffles he would exult and imagine he had an excellent result! If he sat at tables such as those that the Sheikh sits at, he would end up just as the poet says: 56 If you had an ʿUdhrite attachment you would not spend the night full-bellied: your passion would make you forget eating a lot. The Sheikh (may God destine for him what he loves!) has sat with the kings 23.3.3 of Egypt, about which Pharaoh says:57 «Have I not the kingdom of Egypt and these rivers, flowing beneath me? Do you not see, then?» And he has stayed in Iraq for a long time, depending on his erudition, while Iraq was ruled by Persia.58 They are noble and refined people. They spend on food

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more than one could possibly spend. There can be no doubt that he sat with the highest-ranking lords and experienced their characters in their company, while they handed him cups adorned with pictures,59 after the custom of the Persian knightly margraves, 60 as al-Ḥakamī says:61 The cup62 went round among us, held in a golden (vessel), on which Persia had bestowed variegated pictures: Chosroes on the bottom, and on its sides wild cows, for which riders are lying in wait with their bows. —whereas Abū l-Qaṭirān used to draw a drop of water by means of a rope made of palm fiber, putting it into his mug or leather pail. When he ate, who would serve him his broth?63 In times of plenty he would embark on eating a nahīdah. Nor do I doubt that if the Sheikh (may God give enjoyment to literature by 23.4 granting him long life!) had been given the opportunity to have a conversation with Abū l-Aswad, in spite of his lameness, his miserliness attested in anecdotes, and his gruffness(?),64 his affection for him would have been stronger than the affection of Mahdī for his Laylā,65 not to mention that of Ruʾbah for his Ubaylā.66 If he had lived at a time in which he could have attended a lecture by Abū l-Khaṭṭāb, he would have been more passionate about the latter’s weak eyesight than al-Ḥādirah about Sumayyah, or Ghaylān67 about Mayyah, for he said: Two eyes: God said, “Be!” and they were, doing to minds what wine does too. And the Sheikh would have admired the gaping mouth of Abū l-Ḥasan Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah more than Kuthayyir admired ʿAzzah’s white teeth, or the

ʿUdhrite poet68 Buthaynah’s dark-red lips. Even if Abū ʿUbaydah suffered from bad breath, I am sure that the Sheikh, what with his fondness of historical reports, would have kissed him “as one splits a fig,” not feeling himself too grand for this. In a hadith transmitted on the authority of ʿĀʾishah (God have mercy on her) it says: “The messenger of God (God bless and preserve him) would kiss me as one splits a fig.” Someone transmits it as “as one splits a date.” It means: taking the upper lip with one hand and the lower lip with the other hand, and then kissing the space between the lips.

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The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

As for the friends that the Sheikh missed when he entered Aleppo (may God 23.5 protect it!), well, this is the habit of Time, which cannot be trusted to keep matters safe and sound: it replaces inhabited houses with graves and it will not allow a slip to be mended. The tomb of a deceased person is surely the true house, though it may bring the most troublesome misfortune. However, it makes its resident free from need, after his privation,69 and it saves him from having to procure provisions, no matter how long he has been there(?).70 The body is concealed from evil,71 far from women or wine.72 The poet from the tribe of Ḍabbah73 said: I have come to know that my end74 will be a grave-pit, after which there is for me neither fear nor privation. I shall visit the house of truth for a permanent visit; why should I care for things that fall into ruin and collapse? The Arabs always speak of the grave as a “house,” even if he who moves into it is dead. A rajaz poet said:75 Today a house will be built for Duwayd. Many a respectable house have I built, Many a wrist with a bracelet have I bent. If Fate could be worn out, I would wear it out; Or if my opponent were single, I would be more than his match. In the paragraph in which the Sheikh mentions al-Khalīl the name is miss- 23.6 ing of the person that extols me so excessively,76 pairing the stars with hard stones. Whoever it was—may God forgive his misdeeds and preserve for him for ever his noble qualities!—in his assertion he erred both against me and himself. He ascribed to me things I do not deserve. How often do I have to exculpate myself and justify myself for a sin that never occurred! Truly, I loathe—God be my witness—such false claims as much as the Messiah loathed those who turned him into the Lord Omnipotent, and who thus did not omit any opportunity to stir up religious temptation.77 The proof is in the words of God the Exalted:78 «And when God said, “O ʿĪsā son of Maryam, did you say to the people: Take me and my mother as two gods, rather than God?” He answered, “May You be glorified! It is not for me to say what I am not entitled to. If I said it You would know it: You know what is in my soul, whereas I do not know what is in Your soul. You are the one who knows all things that are hidden.”»

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26

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

As for Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī, the fact that he knows the Sheikh testifies as 24.1.1 if on oath that he has a close connection with erudition and is allied with a

The stolen letter

good natural disposition. I wished that the letter had reached me,79 but that fellow traveler was a felon traveler80—away with him, for as long as doves sing!81 Could he not have been content instead with some cash or clothes, leaving the letter alone? May his hands drop from his body! May he not find the right path at night by the two stars of the Little Bear!82 If he had been one of the proverbial Arab robber-poets83 spoken of by people wherever they go,84 then I would not have forgiven him his deed, despite the poetry he composed, because he went too far and committed an enormity, i.e., a grave misdeed, and he destroyed a well-strung necklace. Abū l-Faraj and his son85 were fortunate! His little puddle of knowledge 24.1.2 became like the sea’s billows when he studied his books under the Sheikh’s guidance and memorized what will be forever immutable. “He handed the ancient bow to the man of the tribe of al-Qārah, the musk pouch to the man of Dārīn, the long lance to Ibn al-Ṭufayl, and the reins to the riders that never quit the saddle.”86 Though the Sheikh had to contend with contretemps,87 he has renewed 24.2 his former acquaintance with the river Quwayq. What a lovely river! It will not give whoever swims in it a drowning death, nor render him out of breath. Its fishy daughters sought by suitors are small and are taken from it unawares; it does not guard them jealously. It sustains them; Fate snatches them. They conceal themselves and do not show their charms, but they leave it reluctantly. Their boudoirs are of water; the grabbed thing visits them with grabbing—“The grabbed thing” is the net. One says “he grabbed (almaʾa ʿalā) something” when he takes something in its entirety.—while poor Quwayq is not even aware whether Arabs or Byzantines have taken his children into captivity; it does not even care about their desires. Al-Buḥturī mentioned it, al-Ṣanawbarī described it;88 but I imagine that the Sheikh’s taste for it was spoiled by the Tigris and its tributary al-Ṣarāh, helped by its friend the Euphrates. As for Aleppo—may God protect her!—she is a devoted mother, joined with 24.3.1 all joy. I do not think (if God wills) that she will ever display a blameworthy lack of maternal devotion or neglect the duties imposed on her. The Sheikh— may God please the humanities by granting him lasting life!—has probably

٢٧

27

Proverbs

      

  ‰  

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C B »©«

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٢٨

28

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

made Waḥshiyyah a substitute for those friends he missed, and whose equals no longer exist. It is similar in the idioms of the Arabs: they allude with one particular name to all other names. Someone will say, for example,89 May a hand that murdered ʿAmr not be lamed, for you will no longer be humbled nor be wronged. One man may see someone kill somebody called Ḥassān or ʿUṭārid, or some other name, and then quote this verse. Then “ʿAmr” stands for anybody for whom the verse is quoted. It is the same with the verse by a rajaz poet: Saʿd took them to the water, Saʿd being wrapped in his robe.90 This became a proverb for everyone who carries out a job but does not do it properly. It could be said about someone called Khālid or Bakr, or God knows what name. In the same vein one uses the feminine form for the masculine, or the masculine for the feminine; they will say to a man: “Woman, walk at the side of the path, for you have strong soles!”91 or “This summer you, woman, spoilt the milk!”92 or “You’re doing well, woman, pour out!”93 or “You, girl, say to them first: ‘Sluts, may you be kidnapped!’”94 If they want to tell that a woman used to do good but then died, so that whatever she did was discontinued, they could say: “The good has gone with ʿAmr ibn Ḥumamah.”95 They may say to someone, warning him against the proximity of women: “Don’t spend the night close to a man of the tribe of Bakr” or “The man of Bakr is your brother, but do not trust him.”96 There are many similar cases.

٢٩

29

24.3.2

      

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30

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

As for the Sheikh’s complaint to me, we are both as it is said in the proverb: 25.1.1 “One bereaved woman helps another.”97 This is how al-Aṣmaʿī interpreted the verse by Abū Duʾād:98

The plight of men of letters

And he listens sometimes, as someone who has lost an animal will listen to the call of another one who searches. Both of us, God be praised,99 have lost something. Whom should we attack, upon whom can we pounce? The riding animal is weak and slow, the provision bag is empty, the riders are in need of a pebble,100 and all of them hurry longingly toward a palm branch.101 My camel complains to me about the lengthy nightly journey. Decent fortitude! Both of us are suffering.102 If the thorny acacia tree complains about the adze of the woodsman to the thorny mimosa tree, then it complains of a mishap to another who complains.103 Speaking truthfully is better than mendacity. I do not doubt that the Sheikh has retained these verses of the man of Fazārah in his memory for some fifty or more years:104

ʿUyaynah, now that you are smitten with love for her, why did you seek assistance from someone who has lost his mind? You’ve tried to find support from a man, but the one whose help is sought has other things on his mind! Men of letters have always complained of the vagaries of time, in every gener- 25.1.2 ation. They have been singled out by strange events in bucketfuls. The Sheikh knows the story of Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, who bequeathed part of his possessions to men of letters. “They are,” he said, “people of a despised art.” I think they and bad luck105 were created as twin brothers. One of them may be successful for a short while, but then it does not take long before his foot slips and his skin is rent by Fate. The Sheikh has heard, in Egypt, the story of Abū l-Faḍl and Saʿīd, whose cases were similar.106 Now if people with literary erudition were harshly treated already in Umayyad times, how could they be safe from harm during the reign of the Abbasids? If tribulations afflicted them in the prime of al-Rashīd’s days, how could one hope for them to enjoy good fortune on a solid basis? Did Abū ʿUbaydah not come with al-Aṣmaʿī, while both of them were seeking good pastures, not wishing

٣١

31

      

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32

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

to return to Basra? But only ʿAbd al-Malik was made to stay and Maʿmar was sent back.107 Who knows what is hidden in the bushes? And who would wish to earn a living with this profession? Who does so keeps his wine in a worn-out skin that cannot be relied upon to keep its deposit: it is to him a deceitful friend. It is reported that when Sībawayh108 considered his situation and weighed it, he wanted to be appointed at the tribunal of torts109 in Shiraz; and that al-Kisāʾ ī expressed grief about what he did to him and supported him, so as to surpass Sībawayh's expectations by far. Ḥabīb ibn Aws passed away while in Mosul, in charge of the postal service. A man of letters is always familiar with receiving too little. Those the Sheikh mentioned who are guilty of misplacing the diacritical 25.2 marks when they read are neither respectful nor just. A fox will always be keen to harm a lion; I don’t think he is even aware that it is due to envy. When a fierce, softly treading lion goes out at night, ready to cause misery to a large-humped she-camel, or one whose fatness is palpable,110 then the fox warns against him, as if he were a cautioner of the prey. But the lion does not think him worthy of rebuke and merely considers him one of those misfortunes that must be endured when they befall. How many a thick-necked lion stirred to a rage is kept awake by the singing of a mosquito! All night long it is humming while the bulky lion is suffering. However, It does not harm the sea, when it is full to overflowing, if a boy casts a stone at it.111 Or whenever a fly is buzzing, should I scare it away? The fly would then be important to me!112 The rabble never stop talking, always falling short of noble things and never excelling. They are too sluggish to grasp what is nobly rooted, whereas those who seek erudition will climb its mountains. He who, uniquely, has a noble virtue will advance with many excellent qualities, while those who envy someone who excels are truly as al-Farazdaq says:113 If you lampoon the clan of al-Zibriqān, then you lampoon men who are tall and proud, of Yadhbul’s hill.114 A dog may bark at the stars, while between them and it are many miles115 that wear out116 the eye of the observer.

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33

      

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٣٤

34

The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo

The envier’s envy turns on himself: his body is worn away by the repression of his feelings. Will striking the Byzantine provide you with a forefather descending from Kulayb, or an ancestor like Dārim?117

٣٥

35

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٣٦

36

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

As for the Sheikh’s quotation of Abū l-Ṭayyib’s verse:

26.1.1 Al-Mutanabbī and the diminutive

I blame the little people of these times118 the man was fond of using the diminutive,119 not being content merely with what a raider snatches away, as when he says: Who can help me make the little people of these days understand, who claim that a Bāqil among them can compute with Indian numerals?120 and: Little darling of my heart! O my heart, my heart! Ah, Juml!121 and: . . . My addressing that little moron with “O wise one!”122 and: That little servant slept at night, when we. . .123 and: Must I carry a little poet under my arm every day?124 There is more of this in his collected verse. He should not be criticized for this: it is merely a habit that has become like second nature. The familiar abode has not become beautiful with this(?),125 but it is to be forgiven in view of his many beautiful other things. Sometimes moles appear on noses!

26.1.2

With this verse that begins with I blame the little people of these times he addressed ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Sayyār ibn Mukrim in Antioch, before he composed panegyric poetry on Sayf al-Dawlah ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥamdān. Poets are free to do so, for the Qurʾanic verse attests that they

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38

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

produce lies and speak idle words:126 «Have you not seen that they127 roam in every valley, and that they say what they do not do?» Ahl (“people”) is a word that conventionally refers to a group, originally.128 One says: “The people of the house departed”; then the hearer knows that the speaker does not mean one person by his statement. Nevertheless, this word is also used for individual persons, as when one says: “So-and-so is ahl (someone doing) good” or “ahl (a man) of beneficence.”129 Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾ ī said:130 She kept blaming (me) because of a young camel I had generously given (?). (The loss of ) Ibn Masʿūd is a great calamity to the world. The men left him on the stony ground, thrown down; he was a man (ahl) of liberality, prudence, and generosity. It seems that this word was originally used for a plural and then also transferred to a singular, just as ṣadīq (“friend”), amīr (“commander”), and similar words were conventionally used only for individuals originally, but subsequently transferred to a plural, by way of making them similar. Thus people will say: “The sons of So-and-so are a brother to us.” One says ahl, ahlah, and ahalāt in the plural. A poet says:131 They are people (ahalāt) standing around Qays ibn ʿĀṣim when they set out at night, calling “O abundant giver!” A certain grammarian132 said about the diminutive form of āl (“the clan, family”) of a man that it may be uwayl or uhayl. It seems that he believes that the h in ahl was replaced by a glottal stop, and that when two glottal stops came together the second was turned into an alif.133 Something like this cannot be ascertained. The most likely thing is that the āl (“the clan”) of a man is derived from the verb āla – yaʾūlu (“he went back – he goes back”), i.e., “he returned,” as if to say that his clan returns to him, or that he returns to them. As regards the story told by al-Quṭrabbulī and Ibn Abī l-Azhar, which the 26.2 Sheikh mentions, such things happen.134 It is not evident that the fellow was imprisoned in Iraq, whereas everyone knows that he was imprisoned in Syria. I was told that when he was asked about the true origin of this nickname135 he said, “It is from nabwah,” i.e., an elevated piece of land. He had aspired to something that lesser men than he had also aspired to.

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39

Al-Mutanabbī, the would-be prophet?

      

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40

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

These things are divinely decreed, directed by a Director on high. Those favored with success will attain them, and those who strive earnestly should not be dismayed if they fail. Various things in his collected verse show that he was (generally) devout and (at times, however) bereft of reason,136 like other people. Thus he says: . . . Not accepting any judgment except from his Creator.137 And: How all-powerful is God, to shame His creatures and not to prove the truth of what some people maintain!138 When one reverts to the facts, then what the tongue utters says nothing about a person’s firm belief, for the world is formed with a natural disposition toward lying and hypocrisy. It is possible for a man to proclaim something openly, showing his religiousness, while he does this merely in order to adorn himself with a fine appearance, wishing to gain praise or some other intention of the deceptive world, “mother of extinction.” Perhaps a number of people have come and gone who were outwardly devout but heretics inside. I am not beset by any doubt that Di ʿbil ibn ʿAlī had no religion. He made 26.3 a show of being a Shi’ite but his only motive was mercenary. How many a lineage he established to lay claim to a false genealogy!139 I do not doubt that

Other poets: Di ʿbil and Abū Nuwās

Di ʿbil held the same views as al-Ḥakamī and his sort. Heresy became widespread amongst them and sprang up in their country. People differ of opinion about Abū Nuwās. It has been alleged that he was pious and performed his missed daily ritual prayers at night. The truth is that he believed what other people of his time believed. The Prophet (God bless and preserve him) came to the Arabs while they were desirous of thick marrow and their concerns fell short of black pudding.140 Some of them followed in his stride; «God knows well what they hide!»141 When Islam established itself and its empire rested on its cornerstones in 26.4 good order, the Arabs came to mix with other nations. They heard what was said by physicians, astronomers, and logicians, and a large group of them felt inclined towards them.142 Unbelief has always existed among mankind throughout the ages, to the extent that historians maintain that when Adam (God bless him) sent for his children and warned them about the Hereafter,

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41

Heretics in Islam: Quraysh

      

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X ›M«   j   D67$ mV UV ,-./  {  La) — ë_F 43 _F &gîˆ T Un$8

C WC í* T  * C / E A  + t

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C  C E  * E … *  A C 6 C   (†C›$A8 ~ HI g îˆ I ˆC `© ÷7F  Y * &g C 9 ‫' &؟‬ØÙ z’¦  G & GF HÄ Y[ ‰  —„ †_F 

C * +/ 

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C0 ˆ  + / ž¥7›ÚV & ' b4_ F ,-. GHI +/ . X š ,*-.  W

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’ _F  ‰  `ìœ 24 

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&'  & ž ž * ٤٢

42

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

filling them with fear of torment, they called him a liar and rejected his words. And thus it continues until today. Some scholar says that the leaders of Quraysh were heretics. And it is very likely that they were, too! A poet of theirs said the following lines, lamenting those killed at Badr; they are attributed to Shaddād ibn al-Aswad al-Laythī:143 Umm Bakr paid a visit, greeting (us); so return the greeting to Umm Bakr! So many, in the brick-covered well, the well of Badr, good reputations and noble men! So many, in the brick-covered well, the well of Badr, bowls that are crowned with camel-hump!144 O Umm Bakr, do not hand to me, again, the cup, after the death of Hishām’s brother, And of his father’s brother. He was a leader of men, drinkers of vintage wine. Ah, who will bear my message to the Merciful that I renounce the month of fasting!145 When the head has left its shoulders the cheerful companion has had his fill of food. Does Kabshah’s son promise us that we shall live?146 But what kind of life has a screech owl?147 Will you omit to hold death away from me but revive me when the bones have decayed? Assertions such as these are made only by someone who seeks nothing further than a reckless death in battle and who has no regrets about it when it happens. I was told that, in the days when he had an estate in Ṣaff, Abū l-Ṭayyib148 26.5 was seen to perform the ritual prayer at a place in Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān, called “the Bedouins’ Church,” and that he performed two “bows,” which was at the time of the afternoon prayer.149 It is possible, therefore, that in his view he was traveling and that shortening was permissible. A reliable person told me a story about him to the intent that when he had arrived at the Banū ʿAdī and attempted to raise a rebellion among them, they understood his claim and said to him:150 “Here is a refractory she-camel. If you are able to ride her we will attest that you are sent by God.” He went

٤٣

43

Stories about al-Mutanabbī

      

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٦،٢٦

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+ =a 240 HI ،= ¸ F  UV =äå67‡ˆ ¥7ò¸ F `©«’¦  _F  ‰  HI ،z’¦ Æ V  

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ª ^  `  I Q ¦    Ÿ     I a ’ 䣸 GIH ¡   no 1 ÷67!þý Uno> Ï ¤  ، –«   U = S  © { ' H Ò ž > &  GHà GH ž¥7  [ ¨7 b† ` ©« G

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GHI ، 24=a ž¥7*›Ú *Gw T * / C    C E   0     t  þ ® GÄ su  [ ž¥7   –Ž‚1  T [ t ¡ [ žŸGHI +,-.  ¹\Ç ÏÐ ،  ý {ä]  ­ [ v _F  ‰  !¿[ b4_ F ‰ !ÿ H  TUV ž¥7U³îˆ    Š W

٤٤

44

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

toward that camel as she was returning home in the evening with the other camels. Cleverly he managed to jump on her back. She bolted for a bit and resisted him for a moment. But then she stopped bolting and she began to walk like a docile animal. He rode her, it is said, to the tribal settlement. They were much amazed and this became one of his prophetic signs for them. I was also told that he was in the administrative department in Latakia, when a pen-knife cut the hand of one of the scribes, wounding him severely. Abū l-Ṭayyib spat on it and bandaged it without delay. “Do not undo it today,” he told the wounded man. He told him to wait a number of days and nights. The scribe accepted the advice and the wound healed. Then they started to form the strongest beliefs about Abū l-Ṭayyib, saying, “It is as if he can revive the dead!” A man at whose place Abū l-Ṭayyib had been hiding in Latakia, or some other place on the coast, told that he wanted to go from one place to another. He left at night, in the man’s company. They came across a dog that pestered them with its barking and then went away. Abū l-Ṭayyib said to that man as he was returning, “You will find that that dog has died.” When the man returned he found that it was as he had said. It is not impossible that he had prepared some poisoned food and thrown it to the dog, hiding his action from his companion. Hellebore is a well-known poison for dogs. It is extraordinary that al-Quṭrabbulī and Ibn Abī l-Azhar wrote a book 26.6 together: such a thing is little known. A similar case is the story of the two On collaborative Khālidī brothers who lived in Mosul, both being poets.151 They were attached to Sayf al-Dawlah’s court but left after a quarrel. Their collected poetry is in both their names and only very few pieces are by one of them individually. This is a thing that is very difficult to achieve among humans, because human nature tends to contrariety and a lack of agreement. It is easier to understand that one man produces a piece of writing which is then completed by another, than that two men collaborate. The people of Baghdad relate that Abū Saʿīd al-Sīrāfī152 wrote his book known as The Sufficient, or The Sufficiency, as far as the chapter on the diminutive. Then he died and his son Abū Muḥammad completed it after his death. Such a thing is possible, people do not doubt it. A reliable person told me that Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī mentioned that Abū Bakr ibn al-Sarrāj wrote the first half of his The Concise [Book on Syntax] for a cloth merchant, after which he asked Abū ʿAlī to complete it. This part, however, cannot be said to have been “written” by Abū ʿAlī, because the subject matter

٤٥

45

authorship

      

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١،٧،٢٦

٢،٧،٢٦

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*  *Õ EC  *+ /  

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٤٦

46

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

of The Concise is taken from Ibn al-Sarrāj’s own words in his The Principles [of Syntax] and The Sentences, so it is as if Abū ʿAlī merely copied them and did not produce anything original himself. Those who transmit the collected verse of Abū l-Ṭayyib relate about him that 26.7.1 he was born in the year 303153; he went to Syria in the year 321154 and stayed there for a while. Then he returned to Iraq, but he did not remain there for

Al-Mutanabbī on Time

any length of time. That this report is correct is proved by the fact that his panegyric odes composed during his younger years are all on Syrians, except his poem that begins:155 Woman, stop! [My worries] have made your blaming (woe unto you!) look more blameworthy to me. With his complaint, to Time, of the people living in it he followed the path of the ancients. So much has been said in condemnation of Time that there is even a hadith: “Do not revile Time, because God is Time.”156 The meaning of these words is well known, but the hidden sense is not like the superficial meaning; for none of the prophets (peace be upon them) held the view that Time is the Creator or is to be worshipped. In the Noble Book it says:157 «Nothing but Time destroys us». What some people say, that time is the movement of the celestial sphere,158 holds no truth. In Sībawayh’s book there is an indication that in his view time is the passing of night and day, an expression that has been glossed by commentators. I159 have given a definition that very likely has been given before, but I have not heard it: namely, that “time” is something the smallest part of which contains all things that can be comprehended. In this respect it is the opposite of “space,” because the smallest part of it cannot contain a thing in the manner that circumstances can contain it. As for “being,” it is necessarily attached to what is little or large in quantity. As for those who said «Nothing but Time destroys us» and similar things, 26.7.2 such as the verse attributed to al-Akhṭal (Ḥabīb ibn Aws quotes it as if by Shamʿalah al-Taghlibī):160 The Commander of the Believers and his deeds are like Time—there is no shame in what Time does.

٤٧

47

      

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48

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

or the verse by another:161 Time brought our companionship harmoniously together; likewise Time has separated us. or Abū Ṣakhr’s verse:162 I was amazed at the mischief that Time did between us; but when what existed between was at an end, Time was quiet. One cannot maintain that any of them used to offer sacrifices to the celestial spheres, or claimed that these spheres are rational beings. It is merely a motif that communities have inherited successively from one time to another. There was a poet called “Time’s Reviler” in the tribe of ʿAbd al-Qays, who said:163 When I saw how rough was the path of Time and that it showed us a shaggy face with the nose cut off, And a monkey’s forehead, as narrow as a shoe-strap, and a nose,164 while it twisted its neck-veins with its beard,165 I was reminded of the noble departed, the generous ones, and I said to ʿAmr and al-Ḥusām:166 Ah, leave it!

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

As for the Sheikh’s anger with the heretics and apostates, may God reward 27.1 him for it, as He may reward him for his being thirsty on the road to Mecca, for being burned by the sun at ʿArafah, and his spending the night at al-

More heretics and apostates

Muzdalifah. No doubt he prayed humbly to God, praised be He, during the appointed, known days,167 asking Him to fortify the hills of Islam, and to erect beaming beacons for its followers.168 However, heresy is an old disease by which people have so often been afflicted!169 One legal scholar is of the opinion that when a man openly professes heresy and then repents, merely because he is afraid of being executed, his repentance cannot be accepted, unlike other unbelievers, for an apostate is accepted if he returns to Islam. There is no religion that has no heretics, who give their co-religionists the appearance of siding with them, whereas they secretly oppose them. A deceiver like this must be exposed and the first buds of evil must be laid bare. The kings of Persia used to execute people for heresy. The heretics are those that are called “Eternalists.”170 They believe neither in 27.2.1 prophethood nor in scripture. Bashshār171 adopted this belief from others. It is said that a note was found among his papers. The phrase “I wanted to lampoon So-and-so, the Hāshimite, but I forgave him because of his kinship with the Messenger of God, God bless and preserve him” was written on it.172 They assert that he was hostile to Sībawayh and that one day he attended the circle of Yūnus ibn Ḥabīb, where he said, “Is there anyone here who will inform on me?” They replied, “No.” Then he recited to them: Umayyads, wake up from your slumber! The caliph is Yaʿqūb ibn Dāwūd! The caliph is not to be found, so seek God’s caliph between flute and lute!173 Sībawayh was present in the circle, and one of the people claimed that Bashshār had slandered him.174 But Sībawayh, I think, would have been above entering into such lowly matters; he aimed at higher things. It is related that he criticized Bashshār’s verse: To the flirteous one (al-ghazalā) from me a greeting! So often have I amused myself with her in the shade of a bright green spot!

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52

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Sībawayh said, “The true Arabs do not use ‘flirteous.’” Thereupon Bashshār replied, “But this is like when they say ‘courteous’ and ‘righteous’ and the like.”175 Bashshār also used the word nīnān in his verse, the plural of nūn, “fish.” 27.2.2 Sībawayh is said to have disapproved of this.176 But these are unconfirmed reports; it is transmitted in Sībawayh’s Book177 that the word nūn has a plural nīnān, which contradicts the report. The person who transmitted the reports about Bashshār mentions that he threatened Sībawayh with making lampoons, so the latter placated him by citing his poetry as linguistic evidence. It is possible that he cited his poetry in this manner just as people do when quoting things in sessions and gatherings. The partisans of Bashshār transmit this verse as being his: Not every intelligent man will provide you with his advice; nor is everyone who gives his advice intelligent. In Sībawayh’s Book the second hemistich of this verse is found in the chapter on assimilation, without mention of the poet. Others say that it is by Abū l-Aswad al-Duʾalī.178 Yaʿqūb ibn Dāwūd, the vizier of al-Mahdī, is said to have intrigued against Bashshār until he was executed. People differ about his age: it is said that at the time he was eighty years old, others say he was older. God knows best the truth of the matter. I shall not say categorically that he is one of the people of hell-fire.179 I said what I said previously because I connected it with God’s will;180 but God is forbearing and munificent. The author of The Folio Book181 mentions a number of poets of the genera- 27.3.1 tion of Abū Nuwās and before, describing them as heretics. People’s inner thoughts are hidden and only He who knows all hidden things knows them. At that time such beliefs were concealed, for fear of the sword, whereas now people’s hidden secrets have become evident and the abandoned ostrichshell has broken to reveal the ugliest chick! In that period there was a man who had friends who were Shi’ites and another friend who was a heretic.182 One day he invited the Shi’ites; then the heretic arrived, knocked on the door, and said:

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54

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

“This morning my breast is full of perturbations, jointly beset with various anxieties and thoughts.” The master of the house said to him, “Mercy on you! Why is that?” But the heretic left him and went away. Afterward the man who had given the banquet met him and said to him, “Did you want to get me into trouble?”— afraid that his friends would think he was a heretic himself. The other replied, “Invite them again and let me know where they will be.” When they had arrived at his place the heretic came and said, “This morning my breast is full of perturbations, jointly beset with anxieties and thoughts.” They all said, “Mercy on you! Why is that?” and the man continued: Because of the crime committed against Ḥasan’s father by ʿUmar and his fellow, Abū Bakr.183 Then he left. The Shi’ites were delighted by this. The master of the house met him and said, “May God recompense you for the good that you have done me! You have saved me from suspicion!” A number of scholars used to sit in a gathering in Basra. Among them 27.3.2 was a heretic who had two swords, one of which he called “Welfare” and the other “Prosperity.” Whenever a Muslim greeted him he would reply, Welfare to you in the morning, Prosperity to you in the evening! Then he would turn to his companions, who knew about the two swords, and say: Two swords like lightning when the lightning flashes! Take the verse by al-Ḥakamī:184 The conceitedness of a singer and the sophistication of a heretic. He was criticized for this motif.185 It is said that he meant a man of the tribe of Banū l-Ḥārith who was well known for his heresy and his sophistication; he held a favored position with the ruler.186

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56

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

As for the first hemistich of this verse: A prince’s boon companion, on speaking terms with a king,187 this is like the verse by Imruʾ al-Qays:188 Today I’ll drink without incurring sin with God, nor as an uninvited guest. One cannot consider it analogous to the use of the pausal form -ah, as in: O Baydharah, O Baydharah, O Baydharah!189 Or as someone else said:190 Over many a leaping white-footed ibex, fair-sized, The shadows contracted and then shrank together; When it saw there was no chance to rest (daʿah) 191 or eat its fill, It turned aside to an arṭā tree on a sand dune and lay down, because here it is good to make the h distinct, since the utterance is complete and it is good to pause there, whereas in muḥaddithuh malikin one has a pregenitive and a genitive,192 where such a thing is not good, for the two nouns are like one noun. Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs193 was notorious for his heresy but he was not 27.4 killed—God knows best—until statements came to light from him that made it inevitable. The following lines are attributed to his father, ʿAbd al-Quddūs: How many visitors has Mecca brought to perdition! May God destroy it and its houses! May the Merciful not give sustenance to its quarters and may His mercy pass over its dead! Ṣāliḥ had a son who was imprisoned for a long time because of heresy. The following lines are attributed to him:194 We left the world when we belonged to it; and now we are neither living in it nor dead. Whenever a visitor comes seeking us we rejoice and say, “This man comes from the world!”

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57

Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs

      

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Ṣāliḥ’s recanting from heresy when he thought he would be executed was merely deception. God bless Muḥammad, who is reported to have said, “I have been sent with the sword. There is good in the sword and there is good through the sword.” And in another hadith: “My community will be well as long as it carries swords.” The sword made Ṣāliḥ assent to the truth and renounce his heresy. This is one of God’s signs when it becomes evident to an unbelieving soul, whose time has come to an end, no doubt about it! For at this stage its belief will not be accepted. «It has not believed before».195 Folly comes as drizzle and as a downpour! Al-Qaṣṣār, “the Fuller”196 was altogether full of folly. Had he followed an old 27.5.1 camel, its flanks aching, he would have been spared the poison-taking!197 But one’s natural dispositions are one’s enemies, and one cannot escape the appointed hour. The one connected with “box”198 is to be considered a heretic, unorthodox. I think he was known as al-Manṣūr. He appeared in the year 270;199 he stayed for a while in Yemen. In his day, singing girls used to play the tambourine and sing: Girl, pick up the tambourine and play! Proclaim the virtues of this prophet! Gone is the prophet of the Banū Hāshim200 and the prophet of the Banū Yaʿrub201 has arisen. We no longer want to run at Ṣafā or to pay a visit to the tomb in Yathrib.202 If they perform the ritual prayer, don’t stand up; if they are fasting, eat and drink! Don’t hold yourself taboo to the believers, whether close kin or strangers! For why should you be free to marry any stranger but be forbidden to your father? Doesn’t a plant belong to him who reared it and who watered it in a year of drought? And what is wine but like the water of the clouds, permitted? Hallowed be you as a faith! May the adherents of this doctrine be cursed by all who pray!

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The Fuller, the Box-Maker, and others

      

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60

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

People like this—God curse them!—use various methods to enslave 27.5.2 the common people. When they are eager to claim divinity they are not ashamed to make a proclamation and they balk at no abomination; but when they know somebody has discernment they show him that the good is their preferment. There was a man in Yemen who had secluded himself in a castle he owned. His only contact with other people was a black servant, whom he called Jibrīl.203 One day the servant killed him and ran off. Some irreverent jester quipped: Blessed be God on high! Jabraʾ īl has fled from his depravity, And he that you maintained was Lord lies murdered on his throne. It is said that the depravity his master would impose on him moved him to commit this deed. When one of this lot is ambitious he is not content with being an imam or even a prophet but mounts higher still in his lies. His drink will be foul water from under the scum (i.e., the pondweed). The Arabs, in pre-Islamic times, did not commit such enormities and 27.5.3 irregularities. On the contrary, their minds tended toward the opinion of the sages and the books of the ancients from the past. Most philosophers did not believe in a prophet and considered anyone who asserted prophethood to be a fool. There was an incident involving Rabī ʿah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumaḥī and Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may God have mercy on him!),204 whereupon Rabī ʿah joined the Byzantines. It is related that he said: I went to live in the land of the Byzantines, not minding my giving up the evening or the midday prayer. But don’t leave me without a morning draught of wine, for God has not forbidden choicest wine! If Taym ibn Murrah rules among you, then there’s no good in the land of the Hijaz or Egypt. My Islam may have been Truth and Right Guidance, but I hereby leave it to Abū Bakr! There are many different ways in which people have gone astray, even to the point of thinking it possible to claim divinity. This was unbelief most

٦١

61

      

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62

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

thorough and refined, a piling of disobedience into bags of the amplest kind! The people of the time of Ignorance merely rejected prophethood and went no further. When ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (God have mercy upon him) expelled the adherents of the protected religions205 from the Arabian Peninsula, the displaced were distressed. It is said that a man of the Jews of Khaybar known as Sumayr ibn Adkan said on this:206 Abū Ḥafṣ attacks us with his leather whip. Gently does it! A man now surfaces, now sinks. It seems you never followed a loaded camel of a beating driver207 to get a bellyful. Provision is a much-loved thing! Had Moses spoken the truth you would not have had the upper hand against us. But a dynasty may come and go again. We were liars before you. Know therefore that we have the honor of being first and thus the worst! You merely walked in our tracks, on our path; your wish is to rule and be feared. For as long as it has existed, Yemen has been a breeding ground of people 27.5.4 who through religion earn their livelihood, and by fair pretense contrive to get ill-gotten good. Someone who traveled there told me that to this very day a group of people live there, each of whom claims to be the expected messiah208 and they never fail to receive money through a taxation, for their base ambitions’ gratification. I have been told that the Carmathians in al-Aḥsā keep a house from which, as they claim, their imam will come forth. They have a horse, saddled and bridled, standing at its door and say to the common people and the vulgar herd: “This horse is destined for the stirrup of the Mahdi, who will mount it when he appears with unprecedented Truth.” Their only object in this is quite simply deceit and specious argumentation, to lead people astray and gain domination. One of the strangest things I have heard is that long ago, when one of the 27.5.5 leaders of the Carmathians was on his deathbed and felt death approaching, he gathered his followers and began to say, “I am resolved to migrate. I have already sent Moses, Jesus, and Muḥammad; now I must send someone else.” A curse upon him! He committed the gravest kind of unbelief, at the moment when it is incumbent on the unbeliever to believe and on the traveler to return to his final destination.

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63

      

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64

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd209 he had the intelligence of an infant indeed, though he 28.1.1 had reached the age of solid maturity. A firm(?)210 intention did not avail him, nor was the vessel(?) of any use to him. He was distracted from the wine

Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd

pitcher by the sin of his erring soul.211 He was driven into Hellfire, where he does not ladle cups of wine! Some poems are attributed to him that bring him disgrace, such as:212 Bring me, you two, my friend

ʿAbdal without his loin-cloth,213 For I am certain I shall not be resurrected and be sent into a Fire. Let those who seek Paradise waste their efforts! I’ll train those people until they follow the religion of a donkey.214 It was an amazing time that made someone like him the leader of the community and brought him to the brimful well of power! It may well be that other rulers held identical or similar beliefs, but kept them hidden and feared being upbraided. The following is also transmitted as being by him:215 I, al-Walīd, am the imam, and proud of it. I trail my mantle and listen to love poetry. I drag my robe’s hem to her dwellings,216 not caring about who censures or reproaches me. The good life is nothing but listening to a skilled singing girl and wine that leaves a man intoxicated. I do not expect to meet black-eyed damsels in the eternal abode. Does any sensible person hope for the houris of Paradise? When a pretty girl grants you her favors, reward her liberally, as someone who bestows a present.217 It is said that when he was besieged218 he entered his palace, shut the door, 28.1.2 and said:219 Leave me Hind, al-Rabāb, and Fartanā,220 and a singing girl: that is all the wealth I need! Take your kingdom—may God not establish your kingdom!— for after this it isn’t worth a camel’s hobble!

٦٥

65

      

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Let me go free before the blinking of an eye and do not begrudge me a death from starvation! How he was chased from that high estate! His head was seen being carried in the mouth of a dog, as some relate. God punishes the reprobate. People are helpless in this world, “Mother Stink,” which renders powerless those who stay at home and those who travel alike. The office of being a caliph should by rights come to somebody known for his piety, who is not turned from the right path by time’s adversity. However, affliction was created together with the sun. Will those who dwell in the grave be set free? Abū ʿĪsā, the son of al-Rashīd,221 is neither seeking nor sought.222 If the 28.2 reports about him are true, he set himself apart thereby from his ancestors and showed his opposition to religious people. The Lord does not care whether His servants keep the fast through fear or break it; but people have been warned(?).223 Sometimes an ignoramus, or someone pretending to be so, will utter a statement though in his heart he is well aware that the opposite is true. I say this in the hope that Abū ʿĪsā and his likes did not follow those who lead into error, and that, having pondered it at night, they think differently from what was said openly. Certainly, the dead taught them a lesson. Somebody dreamed he saw ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Raghbān, who is known as Dīk al-Jinn, looking fine. He mentioned to him the lines rhyming in -āfī, including the following:224 This is the [real] world, though they are happy with [the thought of ] another: to fix one’s thoughts on things to come is fell. (“Fell” means “deadly.”) The poet replied, “I said that only in jest; I did not really believe it.” Perhaps many of those who are notorious for saying such ignorant things upheld the shariah in their innermost thoughts, staying within its bounds and grazing in its rich pasture-grounds. For the tongue is full of avidity and will yield to error and stupidity. The poems consisting of two or three lines by the aforementioned Abū ʿĪsā were admired. Al-Ṣūlī, in his Anecdotes, quotes the following poem of his:225

٦٧

67

Abū ʿĪsā, the son of al-Rashīd

      

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68

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

My tongue keeps its secrets hidden, but my tears betray my secret and divulge it. But for my tears I would have hidden my passion; but for my passion, I would not have shed tears. Even though he fled from the month-long fasting, he may perhaps [not]226 fall into everlasting torment. «Only unbelieving people despair of God’s comfort».227 As for al-Jannābī,228 if a town were punished for its inhabitants, then it would 28.3 be possible for Jannābah to be punished because of him and its repentance

Al-Jannābī

not be accepted. But the judgment of the revealed Book is more apt and more appropriate: «That no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another».229 There are different versions of the story about him and the cornerstone of the Kaaba. Some who claim they were well acquainted with him assert that he took it in order to worship and glorify it, because he had heard that it was the hand of the idol that was made in the likeness of Saturn.230 Others say he used it as a footstep in a privy. These stories contradict each other, but whatever was the case, a curse be upon him, for as long as Mount Thabīr stands and rain from white clouds falls. Someone reported that before the ʿAlid from Basra231 came out in rebellion 28.4.1 he used to say he belonged to the tribe of ʿAbd al-Qays, more specifically to Anmār. His name was Aḥmad, but when he rebelled he called himself ʿAlī— there is a lot of lying!—as if he were a lofty mountain in terms of profound insight. Truth was to him like pebbles, to be trodden underfoot by the feet of rebels! The following well-known lines are attributed to him:232 O trade of the chronically ill,233 may perdition come upon you! Is there no escape for me from you, not even when the assembled people gather?234 If my soul is content to teach young children forever, I would surely be content with being humiliated. Would a free man take pleasure in teaching children when it is thought that there are ample means of subsistence on earth? I do not hold it for impossible that love of the world’s vanity moved him to the point of drowning in an overflowing sea, where he will swim «as long

٦٩

69

The leader of the Zanj

      

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

as the heavens and the earth endure, unless your Lord wills otherwise. Your Lord carries out whatever He wishes».235 Some verses are transmitted as being by him indicating that he was pious, 28.4.2 but I will not deny that these lines may have been put into his mouth, for those with experience of this world pronounce it to be full of immorality and falsehood, with a character far from beautiful. The lines are these: I have killed people, anxious to keep myself alive; I have laid hands on property by the sword that I might be happy and not wretched. Whoever sees my last resting place, let him not wrong any creature! Woe unto me when I die, before God, what will happen to me? Will it be eternal life in God’s protection, or will I be thrown into His fire? Someone recited to me some verses attributed to ʿAḍud al-Dawlah236 in a long meter237 with the same rhyme letter as in the preceding lines. It is said that one day, having recovered from an illness, he wrote them on the wall of the room he was in. They are modeled on the lines by the man from Basra. However, I testify that they are contrived, fabricated by some shameless person, and that ʿAḍud al-Dawlah had never heard of them. As for the story about the Hadith scholars who misspelled Rakhamah as 28.5.1 raḥmah (“mercy”), I do not believe anything of the kind happened. Untruthfulness will have the upper hand and be evident, truth is hidden and feeble. «We belong to God and to Him we shall return.»238 It is the same with the claim of those who assert that ʿAlī (peace be upon him) said, “Basra will perish at the hands of the Zanj” and that the Hadith scholars then misspelled it as “through the wind.”239 I believe none of this. The knowledge of the unseen240 was not revealed to ʿAlī (peace be upon him) or to anyone else. As it says in the Holy Book:241 «Say: None in the heavens or on earth know the unseen except God.» And in a transmitted hadith it is said that the Prophet once heard girls sing the following verses at a wedding:242

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He gave us rams that occupy the middle of the pen; And your spouse sits in a gathering and knows what will happen tomorrow. Thereupon the Prophet said, “No one but God knows what will happen tomorrow!” Nor is it possible that somebody would have announced one hundred years ago that the Emir of Aleppo (may God protect it!) in the year 424 would be called So-and-so, son of So-and-so, and would look like this.243 If someone were to make this claim he would be a confirmed liar. The stars merely hint and do not state explicitly. It is related that al-Faḍl 28.5.2 ibn Sahl often quoted the following lines by a rajaz poet: If I escape and my mounts escape From Ghālib and the band of Ghālib, I surely will escape from all adversities! Someone called Ghālib was in fact among those who killed him.244 Such things do happen, although it is more likely that this story was invented. It is not implausible that he used to quote the verses, and perhaps it happened that at the time some people were called this.245 It is possible for a meaning to be joined with an expression.246 Strange things may happen in the course of time; but above any man of knowledge is the All-Knowing. It is related that Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah, the judge, would surmise things which then happened just as he had surmised. It is for that reason that one speaks of a man as being “sharp-witted” or “brilliant.” Aws said:247 A brilliant mind, who surmises something as if he saw and heard it. He also said: A sharp-witted man, who speaks of unseen things.

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The ignorance of al-Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr knew no bounds. If a whole nation 29.1.1 sometimes worships a stone, how could a judicious man be safe from

Al-Ḥallāj

defects?248 He wanted to turn error on its axis249 and therefore left dealing with cotton. 250 If only he had applied himself to cotton, his name would have remained unmentioned on any page and forgotten! But these are the workings of Fate that occur, whereby the eye is covered with a blur. It were better for a human being to be a pebble or a rock than be made a laughingstock. People hasten to whatever is vain; they turn their eyes to every temptation. So many trumped-up stories have been invented about al-Ḥallāj! False- 29.1.2 hood often attracts. All the extraordinary things that are attributed to him are lies pure and simple; I would not believe them even if in my sleep. One of the stories fabricated about him is that he said to those who executed him, “Do you think it is me you are killing? Rather, you are killing al-Mādharāʾ ī’s251 mule!” This mule, it was said, was found killed in its stable. Even today there are still some mystics who exalt him and rank him with the stars. I have heard that some people in Baghdad expect his emergence and that they stand where he was crucified, on the bank of the Tigris, anticipating his appearance. This is not a new instance of people’s ignorance. One might as well worship a gazelle in its covert!252 A monkey that reached a most honored position once had a similar fortune. The common people said, “Prostrate yourselves to the Monkey in his Heyday!”253 I shrink from mentioning the monkey that, so it is said, the army commanders used to visit and greet in the time of Zubaydah, and that Yazīd ibn Mazyad al-Shaybānī came amidst those who came to greet it, and ki..ed(?) it.254 It is related that Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah had a monkey that he mounted on a wild she-ass, which he made to race with the horses in the racecourse.255 29.1.3

As for the verses rhyming in -ayy:256 O secret secret, subtle to the point of being exalted above description by any living being; Outwardly, inwardly, you manifest yourself in every thing to every thing. O sum of All, you are none other than I, so why excuse myself then to myself? — there is nothing wrong with composing this, potentially.257 But the word ilayy (“to myself ”) is a technical defect in these verses, for a rhyme ending in

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a consonant is not allowed in a meter like this according to some, and if he read it as ilayyī it would be a bad and ugly blemish.258 Specialists in the Arabic language unanimously disapprove of Ḥamzah’s reading:259 «neither can you aid me», reading muṣrikhiyyi with -i.260 It is related that Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ was asked about this and that he said, “It is fine, now up, now down!” meaning muṣrikhiyya and muṣrikhiyyi.261 Those who transmit this story use it to vindicate Ḥamzah and argue that Abū ʿAmr allowed the ending -i here in order to avoid a cluster of two unvoweled consonants.262 If this report about him is authentic, then he said it only by way of sarcasm, meaning in fact the opposite, as when al-Ghanawī, i.e., Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah, said:263 People will not deny me what I want, nor shall I give them what they want. Such good manners! —meaning “they are not good.” This is like what a man may say to his son when he has seen him do something bad: “That’s a fine thing!” while he means the opposite. Such an ending in -i is not found in verse composed in the correct literary language. Al-Farrāʾ criticized a line that he recited:264 He said to her, “You there, do you fancy me?” she said to him, “I do not like you.” I have heard ilayyi (“to me”), ʿalayyi (“on me”),265 and similar forms in the poems of the moderns; it is a sign of a weak poetic gift and a feeble talent. It is the same with al-Ḥallāj’s word al-kull (“All”), for using this with the definite article is disapproved. Abū ʿAlī deemed it permissible against Sībawayh. In ancient speech266 the words kull (“all”) and baʿḍ (“some; a certain”) are not found with the definite article. But they quote a line by Suḥaym:267 I have seen the rich and the poor, both of them, all gone to death. Death comes to visit all. The following lines are quoted, attributed to a young man in al-Ḥallāj’s time: 29.2.1 If the doctrine of incarnation is true, then my god is in the glassmaker’s wife. She appeared in a thin embroidered dress between the perfumer’s house and that of the ice vendor.

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78

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They declared something to me. It is not true: it is one of the lies of our master al-Ḥallāj. These doctrines are ancient. They migrate from one epoch to another. It is said that Pharaoh adhered to the doctrine of the incarnationists, and that it was therefore that he claimed to be the Lord Almighty. It is said that one of them used to say when praising God: Praised be Thou! Praised be I! Thy forgiveness! My forgiveness!268 This is rampant madness. Whoever says this is to be counted among the beasts without sense, never aware of the essence of God’s beneficence. Someone else said, I am Thou, no doubt about it; Therefore, praise be to Thee, praise be to me! Making Thee angry is making me angry, Thy forgiveness is my forgiveness. Why should I be flogged, O Lord, when they say, “He is a fornicator”? Mankind has no sense. This is something that a child grasps from an adult’s instruction, something that, as sure as the layered white cloud gives rain, will lead to destruction!269 «Or do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are but like beasts; no, they are even further astray from the path».270 The following lines are attributed to one of the adherents of this sect: I saw my Lord walking with shoes on271 in Yaḥyā’s Market.272 I nearly burst out of my skin! I asked him, “Would you be eager to join us?”273 “Out of the question!” he replied, “Caution prevents me.” If God had decreed loving concord there would have been nothing but prostration and gazing. This sect propagates the idea of metempsychosis, which is an ancient belief held by the Indians. It has also become common among a group of Shi’ites. We ask God for success and protection. The following verse is attributed to a man of the Nuṣayriyyah sect:

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79

29.2.2

      

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80

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Marvel, mother of us, at the vagaries of the Nights: our sister Sukaynah has been turned into a mouse! So drive these cats away from her and let her have the contents of the straw sack. Another said: Blessed be God, who relieves afflictions, for He has shown us the marvels of Time. The donkey of Shaybān, our town’s Sheikh: our neighbor Abū l-Sakan has been turned into it. Instead of walking in his robe he now walks with a girth and a halter. They see sinister and dubious things, formed by their corrupt opinions. They walk in a valley of darkness274 and its deceptive paths. I have been told that there was once a king of the Indians, a handsome 29.2.3 young man, who was stricken with smallpox. He looked at his face in a mirror and on seeing how badly it had changed he burned himself, saying, “I want God to change me into a more beautiful image than this.” Some jurisprudents related to me—and they are not telling a lie with this story, nor are they in any way connected with heterodox sects—that they were in the country of Maḥmūd. There were a number of Indians in his retinue. He had come to trust their sincere friendship and he bestowed gifts on them for their loyalty. They were his closest soldiers wherever he resided or traveled. One of them was traveling in an army equipped by Maḥmūd. The news arrived that this man had died, either of natural causes or having been killed. So his wife gathered a large quantity of firewood, lit an enormous fire, and threw herself into it while people were watching. It turned out that the news was not true. Upon his return the man lit a blazing fire in order to burn himself, so that he could join his spouse. A large crowd gathered to watch him. His Indian friends came and gave him all kinds of advice and messages to convey to their dead relatives, one to his father and another to his brother. One man brought a rose and said, “Give this to So-and-so,” meaning some dead relative of his. Then the man threw himself into the fire. Those who have witnessed Indians practice self-immolation tell that when they feel the fire burning they want to get out, but those present push

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81

      

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82

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

them back with sticks and sharpened swords. There is no god but God; «You have done a monstrous thing!».275 There are some people who openly profess a belief without holding it to 29.2.4 be true, thereby seeking gain in the perishable world, which is more treacherous than Warhāʾ the whore.276 There was such a man in the West, known as Ibn Hāni ʾ, one of their excellent poets. He used to compose very exaggerated eulogies on al-Muʿizz Abū Tamīm Maʿadd,277 to the point of addressing the royal parasol-holder thus: You who turn it wherever he goes round: how closely you rub shoulders, under his stirrup, with Gabriel! He also said about him when he had stopped at a place called Raqqādah:278 The Messiah has alighted at Raqqādah, where Adam and Noah alighted too. God, the Lord of Glories, alighted there, save whom everything is but wind. A poet known as Ibn al-Qāḍī (“the Judge’s son”) recited an ode in the presence of Ibn Abī ʿĀmir, the ruler of al-Andalus, which began thus:279 Whatever you wish—not whatever Fate wishes— so rule, for you are the One, the Subduer. He went on to say similar things; but Ibn Abī ʿĀmir disapproved and gave orders for him to be flogged and banished. Al-Ḥallāj, evidently, has to be ranked as a swindler, not as a man of penetrating understanding or quick wit. Nevertheless, he is revered by a sect of mystics, who do not perceive his true nature.280

٨٣

83

      

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84

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Ibn Abī ʿAwn281 went from one thing to another. The poor man was beguiled 30.1 by that Abū Jaʿfar of his and he “did not put his milk in a perfect skin.” Some-

Ibn Abī ʿAwn

times a man is skilled in his craft and has a high degree of insight and reason, but when he turns to religion he is found to be like a wild donkey made tractable, that simply follows what it is accustomed to. Being devout is instinctive in human nature; it is considered a safe refuge. As 30.2 a young child grows up he learns what he hears from adults and it stays with him forever. All who dwell in monks’ cells and worship in mosques accept their conditions and ideas just as any report that is transmitted, without distinguishing between the truthfulness and the falsehood of the interpreter. If somebody were to find that his kin were Zoroastrians, he would become a Zoroastrian himself; or, if they belonged to the Ṣābians, he would join them likewise. When someone who exercises his own judgment rejects the uncritical acceptance of authority, he will only succeed in becoming weak.282 When one lets oneself be guided by common sense it will quench the thirst of someone who is parched. But where is he who can bear to submit to the rulings of reason and who thoroughly polishes his understanding? Alas, this is to be found neither among those upon whom the sun rises nor among those who lie as corpses in their graves—save when there is an exceptional man in the world who is characterised by complete excellence. Several times we have met people who have looked into the books of the philosophers and studied some of the works of the ancients. But then we found that they would approve of ugly things and soon enough their minds are overwhelmed.(?)283 If they are able to commit an abomination they will do it, if they recognize a duty they will shrink from it, as if the whole world strives to deprive them. (?)284 But their beliefs are the worst possible. If they are entrusted with a deposit they will be dishonest, if they are asked to testify they will lie, if they prescribe a remedy for a sick person they do not care whether they will kill him with their advice or merely double his trouble.285 Their only concern is to earn their fee, whereas they lay claim to wisdom and philosophy! Often those who mock religious people for their ignorance are themselves afflicted inwardly with an even more disastrous defect. Humans are truly as the Holy Book says:286 «each party rejoicing in what is theirs».

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85

Various forms of belief

      

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86

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

The Imami Shi’ites seek God’s favor by rubbing their faces with dust,287 30.3 which some pious people consider an unforgivable sin. Some gatherings are attended by godless people who seem to be seekers of the true path; but these (God knows) are heretical and sly innovators. But who will provide you with Zanj for the game? (?)288 How many a one pretends to be a Muʿtazilite, battling with his opponent, asserting that his Lord will cast people into everlasting Hell for an atom’s weight [of evil], let alone a dirham or dinar’s weight!289 But of burdening himself with monstrous crimes he never tires, for which he will fall into blazing fires. He is wholly preoccupied with whoring and depravity, departing with the heaviest cargo of mortal sins. He is submissive toward the Predestinarians but bases himself on ʿAbd al-Jabbār.290 He is busy all day and all night long; secretly he believes that the leading authority of the Muʿtazilites is foul from the hem of his sleeve to the train of his robe. He has made a snare out of disputation and with it he composes an ode of error and temptation. I have been told the following story about one their leaders, who was revered and had followers, even though he seemed like the first-born of Ignorance. Whenever he was sitting with others, drinking wine as the intoxicating liquid went round among them, flowing lavishly, and the cup would come to him, he would drink it and empty it, and then made those present testify that he had repented of what he had done. If an Ash ʿarīte is examined he will appear to be of base alloy. The unmovable 30.4 earth and the heavens will curse him. He resembles a shepherd who maltreats his flock. He plods on in the pitch dark and does not care if he drives his sheep to mishap and damage, or brings them to tasty herbage. As likely as not he will lead them to wolves, guaranteed to annihilate the lot! The man with even the least intelligence seems to have been placed in darkness, apart from the man whom God has kept from error by making him follow the forefathers and impose upon himself the burdens of the law. Truly, we are—this is no unbelief in God our Lord— like fat sacrificial animals, who do not know when they will die.291 If somebody is an Ash ʿarite292 the wretch follows the authority of someone else; he trusts only those who lead him astray. If he inquires into a mystery and ponders it, he fails to grasp the message and falls short.

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87

      

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88

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

The Shi’ites assert that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ,293 of the Bāhilah 30.5 tribe, was one of the prominent followers of Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad—peace be

Shi’ite beliefs

on him—and transmitted much material from him. Subsequently he became an apostate. One of their leading authorities related to me that they transmit things on his authority, saying “ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ related to us, when he was in his prime,” that is, before his apostasy. They transmit the following lines as being by him: Come, give wine to drink, you clever boy,294 for I do not believe that I shall be resurrected. Don’t you see that the Shi’ites are infatuated, beguiled by Jaʿfar to abandon their religion? For a while I too was beguiled by him; but then a hidden message appeared to me. Also attributed to him is the following: I joined Jaʿfar for some time but I found him a beguiling deceiver, Who draws supreme power to himself, pulling everyone to his snare.295 If your cause were “true”296 your murdered ancestor297 would not have been dragged along, And neither would the Old Man have slighted your people, nor would ʿUmar have risen above you, preaching!298 The incarnationists are close to the doctrine of metempsychosis. I was told 30.6 a story about one of the leading astronomers of Ḥarrān, who stayed in our town for some time. Once he went on an outing with some people. They went past an ox that was ploughing and he said to his companions, “I am sure that this ox is a man who was known as Khalaf in Ḥarrān!” He began to shout, “Hey, Khalaf!” As it happened, the ox lowed. “You see,” the man said to his friends, “I told you the truth!” I was also told that another man, who believed in metempsychosis, said, “I dreamed of my father. He said, ‘Dear son, my soul has been transferred to a one-eyed camel in So-and-so’s herd. I would like a watermelon!’ So I got a watermelon, asked about the herd, and found a one-eyed camel there.

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

I approached him, holding the watermelon, and he took it as if he really wanted it and had an appetite for it.” My master, the Sheikh, surely sees the lack of understanding that has afflicted these people, and how they are drawn to things to which they should not be drawn!

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Ibn al-Rāwandī299 was not divinely guided to salvation. His Crown is not even 31.1 fit to be a sandal. He has not found a covert from chastisement, i.e., a refuge. Dhū l-Rummah said:300

Ibn al-Rāwandī’s books

At last, when it does not find a covert and it holds back its mate for fear of the hunter’s bow, until they are all mad with thirst . . . His Crown can be changed into scorpions;301 for he was no good, not nearly! How would he be if he were crowned with scorpion stings:302 would it not have hindered him from committing these follies? Is his Crown not like what the sorceress303 said: “Pshaw and phew,304 Sock and Shoe!”? They asked her, “What are ‘sock and shoe?’” She replied, “Two wadis in Hell!” His Crown is not royal: rather, it is called fatal. It is not made of gold but will be formed of flames. It is not strung with pearls but has come home to roost in misery. One says “it has come to roost” when something has fallen into place, usually in a negative sense. The poet says:305 They (viz. the camels) hope for it, though they’ve come home to roost, as ʿAtīb306 hopes for its young children. He was not crowned with silver, nor can he be pelted enough with pebbles. It is not like the crown of Chosroes: it has taken an evil road. Nor is it like the crown of King Anūsharwān, for it weighed him down and brought him humiliation. It is a crown that has broken a neck; one thinks it would infuriate anyone crowned with it. It is not like the crown of al-Mundhir:307 it is a disgraceful calamity for someone who errs though he has been warned.308 It is not like the crown jewels of al-Nuʿmān, but a shameful crime that will be stored till the end of time! The like of it need not be declared null and void: along with its author309 it has already been destroyed. As for The Brain-Basher, I imagine that it bashed only the brains of him who 31.2.1 composed it and it took his place in a bad succession. Among the Arabs there was someone known as Damīgh al-Shayṭān, “the one whose brains are bashed by the devil.” This man (viz. Ibn al-Rāwandī) is now like faded threads,310 but the awful thing, that he is still mentioned through the ages, proves that he who wrote the book was soft in the brain. Would one listen to the sound of a mewing cat?311 This is from the verb maghā, said of a cat when it cries out loud.

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He threw at me something of which I and my father were innocent; and it was from the inside wall of the well that he threw at me.312 May his stones fall on his own head and may his griefs and misfortunes be lasting in the hereafter! What a bad man has been named after Rāwand! Has he struck fire in Dabāwand? He has rent his own shirt and exposed his lean, hungry belly to every onlooker. Apostate and rightly guided believer alike, he who who deviates from the 31.2.2 straight path and he who follows it, all are agreed that the Book brought by Muḥammad—God bless him—is a book that dazzles by being inimitable and made his enemies tremble. It did not follow any model and did not resemble rare maxims;313 it is neither metrical qaṣīd verse nor the smooth or rough-and-ready rajaz. It resembled neither the oratory of the Arabs nor the rhymed prose used by the soothsayers for their purposes.314 It came like the shining sun, a light for those who keep or reveal secrets . If an unmoving mountain could understand it, it would crack; if white-footed315 mountain goats could, it would delight them old and young. «These parables: we make them for people, so that they may reflect».316 A verse from it, or part of a verse, may occur in the course of the most eloquent speech that mankind is capable of, and then it shines like a brilliant shooting star in a dark night, or a prettily arranged desert flower in a barren land. «Blessed be God, the best of creators.»317 As for the The Rod (al-Qaḍīb), he who composed it made a worse deal than 31.3.1 Qaḍīb.318 It would have been better for him if he had mounted an untamed she-camel (qaḍīb) at nightfall and had been thrown into a thorn-bush, dislocating his joints like tent pegs. Al-Ṭirimmāḥ lampoons me, hoping I’ll revile him: No way, no way! May improvised poems (quḍub) be taken away from him!319 How could the life of someone who utters such things be cut short320 when he is a young man, with no one to intercede to save him from punishment! He would have wished he were a stick,321 or that a mountain had closed over him, so that he might have avoided resembling the poet’s words:322

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96

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Many an evening journey in the world(?)323 I made between two tribes, driving an untrained she-camel (ʿarūḍ), or an untamed she-camel (qaḍīb) that I tame. Qaḍīb is a wadi where a battle took place in pre-Islamic times between 31.3.2 Kindah and the Banū l-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb. How would it have been for that dolt324 to have been killed in Qaḍīb, and to have fallen there, his skin dyed with blood! For that would have been worse for him than a branch (qaḍīb) of a tree chastizing a fornicating slave girl. Who could see to it that his death is announced by the women?325 How would it be for him if his nose were cut off by an Indian sharp sword (qaḍīb), and he were to be clothed, for what he uttered, as someone to be redeemed. God has sent down such exemplary punishment on him as cannot be expiated by being loaded with fetters. He is as an early poet says:326 I have never seen two defeated men who accomplished what we accomplished, nor how that sword struck, with the stroke of a cutting sword (qaḍīb). This line is quoted as linguistic evidence, as the Sheikh knows, because the poet uses the singular yafrī after the dual subject, whereas he should have used the dual, yafriyāni. He treats the dual as if it were a plural, like the verse by a rajaz poet:327 Like chicks whose crops have become full. As for The Unique One (al-Farīd),328 he kept it alone, with no bosom friend, 31.4 and clothed it for eternity in the mantle of the despised. There is a tribe within Kindah that is known as “the lone tribe (al-ḥayy al-farīd).” They are the Banū l-Ḥārith ibn ʿAdī ibn Rabī ʿah ibn Muʿāwiyah the elder ibn al-Ḥārith the younger ibn Muʿāwiyah ibn al-Ḥārith the elder ibn Muʿāwiyah ibn Thawr ibn Muratti ʿ ibn Muʿāwiyah ibn Thawr, who is Kindah.329 The genealogists say that he is Kindī ibn ʿUfayr ibn ʿAdī ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Murrah ibn Udud ibn Zayd ibn Yashjub ibn ʿArīb ibn Zayd ibn Kahlān ibn Sabaʾ. They were called “the lone tribe” because the Banū Wahb formed an alliance with the Banū Abī Karb and the Banū l-Mithl, but the Banū l-Ḥārith joined neither them nor the Banū ʿAdī, so they were called “the lone tribe.”330

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98

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Some people are unique in glory on account of their dignity; but the “unique one” of that unbeliever is unique in its despicability. It is like a mangy camel,331 when smeared with camel urine, whose proximity is avoided by everyone who detests infamy. A pretty woman may be glad with a solitaire, a unique pearl, but for him it is a necklace of grave sins. Abū ʿUbaydah mentions that in a horse’s spine there is a vertebra called “the solitary,” which is the largest of the vertebrae.332 But if that rebel’s “solitaire” were loaded on the back of a noble horse it would crush its “solitary” vertebra; or if a lover adorned with it a beautiful girl he would kill his precious virgin pearl. As for The Coral (al-Marjān), if it is said that marjān rather means “small 31.5 pearls,”333 then God forbid that his marjān should be (anything but)334 “small pebbles,” for they are too vile to be mentioned and selected. If, on the other hand, it is said that they are this red substance that comes from the west,335 then this has some value; but the baseness of his book is lasting. It is called marjān, from the verb maraja, “to let (horses) pasture freely with one another,” leaving them unattended on the earth. Or perhaps it is from murr jānin, “the bitter (fruit) of a plucker,” i.e., from a tree; or from marra jānn, “a demon passed by,” i.e., one of the brazen satans, or a “demon,” which is a kind of snake that is easily killed, and which is loathed by all and sundry, i.e., everybody.

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99

      

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100

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Ibn al-Rūmī is one of those whose erudition is said to be greater than their 32.1 intellect. He dabbled in philosophy. Once he borrowed a book from Abū Bakr ibn al-Sarrāj and when the latter asked it back, Ibn al-Rūmī said,

Ibn al-Rūmī and his superstition

“If Jupiter were a young man he would be hasty(?).”336 The people of Baghdad claim that he was a Shi’ite. The evidence they adduce is his ode rhyming on -jū.337 But I think he merely followed what other poets said. Those obsessed with evil omens do not see any good in them. No, it is an evil that comes quickly, whereas all souls have a term that is fixed. All this comes from being wary of death, a noose round the necks of living beings, something they could be destined to meet at any moment. There are some people who believe that once something is said, it may possibly come true. That is why the common people say, “A rumor is the beginning of it coming true.” It is also said that the Prophet—God bless and preserve him—quoted the following verse as a proverb, without completing it:338 See favorable omens of what you wish, and it will be! It rarely happens that when it is said of something “it occurred” it does not come true. Whatever astute people believe, the good in this world is very little and evil outweighs it innumerable times. How godfearing people resemble sinners, all driven to perdition! They will meet with what is loathed and will not be held back. Perhaps God—exalted is His omnipotence—will make a distinction between them at the Overturning, and grant him who seeks what he wants!339

ʿAlqamah340 said, He who comes across crows and scares them away, thinking himself to be safe and sound, will have bad luck without fail. Ibn al-Rūmī was notorious for his superstition. But who is free to choose? There are many reports about the Prophet—God bless and preserve him— that demonstrate his dislike of names that are not beautiful, such as Murrah (“bitter”), Shihāb (“blaze, shooting star”), as well as al-Ḥubāb (“love” or “beloved”), because he interpreted it as “snake.” A story similar to that about Ibn al-Rūmī that al-Nājim relates is the one 32.2 about an Arab woman who said to another woman, “My father called me Ghāḍiyah, which means ‘fire burning brightly with euphorbia wood.’ Praise be to God for what He has decreed! And I married, from the tribe of Jamrah

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(‘ember’), a man who made hotpot,341 whose stew, however, was not up to much. His name was Tawrab, which is the same as turāb (‘dust’). All the other women gloated. His father was called Jandalah (‘boulder’), and by being with him I was biting on a boulder and not smelling the scent of mandal wood. His mother’s name was Sawwārah (‘assaulter’) and she never stopped assaulting me in a dispute; she never helped me with as little as a water-skin strap!”342 The other woman said, “But my father called me Ṣāfiyah (‘pure’), and I was free of all impurity and kept away from harmful places. He married me to someone of the tribe of Saʿd (‘good fortune’) ibn Bakr, and good fortune came to me early (bakara ʿalayya) and the promise was fulfilled for me. My husband’s name is Muḥāsin (‘kind’), may he be rewarded handsomely, for he treated me kindly and did not revile me. His father’s name is Waqqāf (‘bestower’), may God keep him, for he has bestowed on me his goods and provided me amply with provision. His mother’s name is Rāḍiyah (‘pleased’); she was pleased with my character and was not bent on my divorce.” If a man is superstitious he will always be chewing grit.343 If he sees a moun- 32.3 tain swallow (samāmah) he thinks of swallowing poisons (simām) and if he sees a pigeon (ḥamāmah) he is afraid of perdition (ḥimām), as the Ṭāʾite poet344 has said, They are doves (ḥamām); but if their Ḥ is read with an I, by way of augury they are death (ḥimām). If he comes across a flat-nosed woman (khansāʾ ) he will not feel safe from evil, saying to himself, “I fear that a companion will turn up his nose at me (yakhnis),345 that something will stain my honor.” If it is a flat-nosed animal his heart shies away from the land of the demons (?).346 Even if he sees it crossing from the right,347 his body trembles with fright, saying, “The people of abundant intellect among those who possess camels’ soles and horses’ hoofs see crossing from the right as a bad omen and are frightened that their luck348 has left them.” If, by the workings of Fate, it crosses from the left, he beholds in it (a portent of ) a gaping wound and says, “Did not those who own horses and saddles fear evil from the signs of the zodiac?” If he meets someone called Akhnas349 it is as if he has met with a strutting lion. He says, “How can I be sure he will not be like al-Akhnas, the ‘Back-slinker’ of the Banū Zuhrah tribe,350 who deserted with his allies from the multitude (?),351

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while the slain were thrown into the well?” And if someone besotted with this superstition encounters a dust-colored gazelle he expects to be rolled in the dust.352 If he sees a brown (admāʾ ) gazelle he is certain that blood (dimāʾ ) will be shed.353 If he is confronted by an animal with a long tail he is like a proud lion and says, “I shall very soon humble and rebut the words of those who reproach me!”354 If, with a company of travelers in the desert, he spots an ostrich (naʿāmah) he does not connect it with bliss (naʿīm) but takes it as a harbinger of perdition and, being feeble-minded and inarticulate, says, “It begins with naʿā, which means ‘to announce someone’s death!’” If in a wasteland he comes across a male ostrich (ẓalīm), this is «a painful torment»355 and he says, “I wonder who will wrong me (yaẓlimunī)? Will they take my wealth or wound me?” If he sees a small bird (ʿuṣfūr) he says, “A storm plentiful (ʿaṣf bi-wufūr) of misfortunes!” Thus he is perpetually miserable, but still he must perish in the end. Such considerations made Ibn al-Rūmī take “Jaʿfar” as being “hunger” 32.4 (jūʿ ) and “fleeing” (firār). If he had been rightly guided he would have linked it with a flowing river, because jaʿfar means “a stream with much water.” But people of this disposition do not take things as they are in reality. One of them wanted to travel at the beginning of the year. “If I travel in Muḥarram,”356 he said, “I would deserve to be deprived (uḥram). But if I depart in Ṣafar I fear I shall be empty handed (taṣfar).” So he postponed his journey until the month of Rabī ʿ; but when he traveled he fell ill and failed to achieve anything. “I thought rabī ʿ meant ‘spring,’”357 he said, “but it turned out to derive from ribʿ, ‘quartan fever!’” That Ibn al-Rūmī had some ice-cooled water ready was merely pretense; a burning thirst is not slaked by tricks. Keeping a dagger at his side is the precaution of a coward. The decisions one wants to carry out are foiled, as is what the builder has built. Many a man digs his grave in Syria, and then Destiny makes him undertake a far and troublesome voyage and he dies in Yemen or India! Death comes in lowlands and in the mountains. «No soul knows in which land it will die. God is all-knowing, all-informed.»358 Just as the soul is ignorant where its bones will be buried, it is ignorant of what will bring an end to its coherence. Many who expected to perish by the sword died by a boulder falling from a slope; many who were certain they were destined to die in their beds were slain by spears somewhere in a ravine.

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The two verses by Ibn al-Rūmī that al-Nājim transmitted have a rhyme ending in a consonant. But as far as I know nobody skilled in using correct literary language has ever used a rhyme ending in a consonant in this meter, except in one verse quoted time after time by the lexicographers:359 It is as if the men have been fed on a dinner of mutton: they have indigestion and their necks are bent. In this verse the penultimate syllable has a long ā, unlike the verse by Ibn al-Rūmī. Al-Nājim did not know—but perhaps he conjectured in his thought— whether the old poet went to heaven or hell. How heavy are the caravan’s loads!360

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Abū Tammām did not hold on to the halter of religion. The story told by 33.1.1 Ibn Rajāʾ361 is well known. A soul is (sometimes) overcome by its vices.

Abū Tammām

If Ḥabīb (Abū Tammām) is thrown into the fire of hell his eulogies and his love poems will not avail him. If odes possessed knowledge and could grieve for the suffering of a friend, his two poems rhyming in -āʾ at the beginning of his Collected Poetry362 would hold a funeral celebration for him that would be amazed at its distressed one,363 and they would lament him like the two daughters of Labīd.364 They drank a drink of bereavement as bitter as colocynth, and they said what Labīd, of the tribe of Kilāb, said in his own verses: Say, you two: “He, the deceased, did not neglect his womenfolk365 and he did not betray nor cheat his friend,” (Lament) for a whole year; and then farewell, you two! He who has wept a whole year long is excused. I imagine that if this were God’s decree, all other poems rhyming in -āʾ would join these two poems, just as wailing366 women would come from all around, having agreed to attend the gathering one after the other. And if they did this, the poems rhyming on the letter B would vie with them and make a funeral celebration even more resounding and more plaintive in the dark, as al-ʿAbqasī said:367 Every dawn they answer the dogs; their throats are hoarse from wailing. If there are one hundred poems on -āʾ assisting and supporting one another 33.1.2 at a funeral, there must be several thousand poems rhyming in the letter B, speaking out openly and loudly, because rhyming with the letter B is a smooth road, easy to master; whereas rhyming on -āʾ is a path beset with disaster.368 The poems that Abū Tammām composed rhyming on T will be able to contribute too. The two poems rhyming in Th will come, each like al-Jawn’s daughter,369 hurrying, dressed in black: if they were given the form of humans, they would outdo the sight of the two singing girls of Ibn Khaṭal.370 The Th is a rare rhyme-letter in the poetry of the Arabs, but they can find support from the poem by Kuthayyir:371 The bonds with Salāmah have become frayed; may rain fall on them, whether they are new or worn

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110

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

and the rajaz poems by Ruʾbah and similar forced rhymes and labored, license-ridden poems. They have assistance, sooner or later, from the compositions of Ibn Durayd.372 As for the poems rhyming on the letters D and R and those built on the easy consonants such as M, ʿayn, and L,373 even if each category of them gathered—virgins as they are374—the place for entering and exiting would be too narrow.375 They would number more than the men and women reported to have gathered at the funeral of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. It is said that more people gathered at the death of Aḥmad than ever did in pre-Islamic times or in Islamic times, an estimated one million men and six hundred thousand women. God knows what is certain. If Ḥabīb Abū Tammām neglected his ritual prayers he was lost in his lonely 33.2.1 wastes. The ploys of one’s enemies cannot achieve what ignoring a morning prayer does.376 How many an opponent withdrew from him, being out of breath!377 The midday prayer is not like that.378 If he omitted it, it will testify, making an effort to complain. How many a lofty mansion is built in Paradise as reward for the afternoon prayer, how much musk is wafting fragrantly in Paradise for those who perform the sunset prayer without restraint, how many black-eyed damsels are freshly created from nothing for those who observe the evening prayer!—According to the Prophetic Tradition it is forbidden to call this “first darkness prayer”:379 “Do not be deceived about the name of your prayer; ‘first darkness’ is only used for the time camels are milked.” Another Tradition has: “First Darkness is the name of the Devil’s daughter.” He who is too lazy380 to perform those prayer sequences truly harbors 33.2.2 an insolent intention. Would that Ḥabīb had combined two prayers, making them like those in the following verse:381 He paired the midday with the afternoon prayer, as a mature she-camel is paired with a male. But I would be sparing with such “joints,” to save the body from being roasted at the kindled fire,382 because he had an original style, with motifs like a succession of pearls, which he brought up from the dark depths of the seas, disclosing them by breaking their closed oyster shells. If Mālik’s servants383 were quick to get at him he has been hurled into perdition. If only he had been like al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī, or had walked the

١١١

111

      

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

path of ʿAdī, or had followed the road of Ḥātim! 384—For Ḥātim was pious and godfearing to distraction. He said, I shall be rewarded for what I do and a roofed dwelling, Māwiyyah, will house me!385 Or would that he had joined Zayd ibn Muhalhil,386 who went in a delegation to the Prophet (God bless him) and cast aside the cloak of ignorance.

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114

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

Al-Māzyār387 was a fool whether he settled or moved afar. He has plenty 34.1.1 to swallow of the scalding water of Hell and enough ugly words to endure. Writings on him preserve for posterity things that demand he be cursed

Al-Māzyār and Bābak

until Doomsday. Why shouldn’t he be turned into something like a damp, soft piece of skin! God have mercy on Ibn Abī Duwād! He quenched people’s burning thirst for retribution and exposed al-Afshīn’s doings, so that it became known that he was in league with disgrace and opposed to good sense and decorum. Bābak opened the gate of tyranny and was found to be an evil shepherd.388 I believe that the holy war against him (may perdition be upon him!) was the best holy war ever known, and his crime the greatest crime ever committed. Perhaps, in the Hereafter, he would like to have his throat cut one hundred times for all who were killed during his day of power, when he begins to drink his salt water, and then to escape from utter torment and save his neck from the noose! And how strange that Abū Muslim tumbled along blindly in a dark night, 34.1.2 thinking that he was on to something, but he was like someone who sup- Abū Muslim ports his weight on a shadow. He himself gathered the firewood for a fire that consumed him; he killed obediently for rulers who in turn killed him. He was not the first to work assiduously for others but was then misled by striving toward those who misled him. He devoted his waking hours to the base world, “Mother Stink,” he chased after a mirage in the desert, and finally found that his sin was not forgiven by the ruler of the dynasty, Abū Jaʿfar. Everyone who strives after gain in the perishable world will necessarily 34.2.1 come to regret it, at the time of separation and the moment of non-being. Our censure of the world is reckoned to be an error, just as when a frugal person wishes for contentment! This adds to our plight; the man who picks up the stick wins the race.389 We condemn the world although she has committed no crime against us. She is not concerned with anyone in particular. No, all her sons are alike in suffering afflictions: their whims will not avail them. Many a man who carries a load of firewood, whose household goods are a jumble, is unable to pay for his food with the price he gets for it and lives a life of loathsome poverty. His foot is penetrated by thorns, a spike390 dyes him with blood; yet he has fewer worries than someone who is seated391 on a throne, enjoying the company of a young, inexperienced “gazelle,” while gold of unlawful provenance has been amassed for him, by oppressing

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115

The vanity of worldly things

      

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         (  )         (        ١ .       ) :          

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nations and angering his relations. When he has filled his belly with food and swims in a foaming sea of opulence, then for these blessings and his pleasures he will suffer harm and Fate will strike him unawares. The destination of travelers is a homecoming!392 A sensible person, when he reflects, does not know which is better: a 34.2.2 pampered child given a crown to wear from birth, or a speckled snake whose great delight it is to suck the earth.393 Both achieve their goals: one eats dust just like any beast, and the other drinks wine while great efforts are made to make his life a feast. We know that religious rites are neither a protection nor something that leads to higher things. People act according to a predestined decree; what they hope for escapes them and I am not sure that the Hereafter . . . (?), so that the . . . will arrive at the Basin (?)394 But the secret is hidden and we all are thwarted in what we seek. An ignoramus—in fact, a person more ignorant than an ignoramus—is he who claims to have knowledge of the end of the days' journey. A curse upon those who lie! As for those who make those claims for ʿAlī (peace be his!),395 this is an 34.3.1 ancient way of going astray, a perpetual shower upon shower of error. It is transmitted that ʿAlī had ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabaʾ burned for openly proclaiming

Claims of extremist Shi’ites

this.396 The beliefs of the Kaysānites about Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah are strange and no honorable person should believe such things to be true. It is transmitted that a fire was lit for Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr on the road to Mecca on the night he died, and that he said, “May God curse al-Ḥimyarī! If he saw this fire he would think it was the fire of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah!”

ʿAlī has precedence and numerous splendid qualities. Likewise, the noble qualities of Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad cannot be exhausted.397 I have heard that a man in Basra known as Shābāsh398 is claimed by many 34.3.2 people to be the Lord Almighty. A great quantity of money is levied for him, a large part of which he hands to the authorities so that he can achieve what he seeks. But if he is scrutinized he is found to be base and vile: a serf is superior to him (a “serf ” is someone who can be hired and moved from one place to another).399 I have been told that a similar claim is made for a woman in Kufa. I have heard someone tell me that Ibn al-Rāwandī has followers who say 34.3.3 that divinity dwells in him and empowered him with knowledge. They falsely attribute virtues to him which the Creator and all reasonable persons attest to be unpolished lies. But in all this he is one of the unbelievers and not to

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Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

be reckoned among the noble and the pious. Someone recited the following verses by him—and whoever is godly and guides to the right path, it is not he! Thou hast apportioned people’s means of livelihood like a drunk, plainly in error! Had any man divided means of subsistence like this we should have said to him, “You’re mad, take an enrhine!”400 If these two verses could stand up erect they would be taller in sin than the two great pyramids of Egypt. If an intelligent person were to die of grief he could not be blamed! For where can a rational man find a refuge from misery that is ordained? Whenever some impostor deceives, bolts of unbelief are shot (“bolts” means “arrows”). Whenever black bile401 overcomes an impudent man and makes him satisfied with his own claim, he will come across some ignorant person to egg him on (i.e., to incite). In the village known as al-Nayrab, near Sarmīn, a man emerged known 34.3.4 as Abū Jawf,402 who did not even sport a ḥawf to hide his ignorance (a ḥawf is a small loincloth made of leather, split at the lower edges, worn by young girls). He claimed to be a prophet and told ridiculous things. He was stubborn in his schemes like any obstinate quarrelmaker. He possessed a store room full of cotton of which he said, “My cotton will not burn!” He told his son to hold a lighted lamp close to it; promptly it consumed the cotton! The women screamed and the neighbors gathered, intending to extinguish the fire. An eyewitness it told me that Abū Jawf used to laugh a lot for no particular reason, without an incident to marvel at. When they asked him “Why are you laughing?” he replied with a statement the gist of which is: If a person may be merry about a trivial, small matter, how much more so he who has received a sublime gift! He was plainly mad; his lunacy was not hidden. Stupid people followed him. He said that other prophets were liars. In the end the governor of Aleppo (may God protect it!) had him executed. This happened after the patrician403 known as the Duke404 was killed at Afāmiyah. Abū Jawf ’s assassination had been instigated by Jaysh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣamṣāmah who had received a report about him. He sent a message to the ruler of Aleppo (may God protect it!), saying, “Kill him, or else I shall send someone to kill him!” The ruler despised him because he

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120

Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets

was a man of humble stock. But many a ewe brings forth a flock (i.e., a herd of sheep)! Some Shi’ites relate that Salmān the Persian and some other people came 34.3.5 to see ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (God’s peace be upon him!). They did not find him at home and while they were looking for him there was a flash of lightning followed by thunder, and there was ʿAlī, who had descended on the roof of his house, holding a blood-stained sword in his hand! “There was an argument,” he said, “between two parties of angels. So I went up to heaven to make peace between them.” Those who say this believe that al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn are not ʿAlī’s sons. May a painful torment encompass them! Consider this community: how manifold are its ways of error, just as Spring produces various kinds of herbage, or as grazing animals raise various kinds of young in the wild! For lies, unlike truthfulness, there is a market that turns a lion into a lamb among the flock.

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122

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

As for the Sheikh’s reference to his old age,405 God (praised be He!) has cre- 35.1 ated gall as well as honey, a desire for the Fleeting World as well as abste-

Old age

miousness from it. When an intelligent person looks at it closely he sees that life only draws him to harm and drives his body onward on its course. Even he who stays in one place is like a traveler: divine decrees never confirm him in one state. A morning smiles or an evening, but he does not abide with either for long. Day and night are like rapacious wolves, and one’s life is a herd on the move; they raid the shepherd and annihilate and destroy his grazing flock. If the Sheikh (may God enable him to tread in the paths of erudition, by letting him live!) has put his youth behind him, at least he has spent it in the pursuit of knowledge and belles-lettres and406 made his quest his most pressing habit. If these things could abide for any living person, they would cling to his precious soul. But they are merely accidental attributes and do not experience life or its extinction. If we agree in blaming this stage and are resolved to part from it, why should we regret leaving this treacherous world behind? A small palm tree comes from a large one.407 Ashāʾah means “small palm tree,” ʿawānah means “large palm tree.” When someone who has been negligent sincerely repents, his repentance leaves no transgression behind. It washes his sins just as a washerwoman washes the wool shorn from a lamb in water that has poured profusely from a cloud, even though the wool was full of filth and dirt. People wanted to rinse it, since it had been taken from the backs of white sheep, superior to all grazing flocks. Then it turned as white as camphor, the aromatic substance (kāfūr), or palm-blossom’s fresh “camphor” that discloses408 its white spathe (kāfūr is the inflorescence of the palm tree; some say it is the integument of the spathe). For pretty women after one has passed the age of seventy, a gray-haired man 35.2.1 is like a hurrying wolf making for the white oryx cows. It is said that Abū

ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ used to dye his hair. One day he fell ill and a friend came to

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

visit. “You’ll be back on your feet again,” he said, “if God wills.” Abū ʿAmr replied, “What can I hope for,409 at eighty-six?” The friend visited him again after he had recovered. “Don’t tell people what I said to you earlier!” said Abū ʿAmr. This is a nice anecdote: he wanted to cheat by dying his hair and he hid his age from all his friends!410 A certain student of literature told us that the Sheikh (may God always adorn gatherings with his presence!) thought of marrying, so as to have someone to serve him. I was pleased to hear it, because it showed that he intended to stay in the country. Any intelligent person would be glad to have him near, for he is like a tree whose luxuriant foliage provides shade on hot afternoons, cool air in summer, sweet fruit for whoever tastes it, and a fragrant soft breeze for whoever inhales it. The Sheikh will know the story of what al-Khalīl quotes the Bedouin Arabs as saying: “When a man has reached sixty, let him beware of young women.” There is no good in decrepit old men. But a middle-aged person has been described:411 «Neither too old nor too young, but middling, in between; so do as you are commanded.» Don’t marry an old woman if she’s brought to you; wash your hands clean of her and flee far away! And if they come to you and say, “She’s merely middle-aged!” —Yes, but the better half of her has gone!412 But perhaps the Sheikh will be destined to marry someone like Umm ʿAmr, 35.2.2 the wife of Abū l-Aswad. There is many a good thing found under veils!413 Like the robe of a Yemeni merchant, old and tattered, its patches making it appear as you wish to eye and hand.414 Or as another poet said,415 A woman with a plump behind, well-preserved,416 whose coevals have grown old and worn like rags, while she is as new. It is related that Abū Ḥātim Sahl ibn Muḥammad once recited before al-Aṣmaʿī some poetry by Ḥassān ibn Thābit. When he reached the following line:417 She yields in nothing to the daytime sun; but youth won’t last forever,

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

al-Aṣmaʿī said, “By God, he has described her as an old woman!” It is possible that it is as he said, but it is more likely that the poet said it when she was a young woman, regretfully, meaning that things will not last, just as another poet said:418 You are a joy! If only you could last— but human beings cannot last. If the Sheikh actively pursued the matter, women old and in the prime of 35.2.3 life would vie to have him, marriage proposals of women in their dotage419 would resound! A clever woman of sound judgment will be inclined to seek the company of a fair-minded man. It is as the early poet said:420

ʿAzzah, would you like an old man who is ever youthful? Some youngsters are no manly youths. The Sheikh would not be the first to seek fulfillment(?)421 and marry an old woman despite her age, as the poet said:422 Now that young women shun me, isn’t there an old one who will help me? (Her jawbones, joined, when she unveils her nose, are like a mug). The following verses are attributed to al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah,423 although I have not found them in his collected poetry: They asked, “What kind of woman did you marry?”424 I replied, “I married well: an old woman from the tribe of ʿUraynah, a wealthy one!” I married an old woman and gained425 wealth. Such is trade: things come cheap or dear. And may God protect me from what another poet said:426 An old woman who, if water could (only) be drunk from her hand, would not let us pass and drink427 the waters. The Bedouin Arabs have always praised old crones and mature women; they were not averse to middle-aged women still in the bloom of life. The Prophet (may God bless him!) married Khadījah, the daughter of Khuwaylid, when

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128

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

he was a young man while she was advanced in years. Umm Salamah, the daughter of Abū Umayyah, said to him, “Messenger of God, I am an old woman and I could not stand being jealous of your other wives!” He replied, “Yes, you are old, but I am older than you. And your jealous nature I shall pray to God that He may relieve you of.” A poet said,428 I am not Ruhm’s son, as you know, nor the son of the woman from the tribe of ʿĀmilah; so beware of me! But I was born under an ill-tempered star to an old crone with gray locks. I have no doubt that when the Sheikh was in Egypt he made use of the ser- 35.2.4 vices of various kinds of female servants, who hasten429 to fulfill one’s desires. Were it not that an aged man needs someone to help him, it would be prudent to content oneself with drinking from the spring on the surface.430 The Sheikh knows what a poet said: 431 A good life is nothing but a lock and key, And a room through which cool winds blow, Without loud noise or screaming.

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130

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

Ibn al-Qinnasrī, the Qurʾan reciter,432 told me that he had heard the Sheikh 36.1 ask about a slave-boy servant. Employing freemen may prevent them from staying. Abū ʿUbādah said,433

Servants, slaves or freemen

I am descended from Yāsir, Yusr, and Nujḥ, not from ʿĀmir or ʿAmmār.434 Is there, O people, no freeborn man in Iraq who can absolve me from employing freemen? It is better for a single man to be his own servant than having slaves enter his house. Often they compel their owner to beat them or to guard himself against them by being active and alert(?).435 Often a man of letters, who is himself neither perfidious nor mistrusted, stays 36.2.1 in an inn and is waited on by a boy freed from slavery, who serves him with theft and misery. If he sends him with a few coins, fractions of a dirham, to bring him a watermelon, when watermelons are available in plenty and their steep436 price has become affordable, he runs off with the coins on the way and goes to great lengths to betray his master. Then he stops at the fruit-seller, who swindles him in slicing the melon.437 He takes a small piece of watermelon, which does not strike the eye as something daubed with a dirty yellow dye. Then he runs off with it, playing, as if leading a fullbreasted bride to her groom. He runs with it and does not stop. Then he drops it on the road amid a group of people and it breaks; the pips get mixed with pebbles: all sensible people would abstain from getting anywhere near it. It may, on the other hand, also happen that he carries the watermelon intact, and then goes swimming with other lads. When he is in the water some naughty little boy snatches it and eats it while the servant is watching him, not caring about the skin when he cuts it off. Or perhaps his master sends him with a large bowl to fetch milk; but he is cheated by his ill judgment. When the sour milk is in the bowl he stumbles and finds the milk clotted in lumps on the desert earth, and the earthenware dish has become potsherds that nobody wants, pious ascetics and unbelieving rebels alike would give it away for nothing. If his master has the same beliefs as Ibn al-Rūmī he would think that the breaking of the bowl (ghaḍārah) means the termination of his life of opulence (ghaḍārah). He would cry “Alas and alack!” and be distraught on account of his loss. What can he do with the sour milk when the time has come to depart to the final resting place?

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In our town there lived a servant who belonged to a soldier and who 36.2.2 asserted—truthfully—that he had been a slave soldier438 belonging to Abū Usāmah Junādah ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī, in Egypt. He regretted having to leave him439 and admired his good character. He had been bought, he said, because he could swim: a good reason to drive up the price!440—I only mention this because the Sheikh (may God make the time odoriferous, i.e., perfumed, with his life!) knew this Junādah and experienced his qualities. As for the people of my town441 (may God protect them!), if I have been 36.2.3 fortunate enough to have strangers entertain a good opinion of me, it is not impossible that the people near me also grant me this status. However, they are to me as those who seek a sermon from a mute person, or the heat of a summer month in a severe winter. My lord Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mumattaʿ is a child in age, a brother in affection, a grandfather or father in excellence. In his erudition he is truly as the Exalted says:442 «And to no one does he confer a favour merely to be recompensed».

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The Sheikh’s anxieties443 (may God fill his mind with gladness and relieve 37.1.1 his ears of all blame!) are natural to any civilized human being, not confined to a coward to the exclusion of a gallant hero. It is unjust to be affected

On drinking wine and other sins

by despondency:444 «Say: O my servants who have been excessive against themselves,445 do not despair of God’s mercy». So many lettered people have drunk wine and were merry but then repented, responding to their critics. A guide may go astray in the full light of the moon but then God shows him the right path by means of some landmark or other. Many a drowning man has been saved from the waves, escaping unharmed and getting dry in the sun.446 Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ used to pasture in the most pernicious meadows, but afterward he came to be counted among the renunciants and was turned into one of those who piously exert themselves. Many a profligate when a young man has become prominent when he grew older, or even a mufti! Many a singer playing the sitar447 or the lute came, by divine decree, under the influence of lucky stars and ascended a pulpit to preach, after sending out glances(?).448 The Sheikh may have looked at the biographies449 of singers and seen among them ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz450 and Mālik ibn Anas,451 according to Ibn Khurradādhbih—if he is lying, his lies will be be on his head! There is a well-known story about Abū Ḥanīfah,452 who used to drink 37.1.2 wine in the company of Ḥammād ʿAjrad. Afterwards Abū Ḥanīfah became pious, whereas Ḥammād persisted in his errant ways. On being told that Abū Ḥanīfah had criticized and denounced him, Ḥammād wrote to him: If, to make your piety complete, you must scold and detract from me, Get yourself into a state about me, if you must, telling people near and far! So often have you called me honest, while I persisted in sinning, The days you would hand me and take from me what was contained in the lead pitchers! Were not all the Prophet’s Companions (God’s pleasure be upon them) 37.1.3 once in error, before the Almighty and Glorious One made them mend their ways? There is a report that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb once left his house intending to join some people who had gathered somewhere in order to gamble.453 Not finding anybody there, he said to himself, “I’ll go to the wine seller;

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

perhaps he’ll have some wine.” But he found that the man had nothing in store. Then he said, “I’ll go and become a Muslim!”454 Success comes from God, praised be He, through compulsion.455 Among 37.1.4 God’s words addressed to the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) is456 «And did He not find you going astray and guide you?» Abū Maʿshar al-Madanī457 mentions in his Book of (the Prophet’s) Mission a story according to which the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) slaughtered a sacrificial animal for the idols. He took some, which was cooked for him. Zayd ibn Ḥārithah carried it and together they went off to eat it in some mountain pass or other, where they met Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl, who was one of the godly men of the pre-Islamic period. Muḥammad invited him to partake of the food, but Zayd inquired about it. “It is some of what we sacrificed to our gods,” answered Muḥammad. Then Zayd ibn ʿAmr said, “I will not eat anything that has been sacrificed to the idols! I follow the religion of Abraham, God bless him.” Thereupon the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) told Zayd ibn Ḥārithah to throw away what he had with him. According to another hadith, which I heard together with its chain of transmitters, Tamīm ibn Aws al-Dārī (al-Dār being a branch of the tribe of Lakhm) used to present the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) every year with a skin of wine. One year he brought it after wine had become forbidden, so the Prophet poured it away (or “spilled it,” according to some lexicographer).458 Boiled wine, if intoxicating, counts as ordinary wine. Nevertheless, many 37.2.1 legal scholars have drunk “popular”459 wine, vin cuit,460 and “half-wine.”461 In a session with Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Thaʿlab someone mentioned Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and asked if he had ever drunk date wine (date wine is not the same as “wine” according to the legal scholars).462 Thaʿlab replied, “I gave him some with my own hand, at a circumcision feast given by Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzāz.”463 As for “syrup,”464 ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb stipulated465 that the Syrian Christians gave it to the Muslim soldiers. But as the proverb has it,466 It is grape wine, nicknamed “syrup” just as the wolf is nicknamed “Woolly.” This verse, as the Sheikh knows, is transmitted incomplete467 and is attributed to ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ. It can be found in some though not in all copies

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of his collected verse. In fact, I believe that this verse was composed in the Islamic period, after wine had been forbidden. A drinker’s pleasure is only due to the intoxication that affects him. But for 37.2.2 this, other drinks would be sweeter and more warming. Al-Taghlibī says,468 Give me again, you two, a drink of syrup, such a blessed comforter in a sharp frost! The following verse is attributed to Di ʿbil:469 Give me again, you two, some music and syrup, and a hungry guest who wants a meal! This is an indication that “syrup” is intoxicating. The following verse is attributed to a Hudhalī poet:470 And when I wish, I enjoy in the morning something fresh471, and a wineskin containing wine, unboiled or boiled. Another said:472 Don’t pour me wine except when it is unboiled, aged, sealed: the worst wine is wine that has been boiled. If the Sheikh (may God provide him with all he loves!) has drunk unboiled 37.2.3 wine and his drinking companions said “Cheers!” to him, then he has a model in Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan,473 the learned scholar of the tribe of Azd, when he said: No, many a night I spent, from beginning to end, with an eighty-year old girl, a bride unveiled. At the end of the poem he says: If I die, at least my pleasure was extreme. Everything that has reached the limit must end.

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I would not474 like the Sheikh to follow the words of al-Ḥakamī:475 They said, “You are too old!” I replied, “My hand is not too old to raise the glass to my mouth!” And the Sheikh will know this verse:476 They did not boil it, but their servant toiled all night long in its vineyard with a lamp. And the verse by ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Muʿtazz:477 The infidel said that they boiled it, and we agreed to have it, if only with a toothpick.478 In the past drinking companions, both young and old men, would ask for 37.2.4 “boiled wine,” dissembling and hiding their true intent with this term, without mentioning the old reddish wine. The verses by al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk, “the Profligate,” but also attributed to Abū Nuwās, are well-known:479 To one with a mischievous tongue, inventive in denigrating others, who mixed libertinism with piety, Who spent the night in Ghummā480 in search of “one that had been warmed at the fire,” alluding to it as “the king’s daughter,” I surreptitiously handed a “red one” shining like a meteor, got from the hand of a fraudulent wine seller in a tavern, Who swore by his Creator, by the Lord of Moses and the builder of the Ark,481 that it had been boiled. It was as if a moon was standing before the cup, sipping some of the stars of the firmament.482 One is a hypocrite if one makes a show of drinking what some jurist or other has pronounced to be permitted, while in fact intending to drink “the one that makes you forget your food.”483 Al-Ḥakamī484 put it well: But if you renounce your error, let this renunciation be for God, not for the people.

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Now the time has come for the Sheikh to renounce the ways of Ḥumayd and 37.3.1 turn away from the path of Abū Zubayd.485 I mean Ḥumayd al-Amajī,486 who composed the following verses: I have drunk wine and have not given it up; I have been reproached for it but did not mend my way. Ḥumayd, whose home is Amaj, wine’s friend, with gray hair, balding:487 Gray hair came over him, in spite of his love of wine; he was generous and did not give it up. Someone else said:488 An aged mother scolds me because of wine; but her words are not, I think, correct. She says, “Will you not shun wine? We have sustenance: dates close at hand and raisins!” I answered, “Wait! Raisins cannot make me merry and dates do not creep into my bones. Ḥumayd was regaled with wine in his youth and did not sober up from it when gray hair appeared.” When word goes round among people’s get-togethers that the Sheikh has 37.3.2 repented, people will flock to him: young men in the prime of life, middleaged men of letters, and even gray-haired men who have as little time left as the interval between two waterings of a donkey.489 Likewise all kinds of people will gather to enjoy a nightly conversation and to derive benefit from his erudition. They will prick up their ears to hear his oration. He will have a session for them in some mosque or other in Aleppo (may God protect it!), for after the death of Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālawayh it has been made bare of anklet and bracelet and has been extremely shy of erudition.490 Now if that happens, with God’s grace, he shall have ready a dagger like Ibn al-Rūmī’s dagger, or the one that Ibn Harmah refers to when he says,491 I will not let the camel mares enjoy their newborn calves and I will not buy except what will soon meet its appointed time. My sheep’s lives will not be stretched beyond a meal for a guest; likewise my camels.

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So many a she-camel have I stabbed in the throat, letting the blood gush forth, or a camel stallion! Then, when the Sheikh sits in his gathering where those present pluck the flowers of dawn, or rather pearls from the sea, that dagger shall be near him. When it is decreed that there passes by his door a middle-aged one cut off at the neck,492 such as meant by the one who said,493 When the middle-aged one who is cut off at the neck is nearly empty we go for a second one like it from the vat.494 The armless one,495 in bonds, looks like a man of al-Daybul,496 stripped of his arms. —then the Sheikh shall leap as a leopard leaps on the straggler of a large herd, or he shall order one of his companions to jump at it, and stab it with the dagger, so that it sheds its contents that are like blood or pure brazilwood.497 He shall recite this verse from the Qurʾan:498 «Good deeds make bad deeds disappear. That is a reminder for the mindful.» When the owner of the wineskin goes to the ruler to complain and appeal, and the ruler asks, “Who has done this to you?” and your name is mentioned to him, then the ruler shall say, if God wills, “There is no free man in ʿAwf ’s wadi!499 What can I do with him who is the root of all erudition and the best of its people? He has trodden them underfoot and considers them his base underlings!”500 As soon as the Sheikh has done this once or twice, those who carry 37.3.3 armless skins will avoid that place, just as Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb avoided his normal route out of fear for the Prophet (God bless and preserve him), as Ḥassān said:501 If they descend on Ḥawrān via the Sands of ʿĀlij, then say to them: “There’s no road there!” There is no harm if the prepared weapon is a cutlass, carried up one’s sleeve. If he strikes an armless wineskin with it, those who have looked into The Book of the Beginning502 will be reminded of the story of Saul, when he ordered his daughter, the wife of David (may God bless him!), to let him enter David’s apartment while he was asleep, so that he could kill him. But she foisted a wineskin into his bed. When she let Saul enter he struck it with his sword; the wine flowed and he thought it was blood. Then he was sorry and full of regret. He moved his sword so as to kill himself in his daughter’s presence,

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but she stayed his hand and told him what she had done. Then he thanked her for that. Whenever a drunken person visits that mosque he shall be manhandled 37.3.4 and shaken about,503 as in the story in the Hadith, and they shall sniff the smell of his mouth. If his condition demands that he be flogged, he shall be flogged, and the Sheikh (may God incite him to command what is right and forbid what is wrong!504) need not limit himself to forty strokes as the prescribed punishment for him, as is the custom of the Hijazis;505 rather, he should whip him with eighty lashes, according to the way of the Iraqis, for that is more painful and grievous. It is said that the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) set forty lashes as the punishment, but when ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (peace be upon him) ruled he found it too few and, having consulted ʿAlī (peace be upon him), they decided on eighty. Reports have been transmitted that the people in the Hereafter know about 37.4.1 the people of the Fleeting World. If true, the Sheikh’s black-eyed damsels who are readied for him in the Eternal Abode will ask the virtuous people whom they meet about him. They will hear that he is now in Fusṭāṭ, now in Basra, then in Baghdad, and sometimes in Aleppo. If it becomes widely known that he has repented and some pious person from Aleppo dies and tells them, they will be glad and rejoice; their neighbors will congratulate them. No doubt the Sheikh has heard the story connected with the two verses that are found in the Book of Contemplation:506 May God bless the eyes of the two apparitions507 and your nightly visit, Umaymah, to us! How strange that you are not frightened by the desolation of the tomb and the darkness of the graves that cover us! I seek refuge with God against people who are incited by their gray hair 37.4.2 to drink a lot of “Mother Iris,”508 as if it will save them from calamity,509 as Ḥātim says:510 The tribes know that if Ḥātim wished for wealth he would have had it in abundance; But he ransoms with it captives and provides tasty food, and the gambling arrows do not strip him of it.511

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O Māwiyyah, if my screech owl512 calls one morning in a wasteland without water, without wine, You’ll see that what I have spent has not harmed me and that my hand is empty of anything I withheld. And Ṭarafah said:513 Since you cannot prevent my fated death, let me spend without delay, before I meet my fate, what I possess. And ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz said:514 Don’t tarry with the wine cups, don’t hold them back from me! Today, my friend, is not like yesterday! Don’t ask me, but ask my gray hair about me: since I was fifty I don’t know myself. This man was urged by his advanced age to drink a lot of wine; but he failed to keep his caliphate. It is strange that he was desirous to succeed as caliph, as if he had turned wan and decrepit by constant worship! But it was as someone said to Muʿāwiyah ibn Yazīd:515 Yazīd took the reign from his father; now take it, Muʿāwiyah, from Yazīd! Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Mubarrad used to be al-Buḥturī’s516 drinking com- 37.4.3 panion, but he gave it up. I should not like the Sheikh (may God make the heart of his enemy burst with rage!517) to be like Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī: he was reproached for drinking wine and replied, “When it becomes my worst sin I’ll give it up.” Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī did wrong when he suggested to Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim that he should take a cup of wine.518 But someone who trifles with the lowest and highest strings of the lute is not to be chastised in matters of religion.519 It is transmitted that al-Muʿtaṣim once invited Ibrāhīm, as was his custom. Ibrāhīm sang to him the two lines that gave rise to the saying “He sang the song of Shiklah’s son.”520 Then Ibrāhīm cried. Al-Muʿtaṣim asked him, “Why are you crying?” He answered, “I had pledged to God that when I would be sixty years old I would repent. I am sixty now.” Then al-Muʿtaṣim exempted him from singing and attending drinking sessions.

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If repentance is not sincere,521 old and threadbare repentance will not be 37.4.4 mended. There was a man in our town who was addicted to wine. When he was old he took a liking to boiled wine. He would meet with his drinking companions, with some boiled wine in a khurdādhī522 in front of him. They had one cup between them; he would drink from the boiled wine and his friends would drink from the uncooked wine. Whenever it was his turn to drink he would rinse the traces of wine from the cup and drink from it. But when the khurdādhī with the boiled wine was empty he would drink from his friends’ wine.

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As for the Sheikh’s addressing someone else while meaning himself,523 this 38.1 is as the proverb says, “It’s you I mean, woman, and listen, neighbor!524”

Repentance

One cannot abandon one’s nature. Someone trying to be devout may want to turn away from his love of the Fleeting World, but he is as unable to do so as a gazelle is to turn into a lioness, or a pebble to be transformed into a pearl. «Joseph, turn away from this! And you, woman, ask forgiveness for your misdeed! You are one of the sinners.»525 To pray and say, “O God, make my sparrow a hawk!” would be equivalent to foolishness. You know—and I shall not forbid any of your traits— that a man cannot be other than how he has been created.526 We may find a man convinced of the Hereafter, sincerely believing in the Resurrection, and acknowledging God’s oneness, withhold a bone from a barking dog a bone or refuse a girl the loan of a necklace, as if he would live on earth forever, even though the earth, easy and hard ground alike, perishes. Many of those who recite the Qurʾanic verse:527 «The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is that of a grain that brings forth seven ears, each ear containing one hundred grains. God gives a multiple to whom He wishes. God is all-embracing and all-knowing», who believe it to be true and who are anxious out of fear of their God, are nevertheless stingy with paltry, insignificant things and give neither to beggar nor to churchwarden.528 So what can one expect from those who deny divine requital and do not accept the excellent solace of the Perishing World? The Sheikh will have come across the story of Abū Ṭalḥah, or Abū Qatādah, 38.2 about how he appealed to the Prophet (God bless and preserve him), litigating against a Jew. Abū Ṭalḥah had a palm grove and they had an argument about one palm tree. The Prophet (God bless and preserve him) said to the Jew, “Will you give him the tree if I guarantee you a tree in Paradise?” The messenger of God (God bless and preserve him) described it with all the attributes of the trees of Paradise, but the Jew replied, “I will not sell something in hand for something in the future.” Then Abū Ṭalḥah said, “Will you give me the same guarantee, messenger of God, as you did him, if I give him the whole grove?” The Prophet said, “Yes.” Abū Ṭalḥah was happy with that. He took the Jew with him and went to his grove, where he found his wife and his children, eating from its fruits. He stuck his finger into their mouths, taking out the dates. His wife asked, “Why are you doing that to

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your children?” He replied, “I have sold the grove.” She said, “If you have sold it for something transitory in this world, you have struck a bad bargain!” But then he told her what happened and she rejoiced. If one said to one of the worshippers of this age: “Give me a gravelly mud brick and you’ll be given a silver brick in the Future World,” he would not agree. If he were asked to give a one-eyed slave girl in exchange for a blackeyed damsel in the Hereafter, he would not do it, even if he is one of those who believe. So what can one expect from someone who has been nurtured on disbelief 529 and who denies the truth of divine torment? As for Fādhūh,530 he met his bird of doom while swaggering to and fro. There 38.3 is no god but God! The mortar was not made especially to crush his skull, but «there is something written for every term».531 Evil comes early and strikes; his soul made him hope he would repent, but it was like the girl friend of Imruʾ al-Qays when he said to her,532 You’ve made me hope for one tomorrow after another, but in the end you were a miser of the worst kind. It is related that Abū l-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf used to go along the market streets, riding a donkey, and saying, “People, be warned by the repentance of my servant!” He had a servant who had made a promise to himself that he would repent. But a brick fell on his head and killed him. The Deluding World had cheated him.

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156

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The first thing I heard about the Sheikh (may God perpetuate the consolida- 39.1 tion of excellence by keeping him alive!) was from a man from Wāsiṭ533 who busied himself with the science of poetic prosody. He mentioned that he had

The author’s acquaintance with Ibn al-Qāriḥ

seen the Sheikh in Nisibis, where there was a man known as Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī,534 teacher of some descendant of ʿAlī. A servant called Ibn al-Dān would often visit him. The Sheikh passed by our town at a time when this man from Wāsiṭ was there too. When I was with Abū Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Salām ibn al-Ḥusayn, known as al-Wājikā (may God have mercy on him, for he was a noble man) I saw some books on which there was an endorsement of audition535 for “a man from Aleppo” who was the Sheikh, without any doubt—may God support his person with success, for he is a rara avis536 and does not need to be made known in verse: rather, his eminence is loudly proclaimed, no need for any hints. Al-Bakrī, the genealogist,537 said to Ruʾbah, “Who are you?” and Ruʾbah replied, “Al-ʿAjjāj’s son.” Al-Bakrī said, “You’ve said it briefly and informatively!” The Sheikh’s fame is as widespread as the light of day, just as the Ṭāʾite poet says:538 His brilliancy or his sharp mind protects him from being humbled by “Who are you?” or “Who’s that man’s father?” If it is possible that people can reincarnate through the ages, then he is the

ʿAlī ibn Manṣūr whom al-Juʿfī539 eulogizes when he says (the Creator is trustworthy):540 Having a rank that people on earth are kept from attaining, he is exalted, so they called him “ʿAlī the Keeper.” The Sheikh has kept students of literature from reaching that rank and has settled on the peak rather than the slope of the hill. As for the scholars he has met,541 these are all saving luminaries, stars in the 39.2.1 darkness. Merely to look at them is an honor; all the more so if one scoops a handful from every sea of knowledge that one finds! I express myself with restraint, but perhaps the Sheikh has in fact drained their seas dry with his pen and his understanding, and they opened for him the locks of recondite things—“recondite” means what is stowed away and cannot be found again.—and he may have learned from al-Kattānī the Suras of the Revelation, acquiring an ample reward; it is as if he had been taught by the Messenger himself—but the goal can be reached without this step—or as if he took them

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

from Gabriel, without alteration or substitution. Those teachers leveled for him the difficult heights of the Arabic language, so that the rough ground of Sībawayh’s Book542 became to him even and soft, as it were, and he did not need to board a raft to sail across the depths of its seas. As for the Sheikh’s association with Abū l-Ḥasan (God have mercy on 39.2.2 him), that man was a true master, a supporter of men of letters if they were weak, affectionate to those who were strong, counteracting adversities. He was as the poet says:543 When you see his full brother and his friend you would not know which of them is his kin. Or as al-Ṭāʾ ī says:544 Every mountain path where you are, family of Wahb, is also my path and the path of every lettered man. The proverb says: “Barāqish wrongs her own people.”545 Al-Ṣūlī mentions that he once entered the presence of Caliph al-Muttaqī, after the Banū Ḥamdān had killed Muḥammad ibn Rāʾiq. The caliph asked him about the verses of Nahshal ibn Ḥarrī:546 A master disobeyed me and was obstinate in his opinion, just as Qaṣīr was disobeyed in al-Baqqah.547 When he saw what would come of me and him, and when matters took a turn for the worse,548 He wished—post-maturely—he had obeyed me, now that events had followed upon events. One says “he did it post-maturely,” i.e., too late, after the opportunity had gone. A poet said:549 You, Quṭayn, not being one of them, are truly the basest ruler, in offspring and wealth. The tribe of ʿUdus ibn Zayd has moved away from you and only came to know you post-maturely (naʾīshā). Young men who feel an urge to rise always desire any position of eminence. 39.2.3 But how can they be safe from something that tramples them underfoot? A current saying has it that “The opinion of an old man is better than the

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

testimony of a young man.”550 Often someone who strives to climb finds that his assault meets with an adverse fate. If one has the bare minimum to live on, one has no need to build and feather one’s nest with wealth and finery. But there is no refuge from the ordained decision. Alas for a life that is sealed with perdition! Many an ascent to knowledge was ill-directed and has turned, without dispute, into an ascent to ignorance.551

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

As for the Sheikh’s five pilgrimages,552 the first will be enough for him when, 40.1.1 with God’s will, he congregates with others at the Resurrection. Let him

Pilgrimages

have a look among the recent scholars; no doubt he will find some who have not been on pilgrimage. He can give them the other four as a charitable donation! I can imagine him, together with the scattered parties of pilgrims, loudly proclaiming the formula “Here I am for Thee!”553 while thinking about similar invocations of the Arabs and how they came in three kinds: unmetrical but rhymed, the dimeter, and the trimeter.554 An example of the first is: Here we are for Thee, our Lord, here we stand! All that is good is in Thy hand! The dimeter comes in two forms, one in rajaz and the other in munsariḥ.555 An example of rajaz is the following:556 I’m here for Thee, praise be to Thee! Thine is the kingdom, no partner to Thee, Except a partner who belongs to Thee, One whom you own, and eke all property Of Fadak’s idol, “Daughters’ Father” he.557 This is one of the invocations of the pre-Islamic period. At the time there were idols in Fadak. Another example is: Giver of plenty, we are here for Thee, From the Namir tribe558 we’re here for Thee. We’ve come to you in a year of scarcity Hoping for rain to pour in quantity, Striking in the watercourse covered by shrubbery.559 The kind in munsariḥ meter is of two types. One has a rhyme that ends in an 40.1.2 overlong syllable,560 as in the following: Lord of Hamdān, for Thee we’re here, We’ve come to Thee from far and near For Thy beneficence this year, On sturdy mounts easy to steer, To Thee the plains we cross and clear, Hoping for Thy forgiveness dear.

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164

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

The other type does not have an overlong syllable, as in the following: We’re from Bajīlah, here for Thee, A tribe of proud solidity, A fine and splendid tribe are we! We come to bring a gift to Thee, In hope of generosity. Sometimes they come with more than one rhyme, as does the invocation of the tribe of Bakr ibn Wāʾil: In truth, in truth, we’re here for Thee, In worship and in slavery. We come to Thee for counsel561 plain; We have not come for trade and gain. The trimeter also comes in two kinds. One is considered a form of rajaz by 40.1.3 al-Khalīl, as is the invocation of the tribe of Tamīm as it is transmitted:562 We’re here for Thee! If Bakr did not stand in the way of Thee(?) People would thank Thee or be ungrateful(?) to Thee. Crowds of us have always come to Thee. The other kind is in the meter sarī ʿ. It comes in two forms. One ends with an overlong syllable, as in the invocation of Hamdān that is transmitted as follows: We’re here for Thee, and all tribes do the same: Hamdān, the sons of kings, invoke Thy name. They left their idols and to Thee they came. So hear our prayer, ’midst all Umlūk of fame.563 The form labbūka is derived from the verb labbā, “to obey, be at someone’s service.” Those who, in the preceding invocation, transmit the form labbawk produce an ugly rhyme defect.564 The trimeter form without an overlong syllable is as in the following: We’re here for Thee, Saʿd and their sons, aligned; Also their womenfolk, behind. They’ve come to reap Thy mercy kind.

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All metrical labbayka (“Here I am for Thee”) invocations must be in rajaz according to the Arabs; they do not come in the qaṣīd meters,565 or perhaps they did make such invocations but they have not been transmitted. I can imagine the Sheikh, resolved to touch the Corner,566 having thought of 40.2 the two lines that al-Mufajjaʿ cites in his book On the Definition of Desinential Inflection:567 If they had ever greeted departing women before them, the Wall and Zamzam Well would have greeted their faces.568 But it is dumb and does not answer those who circumambulate around it. Al-Mufajjaʿ was struck by the change from masculine to feminine.569 It is not too far-fetched to think that a noun is implied, the adjective of which has taken its place. Likewise the Sheikh will have remembered the verses of another poet:570 I thought of you while the pilgrims were shouting in Mecca and hearts were throbbing, And I said, while we were in a sacred place, where hearts were devoted solely to God: I shall repent unto Thee, O Lord, from what I have committed, for my sins are evident. But from my passion for Laylā and my love of visiting her I shall never repent. Then he will say: Don’t the Basran scholars say that the “H of lament” is not preserved in non-pausal forms? The H in rabbāh (“O Lord!”) is like that H; there is no difference!571 But it is possible that they refer only to prose in this connection; versification allows licenses that are not tolerated elsewhere. And perhaps the Sheikh was reminded of the following verses, on circum- 40.3 bulating the Kaaba:572 I go around the Kaaba with all who go around, lifting my loin-cloth that hangs down.573 At night I pray, prostrated, till the morning, reciting from the clear, revealed Book.

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168

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

Perhaps that He who relieved Joseph’s misery will give me power over that woman in the camel litter! And he will have said, “How easy, the diction of these verses! If only the poet had not added ‘that’ after ‘perhaps.’”574—Praise be to God! “A beautiful woman will not lack blame,”575 and, “Which man is perfectly polished?”576 And at the Dispersal,577 when people go their several ways, the Sheikh will 40.4 have remembered the following verses:578 Say farewell to my heart, Quraybah, and be generous to a lover whose departure is imminent! There’s nothing between life and death but their camels’ being returned and their being reined. And the verses by Qays ibn al-Khaṭīm:579 Abodes of her who nearly stayed with us when we were at Minā,580 had the camels not been so swift. I saw her only on the three days at Minā, where I knew her as a virgin with plaited locks. She appeared to us as the sun from under a cloud; one of her eyebrows showed, but she was stingy with the other. The Sheikh will have distinguished between the two interpretations of the words “she stayed with us,” for it is possible that it means “she stayed among us” but it could also be that the poet intends “she made us stay,” just as one says “stop with us here!” meaning “make us stop.” It is the same in,581 “. . . as a smooth pebble slides off anything that settles on it.” If the Sheikh lived in Mecca for pious purposes582 between the pilgrimages 40.5.1 that he performed he must have become more knowledgeable about the town than a crow about its nest, or a sand grouse about its hollow, or a chameleon about its thorny tree.583 But if he traveled to Yemen or some other place, making a pilgrimage every year, he will have a yet greater reward and will be all the more entitled to reach the status of a true penitent.584 Perhaps he has stood at al-Mughammas, praying to God to have mercy on Ṭufayl al-Ghanawī when he says:585

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170

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

Is the bond with Shammāʾ still attached, after parting? Or are you, dwelling far from her, occupied with other matters? She is darker than a gazelle born in spring, brow and eye made up with kohl, made of antimony from al-Ḥīrah,586 Which587 grazes in the well-rained valley bottoms with vegetation that offers itself to it in the bend where the elephant disobeyed its masters. I spoke of “praying to God to have mercy on Ṭufayl” because some transmitter asserts that he was still alive at the coming of Islam, and his verses in praise of the Prophet (God bless him) have been transmitted, even though I have not heard them in his collected verse:588 By your father, a better man!589 The camels of Muḥammad are defenseless,590 lamenting when the north wind blows. When they see a strange camel near the forecourt bucketfuls of tears stream forth from them! And in severe winter you see on the ground, waiting for them, the vultures; none of their calves will live. And the Sheikh will have recited the verses by Ibn Abī l-Ṣalt al-Thaqafī:591 The signs of our Lord are evident: only an unbeliever will dispute them. He detained the elephant in al-Mughammas until it had to crawl as if hamstrung. To God every religion, on the Day of Resurrection, —except the True Religion—is worthless. And these verses of Nufayl will not have failed to occur to him:592 Greetings from us, Rudaynah! May our eyes be pleased to see you in the morning! For if you had seen (but may you not see it!), what we saw near al-Mughammas You would have forgiven me and be pleased with me, and not be sorry for what is past and gone. I praised God when I saw the birds and the stoning with pebbles that were cast upon us.593

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40.5.2

      

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Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

Everybody is asking about Nufayl, as if I owed a debt to the Abyssinians!594 I wish I knew if the Sheikh said “Here I am for Thee” while combining the 40.6 pilgrimage with the lesser pilgrimage595 or performed only the former. And I hope that in Mecca he did not meet a middle-aged woman who suggested to him that he should follow the fatwa of Ibn ʿAbbās,596 swearing to him that there was nothing wrong in that! Then the Sheikh will have thought of the following words of a poet:597 She said, after I had circumambulated her Kaaba seven times, “How about the fatwa of Ibn ʿAbbās, old man? How about a woman with tender, soft limbs who’ll be your bed-fellow until the people separate?” As for those relations of Jawhar,598 even after attaining good fortune a 40.7 “jewel” will change and be shattered. Many a pearl in the crown of a king, when he was overthrown by the Destroyer,599 was crushed out of grief by his concubines. Could his squadrons have prevented his death? And many’s the pearl on the throat of a full-breasted girl far from pollution and vice that was afflicted with defect or blemish,600 so that her mother put it in a mortar.

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173

      

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174

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

I imagine I can see the Sheikh coming past Antioch and thinking of the 41.1 words by Imruʾ al-Qays:601 The women mounted inside camel litters draped with Antioch cloth on

The Sheikh’s thoughts in Antioch and Malatya

top of red embroidered cloth, like a lopped-off date palm branch or Yathrib’s garden.602 It will have occurred to him that the word naṭk, from which “Antioch” would have to be derived if it were Arabic, is not used; it is not mentioned by any well-known and reliable authority.603 When he came past Malatya he will have frowned at the odd morphological form and said, “The pattern is C1aC2aC3yah, one that is not listed.604 If we assume it is derived from an Arabic root the Y must be secondary, because it is preceded by three root consonants.” As for the Sheikh’s friend whose friendship turned barren upon examina- 41.2.1 tion:605 the Sheikh knows the proverb, “Let the one in the grave alone.”606 When a person is covered by earth all ambitions are at an end. He who was blamed when alive is entitled to pardon when dead. But perhaps the Sheikh was not completely serious when he spoke as he did, or rather was rash with his words. If one forgives a living person the sin he has committed and the damage one has suffered thereby, how could one not forgive him after he has died and can no longer do any harm? A cursory blessing on a tomb equals one thousand blessings at people’s gatherings. The Sheikh knows what they said about the meaning of the following verse:607 I go to my friend where he said farewell, i.e., I visit his grave. As for the improvisation that this man found suspicious,608 my lord the 41.2.2 Sheikh’s name is repeated in the world of letters as the names of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn are repeated among the descendants of Hāshim,609 or as a tattoo is repeated by the hand of the tattooer.610 Should one be amazed at the cooing of a turtledove, or at the first drop that falls from a cloud rich in “milk”?611 If the Sheikh confronted the lavender of ʿĀlij with the fine odor of his speech, it is possible that he would surpass even its fresh scent; or if he confronted the lightning, it is possible that he would precipitate its flash. There are some people who are by nature cantankerous, who will annoy their companion

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176

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

and often cheat them; but the Sheikh knows he is virtuous and that no one can beat him in a shooting match. Improvisation612 comes in several categories; in order to be declared the winner one can think of diverse ways. One of them is “extemporizing”; the Sheikh is perhaps faster in this than Sabal, or he is the sabal! (By Sabal a famous mare is meant; sabal means “rain.”) Another kind is “capping.”613 But a large cooking pot is not generous with olive oil(?).614 Finally there is “constraint”:615 this is something that wakes one from slumber; it comes in different forms and a simpleton is not up to it. As for Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālawayh, who had manuscripts brought to him 41.3 for his studies, he was not incapable or amnesic (i.e., forgetful): a prudent man will want to adduce corroborating evidence and backing from a second testimony:616 I see that one’s needs from Abū Khubayb are in distress, and there is no Umayyah in the land. Where is the like of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālawayh? Syria is bereft of him. It was like Mecca when Hishām was sorely missed—I mean Hishām ibn al-Mughīrah—because the poet lamented him, saying,617 Now Mecca’s valley shudders as if there is no Hishām in the land. He was always thin like the bends of a whip. but on his bowls there were piles of fat. The elderly could eat as much as they liked and the young could carry and collect. Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī is ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī. He is the author of a small 41.4 book called Rhyming Pairs,618 arranged alphabetically. It is current among the people of Baghdad. He also wrote a book known as Permutation,619 in which he followed the method of Yaʿqūb in his book Phonemic Conversion,620 and a book known as The Pearl Tree,621 in which he followed the path of Abū ʿUmar in his Concatenation.622 Also a book on Difference,623 in which he wrote much and at length. No doubt many of his books and systematic works are lost, because he and his father were killed by the Byzantines at the fall of Aleppo.624 Ibn Khālawayh used to give him the nickname “Beetle Pill,”625 referring to a scarab’s dung ball, because he was so short.

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178

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

A reliable person told me that he once was in the gathering of Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālawayh. A messenger had just arrived from Sayf al-Dawlah, summoning him to his presence and saying to him, “A lexicographer has arrived,” meaning this Abū l-Ṭayyib. “I got up and left Ibn Khālawayh,” said the man who told the story, “and I went to al-Mutanabbī and told him about it. ‘Now he will ask that man,’ said al-Mutanabbī, ‘about the meaning of shawṭ barāḥ, of ʿillawḍ,626 and such words!’ meaning he would give him a hard time.” Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī and Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn Kātib al-Baktimurī were intimate friends. The latter said to him,

ʿAbd, you are Paradise to my heart in love, and you are the pupil of my eye. You are resolved to go; say whatever you must, and mention to him who keeps his passion what you must: I shall not complain of lying awake for a long stretch: the night knows that I shall be forever sleepless. By “ʿAbd” he means ʿAbd al-Wāḥid, just as ʿAdī ibn Zayd said in his verses rhyming on the letter ṣād, quoted earlier:627 May you be far from me, ʿAbd, when the times are bad, and kept away when times are difficult! He meant ʿAbd Hind. Abū l-Ṭayyib also dabbled in making verse. God knows that I am “neither in the caravan nor in the troop”!628 And who 41.5 would be ungrateful to him who feeds his family?629 Whenever I tried to remain obscure I was destined to see my hopes thwarted. If the Sheikh were to stay in Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān for a whole year he should not have heard my name mentioned or have thought of me at all. Now his gracefulness has engulfed me and the leafy branches of his erudition, not his lotus tree,630 have shaded me. Unique pearls came from him to me; if one of them appeared as a silver bead it would not be hidden on the pages of his letter, and a whole tribe would be rich with its price. People would fill the road toward it, to look at the precious jewel, bright like Venus, as the rajaz poet said,631

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Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s praise of al-Maʿarrī

      

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180

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

When Tuzmurah saw her it was as if he saw gold in a mine,632 And he said, “People, I’ve seen something incredible ! It was a gold nugget in a wadi, when I saw Venus!” Instead of Tuzmurah, some transmit the name as Turmulah, which is the more frequent version, in spite of the rhyme defect.633 The Sheikh (may God perpetuate literature’s glory by keeping him alive!) has a generous nature, and a generous man is easily deceived. He who hears something may imagine something. A rock does not give birth to lambs!

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182

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

The Sheikh mentioned that in Egypt he had inclinations toward certain plea- 42.1 sures.634 He knows the hadith: “Relieve your hearts, then they will be mindful of God!”635 Uḥayḥah ibn al-Julāḥ said,636

Pleasure and wine

I’ve sobered up from foolish love. Pleasure is a fickle demon and a man’s soul gets bored sometimes. The Sheikh should at that time have acquired the erudition available to him from studying with those he studied under; for at a young age one is necessarily receptive to influence and able to aim at much with little effort. But a single drop of the Sheikh’s knowledge will make one drown and his breath, even when cold, will burn. A man of Quraysh said,637 How excellent I am when decrepitude overtakes me! Should I regret anything time’s vicissitudes bring? Have I not unveiled a white-skinned woman with glittering anklet, with a pure skin and a fine-featured face?638 Or haven’t I had, before chiding women could stop me, a morning drink of wine mixed with water, an old wine like blood? Perhaps the Sheikh has had his fill of all these desires; but all things come to an end and the Fleeting World is a mocking mirage. He has been intimate with kings and viziers, he has lacked nothing and there is nothing degrading or contemptible in that. He will have heard the story about al-Nuʿman the Elder, who abdicated in the guise of a hairy beast, taking haircloth instead of silk, and who wanted to wander as an anchorite. It is to him that the ʿIbādī poet639 refers when he says, Remember the lord of al-Khawarnaq,640 who pondered one day—one may well ponder about True Guidance! He was pleased with his kingdom and his many possessions, with the river, showing its width, and al-Sadīr. But then his ignorance641 converted and he said, “What is the happiness of a living being bound to die?” Being drunk is forbidden in every religion. It is said that the Indians never 42.2 make a man king if he drinks alcohol, because they consider it abominable. It is possible, they say, that some news arrives in the kingdom while the king is intoxicated, and then the king, who should be obeyed, is sleeping off his

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183

      

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184

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

hangover! Cursed be the wine!642 How many a company because of it went into decline! There is no good at all in alcohol. It makes one tread as if on burning coal. He who drinks wine in the morning is walking on the road to catastrophe; he who drinks “Mother Night” in the evening is trailing his skirt in vanity. Whoever is infatuated with “Mother Iris”643 has given in to his ruined mind. To carry a cheering wine in one’s hand is quickly to let good conduct slip. Enjoyment of the company of a vintage wine strips off the robe of dignity. He who is addicted to a pungent wine will not stand on the clear road.644 To be besotted with heady wine is to revert to the state of a newly weaned child. Habitually drinking ʿĀnah wine prevents one from attaining one’s desires. Failure because of wine bought to be drunk extracts every hidden secret. There is no profit in bay-red wine that makes the living as good as dead. He who is afflicted with a Ṣarkhad wine cannot be redeemed from scandal. How treacherous are wine’s promises: it breaks the strongest oaths. Wine makes one whine.645 So many a lad from the tribe of Kilāb646 died in his prime, not having attained happiness in this world: addiction to aged, deceitful wine struck him with a fatal consumption. Someone who hurries to strong, chilled wine647 sees as if with blinded eyes. A lion roaring in its den is less dangerous than a lute-playing singing girl. Many a wooden lute has wreaked havoc with the stingy and the generous; many a skin-bellied lute648 has caused a sleeper sleeplessness. The Sheikh knows the verses by al-Mutanakhkhil:649 Of what shall I die? A man’s destiny is to the hyenas,650 or gray hair, or to be killed. If one evening he is intoxicated with unmixed wine, drinking his fill of it, with meat raw or from the cooking pot, His precautions will not protect him from death: that is written for him since his mother was pregnant with him. Something that ought to make the Sheikh abstemious from the limpid red- 42.3 dish wine is the fact that his noble drinking companions ended up in graves now obliterated. So often has he sat with young men who have now been swept away by Time, so that it was as al-Jaʿdī said:651 I remembered—remembering stirs my passion, and a sad man needs to remember—

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186

Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence

My drinking friends with al-Mundhir, al-Muḥarriq’s son; the surface of the earth is now devoid of them. And he knows the verses that begin:652 My two friends, get up, you’ve slept long enough! Will you seriously not end your slumber?653 Is the Sheikh unable to be as another poet said? As for “syrup,”654 I will not taste it until I meet, after death, an Omnipotent One. It is as if this poet was the Sheikh’s companion in drinking “syrup”; when ruin struck him unheroically655 he made drinking it forbidden to himself, until the solid earth would give him lodging in its soil.

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The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

I was pleased that the Sheikh’s dinars were returned to him.656 They are help- 43.1.1 ers; their various kinds resemble one another. People have duties toward them; they can be devoted if (other people’s) disobedience is feared. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ said to Muʿāwiyah: “I dreamed that the Resurrection had begun; you were brought while sweat was ‘bridling’ you!”657 Muʿāwiyah replied, “Did you see there any of the dinars of Egypt?”658 No doubt these dinars of the Sheikh were from “the dinars of Egypt” that did not come from the common people but from princes and they were not the bride-price for a harlot.659 Praise be to God, who delivered them into the Sheikh’s hands until this time; they were not like gold that was stored but ended up with a taverner together with the weighed coins, as the poet said:660 There was a female taverner, daughter of Zoroastrians, in whose house you see the wine-skin being raised; We weighed for her solid gold and she measured out for us liquid gold. Nor was the following verse made into a riddle alluding to them: Our “dinars” come from the horn of an ox, not from gold minted between stone slabs.661 If al-Muraqqish saw them he would realize that they are prettier than the faces of his girlfriends, when the camel litters departed with the women in the morning:662 Their fragrance is musk, their faces are dinars, and their fingertips are ʿanam berries.663 And they are more beautiful than the faces mentioned by al-Jaʿdī, who asserted that their beauty was unprecedented:664 Among young men with noses proudly held high, like dinars that have been polished with a weight.665

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189

Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s eighty stolen dinars

      

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190

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

They were taken from awards granted by noble, proudly men, now for a ser- 43.1.2 vice, now for an ode. They were not paid in advance666 for camels of the Banū

ʿĪd, nor considered feeble (?)667 when needed, as Raddād al-Kilābī said:668 Ibn Salmā traverses the lands with it, mounted on camels of the ʿĪd tribe, for which dinars were paid in advance.669 Whether one is stupid or clever,670 they are better than the seal mentioned by Ibn Qays when he said,671 When she uses her seal the clay of her seal is widely accepted just as precious ʿAbdite dinars are accepted. With “ʿAbdite dinars” those of the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān are meant; he is said to have been the first to mint dinars in Islam.672 And they are superior to the coins of a money changer; they weigh heavily in a true scale. God forbid that they be as al-Farazdaq said:673 Her forelegs reject the pebbles on every hot afternoon, as the testing of money changers rejects dinars. (This verse is recited in two versions, with “dinars” and “dirhams.”674) Nor do they belong to the dinars of Aylah, with which someone bought a small palm tree.675 They speak of “dinars of Aylah” because it was Byzantine territory and dinars came to it from Syria. A poet said,676 A gold dinar from Aylah in the hands of the adorners, shining, glowing,677 is not . . . The “adorners” are the engravers that adorn it.678 And if Muḥriz al-Ḍabbī saw them he would have sworn that when viewed 43.1.3 they are superior to those “countenances,” even if they appeared on faces with fine features. He said:679 It is as if there are dinars on their countenances, even though an encounter has wizened their faces. God forbid that they should be compared to the crowfoot of a wadi that has been watered by rain clouds in the evening and the morning, but when the summer is ablaze with heat, the plants that clothe the wadi are tattered and shriveled. A poet said,680

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192

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

And into many a wadi watered by a blessed star,681 where wild animals roamed and dust-colored gazelles, Have I descended while the sun was rising in the morning, where the crowfoot flowers resembled dinars. If someone who regretted the sale of his bay horse got dinars like them they would bring splendor to his heart and home. He would not be sorry that he was given a donkey in exchange for a horse, and would be found silent, uncomplaining. He would not say:682 I regret the sale of the bay; a man’s life brings nothing but worry and loss. When he who had negotiated with me brought the dinars Nawār683 listened and was delighted by the sale. “Complete the sale,” she said, “and buy something else! Around you in our winter dwelling there are young children!” So I spent on them what I had earned; I always had drink available and the smell of cooked food with me, Until the army rallied for a campaign and the abundant rains of winter had gone. Then I needed a colt that could take its place: it was as if there weren’t any colts in the whole world. My companions went on fleet horses and I went with under me, to my misery, a donkey! It is due to God’s grace that with His decree He saved the Sheikh’s dinars 43.2.1 from an early morning visit to the tavern—he who goes there early in the morning, carrying the dinars with him, should not be thanked! He will not seek the company of pinchfists (i.e., misers) but he will stay with them in the tavern for days, intoxicated, whether awake or sleeping, and wine cups will exhaust the gold as if it were a camel slaughtered for the gambling game, and the cups the arrows.684 Al-Jaʿdī said,685 To many a tavern, whose door creaked like the sound made by those who draw water with a large bucket,686 I came early, before the cocks crowed and the church-clappers687 had not yet been struck. Another said,688

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194

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

Often I went in the morning, with a handful of dinars, to the taverner, surrounded by generous young men, And there he kept pouring wine for us, taking the coins, until the cup had taken all that had been in the purse. If the Sheikh had lived in the times of the ancient kings each one of his dinars would have been like that described by the poet:689 A yellow one struck in the palace of kings, with Jaʿfar shining on its face, More than one hundred by one;690 when people obtain it they are rich. The Sheikh’s dinars are, by God’s permission, sanctified, not encumbered 43.2.2 by anything forbidden. Prudence is part of his nature and character; so he will lend none of his electables, i.e., his choice possessions, to anyone who trades on his behalf for a share in the profit. In the Noble Book it says,691 «There are some people of the Scripture692 who, if you entrust them with a hundredweight,693 will pay it back to you; and there are some who, if you entrust them with one dinar, will not pay it back to you.» This was said to the Messenger of God (God bless and preserve him) in a period when there were scrupulous people, who anointed and perfumed themselves with piety. Today, however, if a person of the Scripture is entrusted with a penny, suspicions would rush to him as quickly as rain from a cumulonimbus (a cumulonimbus is a cloud that quickly clears away); as the poet of the tribe of Hudhayl said:694 Those men: if you695 invited them there would come from them men like rain from summer cumulonimbus clouds. When I mentioned a “person of the Scripture” I did not exclusively refer to the Torah and the Gospel, but also to the Noble Qurʾan. But trustworthiness surely needs to be widespread on earth and be inherited by any virtuous person; in the Hereafter it is yet nobler and cleanses away more sins one has committed. Therefore let the Sheikh look after the remnant of his money as an astute and intelligent man would do. For every single one of his dinars is a “dinar of mighty men” that would move any mature young man to elation, as Suḥaym said:696

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The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

She shows you, the morning of departure, a hand and a wrist, and a face bright like a dinar of mighty men. If Qays ibn al-Khaṭīm697 looked at it he would not compare the face of his 43.2.3 Kanūd to it, he would make it the most helpful of his supporters and he would not allow himself to say: Today you severed your bond with Kanūd, in order to have a new tie instead of with her. That evening, when she appeared and showed you, briefly, some of her splendid charms, her neck, And a face that I imagined to be, when it appeared to me on the morning of departure, a sound dinar coin . . . Rabī ʿah ibn al-Mukaddam698 had it in mind when he was certain that his premature death was impending, saying, Bandage me, Umm Sayyār; you are bereaved of a knight like a dinar! Or, if Mālik ibn Dīnār had owned it, despite his indifference to worldly matters and his efforts to achieve the utmost piety, it is possible that he would have kept it for himself, withholding it from his father Dīnār. But one may lie when making similes. Every one of these blessed yellow gold coins goes further in realizing one’s need than the man called Dīnār, chosen for a purpose by the one who said the following verse:699 Have you sent Dīnār on behalf of us, or ʿAbd Rabb, the brother of ʿAwn ibn Mikhrāq? This verse is often quoted by grammarians. A recent scholar asserts that it is fabricated, and well it might be!700 43.2.4

As for al-Farazdaq’s line:701 I have seen Dīnār’s son Yazīd, whom a “goat’s day” 702 brought to his end in Syria, God being his killer!703 If the Dīnār mentioned here had been one of the Sheikh’s dinars, Yazīd would have tried to trace his descent to him. How could the “working cattle’s dinar” be compared with them? On one of the former someone says:704

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The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

My uncle is the one who held back the dinar, openly, the “working cattle’s dinar” of the Jarm tribe; it is attested. The “working cattle’s dinar” is the dinar that the alms distributor takes after he has completed his tax collection. Every engraved one of the Sheikh’s dinars, that returned after they were despaired of, is more fit to quench the burning thirst of a parched man than the Dīnār that the rider in the desert called upon to pour him water, when seated upon the saddle of a bulky camel mare, saying,705 I say to Dīnār, while our camel mares are milkless,706 like ostriches seeking their chicks, “Damn you! Reach me a drink of brackish water, a liquid drinkable even if not fresh!” And Dīnār, with a drop, in the nick of time came to support the dying breath of a soul about to expire. Nor is such a dinar like al-Akhṭal’s dinar, mentioned in the following verse 43.2.5 by him:707 Bay-red wines, three years in their clay vessels, until a Christian from al-Ḥīrah708 bought them for a dinar. If one of the Sheikh’s dinars came into the possession of a Christian from al-Ḥīrah he would not readily give it to a wine merchant, even if he could buy on credit. Nor is it like the dinar in the verse quoted by Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid:709 In the letter there are some lines that are scratched out. The kārūkah has no share in the dinar. He asserts that kārūkah means “bawd.” What a wonder! They fled from the thief ’s fingers just as the dinars of the shining sun described by Abū l-Ṭayyib when he said,710 The rising sun cast from the branches on my clothes dinars that flee from the fingers. If Kuthayyir ʿAzzah had seen them he would have sworn a most solemn oath that they were more beautiful than the “Heraclian” ones, to one of which he compared himself:711

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200

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

He pleases the eyes of those who look at him, as if he were a dinar of Heraclian weight, of red gold, heavy. If they are more than eighty712 they surpass the number of Moses’ compan- 43.3.1 ions, about whom the Qurʾan says,713 «And Moses chose his people, seventy men for Our appointed time»; and the number of times of asking forgiveness mentioned in God’s word:714 «If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them»; and the number of cubits in the chain in the words of God the Exalted:715 «Then in a chain with a length of seventy cubits throw him!» Even if someone were in a well eighty fathoms deep, these yellow coins might be able to rescue him without pain and put an end to his predicament. I mention this because of al-Aʿshā’s verse:716 Even if you were in a pit of eighty fathoms and made to climb the ropes to heaven717 with a ladder . . .718 And if the years of Zuhayr’s life719 had been like them he would not have described himself as bored with life and they would have been his most energizing aides. “Aides” (qāmah, plural of qāʾim) means “helpers.” A rajaz poet said:720 My aides are the tribe of Rabī ʿah ibn Kaʿb: You have enough with their aid and so have I. And if ʿUrwah ibn Ḥizām721 had lived until the time of the Sheikh—he is the poet who said, My uncle has demanded eighty camel mares from me, but, ʿAfrāʾ, I have merely eight— it is possible that the Sheikh would have pitied him, helping him out with a few of these dinars or even granting them all, because he has a generous nature and he is made of the right stuff! If these eighty had ended up in ʿUrwah’s hand he would have achieved his desire, because in those days a camel mare could sometimes be bought for ten dirhams.722 In one of the stories about al-Farazdaq an Umayyad ruler gave him one hundred camels from the alms tax revenue.723 He sold them for 1,500 dirhams, having taken care of the matter and the price had been raised. And the Sheikh will have come across the story mentioned by historians, about a camel sold in the

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201

The number eighty

      

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202

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time of Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr for one dirham, and that when the caliph confiscated the property of some of his companions they sold the sheep they had, eight for one dirham. This is found in the History of Ibn Shajarah,724 in al-Marzubānī’s725 handwriting. The Sheikh’s dinars are also more helpful than those eighty mentioned by 43.3.2 the ʿAlid of Basra,726 who said: I crossed toward them amid eighty horsemen and achieved my aim and my desire of them. If I were not afraid of exaggeration I would add: more helpful than the eighty thousand mentioned by al-Sinbisī,727 who said: Eighty thousand; I have not counted them but their number reaches my estimate, or surpasses it. And how would it have been for Hammām ibn Ghālib728 if he had been “struck” by events with these eighty, instead of with years, as he says: The nights and days729 have struck me with eighty years; Time’s arrow is the deadliest of any archer’s arrows. If they had been owned by the “shepherd of eighty,” mentioned in the proverbial saying “more stupid than the shepherd of eighty sheep,”730 they would have given him a sound mind and an ample robe of comfort. The proverb says, “Finding comfort and cash dispels the dullness of the dullard”731 (it is also transmitted as “covers the dullness of the dullard”). A silver dirham732 is not as noble as these shining shapes. Gold is superior to silver in value, and noble qualities have a good scent. The Sheikh will know the story of al-Ḥuṭayʾah733 and Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ.734 43.3.3 When the latter asked him, “Who is the best poet?” he replied, “The one who said (meaning Abū Duwād al-Iyādī735): I do not deem poverty a lack; but the loss of those of whom I am bereaved is utter destitution.” “And who next?” asked Saʿīd. Al-Ḥuṭayʾah replied: “He who said (meaning Ḥassān ibn Thābit736): Often knowledge is wasted by a want of money and ignorance hid by being well-to-do.”

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204

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

“And who next?” “The one who said (meaning al-Aʿshā of the tribe of Qays737): A woman white-skinned in the morning, yellow in the evening, like oxeye flowers.” “And who next?” “Look no further than me, when I put one foot on the other and then bleat in search of verses, as a weaned camel calf bleats, searching for the herd!” A poet says,738 I found the turd-woman’s sons to be lowly people; he who does not despise them is a despicable scoundrel, And more stupid than the “shepherd of eighty” that pasture at al-Sitār,739 on the herbs of a meadow of spring-grass. Those eighty dinars —may they yield interest, each carat740 becoming a hun- 43.3.4 dredweight, and may they all be odoriferous ever, i.e., with a good odor, not lacking in fasting or fast-breaking!—are more praiseworthy than those mentioned by the man from Ḥarrān, of the Sulaym tribe, Abū l-Muḥallim

ʿAwf ibn al-Muḥallim, who said,741 Eighty years (may you be made to reach them!) have made my hearing need an interpreter And gave me, in exchange for being tall and erect, a bent body, though once I was like a straight lance shaft under a lance tip. For the eighty he mentions make one weak, whereas the Sheikh’s dinars revive and support. The former make a man who once was like a lance, like a bow in the hands of bowyers; the latter straighten what is bent and gladden the heart. The following verse attributed to Abū l-ʿItrīf 742 is well known: An Abyssinian who has eighty “eyes” that lend him awe and respect. Perhaps the Sheikh has traveled in the region of Mosul, passing by a village called “Eighty”743 which lies near Mount al-Jūdī. The village of “Eighty” may be the homestead of people, but the Sheikh’s dinars would be as friendly a place to live in, as someone said:744

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206

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

Poverty in our homelands is being in a foreign land, wealth in a foreign land is being home. Gold is such a good friend! It provides protecting shade; if it is buried it is no 43.3.5 matter: it does not decay like other things. It is given a precious status and its high position is not in danger of sinking. If pearls break their value vanishes; even a very precious pearl is not preserved when shattered. But often the gold of a bracelet will remain for ages, never hidden from sight, and is then turned into an anklet, worn by a woman with a pretty mole, striding proudly,745 then transformed into a bowl or a cup, still clothed in beauty, unchanged by the touch of fires, not betraying loyal partners. Perhaps the gold of these eighty has already been around in the time of Qārūn, or God’s messenger Moses and his brother Aaron, never perishing, never separated from glory, revered in Sind and India!

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208

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

The daughter of the Sheikh’s sister (may God always keep her safe!) took 44.1.1 liberties with her maternal uncle, for he was one of the parents. She intended to “eat with two hands”746 and she was not a sister of the man about whom

The Sheikh’s naughty niece

a poet said,747 And ready for my revenge there is a sister’s son that is me, a strong warrior, whose knots cannot be untied.748 But do not make her a sister of al-Hijris,749 for he sought revenge on his mother’s brother, although it was not an ugly thing that he did. Rather, she seems to be a sister of Ibn Muḍarris,750 if she cannot be a sibling of al-Hijris. He is known as al-Khinnawt though his proper name is Tawbah. He had a brother called Ṭāriq, who was killed by the kinsmen of his mother’s brother. So he decided to kill his uncle, and said, My mother, Rumaylah, wept, distressed, when she saw her brother’s blood that was visible on the Indian sword. I said to her, Don’t grieve! Ṭāriq was my friend, a devoted soulmate. Though they offered me two thousand noble camel mares751 and their calves that do not count, driven, and a herdsman, I would not accept a blood-price from them without seeing blood of the Banū ʿAwf flow on my sword. Whatever blood of ʿAwf I shed, it would not fully make up for Ṭāriq’s death, except my uncle’s! He also said,752 Let the wailing women weep for Ṭāriq, and weep for Mirdās, killed by Qanān,753 Two murdered men for whom the parturient camels do not weep, having eaten their fill from thornless trees and tender ones.754 It is possible that some of the good qualities of the mother’s family got entan- 44.1.2 gled in the character of the Sheikh’s niece. Let him therefore be on his guard against the scandal of her eloquence more than against the stealth of her hand. He will know that Zuhayr inherited his poetic talent from his maternal uncle Bashāmah ibn al-Ghadīr, for there was not any poetry worth mentioning in the tribe of Muzaynah. Zuhayr was present when he died and wanted

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The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

him to give him some of his possessions. Bashāmah replied, “Is it not enough for you that I left you an inheritance of wonderful odes?” Perhaps there are some poets among the women of Aleppo (may God protect it!), in which case the Sheikh cannot be sure that she is not one of them. Often women are more talented than men. A blind man of Āmid, who knew 44.2.1 the Qurʾan by heart and who was familiar with various kinds of knowledge, told [me] that he had a wife when he was young, who was a lady’s maid; she would deck out women for weddings. He himself practiced astrology on the road. He had a leather portfolio that contained poems of the kind that is found in leather portfolios.755 He intended to memorize these poems and study them at home, but he had no talent for poetic meters, so he would make mistakes in scansion. His wife, the hairdresser, would say to him, “O dear, that is not right!” Then he would insist that she was wrong. The following morning he would leave and ask some knowledgeable person, who told him that she was right and pointed out to him what it should be. Having thus been instructed, he would return the following evening and recite the corrected version. Then the hairdresser wife would say, “Now it’s all right!” I had a donkey driver, a Bedouin called ʿAlwān. He had a wife who claimed 44.2.2 to belong to the tribe of Ṭayyi ʾ. He could not tell a metrical verse from a nonmetrical one, whereas the woman would notice the difference. She mourned for a young son, called Rajab, who had died. She used to recite this verse: You may, on account of your loved one, be grieving; however, one day one must part from a loved one. One day she said, You may, on account of Rajab darling, be grieving; but she realized that the meter was wrong,756 so she said, You may, on account of Rajaby darling be grieving, putting a vowel after the name. But this seemed unnatural to her.757 Then she said, You may, on account of Rajab, your darling, be grieving. She had added a possessive pronoun and thereby both the meter and the grammatical form were correct.

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212

The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

In the Holy Book it says,758 «O you who believe: among your spouses and children there are enemies to you, so beware of them! But if you pardon and forgive, then God is forgiving and merciful.» As for Abū Bakr al-Shiblī (may God have mercy on him!), there is no doubt 44.3 that he was one of the virtuous. I hope he was kept clear of the doctrines of the incarnationists. Someone recited to me the following lines by him:759 The madman of the tribe of ʿĀmir revealed his passion but I concealed it and thus gained ecstatic love. When, at the Resurrection, it will be cried out: “Where are the people of passion?” I shall come forth, alone. This is how it was recited to me, nūdī (“it will be cried out”) instead of nūdiya; I do not like this even though it is permitted.760 It is only found among the poems of weak “modern” poets. If these two verses are actually by him it is not impossible that someone will object and say, “Whoever asserts that he is pure should not be biased: people will not concede his claim of being the only one in the whole world. Whether his passion was for human creatures or the Creator—one cannot be certain—there are, in any case, many like him among the various nations.”

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The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty

I apologize to my lord the noble Sheikh for being so tardy with my reply. 45 The obstacles of time prevented me from dictating a draft, more black than white, like the Sawdāʾ (“black one”) meant by the one who said,761 I was informed that Sawdāʾ is far from me, though I follow her; our two shapes have moved far apart and do not come near. I found her when I was young, but she did not give me what I sought: Now that my head has become black and white, how can it be that she will help those who seek? Also, I am able only with the help of others. If my scribe is absent I cannot dictate. Let the Sheikh not condemn my tardiness. Often the purest gold is bought for many times its weight in silver. How would it be if the price was expressed in base coins that are found cast on the road? To His Honor, the noble Sheikh, greetings whose young camels follow the old stallions and the calves join the mares!762 (The Epistle is completed, praise be to God, the Lord of all beings. God is sufficient to us and He is the best guardian. God bless and preserve our master, the prophet Muḥammad, and his good, pure family.)763

***

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Finis

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Notes

1

At the beginning of Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter, after the doxology.

2

i.e., an aversion to hypocrisy.

3

For the story of the cup, see Firdawsī’s Shāhnāma (Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, trans. by Dick Davies, 812–13). An Arabic version that may have been known to al-Maʿarrī is found in al-Thaʿālibī, Ghurar akhbār mulūk al-Furs wa-siyarihim, 691–94.

4

The precise meaning of the word al-mughammas (nomen loci of ghammasa, “to plunge into water”) is unclear here. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ (who reads it as the active participle, al-mughammis) suggests “filth,” because a location with this name near Mecca was used to relieve oneself (see Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v.). If correct, such a reference would be somewhat odd, coming from the mouth of a pre-Islamic Iranian courtier. It is supported, however, by the expression used in al-Thaʿālibī’s text (see preceding note) describing Shīrin as “a green plant of a dung-heap” (khaḍrāʾ dimnah, a well-known phrase for a beautiful woman of ill repute, see, e.g., al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 1:64–65: iyyākum wa-khaḍrāʾ al-diman). Nicholson translates “who will enter Hellfire” (JRAS 1902, 88); one could connect it with ghamūs (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab: “false oath” because “it plunges the swearer into sin and then into the Fire”). The verb walaja, used by al-Maʿarrī, fits this interpretation (cf. walaja l-nār, “entering Hell-fire,” see A. J. Wensinck et al., Concordance et indices de la Tradition Musulmane, s.v. W-L-J).

5 6

To entice her lover. Taking musīrīn to be derived from asāra, “to set in motion”; one would have expected a direct object.

7

Asad (which means “lion”) was the name of several tribes; the one mentioned here is not the most famous of them, but a division of the south Arabian tribe of Shanūʾah. In this passage several of the many Arabic words for “lion” are used.

8 9

See al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 1:163. The poet is the pre-Islamic Khuwaylid ibn Murrah, known as Abū Khirāsh, see Dīwān al-Hudhaliyyīn, 1233 (in Lisān al-ʿArab (N-J-B), the poet is called ʿUrwah ibn Murrah).

10

The meaning of laḥiqtu bi-l-hidr/hadr is not wholly clear; it could also be connected with hadara “to be shed without retaliation (blood), be unavenged.”

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217

Notes 11

The following makes it clear that he refers to Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s words jaʿalanī fidāʾahū (Volume One, IQ §2.1).

12

This ending marks the genitive of an indefinite noun. In such expressions one would expect an accusative (fidāʾan); a genitive not dependent on a preceding noun or preposition is odd.

13

Anonymously in Lisān al-ʿArab (F-D-Y, which has fidāʾan, with an accusative; and H-W-L).

14

The forms tubālah and tuhālah are somewhat irregular; see Lisān al-ʿArab (H-W-L). The latter is found in Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ’s and other editions and also in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. H-W-L, but under the root F-D-Y one finds tahālah.

15

Tentative translation; murāfiʿ has been connected with raf ʿ, “nominative,” but the form is unusual.

16

The verse is discussed in, e.g., al-Baghdādī, Khizānat al-adab, 6:181–82, where also some explanations are offered for the reading fidāʾin.

17

See Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter, in Volume One, IQ §2.1.

18

Or perhaps “for three or four days” (the word layālī , “nights” being understood).

19

Arabic Nūḥ. For this belief, often mentioned, see, e.g., Lisān al-ʿArab (H-D-L).

20

The passage is somewhat obscure. The author seems to say: a gazelle doe may be yearn-

21

The context seems to require the addition of “being bereaved”.

ing for leaves of the arāk tree but does not tell the rider to give her some.

22

A verse by Kuthayyir. Kuthayyir, Dīwān, 279.

23

Quoted in dictionaries (Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 526, 1049; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, Ḥ-Y-R) as being recited (perhaps composed) by a woman while making her little son dance. On this genre, see Wiebke Walther, “Altarabische Kindertanzreime.”

24

Literally, “how often was an idol given good luck.”

25

Al-Maʿarrī compares Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s excessive praise of him with the adoration of idols by pagans.

26

The verses are from his Muʿallaqah, an ode in which he praises two men, al-Ḥārith ibn

ʿAwf and Harim ibn Sinān, for their peacemaking efforts between the tribes of ʿAbs and Dhubyān. 27

The Kaaba. Before Quraysh was the dominant tribe in Mecca, according to legend the ancient tribe of Jurhum controlled the sanctuary. In the Islamic tradition the Kaaba was first built by Ibrāhīm/Abraham and his son Ismāʿīl/Ishmael.

28

See al-Sukkarī, Sharḥ ashʿār al-Hudhaliyyīn, 1102. There are no indications that the poet was about to give up the ghost when he uttered the verse, as al-Maʿarrī suggests; perhaps he could not resist the rhyme of Sāʿidah and ṣāʿidah.

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218

Notes 29

Reading (with the edition of al-Iskandarānī and Fawwāl) wa-la-kullu; the version in al-Sukkarī has wa-li-kulli mā tubdī l-nufūsu mujarrabū; see also Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (S-R-F). Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ refrains from deciding between the two readings.

30

The following verses are from a poem composed in old age. He did not, however, keep his promise (see Abū ʿUbaydah, Naqāʾiḍ Jarīr wa-l-Farazdaq, 126–27).

31

The place near the Kaaba where Ibrāhīm is supposed to have stood when building the Kaaba.

32 33

The ghūl is a dangerous demon, either male or female, described by several early poets. Proverbially they are bad parents, supposedly eating their offspring when they hatch, thinking them to be predators; see, e.g., al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 2:56–57 (aʿaqq min ḍabb). Other negative sayings are akhabb min ḍabb and akhdaʿ min ḍabb (both meaning “more deceitful than a lizard”); cf. al-Ābī, Nathr al-durr, 6:195–96, 201–2.

34

There are many beliefs, usually negative, about the hyena (see F. Viré, entry “ḍabuʿ” in EI2, Supplement, 173–76), but it is unclear what is meant here. Possibly it alludes to the saying aḥādīth al-ḍabuʿ istahā (“the hyena’s stories to its arse”), explained as its habit to wallow in the dirt, then squat and “sing” incomprehensible things (al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:262).

35

There is a play on the two unrelated meanings of the root D-R-S: “to learn” and “to thresh.”

36

Literally “Abyssinian,” dark meaning lush with vegetation.

37

Reading al-makhzūnah, following Nicholson (JRAS 1902, 815), which seems to make more sense than al-maḥzūnah (“a sad woman”), found in all other editions.

38

These “birds” were noble black camel mares belonging to the pre-Islamic king al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir (thus, instead of al-Mundhir), who, it is said, gave the poet al-Nābighah al-Dhubyānī one hundred of them. See, e.g., al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 3:418, 5:233; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 9:29, 39; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʿ-Ṣ-F-R).

39

Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ interprets al-rākidah as referring to one of the three stones that hold up a cauldron. The word al-rākidah can also refer to the cauldron itself (al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsah, 1679). But the sense is not wholly clear. More likely, it means “the unmoving (earth),” for whenever al-Maʿarrī uses the word it seems to have this sense (Ghufrān, §2:: min al-arḍ al-rākidah ilā l-samāʾ; §30.4: talʿanuhū l-arḍ al-rākidah; §42.3: ḥattā tuskinahū l-rākidah turbahā; Risālat al-Malāʾikah, 54: aʿazz sukkān al-rākidah; Risālat al-Hanāʾ, 241: abnāʾ al-rākidah jamī ʿan).

40 41

i.e., not followed by rain. i.e., those who, notwithstanding, make an attempt to ascertain that I am a wise man, will make the bitter experience that I am not.

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219

Notes 42

Apparently meaning, as Nicholson says, “the feeblest attack reduces me to helplessness.”

43

In pre-Islamic times the lunar year was, it seems, prolonged periodically with an extra month, in order to fix the pilgrimage (ḥajj) in a suitable season; this practice was abolished in Islam. See A. Moberg, “nasīʾ,” in EI2, 7:977. Here the expression is apparently used figuratively for doing something inappropriate.

44

i.e., those who, notwithstanding, make an attempt to ascertain that I am a wise man, will make the bitter experience that I am not. Instead of qatād (“tragacanth,” a thorny bush), as in all editions and tentatively adopted here, Nicholson has qiyād (“leading rope”), which perhaps deserves consideration.

45 46

The meaning of takallafat’hu and li-tujirra (. . .) mā fī l-akhlāf is not clear. “When the acacia gatherer returns” is one of the many expressions meaning “never.” A certain Yadhkur ibn Asad of ʿAnazah became proverbial because he went out gathering acacia leaves (used for tanning) but never returned; he fell into a well and his companion let him perish because Yadhkur refused to let him marry his daughter. See, e.g., al-ʿAskarī, Jamharat al-amthāl, 1:103–4.

47 48

Promising rain. The phrase is rather obscure; the word gh.rāb is either ghirāb, “marvels” or, read as ghurāb, “boat, galleon,” as Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ suggests. But this post-classical word is unlikely to be used by al-Maʿarrī. If, however, al-ʿuddah (“equipment”) is emended to al-ʿuqdah, one has an allusion to the proverbial expression ālaf min ghurāb ʿuqdah, “as attached as a crow to a palm grove,” meaning a crow finding himself in a lush palm grove, unwilling to leave it (see, e.g., al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 1:126, al-Thaʿālibī, Thimār al-qulūb, 458). Here it would suggest that the Sheikh is a treasure-trove of literary scholarship. A major problem with this emendation is the fact that al-Maʿarrī consistently uses a “double” rhyme involving two consonants (luzūm) in his sajʿ in this epistle (muddah would therefore rhyme with ʿuddah but not with ʿuqdah). Yet another possibility, suggested by James Montgomery, is to take ghurāb in the sense of “edge (of a sword),” i.e., “he is like a tool (a whet-stone) for sharpening its edge.”

49

i.e., I had almost killed myself.

50

Literally, “sword hilt,” taken here as pars pro toto.

51

The word naʿīsh is ambiguous; here it has been taken as a synonym of manʿūsh, “raised upon a bier.” It also could mean “revived, reinvigorated,” but this seems to fit the context less easily.

52

Mahd means “cradle, bed; smooth ground.” “Something else” may be a grave (cf. the

53

The camel is metaphorical.

expression min al-mahd ilā l-laḥd, “from the cradle to the grave”).

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220

Notes 54

Translation and interpretation uncertain. Possibly mā ʿalima has to be be taken as standing for ʿammā ʿalima: “(who has forgotten) what he once knew.”

55

Abyāt al-maʿānī means “verses with meanings or motifs (viz., that need explanation),” as in works by Ibn Qutaybah (Kitāb al-maʿānī l-kabīr) and al-Ushnāndānī (Maʿānī l-shiʿr), where the present verses are not found, however. The first is quoted anonymously in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, (F-R-S); both verses are quoted in al-Maʿarrī’s al-Fuṣūl wa-l-ghāyāt, 463. The poet apparently mocks the unsavoury habits of the date-eaters.

56

The verses have been attributed to Jamīl; see al-Mubarrad, Kāmil (Hindāwī), 2:306 (li-aʿrābī); al-Washshāʾ, Muwashshā, 51 ( Jamīl); al-Qālī, Nawādir, 207 (anon.); Ibn Jinnī, Khaṣāʾiṣ, 1:79 ( Jamīl); Gabrieli no. CX.

57

Q Zukhruf 43:51.

58

Iraq and with it the Abbasid Caliphate were dominated by the Daylamite (Iranian) dynasty of the Būyids since the middle of the fourth/tenth century, until the Seljuk (Turkish) takeover in 447/1055, a few years before al-Maʿarrī’s death. The Būyids were generally patrons of (Arabic) literature.

59

Wine cups with pictures of Persian scenes are often described in Arabic Bacchic poetry.

60

Arabic marāzibah, plural of marzubān, from Persian marz-bān (“march-holder”).

61

For the verses, see his Dīwān (ed. Wagner), 3:184.

62

Wagner’s edited text has rāḥ (“wine”) instead of kaʾs (“cup”), but according to the critical apparatus of the edition the more reliable manuscripts all have kaʾs, as in the present version. Perhaps the glass cup is held in a gold container. The verse is often quoted in other sources, always with rāḥ (e.g., al-Mubarrad, Kāmil; Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr; Ibn al-Muʿtazz, Ṭabaqāt; Ibn Ṭabāṭabā, ʿIyār; al-Zajjājī, Amālī; Yamūt ibn al-Muzarraʿ, Amālī; al-Ḥātimī, Mūḍiḥah; al-Raqīq al-Qayrawānī, Quṭb al-surūr).

63

Lahīdah, described as “a soft kind of gruel, neither a soup that could be drunk nor thick so that it could be swallowed” (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab).

64

Jaraj (“rough ground”) could be a corruption of ḥaraj (“narrowness” or “sin”).

65

Majnūn Laylā.

66

Ruʾ bah ibn al-ʿAjjāj (d. 145/762) is one of the rajaz poets with whom Ibn al-Qāriḥ has a conversation in Paradise, see Volume One, Gh §20.2. A certain Ubaylā (“little Ablā” or “sweet Ablā”), perhaps the poet’s wife, mocks him for his old age, as described in a poem by Ruʾ bah (Dīwān, 13). Ruʾ bah’s alleged love for her is not famous (he mentions several names in his love poetry but not her) and Ubaylā merely provides a suitable rhyme here.

67

The following verse is found in his Dīwān, 578.

68

Jamīl.

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Notes 69

ʿAdam, “privation,” is often used for “destitution, poverty.” It can also mean “non-existence,” but even with al-Maʿarrī’s reputation for heresy this interpretation (as if a human soul did not exist between dying and resurrection) is probably to be rejected; however, it could possibly mean “death” here.

70

Tentative translation; the meaning of maʿa l-qidam is uncertain.

71

Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ has changed her initial reading min sharri khabīʾ in, “(the body is truly) an evil thing when concealed,” to min sharrin khabīʾun, (“hidden from evil”) which seems to fit the context better. There is a problem with this: even though the pausal forms of khabīʾun and the following sabīʾ in would rhyme, al-Maʿarrī normally ensures that the rhymes have matching inflectional endings, as if in poetry, which means that khabīʾ in would be expected here.

72

There are allusions to the motifs often celebrated in heroic early poetry: capturing enemy women (saby) and drinking expensive wine (sabīʾ ); al-Maʿarrī abhorred both women and wine.

73

The lines are by ʿĀmir ibn Ḥawṭ, an obscure poet of the tribe of ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Manāh ibn Bakr ibn Saʿd ibn Ḍabbah; they are found in Abū Tammām’s celebrated anthology al-Ḥamāsah (see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsah, 1676; also al-Jāḥiẓ, Burṣān, 107). But the first hemistich is incorrectly quoted and al-Maʿarrī mistakenly substitutes a hemistich from a poem by ʿAbdah ibn al-Ṭabīb (d. after 20/641), see al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, 148. It should have been wa-la-qad ʿalimtu la-taʾtiyanna ʿashiyyatun (“I have come to know that surely an evening will arrive . . .”).

74

Taking qaṣrī to mean “my palace” is not supported by the commentators, who do not see a play on words here. A Bedouin poet such as ʿAbdah ibn al-Ṭabīb would probably not refer to a palace.

75

The poet is Duwayd ibn Zayd ibn Nahd, said to have been a very early poet who lived for 456 years. In a Bedouin context, bayt means “tent” rather than “house.” The lines are often quoted, see, e.g., Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī, Muʿammarūn, 16; Ibn Sallām, Ṭabaqāt, 28; Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr, 104.

76

See Volume One, IQ, §2.4–5.

77

The word fitnah (pl. fitan) can mean “charm, temptation, sedition, dissension, civil strife.”

78 79

Q Māʾidah 5:116. As Ibn al-Qāriḥ had explained in his Epistle (Volume One, IQ §2.6.1), Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī, the state secretary, had asked him to deliver a letter from him to al-Maʿarrī; but the letter was stolen on the way by his traveling companion.

80

The Arabic puns with ʿadīl “traveling companion” and mā ʿadala “was unjust.”

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Notes 81

One of the many idioms for “for ever and always.”

82

Al-farqadān: the two major stars of the Little Bear (α and β Ursae Minoris), including the Pole Star.

83

A remarkable number of early Arab robbers made poetry, see, e.g., the collection by

84

Literally, “going to highlands or lowlands.”

ʿAbd al-Muʿīn al-Mallūḥī, Ashʿār al-luṣūṣ wa-akhbāruhum. 85

Ibn al-Qāriḥ had pointed out to them that their library was full of heretical works; see Volume One , IQ §2.6.2.

86

Proverbial expressions meaning “he put things in the right places.” Al-Qārah was a tribe famous for their skill with bow and arrow, Dārīn was a port in Eastern Arabia, where Indian musk was imported, and ʿĀmir ibn al-Ṭufayl was a poet and hero, a contemporary of the Prophet.

87

Ibn al-Qāriḥ (Volume One, IQ §2.4) had used similar outlandish expressions (translated as “catastrophe, calamity, and casualty”) to describe his misfortunes.

88

Al-Buḥturī mentions the river in four poems (Dīwān, 1074, 1135, 1230, 2267). Al-Ṣanawbarī wittily connects the name of the river with the croaking (quwayqu, quwayq!) of frogs (Dīwān, 385; for other poems on the river see 221, 357–59, 396, 465).

89

Poet unknown. The line is quoted anonymously in Ibn Hishām, Mughnī l-labīb, 1:411 and ascribed to a pre-Islamic man from the tribe of Bakr ibn Wāʾil in Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī, Nawādir, 153.

90

i.e., Saʿd took the camels to the well, but then, instead of helping them to drink, wrapped up and lay down to sleep; a proverb (see Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 347–48; al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:79–80) for not completing a job (but some say: for doing something effortlessly). The poet is said to be Saʿd’s brother, Mālik ibn Zayd Manāh ibn Tamīm.

91

Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 169–70; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:539. Another inter-

92

Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 357–58; al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:473.

pretation is “. . . for you are wearing sandals.”

93

Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 306; al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 2:207.

94

See, e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʿ-F-L); cf. Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 92; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 1:145–46. Said by a woman to Ruhm bint al-Khazraj, her daughter, when she was scolded by the fellow wives of her husband and called ʿaflāʾ (“slut,” literally “woman with a large clitoris,” i.e., uncircumcised).

95

ʿAmr ibn Ḥumamah al-Dawsī, occasionally mentioned for his wisdom, as one of the preIslamic Arab “arbiters” and “soothsayers.” The saying, also used by al-Maʿarrī in other

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Notes works (Risālat al-Ṣāhil wa-l-shāḥij, 86–87, al-Fuṣūl wa-l-ghāyāt, 111), is not found in the standard collections of proverbs. 96

The second saying only in al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:146.

97

Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 753 and al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:205 have “One bereaved woman loves another.”

98

For the verse and al-Aṣmaʿī’s commentary (“It is like the saying ‘One bereaved woman loves another,’ as if he hears his voice and finds consolation in it”), see Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 652 and cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 753.

99

It is common in Islam to praise God also for one’s misfortunes.

100 A pebble in a cup was used to divide the available water equally if it was scarce; see, e.g., al-Baṭalyawsī, Sharḥ al-ashʿār al-sittah al-jāhiliyyah, 91, on a verse by Zuhayr, and Jones, Early Arabic Poetry, 2:129. 101 To use as a strap or girth, see al-Fīrūzābādī, Qāmūs, s.v. W-Ṣ-Y: al-waṣāh . . . jarīdat al-nakhl yuḥzamu bihā. 102 Anonymously quoted in Sībawayh’s Kitāb (1:162) and many other works; the poet is by some said to be al-Mulbid ibn Ḥarmalah al-Shaybānī (al-Sīrāfī, Sharḥ abyāt Sībawayh, 1:317). For the expression ṣabr jamīl cf. Q Yūsuf 12:18. 103 Shākin has been interpreted as “someone who complains,” but there must be a connection with the expression shākī l-silāḥ (or shākk al-silāḥ, shāʾik al-silāḥ, shawk al-silāḥ — there is much confusion here) “armed to the teeth,” since both trees are thorny. 104 The poet is Mālik ibn Asmāʾ ibn Khārijah (d. after 95/714), of the tribe of Fazārah. He addresses his brother ʿUyaynah, who, as he himself was, was in love with a slave-girl belonging to their sister, Hind. 105 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ has al-ḥirfah, as have al-Iskandarānī and Fawwāl, who gloss it as “al-mihnah ay ḥirfat al-adab (occupation, i.e., the profession of being a man of letters)”; but the context demands reading it as ḥurfah, “bad luck,” though a pun with ḥirfah is probably intended. 106 These two persons are unknown and the reference is unclear. 107 Abū ʿUbaydah, like al-Aṣmaʿī, was summoned from Basra to Baghdad by Hārūn al-Rashīd; but his rival criticized him in the caliph’s presence and Abū ʿUbaydah left angrily. 108 The following report alludes to his public humiliation by another grammarian, al-Kisāʾ ī (d. 189/805), see Volume One, IQ §2.4 and Gh §4.1. Al-Kisāʾ ī, some say, then paid Sībawayh a large sum of money. 109 Maẓālim, “torts, grievances,” refers to special extra-judicial tribunals set up by the rulers to investigate complaints of alleged wrongs.

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Notes 110 The dictionaries define lamūs as “one of whose fatness one doubts” or “whose hump has to be felt (in order to check how fat it is).” The context, however, suggests something less negative than either of these. See Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 505, where the word is given a positive sense. 111

Anonymously in al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 1:13; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 14:349; al-Washshāʾ, Muwashshā, 6, etc.

112 Anonymously quoted in Thaʿlab, Majālis, 345; Ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī, Zahrah, 696; attributed to Khiyār al-Kātib in al-Ṣūlī, Akhbār Abū Tammām, 50. 113

The following verses are from one of his many invective poems on his main rival, Jarīr; see Abū ʿUbaydah, Naqāʾiḍ Jarīr wa-l-Farazdaq, 713.

114 All editions have min āli Yadhbulī, as if Yadhbul were a clan; but it is a mountain and the standard texts have min haḍbi Yadhbulī, “of the hills of Yadhbul” (e.g., Abū ʿUbaydah, Naqāʾiḍ, 713, also al-Farazdaq, Dīwān, 2:177 and other sources). It is hard to imagine that Abū l-ʿAlāʾ did not know that Yadhbul is a mountain. 115

Literally, “parasangs” (farāsikh, sg. farsakh, a distance of between three and four miles).

116 The reading tuqṣī, found in all previous editions of al-Ghufrān, has been emended to tunḍī, as found in the Naqāʾiḍ and the Dīwān. 117

From another, long poem by al-Farazdaq against Jarīr (Abū ʿUbaydah, Naqāʾid, 383), alluding to an incident in which al-Farazdaq and Jarīr were ordered by caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik to execute Byzantine prisoners-of-war. Jarīr carried out the order but al-Farazdaq, who had been given a blunt sword, bungled the execution.

118 Abū l-ʿAlāʾ greatly admired his poetry. 119 Arabic has special forms for the diminutive, all involving the sequence -u-ay-, as in uhayl, from ahl (“people”) or ḥubayyibah, from ḥabībah (“beloved”). 120 See al-Mutanabbī, Dīwān, 270. Bāqil is the name of a proverbial paragon of inarticulateness; when asked how much he had paid for a gazelle he was carrying, he spread out his fingers and stuck out his tongue, meaning “eleven dirhams,” thereby letting the gazelle escape. Indian numerals were adopted by the Arabs, greatly facilitating arithmetic, in the early third/ninth century. 121 Reading, with the Dīwān, 67, ḥubayyibatā qalbā fuʾādā instead of ḥubayyibatā qalbī fuʾādī as in Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ’s edition. They are two exclamations (ḥubayyibatā standing for ḥubayyibatī + suffix ā), as the commentators explain. 122 Dīwān, 691; the “little moron” is Kāfūr, the ruler of Egypt with whom the poet had fallen out. He says that he was forced to praise him in earlier poems. 123 Dīwān, 702, from another invective poem on Kāfūr, referring to the poet’s nocturnal flight from Egypt.

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Notes 124 Dīwān, 540. He represents himself as in a wrestling match with his weak poetic rivals. 125 The meaning of mā ḥasuna bihā maʾlūfu l-rabʿ is unclear. Perhaps he means that the frequent use of diminutives detracts from the customary high standard of the poet’s verse, or (as James Montgomery suggests) that ordinary phrases are not rendered attractive by his use of the diminutive which might excuse its proliferation. 126 Q Shuʿarāʾ 26:225–26. 127 The poets. 128 Formally it is a singular, although syntactically it can be construed as a plural. 129 Ahl followed by the preposition li- or (as here) a genitive often means “worthy, deserving of,” but the following quotation shows that this does not apply here. 130 The following lines are not found in his collected verse, or anywhere else; the modern editor quotes the two verses in the addenda (Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾ ī, Dīwān, sharḥ Abī Ṣāliḥ Yaḥyā ibn Mudrik al-Ṭāʾ ī, 102–3), without giving the source (they are probably taken from al-Maʿarrī’s work). The identity of Ibn Masʿūd is unknown and the sense of the opening hemistich is unclear in the context. 131

A verse by al-Mukhabbal al-Saʿdī, who is said to have died at a great age during the reign of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (23–35/644–56). It is quoted in Sībawayh’s grammar (2:191) and many other sources. Qays ibn ʿĀṣim (d. 47/667) was a celebrated tribal leader famous for his magnanimity and wisdom.

132 Al-Kisāʾ ī, see, e.g., al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsah, 452. 133 In other words, ahl became aʾl (which is strictly ʾaʾl, with two glottal stops) and subsequently āl. Al-Maʿarrī prefers to derive āl from the root ʾ-W-L. See, e.g., the discussion in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʾ-H-L). It is not impossible that there is an ancient etymological connection between ahl and āl. 134 See Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s Epistle (Volume One, IQ §2.7.2) about al-Mutanabbī (“that man”), imprisoned in Baghdad and claiming to be a prophet. 135 viz. al-Mutanabbī, usually interpreted as “the would-be prophet.” See Heinrichs, “The Meaning of Mutanabbī.” The following derivation from nabwah is no doubt fanciful but morphologically possible. 136 The word mutadallih is prompted mainly by the rhyme, but it is rather odd, as if he says that al-Mutanabbī and most people are bereft of reason when they are pious. To soften this, the translation has added “(generally)” and “(at times, however).” It is also possible that instead of mutadallihan one should read its near-synonym mutawallihan (“distracted,” by the fear of God); the rhyming pair mutaʾallih/mutawallih is used below, §33.2.2. 137 Al-Mutanabbī, Dīwān, 263, describing himself.

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Notes 138 Dīwān, 689. God “shamed His creatures” by letting them be ruled by a worthless man (Kāfūr); “some people” are heretics mentioned in the preceding verse (“the materialist, the agnostic and the atheist,” in Arberry’s translation, Poems of al-Mutanabbī, 116). 139 For different views on his lineage, see the editor’s introduction to the Dīwān, 17–21. 140 In other words, the Prophet came when the Arabs were ripe for greater things. Qaṣīd does not have its prima facie meaning (“poems, odes”) here. Faṣīd is blood tapped from a camel’s neck and made into a kind of black pudding, eaten when other food is scarce; see, e.g., Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, trans. Lyall, 318, 320 (no. 114 vs. 19); consuming blood is not allowed in Islam. Compare the expression (given in al-Zamakhsharī, Asās al-balāghah, F-Ṣ-D): iqnaʿ bi-l-faṣīd wa-lā taqnaʿ bi-l-qaṣīd, “Be content with black pudding and don’t be content with thick marrow” (this is either meant to be a paradox or a corruption, faṣīd and qaṣīd having changed places). 141 Q Inshiqāq 84:23. 142 i.e., to their “heretical” ideas inspired by Greek philosophy and science. 143 The poem, with many differences, is quoted in Ibn Isḥāq’s biography of the Prophet, al-Sīrah al-nabawiyyah, 2:29; see the translation by Guillaume in Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, 352–53; and compare Nicholson in JRAS, 1902, 93. The poet is said to have converted to Islam but then apostatized. 144 The “bowls,” as Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ explains, probably are a metaphor for the Meccans slain and thrown into the well, here described as generous hosts. 145 In some late sources (Ibn Shākir, Fawāt al-Wafayāt, 4:257; al-Ṣafadī, al-Wāfī, 28:14) this verse, not in Ibn Isḥāq, is attributed to the Umayyad caliph al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (d. 126/744). Al-Maʿarrī, in a letter quoted in Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 3:187–88, quotes the poem and adds: “God curse the poet! It is said he is al-Walīd ibn Yazīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik.” 146 “Abū Kabshah’s son” (here shortened to “Kabshah’s son”) was a derisive nickname of the Prophet among his opponents; Abū Kabshah is said to be a pre-Islamic worshipper of Sirius (Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, 129). 147 The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that the spirit of someone whose death was unavenged appeared over his grave in the form of a kind of owl (ṣadā or hām). See Homerin, “Echoes of a Thirsty Owl: Death and Afterlife in Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry.” 148 He is al-Mutanabbī. Sayf al-Dawlah had granted him an estate near al-Maʿarrah, entitling him to its revenue. 149 A “bow” (rakʿah) stands for a sequence of movements in the course of the ritual prayer (ṣalāh), including a bowing of the body. The afternoon prayer should consist of four rakʿahs; allowances are made for exceptional circumstances such as travel.

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Notes 150 He claimed to be a prophet. 151

Abū Bakr Muḥammad al-Khālidī (d. 380/990) and Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd (or Saʿd) al-Khālidī (d. ca. 390/1000), poets and anthologists; some of their poetry and all of their prose works were composed in collaboration. They were employed as Sayf al-Dawlah’s librarians.

152 The work mentioned here is not extant. His son Abū Muḥammad Yūsuf died in 385/995. 153 ad 915–16. 154 ad 933. 155 Dīwān, 17; he addresses a female censurer, a stock figure in poetry. The name of the real addressee of the poem is unknown. 156 The word dahr is “(infinite) Time,” “Eternity,” and often has the connotation “Fate.” The hadith is found in standard collections such as those of al-Bukhārī and Muslim. 157 Q Jāthiyah 45:24; the words are said by unbelievers. 158 Here the word zamān is used, which is “time” that is not infinite. “Some people” includes Ibn al-Qāriḥ (see his Epistle, Volume One, IQ §2.7.1) but he was not the first: the idea goes back to Aristotle. See, e.g., D. Mallet, entry “Zamān,” in EI2, 9:434–38. 159 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ, in her fourth edition (followed by al-Iskandarānī and Fawwāl) reads ḥadadtahū ḥaddan, “You have given a definition,” but there are no indications that he is addressing anybody, certainly not Ibn al-Qāriḥ (who is never addressed directly with the second person singular). The crucial vowel has been omitted in her ninth edition, and we read ḥadadtuhū, following Nicholson’s translation (95) and Kaylānī’s edition (224). 160 The line is not found in his Dīwān. Ḥabīb ibn Aws is Abū Tammām, who does not (pace Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ) quote this line in his famous anthology al-Ḥamāsah. It is quoted anonymously in Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn, 1:104, attributed to Shamʿalah ibn Fāʾid al-Taghlibī in al-Āmidī, Muʾtalif, 141, and to al-Aʿshā al-Taghlibī (d. 92/710) in al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 9:282 (about an incident involving Shamʿalah). The caliph is said to be Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. The misattribution to al-Akhṭal may go back to al-Ḥātimī (d. 388/998), see al-Risālah al-Ḥātimiyyah, 282. 161 A line quoted in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsah, 1052), by Munqidh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Hilālī, an early Abbasid poet from Basra, suspected of “heresy” (zandaqah). 162 On Abū Ṣakhr al-Hudhalī, see al-Sukkarī, Sharḥ ashʿār al-Hudhaliyyīn, 958 and Dmitriev, Das poetische Werk des Abū Ṣāḫr al-Huḏalī, 231. This book also contains a chapter (129– 48) on time and dahr in early Arabic poetry and Abū Ṣakhr in particular. 163 See, e.g., Abū Tammām, Waḥshiyyāt, 220; al-Āmidī, Muwāzanah, 1:258; al-Jurjānī, Wasāṭah, 430; al-ʿAskarī, Ṣināʿatayn, 112. The name of the poet is unknown.

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Notes 164 This seems to contradict “with the nose cut off ” in the preceding (other versions do not have this contradiction). The motif of Time having a mutilated nose is known from other poems (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, J-D-ʿ ). 165 The sense of wa-lawwā bi-l-ʿathānīni akhdaʿā is not wholly clear. Other sources have wa-lawnan bi-l-ʿathānīni (or dhā ʿathānīna) ajdaʿā, which, if anything, is even less clear. 166 Or possibly “to ʿAmr and (my) sword.” Al-Ḥusām is found as a proper name, though rarely. 167 cf. Q Baqarah 2:203: «Remember God during the appointed days.» 168 An ʿalam (pl. aʿlām) is (among other things) a landmark, a mountain, a beacon, or an elevated place where rites and ceremonies are performed. 169 Literally, “by which the skin has so often been pierced (as if by ticks)” 170 In Arabic, al-Dahriyyah, those who believe in dahr, eternal time, and therefore deny the existence of a creator; the term is sometimes translated as “Materialists.” 171 On the poet Bashshār ibn Burd’s heresy, see Volume One, IQ §3.1 and Gh §17.2.1–2. 172 cf. al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 3:249. 173 See al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 3:243, 245. Yaʿqūb ibn Dāwūd (d. ca. 186/802) was vizier under the caliph al-Mahdī. It is said that al-Mahdī had Bashshār executed because of these verses; other reports assert that he was killed because of his alleged heresy. 174 For a lampoon by Bashshār on Sībawayh, see al-Aghānī, 3:210, al-Marzubānī, Nūr al-qabas, 96. 175 Bashshār’s verse uses the unattested word ghazalā, of a rare pattern found in the words he adduces in support: bashakā (“nimble”) and jamazā (“fast”). 176 See al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 3:209; al-Marzubānī, Nūr al-qabas, 95–96. The plural used by Bashshār is in fact in the dictionaries (with anwān) and analogous with, e.g., ghūl (“ghoul”) pl. ghīlān, ʿūd (“piece of wood, lute”) pl. ʿīdān, and ḥūt (“large fish”) pl. ḥītān. 177 The extremely influential grammar by Sībawayh is simply known as Sībawayh’s Book. For the plural nīnān see 2:188. 178 The verse is more firmly attributed to him, see al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 5:601; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 12:305. The verse (not merely its second half ) is quoted in Sībawayh’s Kitāb, 2:409. 179 In Volume One Bashshār is found in Hell. 180 As Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ explains, al-Maʿarrī qualifies the imagined adventures of Ibn al-Qāriḥ with the phrase “if God wills” at the beginning of his Epistle (Volume One, IQ §3.1). 181 Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ (d. 296/908) is the author of Kitāb al-Waraqah, on early Abbasid poets, so named because each entry takes one folio or less. In the published edition no poet is explicitly called a heretic (zindīq).

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Notes 182 The heretic friend was the libertine poet Muṭī ʿ ibn Iyās (d. 169/785), boon companion of al-Walīd ibn Yazīd; see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 13:294–95. The host is not named. 183 According to the Shi’ites ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the fourth caliph, father of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, should have been the first, but his rightful succession was usurped by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, the first and second caliphs. 184 cf. Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s Epistle, IQ §3.1 and see Abū Nuwās, Dīwān, 1:210, 5:463. 185 The criticism concerns the expression “the sophistication of a heretic.” See Abū Nuwās, Dīwān, 1:211: “Abū Bakr [al-Ṣūlī] said: ‘By God, someone who does not believe in God Almighty has neither reason nor sophistication!’” 186 He is identified as the poet Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād al-Ḥārithī (d. between 158/775 and 169/785), see Abū Nuwās, Dīwān, 1:210–11; Sezgin, Geschichte, 2:467–68. 187 The verse sins against grammar. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ reads muḥaddithuh malikin, apparently considering it a lengthening (for the sake of the meter) of muḥaddithu malikin (“someone who speaks with a king”). The Dīwān has muḥaddithah malikin, as has Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr, 818 (perhaps one should rather read muḥaddithat malikin). Both have waṣīf (“servant,” either male or female) instead of nadīm; the verse describes a girl. 188 Imruʾ al-Qays, Dīwān, 122; instead of ashrabu (“I’ll drink”) the verse has ashrab. The verse has been quoted before, Volume One, Gh §19.2.4. 189 The verse has Baydharah three times, even though strictly this is possible only in rhyme position; the first and second should have been Baydharatu. This rajaz verse is quoted in Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 63 (B-T-T) and 275 (Ḥ-B-R); the poet is unknown. Baydharah is apparently a name (see al-Maʿarrī, Fuṣūl, 354, for a man with this name; called Baydarah in al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:323); it may be a variant of baydhārah (“great talker”). 190 The lines are found, anonymously, in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Ṣ-D-ʿ and ʾ-R-Ṭ), in both instances with dhiʾb (“wolf ”) instead of ẓill “shadow” (cf. Nicholson, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1902, 101: “Often the wolf crouched and gathered himself to spring upon a gamesome buck . . .”). 191 Again a pausal form, daʿah, instead of correctly daʿata or daʿatun. 192 Or an “added term” (muḍāf) followed by a “term added to” (muḍāf ilayh). This “possessive construction” forms a syntactic unit and the first term can never be given a pausal form (which would in this case not be muḥaddithuh but muḥaddith). 193 See Volume One, IQ §3.2. 194 The lines have also been attributed to Ṣāliḥ and to Abū l-ʿAtāhiyah, see al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, Ghurar; 1:145, Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 4:34–35. 195 Q Anʿām 6:158: «On the day when one of the Lord’s signs comes, belief will not avail a soul that has not believed before.»

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Notes 196 See Volume One, IQ §3.3. 197 If, instead of rebelling as a heretic, he had been a camel-herd he would not have had to kill himself, as he did after his defeat in 166/783, either with poison or by throwing himself, with family and followers, onto a large pyre. 198 Al-Ṣanādīqī (“the box maker”); see Volume One, IQ §3.4. 199 ad 883–84. 200 Muḥammad. 201 Yaʿrub and his father Qaḥṭān are legendary ancestors of the “South Arabs”; the prophet Muḥammad belonged to the “North Arabs.” 202 Running between al-Marwah and al-Ṣafā (two mounds at Mecca) forms part of the rites of the Hajj or pilgrimage, as does visiting the Prophet’s tomb at Medina (originally called Yathrib). 203 Jibrīl and Jabrāʾ īl (shortened in the following poem to Jabraʾ īl for the sake of the metre) are the Arabic forms of Gabriel, the angel who serves as an intermediary between God and men. 204 According to other sources it was not he but his successor ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb who had Rabī ʿah ibn Umayyah flogged for drinking wine (al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 15:21; al-Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, 5:312–13, 382, 439). However, the poem quoted here mentions Abū Bakr. 205 “The people of protection” (ahl al-dhimmah) are Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who are free to practice their religions in Islamic lands (with the exception of the Arabian Peninsula) on certain conditions, such as acknowledging Muslim suzerainty and paying a special tax. 206 Khaybar was a settlement some 150 km north of Medina, inhabited by Jewish tribes, taken by the Prophet in 7/628. ʿUmar (called by his kunyah Abū Ḥafṣ in the poem) expelled them from Arabia in 20/641; see EI2 s.v. “Khaybar” (L. Veccia Vaglieri). Sumayr ibn Adkan is not known from other sources. Yāqūt, who quotes this passage (Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 3:165–66) suspects that the verses are in fact by al-Maʿarrī himself and adds that if they are not by him, the quotation is evidence of bad faith. 207 Māqiṭ can mean, among other things, “slave freed by a freedman” or “someone who hits with a stick.” 208 Literally, “he who stands up,” a term used by Shi’ites and other sectarians for a figure who will rise at the end of the world to restore justice on earth, not unlike the Mahdi (al-mahdī, “the rightly guided one”). 209 Walīd means “infant.” 210 Nicholson’s translation, “a haughty will,” is based on his reading nāfijah, and derided by Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ. It is true that the rich rhyme consistently used by al-Maʿarrī requires

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Notes accepting the reading sābijah as found in the manuscripts. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ refers to sabābijah, given in Lisān al-ʿArab as a plural and explained as “strong men from Sind [part of present-day Pakistan] and India who accompany the captain of a seafaring ship as its guards; sometimes they say sābij,” the last word apparently meaning “strong.” This reading assumes that the following obscure rhyme-word (on which see Volume One, IQ, §3.5.1) is correctly read as bunābijah, which is not wholly certain. If the earlier suggestion biyālajah (from Persian piyāla, “goblet”) is correct, the rhyme requires changing sābijah into, e.g., sālijah (“sucking, swallowing”). 211

Unclear; Nicholson comments, “i.e., his sins in this world deprived him of the joys of Paradise” (but there is nothing to suggest that the “wine pitcher” is a heavenly one). Monteil interprets it as “he only left the wine pitcher in order to commit other sins.”

212 Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd, Dīwān, 64–65. Lines 2–4 are found in al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 7:46; al-Murtaḍā, Ghurar, 1:129; Gabrieli, “Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd,” 48. The first line, with some differences, is found in Ibn Qutaybah, Ashribah, 57. 213 Nicholson, followed by al-Iskandarānī and Fawwāl, reads khalīlay, as a license for the vocative khalīlayya (“O my two friends”); here it has been taken as the object of the imperative. Nicholson believes ʿabdalā to mean “a slave” and oddly thinks that izār (“loin-cloth”) means “cheek-down” (confusing it with ʿidhār) . Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ and other Arab editors think it must be the name of a girl. However, ʿAbdal is a man’s name (cf. the early Umayyad poet al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbdal). 214 Ḥattā yarkabū dīna l-ḥimārī, found also in Ibn Qutaybah, Ashribah, 57; al-Murtaḍā, Ghurar, 1:129; and Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 3:188; but perhaps the original version was the one found in Aghānī and Gabrieli: ḥattā yarkabū ayra l-ḥimārī (“until they are mounted on a donkey’s prick”). Compare Hamilton, Al-Walīd and his Friends, 122. 215 Dīwān, 92. Lines 1 and 2 (with different readings) in al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 2:296; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 7:44; Gabrieli, “Al-Walīd,” 57. 216 The pronoun “her” refers to a preceding line (not found here) mentioning his beloved Sulaymā (i.e., “sweet Salmā”). 217 There is an untranslatable word-play on wiṣāl (“lovers’ union”) and waṣala (“to join; to give a present”). 218 A broad coalition of opponents besieged al-Walīd in his palace al-Bakhrāʾ, where he was killed in 126/744. 219 Compare the versions in his Dīwān, 94–95; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 7:79; Gabrieli, “Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd”, 52–53; and see the translation in Hamilton, Al-Walīd and his Friends, 157. 220 Three traditional Arabic female names often used in love poetry; cf. Volume One, Gh §9.3.1

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Notes 221 For his poem against fasting in Ramadan, see Volume One IQ, §3.5.2. 222 Meaning unclear; perhaps “he is wholly unimportant.” It seems to echo Q Ḥajj 22:73, «ḍaʿufa l-ṭālibu wa-l-maṭlūb (Weak are the seeker and the sought)». 223 The base manuscript has muḥẓirīn, which does not make much sense; Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ thinks the passive form (muḥẓarīn) may be better. However, “people have become being forbidden” does not seem satisfactory either. We propose to read either mukhṭirīn (“in danger”) or mukhṭarīn (“warned”), which also gives a better “rich” rhyme with mufṭirīn. 224 See also Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 3:189 (where Ibn Raghbān wrongly appears as Ibn Raʿyān); anonymous in Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, Rasāʾil, 2:444 (with wuʿidū bi-ukhrā, “they are promised another,” which looks more logical, and mina l-sawāmi instead of mina l-suwāfi). 225 He quotes the following lines in his Kitāb al-Awrāq (Book of Folios, here called al-Nawādir, Anecdotes), in the volume entitled Ashʿār awlād al-khulafāʾ wa-akhbāruhum (The Poems of the Sons of the Caliphs and the Reports on Them), 90. 226 The negative particle is not in the manuscripts; Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ seems justified in arguing that the context demands it. 227 Q Yūsuf 12:87. 228 See Volume One, IQ, §3.6. He came from Jannābah, a small town on the coast of southern Persia (Yaqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v.). 229 Q Najm 53:38. 230 There is a report that in pre-Islamic times the Kaaba was one of seven sacred buildings dedicated to the sun, the moon, and the five traditional planets (al-Masʿūdī, Murūj, 2:381); however, most reports connect the Kaaba with several pagan gods rather than one god or planet. 231 See Volume One, IQ, §3.6.1, on the leader of the revolt of the Zanj, who claimed to be a descendant of ʿAlī. 232 These “well-known” lines and the following five lines have not, in fact, been found elsewhere. 233 It is not clear what he means by this. Were invalids and the chronically ill employed as schoolteachers? Or did schoolteachers suffer from chronic stress caused by their pupils’ behavior? 234 The last expression, wa-l-shamlu jāmiʿ, possibly refers to the Last Day, as Nicholson thinks. It occurs in a famous poem by Qays ibn Dharīḥ (e.g., al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 9:218), but without any eschatological connotation. 235 Q Hūd 11:107.

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Notes 236 Some poetry of his is quoted by al-Thaʿālibī in his Yatīmah (2:217–18), but not the poem referred to here. 237 Ṭawīlat al-wazn would be an unusual expression for “of ṭawīl meter”; presumably it refers to either ṭawīl or basīṭ, both having lines of eight feet in their standard forms. 238 Q Baqarah 2:156. 239 See Volume One, IQ, §3.6: Rakhamah and raḥmah differ only by one diacritical dot; likewise bi-l-Zanj and bi-l-rīḥ only differ by their dots. 240 i.e., of future events. 241 Q Naml 27:65. 242 See, e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, (B-Ḥ-B-Ḥ). 243 The year 424 began on 7 December 1032. The Mirdāsid ruler at the time in Aleppo was Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ Shibl al-Dawlah. 244 See al-Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh, 2:452; cf. al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 183. 245 i.e., “the band of Ghālib.” 246 Ghālib means “someone who vanquishes or overpowers.” 247 Aws ibn Ḥajar (see Volume One, Gh §13.2.1). The line is from a famous elegy on Faḍālah ibn Kaladah (see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 11:72–73); the following hemistich is from a different elegy on the same person. 248 The word bujar literally means “swellings of the navel,” but it is used in idiomatic expressions in the sense of “defects.” 249 The image is possibly that of the destructive, grinding action of a quern or stone handmill. 250 Al-Ḥallāj means “the cotton carder” (which may have been his father’s trade). 251 Al-Mādharāʾ ī was a friend of al-Ḥallāj; his uncle Abū Zunbūr had presented the caliph with a mule. Some people believed that the mule was substituted for al-Ḥallāj before his execution; see Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallāj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam, 1:415, 592. See also al-Tanūkhī, Nishwār, 1:164 and 6:91–92 (= al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, 8:141). 252 The sense is not wholly clear. 253 See the rajaz lines by al-ʿAttābī: “Prostrate yourselves to the evil monkey in its heyday (. . .) | And flatter him as long as you are in his power!,” al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 1:355, cf. 7:166; Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 2:443; al-Damīrī, Ḥayāt, 2:205; as a proverb: al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:452. Abū Nuwās said of the Barmakid family of viziers, “This is the time of monkeys, so submit: | Listen to them and obey!” (Dīwān, 2:51). 254 The word “(he) ki..ed it” is undotted in the base manuscript; in other manuscripts it appears as qatalahū (“he killed it”), a reading preferred by Kaylānī and Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ,

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Notes as does Monteil, whereas Nicholson, al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl and Qumayḥah read qabbalahū (“he kissed it”). 255 For the monkey, called Abū Qays, see al-Masʿūdī, Murūj, 3:265–66; al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 6:66. 256 See Volume One, IQ, §3.8.1. 257 We take fī l-quwwah in the sense as used by the philosophers; both Nicholson (“the composition does not lack power”) and Monteil (“dans sa force poétique”) interpret it as referring to poetic quality. 258 The last foot of this meter (mukhallaʿ al-basīṭ) should be SLL, whereas ilayy would result in SL. The meter would be rectified by reading ilayyī, which is, however, a bad solecism (correct would be ilayyā, which would not rhyme with the other lines). 259 The verse is Q Ibrāhīm 14:22. 260 Instead of muṣrikhiyya. 261 In Arabic script, the signs indicating a short a and i are written above and underneath a consonant, respectively. 262 Such a cluster is impossible in Arabic, except in pausal forms; but even though pausal forms are observed in Qur’anic recitation, the orthography does not recognize them and the reading muṣrikhiyy is therefore impossible. 263 The line is from a poem in the ancient collection al-Aṣmaʿiyyāt. Grammarians have discussed the line and whether to read it as (self-)praise or amazement (i.e., irony or sarcasm), see, e.g., al-Baghdādī, Khizānat al-adab, 9:431–35. 264 They are two rajaz lines by al-Aghlab al-ʿIjlī (d. 21/641), see Hämeen-Anttila, Five Raǧaz Collections, 168. Al-Farrāʾ objects to fiyyī, which should normally be fiyya, or fiyyā in rhyme; see his Maʿānī l-Qurʾān, 2:76 (on Q Ibrāhīm 14:22). 265 Instead of ilayya and ʿalayya; presumably the incorrect forms occur in rhyme position (and should accordingly be read ilayyī and ʿalayyī). 266 i.e., in pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabic until around the middle of the second/ eighth century, which forms the basis on which Arabic grammar was codified by the grammarians. 267 The line is in his Dīwān, 41, but with yaʾtī minhumā l-mawtu instead of yaʾtī l-mawtu li-l-kull. 268 Printed as prose in most editions and as poetry in Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ’s edition; it could be scanned as the exceedingly rare mutadārik meter. As Nicholson notes, the words are reminiscent of the mystic Abū Yazīd (or Bāyazīd) al-Bisṭāmī (d. 261/874 or 264/877–78), who said “Praise be to me, how great am I!”

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Notes 269 The meaning of fa-yakūnu bi-l-halakah awfā ṣabīr is not wholly clear. Ṣabīr means “layered white cloud”; it is sometimes described as a cloud that rarely gives rain, but in al-Fuṣūl wa-l-ghāyāt (97–98, 346–47) al-Maʿarrī associates it with giving rain rather than withholding it. 270 Q Furqān 25:44. 271 Lālakah, from Persian lālak or lālakā, “shoe, slipper.” See Hellmut Ritter in Oriens, 6 (1951): 190 and Dozy, Supplément, 2:508. 272 A market in Baghdad. 273 Or, as the context strongly suggests, “Art Thou eager to be united with us?” 274 The unusual form tughullis (or tughallis) is found in the expression wādī tughullis; the root Gh-L-S means “darkness at the end of the night” (a time suitable for raids). This and the following expressions are metaphors for things that are vain or disastrous. 275 Q Maryam 19:89. 276 See a line by al-Kumayt on a woman called Warhāʾ (“Clumsy”) who used to cheat her husband and was punished in a manner similar to what happened to Alison in Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale (Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 500; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 2:119). 277 For the following verse, see Ibn Hāni ʾ, Dīwān (al-Yaʿlāwī), 275. 278 These verses are not found in al-Yaʿlāwī’s edition of the Dīwān, but they are in the edition of Būlāq, 1274, 26. 279 The verse is in fact the opening of a long ode by Ibn Hāni ʾ dedicated to al-Muʿizz (Dīwān, ed. al-Yaʿlāwī, 181). The expression “the One, the Omnipotent” occurs six time in the Qur’an, always referring to God. With “the judge’s son” apparently ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Khaṭīb is meant, a poet attached to Ibn Abī ʿĀmir; he is said to have composed the verse and is flogged, imprisoned and subsequently banished on account of it, as related in Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān al-mughrib, 2:293. 280 The words mā hiya li-amrihī shāʾifah remain somewhat obscure. A derivation from shāfa, “to polish, make shine” does not make much sense. We have hesitantly relied on Dozy, Supplément, which has “apercevoir, penser” (which seems to foreshadow the modern vernacular shāf). 281 On him and Abū Jaʿfar al-Shalmaghānī, see Volume One, IQ, §3.9. 282 The words mā yaẓfaru bi-ghayr al-tablīd are not wholly clear. Perhaps “he will only succeed in becoming sick to death with his efforts,” meaning that trying to escape from blindly following authority saps one’s energy; or perhaps it means that he only finds that other people remain apathetic and inert when he wants to change things.

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Notes 283 A tentative translation. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ derides Nicholson’s attempts to understand yabtakiru bi-lubbin maghmūr (JRAS, 1902, 351) but her own gloss does not make things any clearer : “The problem is simpler than all that: one says ibtakara, i.e., ‘to come early (bukratan)’ and ibtakara l-fākihah, i.e., ‘eating its first fruits.’” James Montgomery suggests reading yatakabbaru, “acts haughtily.” 284 Again, Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ says it is clear but we fail to understand it. Even Monteil says he finds it obscure and guesses (“comme si le monde les poussait à leur perte”). Perhaps, “as if the whole world caused them to disregard it.” 285 Studying the ancient Greek philosophers and medicine often went hand in hand. 286 Q Muʾminūn 23:53 and Rūm 30:32. 287 Or “kiss the earth”; See Dozy, Supplément, s.v., “ʿaffara wajhahū.” It is deemed objectionable perhaps because it refers to Shi’ites approaching the imams, as Nicholson thinks (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1902, 352). 288 The expression man laka bi-zanjin fī dikr (thus, following the dictionaries, rather than dakr as in Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ’s text), translates literally as “Who (will be responsible) for you (to provide you) with Zanj (East African blacks) in (an African game called) dikr?” This is wholly obscure to us, pace Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ, who says that the sense is clear. 289 A dharrah is a tiny particle of dust or a very small ant; it also stands for the smallest appreciable quantity (here, metaphorically, of sin or evil, as in Q Zalzalah 99:8). Dirham and dinar are silver and gold coins, respectively, but also stand for weights. 290 As a Muʿtazilite he would be opposed to the Predestinarians. 291 Anonymously in al-Jāḥiẓ, Bayān, 3:181, spuriously attributed to Labīd in some other sources (e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Mukhtaṣar tarīkh Dimashq, 3:153). 292 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ is no doubt right in rejecting Nicholson’s translation of in shaʿara as “If such a one makes verses.” She thinks that shaʿara here means “to be an Ash ʿarite”; this seems unlikely, but if one emends shaʿara to tashaʿʿara, as we have done, this is a possible interpretation, although such a verb is not attested as far as we know. It is not impossible that al-Maʿarrī is playing on words. 293 The following verses attributed to him have not been found elsewhere. 294 The rare word sanbar is explained as “knowing, proficient”; it may be a personal name here. 295 All editions have kullun, whereas one would expect it to be the object of Jaʿfar’s pulling, hence the emendation to kullan. “Pulling to his snare (or rope)” remains odd. 296 A reference to Jaʿfar’s epithet, al-Ṣādiq (“the True One”). 297 His great-grandfather Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the chief Shi’ite martyr, killed at Karbala in 61/680.

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Notes 298 The “Old Man” is Abū Bakr, who was some sixty years old when he became the first caliph (r. 11–13/632–34); his successor was ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (r. 13–23/634–44). The Shi’ites believe that they usurped the positions that should have been held by ʿAlī and his descendants. 299 See Volume One, IQ, §3.9. 300 The line (Dīwān, 442) is from a passage on a pair of onagers. 301 Or “can be bejeweled with scorpions.” Scorpions stand metaphorically for misery (cf. ʿaysh dhū ʿaqārib, “ a life with scorpions,” i.e., a miserable life); but a pun is involved:

ʿaqrab al-naʿl means “sandal strap.” 302 Again a play on words connecting scorpions and sandals: shabwah is “stinger of a scorpion” and “side of a sandal.” The connection of “crown” with “scorpion” may also be inspired by the expression iklīl al-ʿaqrab (“the scorpion’s crown”), which are three stars at the top of the constellation Scorpio. 303 Unidentified. 304 The words uff and tuff are interjections; but the lexicographers tell us that as nouns they mean “earwax” and “dirt under the fingernails,” respectively, which fits the context too. 305 ʿAdī ibn Zayd; for the poem see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 2:118. 306 ʿAtīb ibn Aslam was a clan all of whose men were killed by a raiding king; the women hoped in vain that their children would avenge their death (Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v. ʿAtīb). 307 Several of the pre-Islamic Lakhmid kings of al-Ḥīrah were called al-Mundhir or al-Nuʿmān. Probably the third or the fourth is meant, grandfather and father of al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir, the last king of the dynasty, who reigned ca. ad 580–602). 308 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ and al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl have ḥadhir, “cautious,” which seems strange here. Reading ḥudhdhira makes better sense, although normally the case endings in rhyme are observed even in pausal forms, which would mean that ḥudhdhir(a) and Mundhir(i) are not perfect. But the patterns of ḥudhdhir/Mundhir are a better fit, prosodically, than ḥadhir and Mundhir. 309 Taking bihī to refer to Ibn al-Rāwandī. 310 Bint al-Shāṭīʾ is surely right in reading dhāwī (other editions have dāwī), but there is no reason to think, as she does, that khīṭān means “strings of ostriches” here. Nicholson’s “gossamer,” followed by Monteil (“fil aérien d’araignée”), makes more sense, but in that case one would have expected khīṭān al-shayṭān (or mukhāṭ al-shayṭān, or luʿāb al-shams), not just khīṭān. 311

Another of the many instances where a difficult rhyme (here on -māgh) forces the author to use contrived imagery.

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Notes 312 A verse attributed to Ibn Aḥmar in Sībawayh, Kitāb, 1:38 and to al-Azraq ibn Ṭarafah in other sources, see, e.g., al-Sīrāfī, Sharḥ abyāt Sībawayh, 1:248–49. 313 Amthāl are maxims, proverbs, or parables. 314 A moot point, for some of the earliest revealed parts of the Qur’an strongly resemble precisely this rhymed prose or sajʿ of the pre-Islamic soothsayers. 315 Taking muʿṣim to be a synonym of aʿṣam, a standard epithet of mountain goats; one could perhaps also interpret it as “seeking refuge in inaccessible places.” 316 Q Ḥashr 59:21. 317 Q Muʾminūn 23:14. This eulogy on the Qur’an did not prevent Abū l-ʿAlāʾ from being accused of attempting to surpass it with his al-Fūṣul wa-l-ghāyāt, nor did his attack on Ibn al-Rāwandī stop later authors from yoking them together as arch-heretics (see, e.g., Ibn al-Jawzī, Talbīs Iblīs, 63, 99–100). 318 A date merchant called Qaḍīb sold some baskets of dried dates to a Bedouin, forgetting that he had put a purse with one thousand dinars in one of them. When he remembered he followed the buyer and retrieved the purse. He told the Bedouin that he had brought a knife and that he would have slit his belly if he had not found the money. The Bedouin asked to see the knife, took it from him, and slit his belly (al-ʿAskarī, Jamharat al-amthāl, 2:184, al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 2:293, in explanation of the proverb alhaf min Qaḍīb, “A bigger loser than Qaḍīb”). 319 Al-Ṭirimmāḥ (d. ca. 110/728) made satires on his contemporary al-Farazdaq. The line is attributed to the latter in Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 813 and Ibn Rashīq, ʿUmdah, 1:110, on poets who refrain from lampooning others because they despise them too much; but it is not found in his Dīwān. Quḍub, plural of qaḍīb, is explained as “improvised poems” (qaṣāʾid muqtaḍabah). 320 Uqtuḍiba, word play with the root of qaḍīb. It is not known when Ibn al-Rāwandī died or how old he was. Abū l-ʿAlāʾ continues with more, rather insipid and virtually untranslatable punning on the root Q-Ḍ-B. 321 Qaḍbah: stick, stalk of edible vegetable, or an arrow shaft, or (read as qiḍbah) a herd of camels or sheep. 322 Anonymously in al-Maʿarrī, al-Ṣāhil wa-l-shāḥij, 549; attributed to ʿAmr ibn Aḥmar in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʿ-R-Ḍ) and to Ziyād ibn Rib ʿī al-Qutabī al-Bāhilī (otherwise unknown) in al-Aṣmaʿī, Ibil, 106. Someone interprets it as “reciting two qaṣīdahs” instead of riding two camels. It is not clear why this verse is quoted. 323 Wa-rawḥati dunyā: sense unclear. Perhaps “a nearby evening journey,” with construct phrase standing for noun plus adjective (just as samāʾ al-dunyā, “the lower Heaven,” is found instead of al-samāʾ al-dunyā, see, e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, D-N-W).

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Notes 324 viz. Ibn al-Rāwandī. 325 Literally, “Who could help him to gain the speech of a woman announcing a death?,” apparently a roundabout way of inviting people to kill him. 326 Poet not identified; the line has not been found elsewhere. 327 Poet unidentified. The point of citing this verse (quoted in Thaʿlab, Majālis, 1:103) is that a plural subject is followed by a verb in feminine singular. The interpretation of nataqat (thus in Thaʿlab, Majālis) or nutiqat (as in Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ’s edition) is uncertain. 328 See Volume One, IQ §3.9, note 69. The word farīd could also be translated as “solitary, isolated.” 329 On the tribal group called Kindah, see “Kinda,” in EI2, 5:118–20 (I. Shahīd and A. F. L. Beeston). For the genealogical tree of Kindah, see al-Kalbī/Caskel, Ǧamharat an-nasab, I, table 176 (upward) and tables 233–43 (downward); for al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAdī, see table 235. 330 According to some, it should be al-ḥayy al-ḥarīd, “the angry tribe” (see al-Kalbī/Caskel. Ǧamharat an-nasab, 2:302). The Banū Wahb, Banū ʿAdī, and Banū l-Mithl were all tribes within Kindah (see al-Kalbī/Caskel, Ǧamharat an-nasab, I, table 235). 331 Perhaps a human sufferer is mentioned; but the treatment of mangy camels is often described in ancient poetry; cf. Muzarrid, in al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, 79: “They suffer from mange, and they have been anointed all over with ghalqah, a stinking ointment, and the urine of women whose monthly courses have ceased” (trans. Lyall, 45). 332 He is the author of a book on horses, Kitāb al-khayl (see 133–34 for the vertebra called al-farīdah). 333 The word marjān, often meaning “coral,” occurs in the Qur’an (Q Raḥmān 55:22, 58) joined with luʾluʾ (“pearls”) and exegetes and lexicographers have sometimes explained the former as “small pearls” and the latter as “large pearls” (e.g., al-Farrāʾ, Maʿānī l-Qurʾān, 3:115). Marjān is obviously related to Aramaic margenītā or margālītā, “pearl, jewel,” which is derived from Greek μαργαρίτης, “pearl” (which may be of Indian origin). Abū l-ʿAlāʾ supplies his own, preposterous etymologies. 334 This addition seems to be required by the sense. 335 In Arabic sources coral is often said to be procured at a place in present-day Algeria, or to be “Frankish,” i.e., European (see A. Dietrich, entry “Mardjān” in EI2, 6:556–57). 336 Translation uncertain and meaning unclear. Apart from “Jupiter,” al-mushtarī can also mean “the buyer.” Ibn al-Rūmī, obsessed with omens, is more likely to think of planets, Jupiter being a particularly favorable one. Perhaps he means that Jupiter is now old and no longer quick (which would contradict the common opinion that planets do not age); or that if Jupiter were newly created (instead of having existed from all eternity, qadīm, as the philosophers say), he would be quick. The owner (who was the buyer,

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Notes al-mushtarī), like Jupiter, should not be hasty. We thank Professor Ewald Wagner for his suggestion (personal communication). 337 His elegy of 111 lines on Abū l-Ḥusayn Yaḥyā ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʿAlī, an

ʿAlid rebel who was killed in 250/864; see Ibn al-Rūmī, Dīwān, 2:492–500. His strong Shi’ite leanings are beyond doubt, pace Abū l-ʿAlāʾ. 338 The poet is unknown. The anecdote is quoted in al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, 10:180, ending in kāna illā taḥaqqaq, which is unmetrical, because the penultimate foot is SLL instead of SLS, as it should be in this form of ṭawīl meter. The shortening is said to have been deliberate, “lest it become poetry” (cf. Q Yā Sīn 36:69: «We have not taught him [viz. the Prophet] poetry: that is not proper for him.»). This implies that the Prophet is supposed to have composed the verse, although al-Maʿarrī seems to say that the Prophet quoted some existing line. The version in al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Muḥāḍarāt, 1:90, ending in illā takūnā, is unmetrical for the same reason. 339 The Day of Judgment, cf. Q Shuʿarāʾ 26:227. 340 See for an English translation of the poem al-Mufaḍḍalīyāt, trans. Lyall, 333–41 (see l. 37). “Scaring away birds” (zajr) is often a form of prognostication, depending on the direction of flight taken by them (see T. Fahd, entry “ʿIyāfa,” EI2, 4:290–91). 341 Literally, “who made a broth or gruel called ḥarīqah or ḥarūqah” (from the root Ḥ-R-Q, “burning”). It is food consumed in hard times. Al-Iskandarānī and Fawwāl gloss aḥraq as an adjective: “whose hair has fallen out,” or “with short hair”; but the dictionaries only give ḥariq, for someone with little hair on the cheeks, not aḥraq. 342 The word ʿiṣām can also mean “collyrium, kohl.” 343 Compare the imprecation, “May there be grit in your mouth!” (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, K-Th-K-Th). 344 Abū Tammām; see his Dīwān, 3:152. 345 Literally, “who will slink back.” 346 cf. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Ḥ-W-Sh). 347 Sāniḥ, usually taken as a propitious sign, the opposite of bāriḥ; but there is considerable confusion about the precise meanings of the terms. 348 Literally, “the (arrow shaft called) manīḥ,” as used in the pre-Islamic gambling game called maysir, considered to be of good omen (see T. Fahd, “al-Maysir,” EI2 6:923–24). 349 “Pug-nosed,” an epithet of the lion; it can also be interpreted as “back-slinker.” 350 Al-Akhnas, nickname of Ubayy ibn Sharīq (d. 13/634), of the tribe of Thaqīf, an ally of the Banū Zuhrah, a subdivision of Quraysh (see al-Kalbī/Caskel, Ǧamharat an-nasab, Tafeln, 118, Register, 564), an opponent of the Prophet Muḥammad. At the Battle of Badr (2/624) he deserted his fellow Meccans and thus escaped being killed (see Ibn

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Notes Hishām, al-Sīrah al-nabawiyyah, 1:619, trans. Guillaume, 296); the slain were thrown into a well (Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-nabawiyyah, 1:638–40, trans. Guillaume, 306–7). 351 i.e., of Meccans. The meaning of ʿan wafr is not wholly clear; it does not mean “abandoning his riches” (as the note in al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl seems to suggest), because he says he wants to save the property of his allies. Monteil does not translate it. Nicholson (359) has “though he had nothing to complain of,” suggesting in a note that it could be synonymous with ʿan qudrah, “while he had the opportunity.” 352 “To throw someone in the dust” often stands for felling an opponent. 353 The words are not etymologically related. 354 Connecting dhayyāl (“long-tailed”) and idhālah (“humbling”), from the same root. 355 An expression very frequently found in the Qur’an. 356 The first three months of the Islamic year are Muḥarram, Ṣafar, and Rabī ʿ al-Awwal. 357 The noun rabī ʿ usually means “spring” or “spring herbage”; originally the season in which rain brings vegetation (in fact autumn). The third and fourth months of the Islamic calendar are called “First Rabī ʿ” and “Second Rabī ʿ,” respectively, but due to the Islamic lunar year they are no longer connected with a particular season. 358 Q Luqmān 31:34. 359 Attributed to Dhū l-Rummah by lexicographers such as Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 486; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, (N-ʿ-J), but not found in his regular Dīwān (see his Dīwān, appendix, 3:1907). 360 Presumably a metaphor for people’s sins. 361 See Volume One, IQ §3.11. 362 See Abū Tammām, Dīwān, 1:7–39. 363 i.e., the poet in the fire. If one emends yaʿjabu li-aswānihī to yuʿjibu aswānahū one gets a more natural sense: “which would amaze their distressed author” (as suggested by James Montgomery). The personification of the poems may have been inspired by Abū Tammām’s comparison (in prose and verse) of his poems to children, see al-Ṣūlī, Akhbār Abī Tammām, 114–15 and Abū Tammām, Dīwān, 3:331. 364 It is said that his two daughters lamented him in elegies for a full year (al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 15:389); the story is apparently inspired by Labīd’s poem addressing his two daughters shortly before his death, from which the two following lines are taken. See his Dīwān (Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1966, 79) and see Volume One, Gh §11.3. 365 The Dīwān has “his bosom friend.” 366 Reading muʿaddidāt instead of maʿdūdāt found in all editions. 367 Al-ʿAbqasī, viz. a man of the tribe ʿAbd al-Qays. The line is from a pre-Islamic poem attributed to al-Mufaḍḍal al-Nukrī (i.e., of the tribe of Nukrah, which is part of ʿAbd

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Notes al-Qays) in al-Aṣmaʿiyyāt (202) and to ʿĀmir ibn Maʿshar, also of Nukrah, in al-Akhfash, Ikhtiyārayn (250) and al-Khālidiyyān, Ashbāh, 1:150. It is one of the three poems called “fair” (munṣifah) because they do justice to the poets’ opponents. 368 It is true that B is a popular rhyme consonant; but the rhyme on -āʾ is not particularly rare or difficult. Al-Maʿarrī takes the rhyme letters in the order of the Arabic alphabet, -āʾ representing both the letter alif and the consonant ʾ (the glottal stop, called hamzah). 369 A woman proverbial for her lamenting, mentioned in a verse by the pre-Islamic poet al-Muthaqqib al-ʿAbdī; see al-Khālidiyyān, Ashbāh, 1:189; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (J-W-N); and al-Maʿarrī, Siqṭ al-zand, 32. 370 ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khaṭal and his two singing girls, who had lampooned the Prophet, were executed in 8/630 after the conquest of Mecca (see Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah, 2:409–10, trans. Guillaume, 550–51). 371 Kuthayyir, Dīwān, 87. 372 His Dīwān (ed. al-Asmar) contains a poem of forty-five lines rhyming in -īṭū, one of ninety-seven lines on -ā.ithū, and one of eleven lines on -āẓū, all uncommon rhymes. 373 The most common rhyme consonants are R, L, M, N, D, B, and ʿayn. 374 The meaning of wa-huwa khirād (thus in all manuscripts) is uncertain. Khirād could be the plural of kharūd, “virgin” or “unbored pearl,” a common metaphor for a poem with original motifs and expressions. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ suggests reading ḥirād (plural of ḥarid or ḥarīd), “apart, on one’s own.” In either case, one would expect hiya instead of huwa. 375 Translation uncertain; more literally, “the watering hole would be too narrow to accommodate them all.” Al-ṣadar wa-l-īrād literally means “returning from a watering place and bringing (cattle) to the water”; the terms are used in various idiomatic expressions. The words ḍāqa . . . l-ṣadar evoke the expression ḍāqa . . . l-ṣadr (“to be annoyed, oppressed”). 376 For ghadāh in the sense of “morning prayer,” see EI2 8:926b (entry “Ṣalāt”). 377 Presumably Abū Tammām’s rivals despair of attaining his level (but the connection with the context is obscure). The implication seems to be that this triumph will not help him because he omitted his prayers. 378 It is uncertain what precisely is the implied difference with the morning prayer. Perhaps: the morning prayer is harder for the believer, who has to get up early; one’s absence at the midday prayer is more conspicuous. 379 The term ʿatamah specifically refers to the first third of the night. 380 The verb ʿajiza normally means “to be incapable, too weak,” but one cannot be condemned for being unable to perform one’s religious duties. See Dozy, Supplément, s.v.

ʿajiza: “Etre paresseux, manquer, faire faute, manquer à ses engagements.”

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Notes 381 In certain circumstances, such as travel or sickness, one is allowed to combine two consecutive prayers. The poet of the following line is al-Uqayshir (on him see Volume One, Gh §3.5), see Ibn Durayd, Taʿlīq min amālī Ibn Durayd, 112; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 11:268. 382 “Joints” (awṣāl) is apparently a play on words (joining two prayers; and joints or limbs of the body). 383 Mālik, an angel, is the chief guardian of Hell; see Volume One, Gh §17.12.4. 384 Ibn al-Qāriḥ met the first two of these poets in Paradise; see Volume One, Gh §§7.3 (al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī), 6.2.1 (ʿAdī ibn Zayd). 385 Māwiyyah is the poet’s wife. The verse is a conflation of two hemistichs from a poem by Ḥātim, see his Dīwān (Sharḥ Abī Ṣāliḥ Yaḥyā ibn Mudrik al-Ṭāʾ ī), 74. 386 Zayd ibn Muhalhil (d. between 9/630 and 23/644), a tribal leader and poet, known as Zayd al-Khayl (“Zayd of the Horses”) converted to Islam in 9/630. 387 On him, Ibn Abī Duwād, al-Afshīn, and Bābak see Volume One, IQ §3.12. 388 It is said that Bābak was a shepherd in his youth; cf. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, 343. 389 Literally, “who gains the cane of victory.” A cane or reed was placed at the end of the race course. 390 Shāʾik means both “thorny” and “someone armed to the teeth.” 391 Wathaba normally means “to jump” but can also mean “to sit” (see, e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab). 392 The word qufūl, verbal noun meaning “homecoming, returning,” could perhaps also be taken as a plural of qufl “lock,” i.e., “his journey will end behind bars.” 393 Literally, “whose shade in sucking earth is dense.” “Dense shade” (ẓill ẓalīl) is mentioned in Q Nisāʾ 4:57 as something desirable. 394 An impenetrable passage. Literally the text seems to say: “I am not sure that the Hereafter will be with kinds of sustenance, so that the preponderant one will arrive at the basin.” Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ suggests that “the one that weighs more (al-rājiḥah, feminine) is the soul whose sustenance of forgiveness is preponderant.” The basin (mihrāq) is presumably the apocalyptic Basin (al-ḥawḍ), see Volume One, Gh §11.6.1. One notes that arzāq and mihrāq do not form a rich rhyme, contrary to the author’s habit; but reading mihzāq (“frivolous, laughing a lot”) does not help. 395 Various sects claimed some kind of divinity for ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the fourth caliph. 396 The story of his execution is probably an invention by Shi’ites wanting to discredit extremist views. 397 Literally, “is not a puddle that dries up in summer.” 398 All editions have Shābās.

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Notes 399 Al-Maʿarrī uses the rare word māqiṭ, defined in dictionaries either as “freedman of a freedman” or “hireling, employed from one household to another.” 400 Medicine administered through the nose was used for several diseases. See, e.g., al-Anṭākī, Tadhkirah, 183–84, s.v. saʿūṭ. Pace Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ and other editors, the “snuff ” mentioned here was not made of tobacco, which was unknown in al-Maʿarrī’s time. 401 “Melancholy,” in the sense of madness. 402 Abū Jawf is not found in other sources. 403 Biṭrīq, from the Graeco-Latin patrikios/patricius, here means local governor or military commander. 404 The Arabic has al-Dūqas, from Latin dux. The invading Byzantines were defeated at the battle of Afāmiyah (ancient Apamea, not far from Ḥamāh in Syria) in 388/998, when their commander, Damianos Dalassenos, Duke of Antioch, was killed by a Muslim warrior. 405 See Volume One, IQ §§4.2–3. 406 Reading wa-ṣayyara instead of ṣayyara, found in all editions. 407 The point of this maxim is not clear in this context. 408 Literally, “laughs (disclosing)”; the white spathe is compared to teeth. 409 Or possibly “I don’t expect it.” 410 Dying one’s hair black is frowned upon in Islamic law; there is no objection to dying it red with henna (the Prophet himself is said to have done this). 411 Q Baqarah 2:68; the reference is to a cow, to be sacrificed by Moses/Mūsā. 412 These lines are found only in the margin of some manuscripts and it is not certain that they belong to al-Maʿarrī’s original text. The verses (with variants) are attributed to “a Bedouin” in Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 4:43 and quoted in many later sources, including Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 6:113; al-Thaʿālibī, al-Tamthīl wa-l-muḥāḍarah, 219; and al-Rāghib, Muḥāḍarāt al-udabāʾ, 2:118. In al-ʿAskarī, Dīwān al-maʿānī, 2:240 they are ascribed to al-Ḥirmāzī (possibly the Basran philologist and poet of the first half of the third/ninth century). 413 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ vowels it as khamir (“place full of trees”) in her ninth edition and mentions several alternatives: khamar, “thicket” and khum(u)r, pl. of khimār, “veil”; correct is no doubt khumr, since khamar or khamir does not give a good rhyme with ʿAmr. 414 The verse, anonymously in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 1344) is attributed to Abū l-Aswad in Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 4:43 and al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 12:296, 326. In the preceding verse he mentions his love for one of his wives, called Umm ʿAwf al-Qushayriyyah, who is described as “an old woman” (ʿajūz). She was good to him in his old age, unlike another, younger wife.

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Notes 415 Attributed in al-Zamakhsharī, Asās al-balāghah (N-Y-R) to Ḥumayd; it is not clear whether this is Ḥumayd ibn Thawr (on whom see Volume One, Gh §10.3.1, 12.2.1) or the Umayyad poet Ḥumayd al-Arqaṭ. See Ḥumayd ibn Thawr, Dīwān, ed. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Maymanī, Cairo: Dār al-Kutub, 1951, 65. 416 Literally, “double-threaded (cloth),” i.e., made to last. 417 Ḥassān ibn Thābit, Dīwān (ed. Sayyid Ḥanafī Ḥasanayn), 81, (ed. ʿArafāt), 1:40. 418 By Mūsā ibn Yasār, called Mūsā Shahawāt (Umayyad period), addressing Ḥamzah ibn

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, see Ibn Qutaybah, al-Shiʿr wa-l-shuʿarāʾ, 578; idem, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 2:17; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 3:360; Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 4:425. 419 The form munhabilāt has tentatively been connected with habala “to dote, rave”; perhaps it has the same force as muhtabilāt “scheming, intriguing (women),” or hiball “corpulent and old” (said of people and camels). 420 A single verse (yatīm) by an unidentified poet, used as song lyrics by the famous female singer ʿArīb (d. 277/890), see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 21:83–84; cf. Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 3:12. In al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmah, 3:83 the line is attributed to Kuthayyir, but it is not found in his Dīwān. 421 The word nujūz is not in the dictionaries; here it has been taken as a synonym of najz or najāz. 422 Quoted anonymously in al-Ḥātimī, Ḥilyat al-muḥāḍarah, 2:236 and al-ʿAskarī, Dīwān al-maʿānī, 2:240. 423 The verses are attributed to a certain al-Ḥārith ibn Zuhayr ibn Taym in al-Kalbī, Nasab Maʿadd wa-l-Yaman al-Kabīr, 2:556 and to al-Ḥārith ibn Zuhayr ibn Wadham ibn Wahb in al-Wazīr al-Maghribī, al-Īnās, 131. 424 Mā nakaḥta could also be “haven’t you got married?”; the particle mā “what”—instead of the expected man “who(m)”—has been taken to refer to the kind of marriage rather than the person married. 425 The text of Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ, wa-gharimtu mālan “and I lost wealth” does not make sense. The version in al-Īnās has wa-nuqidtu alfan, “and I was paid one thousand (dirhams) in cash.”We have adopted an emendation suggested by James Montgomery. 426 Quoted anonymously in Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 4:44; al-Askarī, al-Awāʾil, 200 (which has “. . . if she held all the water in the world in her hand”). 427 For the verb jāza, compare the expression ajāza “to let (someone) water his camels,” or jāʾiz “someone who, being thirsty, passes by some people” (Lisān al-ʿarab). 428 Unidentified. 429 Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ suggests deriving mawārin from the root W-R-Y, as if the servants are “women who can strike fiery sparks.” This is attractive, but we believe it is more likely

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Notes to be a plural of māriyah (root M-R-Y), see al-Zamakhsharī, Asās: al-nāqah tamrī fī sayrihā: tusriʿu, wa-nūqun mawārin. 430 Apparently a contrast is meant between what is readily available (spring on the surface) and what is not (water from a deep well). 431 According to al-Khaṭṭābī, al-ʿUzlah, 126, the traditionist and legal scholar Sufyān al-Thawrī (d. 161/778) used to quote these lines. 432 Not found elsewhere, unless he is identical with the father of “Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Sindī al-Qinnasrī, the judge,” who is said to have met al-Maʿarrī according to Ibn al-ʿAdīm (Taʿrīf al-qudamāʾ, 560). 433 The lines are from a poem in which he asks a patron for the gift of a slave-boy servant and complains about freemen servants; see his Dīwān, 988. 434 Yāsir, Yusr, and Nujḥ (or Saʿd, as in the Dīwān) are names of slaves, unlike ʿĀmir and

ʿAmmār. Al-Buḥturī was in fact descended from a respectable Arab tribe. 435 Translation uncertain; perhaps instead of bi-l-ʿarb one should read bi-l-gharb, “with the edge of the sword.” 436 The word mushtaʿil (literally “flaming, burning”), glossed as murtafiʿ by Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ, is somewhat strange; perhaps one should read mustaʿlī (“rising, towering”). 437 All editions have ghabn al-rāʾiʿ, which does not make any sense. The correct reading is no doubt al-zāʾiʿ, “someone who cuts a slice of melon.” 438 Arabic mamlūk, denoting a white slave trained for military service. 439 Perhaps because Junādah had been killed by al-Ḥākim. 440 This seems to be the most likely interpretation of the somewhat obscure passage. 441 See Volume One, IQ §4.4. 442 Q Layl 92:19. 443 See Volume One, IQ §6. 444 Q Zumar 39:53. 445 This is usually explained as “who have harmed themselves by their sinning.” 446 Tashrīq has several meanings; here it has tentatively been connected with the expression sharraqa l-laḥm fī l-shams “to let meat dry in the sun.” 447 Arabic ṭunbūr; cf. Volume One, Gh §15.2.5. 448 Perhaps the gestures of singers are meant, or the behavior in general of lascivious youths. 449 Ṭabaqāt is usually translated as “classes,” but the reference is obviously to the genre of biographical compilations called “Classes of . . . ,” which rarely classify anything; ṭabaqāt can also mean “generations.” 450 ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20), singled out by historiographers as the only truly pious Umayyad caliph; there are, however, also some reports of his delight in the

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Notes luxuries of courtly life. Al-Iṣfahānī mentions him as a composer of music and singer, see Aghānī, 8:207 (on the authority of Ibn Khurradādhbih), 8:250, 253, 268. 451 Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179/796), famous traditionist of Medina, who gave his name to the Mālikites, one of the four major legal schools in Sunnite Islam. There is a report (al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 2:238) that he was heard to sing at the wedding of a man called Abū Ḥanẓalah in Medina. 452 On his being a drinking companion of the libertine poet Ḥammād ʿAjrad, see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 14:333–34, where also the following verses are quoted. 453 All forms of gambling are prohibited in Islam. See Rosenthal, Gambling in Islam, where this report is not found. ʿUmar’s predecessor, Abū Bakr, however, was involved in a bet before it became forbidden (Gambling in Islam, 27–30). 454 The “standard” accounts of his conversion (see, e.g., al-Suyūṭī, Tārīkh al-khulafāʾ, 128– 34) do not include this story. 455 The word (ijbār) has connotations of “predestination” (jabr). 456 Q Ḍuḥā 93:7. 457 His Kitāb al-Maghāzī (Book of [the Prophet’s] Campaigns), known only from later recensions (e.g., Ibn Hishām’s Sīrah), is presumably identical with the book mentioned here. 458 The two verbs, arāqa and baʿʿa, are near synonyms, the latter meaning “pour out in quantity.” 459 “Popular (wine)” (jumhūrī) is a kind of boiled wine mentioned by Abū Ḥanīfah; it is made by returning to bukhtaj (see next note) the water that has been distilled from it and boiling the mixture again and it is said to be intoxicating but also permitted. It is called jumhūrī because the masses (jumhūr) drink it (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, J-M-H-R). 460 The French renders bukhtaj (from Middle Persian pokhtag, “boiled, cooked”), a kind of boiled wine. 461 “Half-wine” (munaṣṣaf) is grape wine that has been reduced to half its volume by boiling it; it is forbidden, unlike muthallath, i.e., wine reduced to one third. 462 Khamr is grape wine, nabīdh is wine made of various other substances such as dates or honey, which according to some scholars is not forbidden as long as it does not cause intoxication. See, e.g., the entries “Khamr” and “Nabīdh” in EI2, 4:994–98 and 7:840, respectively. 463 He used to drink nabīdh for many years but relinquished it, see, e.g., Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 2:242–43. 464 Ṭilāʾ (also “tar, fluid pitch, oil”) is a thickened kind of wine, grape juice boiled down to one third, or merely another word for grape wine. See, e.g., the discussion in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Ṭ-L-Y).

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Notes 465 The word, unclear in the manuscripts, has been read as rattabahū following Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ. 466 By ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ. See his Dīwān, 3; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 22:91. 467 The first half has only three feet instead of four. 468 See his Dīwān, 135, which has kumayt “reddish (wine)” instead of ṭilāʾ. 469 The line is found in his Dīwān, 97. 470 Al-Aṣmaʿī quotes this line anonymously (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, N-Y-ʾ ); see also Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 456. The collected poetry of the tribe of Hudhayl does not contain this line; al-Maʿarrī probably confused it with a different verse ending with the same words: nīʾun aw naḍījū, by the Hudhalī poet al-Dākhil ibn Ḥarām, see al-Sukkarī, Sharḥ Ashʿār al-Hudhaliyyīn, 619. 471 Gharīḍ is anything fresh (meat, dates, water, milk) and could also be applied to a “fresh” song, which would fit the context. 472 Not identified. 473 The verse is from his famous Maqṣūrah, see his Dīwān (ed. ʿUmar ibn Sālim), 136. The “eighty-year old girl” is an aged wine; or “daughter of eighty” refers to the eighty lashes as punishment for drinking wine (see below). 474 Taking mā to be the relative particle rather than a negative, the text could also be read (more provocatively) as: “What I would like the Sheikh to do is to follow . . .” 475 Abū Nuwās; see his Dīwān, 3:186. 476 Unidentified; cf. the similar verse said by a man met by Abū Nuwās: “No fire has touched it, apart from the fact that this infidel of theirs | has toiled all night in the region of its vineyard with a lamp” (Ibn Ḥamdūn, Tadhkirah; 8:405, al-Zamakhsharī, Rabī ʿ al-abrār, 4:55). Possibly al-Maʿarrī misquoted this line. 477 See his Dīwān (ed. Muḥammad Badī ʿ Sharīf ), 2:296. 478 The word ʿilj can mean “loutish person” but it often refers to non-Muslims, here presumably a Christian or Jewish wine seller. “With a toothpick”: jokingly, meaning as little as possible; Abū Nuwās uses the same expression elsewhere (Dīwān, 2:61). 479 See Ibn al-Muʿtazz, Ṭabaqāt, 269–70; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 7:155–56; Abū Nuwās, Dīwān, 3:226. 480 Ghummā (“Gloom”) is a village near Baghdad associated with wine. See Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v., where Bacchic poems by Wālibah ibn al-Ḥubāb and Jaḥẓah al-Barmakī are quoted. 481 Noah/Nūḥ is invoked, partly for the rhyme, but also because he is traditionally associated with wine.

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Notes 482 The stars are the bubbles arising from the mixing of wine with water, a standard topos of wine poetry; the moon is the attractive recipient of the cup. 483 The word iqhāʾ (“reducing one’s appetite”) is cognate with qahwah, one of the words for “wine” (and the origin of “café” and “coffee”). 484 Abū Nuwās, see his Dīwān, 3:187. The verse is the last line of the wine poem of which another line was quoted above, §37.2.3. 485 See Volume One, Gh §3.3, where he is mentioned and quoted as a poet of wine poetry. 486 Amaj is a place near Medina; see Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān s.v., where the three lines by the very obscure Ḥumayd are quoted. For the story, involving the Umayyad caliph

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, see Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Bahjah, 1:107 (quoting lines 2–3); a different version in Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 6:352 (where the poet is Ḥumayd’s uncle). 487 This line is quoted anonymously by grammarians (e.g., al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 1:318; Ibn al-Shajarī, Amālī, 1:382, 2:182; al-Baghdādī, Khizānat al-adab, 9:376) because the correct Ḥumaydun-i lladhī is contracted to Ḥumaydu lladhī. Moreover, it contains either a rhyme defect (if one reads the correct al-aṣlaʿū) or a syntactical error (reading al-aṣlaʿī). For once, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ does not interrupt himself with these matters. 488 Not identified; he apparently alludes to Ḥumayd al-Amajī in the last line. 489 Ẓimʾ means “thirst” or “time that elapses between two waterings (of an animal)”; Abū l-ʿAlāʾ alludes to the idiom ẓimʾ al-ḥayāh, explained (Lisān al-ʿarab, Ẓ-M-ʾ ) as “what lies between the birth of a child and his death.” 490 Aleppo (grammatically feminine, as are most Arabic placenames) is described as a woman without ornaments. For the grammarian Ibn Khālawayh, see below, §41.3 and Glossary. 491 See the verses and the story in al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 5:259–65, where despite his own boasts he turns out to be a miser. 492 A wine-skin is meant. Al-Maʿarrī uses the expression al-kahl al-muraqqab also in his al-Fuṣūl wa-l-ghāyāt, 104 and explains it. 493 Not identified. Al-Maʿarrī also quotes the lines in his Fuṣūl, 104 and the first only ibid. 370; the second line is quoted anonymously in al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿarūs (D-B-L). 494 Qarw, explained in dictionaries as “basin, tank” or “cup,” is defined by al-Maʿarrī as “something in which a wineskin is put” (Fuṣūl, 104) and “container in which the wine is pressed” (Fuṣūl, 161). 495 A dhāriʿ is a smaller goat skin used for wine, cut not from the neck but from the forelegs. Comparisons of wineskins with bodies of slain blacks (or Indians, as here) are common; see, e.g., Volume One, Gh §17.12.1. 496 The form ending in -ān is probably a poetic license.

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Notes 497 ʿAndam, brazilwood, is a reddish wood used for dyeing. 498 Q Hūd 11:114. 499 A proverb (see al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 2:279), meaning that someone’s authority is undisputed. It is said that a pre-Islamic Arab king demanded ʿAwf ibn Muḥallim, a tribal leader, to give up a man who enjoyed his protection; but ʿAwf refused, whereupon the king uttered these words. According to another version (which would be appropriate here) ʿAwf used to kill his captives. 500 Literally, “the appendages of his skin”; zaʿānif can mean “fringes, fins,” often used for lowly and base things or persons in general. 501 See his Dīwān (ed. Ḥasanayn) 164, (ed. ʿArafāt) 1:85; Ibn Hishām, Sīrah, 2:51, 211, trans. Guillaume, 364, 448. In the line he is taunting the Meccans for sending their trading caravans to Syria via the Iraq road, avoiding Medina and the Muslims. 502 Books with this title, containing pre-Islamic history from the Creation to the time shortly before the prophet Muḥammad, were written by Wahb ibn Munabbih (d. ca. 114/732) and Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767). Both works (the latter being the more scholarly one, and perhaps intended here) transmitted much material from Jewish and Christian sources; both are known only through quotations. The story of Ṭālūt/Saul and his daughter Michal, wife of Dāwūd/David, goes back to I Samuel 19, which has instead of the wineskin “an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster.” For the Muslim version see, e.g., al-Thaʿlabī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, 242. 503 The unusual verbs tartara and mazmaza are from a story about Ibn Masʿūd (d. 32/652), a famous Companion of the Prophet, who gives orders for a drunken man to be thus treated, to find out if he smells of alcohol; see, e.g., Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, (T-R-R and M-Z-Z). 504 A reference to a recurring Qur’anic phrase. 505 The “Hijazis” and “Iraqis” refer to two of the main legal schools in Sunni Islam, more usually called the Mālikites (after the founder, Mālik ibn Anas) and the Ḥanafites (after the founder, Abū Ḥanīfah), respectively. 506 Several works with this title are mentioned in the sources, among them al-I ʿtibār fī aʿqāb al-surūr wa-l-aḥzān by Ibn Abī l-Dunyā (ed. Najm ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khalaf, Amman, 1993); it does not contain the verses and Abū l-ʿAlāʾ’s source is not known. The first verse is found in an anecdote in which al-Aṣmaʿī relates how he hears it (with a different second verse) in a graveyard, uttered by an invisible speaker (al-Washshāʾ, Muwashshā, 87; al-Anṭākī, Tazyīn al-aswāq, 1:271).

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Notes 507 On the topos of the nightly apparition or phantom of the beloved, see Volume One Gh §3.7. Occasionally poets imagine how both his and the beloved’s phantom meet, see Jacobi, “The Khayāl Motif ” and “Al-Khayalāni.” 508 One of the many appellations of wine, perhaps because of its fragrance or its color. 509 The expression bint ṭabaq is variously explained as “tortoise” (“daughter of a shield”) or “snake” (“daughter of coils”); metaphorically it means “calamity.” 510 See Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾ ī, Dīwān (ed. Schulthess), 14. 511

See Glossary, maysir.

512 A reference to the ancient Bedouin belief that the spirit of someone whose death is unavenged appears on his grave in the form of a screech owl that calls “usqūnī (give me to drink)!” See EI2 s.v. “ṣadā” (T. Fahd) and Homerin, “Echoes of a Thirsty Owl.” 513 The verse is from his Muʿallaqah; he addresses someone who blames him for revelling and risking his life in battle. 514 The verses are attributed to Ibn al-Muʿtazz in al-Thaʿālibī, Aḥsan mā samiʿtu, 83, but are not found in his Dīwān. When Ibn al-Muʿtazz was killed, after a caliphate of little more than one day, he was not yet fifty. 515 The line is attributed to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hammām al-Salūlī (d. ca. 99/717) in al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, 4/1:291; Ibn Sallām, Ṭabaqāt fuḥūl al-shuʿarāʾ, 524; al-Masʿūdī, Murūj, 3:247; and to ʿAlī ibn al-Ghadīr al-Ghanawī in Naqāʾiḍ Jarīr wa-l-Akhṭal, 3. 516 See, e.g., al-Buḥturī’s poem in which he invites al-Mubarrad to a drinking session, alMarzubānī, Nūr al-qabas, 326. 517 cf. Q Mulk 67:8. 518 See Volume One, IQ §6.3. 519 Taʿzīr is “censure, rebuke” and “discretionary punishment,” less than the ḥadd or prescribed punishment (which in theory should be applied, in the form of flogging, for drinking wine). 520 Shiklah (also read Shaklah) was Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī’s mother. For the lines (beginning “I have gone from the world and the world has gone from me”) and the story, see al-Ṣūlī, Awrāq (Ashʿār awlād al-khulafāʾ), 22; for “He sang the song of Shiklah’s son” as a proverbial expression for something old and worn, see al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, 6:112. 521 For the expression tawbah naṣūḥ (“sincere repentance”), see Q Taḥrīm 66:8. 522 Khurdādhī is said to be a kind of wine (al-Fīrūzābādī, Qāmūs), but it is also used for a kind of bottle; for a crystal khurdādhī see al-Tanūkhī, Nishwār, 1:336, 8:253. Khurdādh is the name of the third month (May–June) of the Persian calendar. 523 See Volume One, IQ §6.4.1.

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Notes 524 A line of rajaz by the pre-Islamic Sahl (or Nahshal, or Sayyār) ibn Mālik al-Fazārī, used as a proverb. He had fallen in love with a woman but, being too shy to address her, he had made love poetry on another woman. See al-ʿAskarī, Jamharat al-amthāl, 1:30; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 1:83–84; Abū ʿUbayd, al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 76–77. 525 Q Yūsuf 12:29; Potiphar (al-ʿAzīz in the Qur’an) addresses Joseph and his wife. 526 Not identified. 527 Q Baqarah 2:261. 528 The only reason to use this unusual word (wāfih) is to provide a rich rhyme with tāfih (“insignificant”). 529 Or “deception.” 530 See Volume One, IQ §6.5. 531 Q Raʿd 13:38. 532 Dīwān (ed. Muḥ. Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm), 236. 533 See Volume One, IQ §3.8. 534 Perhaps he is Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ṭayyib Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī (d. 436/1044), a Muʿtazilite scholar; see, e.g., Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 4:271. 535 A samāʿ (literally, “hearing” or “audition”) is a certificate written by a teacher testifying that someone has studied a text with him and is licensed to transmit it. 536 Literally, “more famous than a pregnant piebald stallion,” a proverb (al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:459; cf. al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:478: “more famous than a piebald horse”). One also finds “he seeks a pregnant piebald (male animal)”, i.e., something impossible (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, ʾ-N-Q and B-L-Q), and “harder to find than a pregnant piebald stallion” (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, ʿ-Q-Q, al-Damīrī, Ḥayāt al-ḥayawān, 1:202, in the entry on jamal, “camel.”) The ablaq is certainly not a bird here, as Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ thinks; nevertheless rara avis seems appropriate. 537 His name is given incompletely, as “al-Bakrī the genealogist,” in Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, 89, where he is said to have been a Christian. The anecdote is found in Ibn Qutaybah,

ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 2:118, idem; Maʿānī, 478, 506, and many later sources. 538 Abū Tammām, see his Dīwān, 3:15, from an ode addressed to the caliph al-Muʿtaṣim. 539 al-Mutanabbī, see his Dīwān, 175, from a poem eulogising ʿAlī ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥājib (“the Chamberlain”); Ibn al-Qāriḥ was also called ʿAlī ibn Manṣūr. The line puns on the verb ḥajaba “to screen, keep out”; a ḥājib was a doorkeeper or chamberlain, often a very important functionary at court. 540 The only point of this parenthesis is the rhyme it provides. 541 See Volume One, IQ §7.2.

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Notes 542 Sībawayh’s famous grammar (which has no title but Sībawayh’s Book) is notoriously difficult to read and consult. 543 Muḥammad ibn Bashīr al-Khārijī (d. after 120/738), a poet from the Hijaz. Al-Khārijī refers to his tribe, Khārijah, not to the rebel sect known as Khārijites. The verse is one of three quoted in Abū Tammām’s famous anthology al-Ḥamāsah, see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Ḥamāsat Abī Tammām, 809. In al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 75 (followed by Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 6:340) the verses are attributed to Abū Balhāʾ ʿUmayr ibn ʿĀmir (second/eighth century), and also to Muḥammad ibn Bashīr (Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 343). 544 See Abū Tammām, Dīwān, 1:125, from a poem in praise of Sulaymān ibn Wahb (d. 272/885), a member of a family of high officials. 545 See Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 459–60; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ al-amthāl, 2:18–19. Barāqish (“Many-colored”) was the name of a bitch belonging to some raiders, whose barking gave them away to their pursuers. According to another story, Barāqish was the wife of the legendary sage Luqmān; she turned her son and husband from vegetarians into lovers of camel meat, to the detriment of her own and her tribe’s livestock. The point of quoting this proverb here is not wholly clear. 546 The verses are found in al-Buḥturī, Ḥamāsah, 206–7, also Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (N-ʾ-Sh). For the encounter of al-Ṣūlī with the caliph, see al-Ṣūlī, Awrāq (Akhbār al-Rāḍī wa-l-Muttaqī), 38–40, where also these and the following verses are found. 547 A reference to the famous story of the pre-Islamic queen of Tadmur/Palmyra, al-Zabbāʾ (partly based on Queen Zenobia). She had killed Jadhīmah, king of al-Ḥīrah, who had ignored the advice of his faithful counsellor Qaṣīr. Qaṣīr avenged his death, having deceived al-Zabbāʾ by mutilating himself and claiming that this had been done by ʿAmr ibn ʿAdī, Jadhīmah’s nephew. The figure of Qaṣīr is apparently based on Zopyros, in a story told by Herodotus, see Muth, “Zopyros bei den Arabern.” The Arabic version is found in many sources, see, e.g., al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1:613–27, trans. by Moshe Perlmann, The History of al-Ṭabarī, 4:129, 132–49. Baqqah (or al-Baqqah, here with a “poetic” dual ending) is a place near al-Ḥīrah; the proverb “In Baqqah the matter was decided” is connected with the story. 548 This seems to be the sense; literally: “When the front parts (beginnings) where weighed down by the hind parts (ends) of the affairs.” 549 The second line is quoted anonymously by al-Ṣūlī. It is not clear to which events the lines refer. Quṭayn may be a diminutive of Qaṭan, perhaps the pre-Islamic Qaṭan ibn Nahshal, who belonged to the tribe of Dārim, as did the subtribe ʿUdus ibn Zayd.

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Notes 550 Attributed to ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān in al-Jāḥiẓ, Risālah fī l-jidd wa-l-hazl, in his Rasāʾ īl, i, 273; anonymously in Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn, i, 15; and attributed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib in al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:409 and al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:374. 551 Unidentified. 552 See Volume One, IQ §7.3. 553 Pilgrims, on entering Mecca while in the appropriate ritual state, pronounce this old invocation, labbayka (“Here I am for Thee” or “At Thy service!”). As al-Maʿarrī goes on to say, the formula is pre-Islamic. See, e.g., T. Fahd, entry “Talbiya,” EI2, 10:160–61; Kister, “Labbayka, allāhumma, labbayka: On a monotheistic aspect of a Jāhiliyya practice”; Tilman Seidensticker, “Sources for the History of Pre-Islamic Religion.” 554 Most of these are in the simplest meter, rajaz, with a basic foot of XXSL (i.e., four syllables, the third of which must be short and the fourth long). See also Volume One, index s.v. “rajaz.” 555 The munsariḥ meter, in its full form, is distinct from rajaz, but in the shortened forms given below there is some confusion with rajaz; the same with the meter sarī ʿ (see below). 556 To preserve the monorhyme some minor liberties have been taken in this and the following translations. 557 It is not clear who is meant by “Father of Daughters”; the word “idol” has been added in the translation on the basis of al-Maʿarrī’s commentary. Nicholson, in JRAS 1902, p, 360, thinks (without giving sources) that the “daughters” are female children buried alive as a sacrifice to the idols. Rather, one should think of a god with daughters, just as al-ʿUzzā, Manāt (more correctly Manāh), and Allāt were sometimes called “banāt Allāh.” 558 The pre-Islamic invocations often include tribal names, such as al-Namir, Hamdān, and Bajīlah. 559 Translation tentative. 560 An overlong syllable ends either in two consonants or, more commonly, a long vowel followed by a consonant. Such rhymes, rare in Arabic poetry, can only occur in some meters. The following lines rhyme in –ān; their meter is XLSL XLO (where O stands for an overlong syllable). 561 Lane translates “We have come to Thee for the purpose of sincere worship” (Lexicon, s.v., N-Ṣ-Ḥ, p. 2801), but this meaning of naṣāḥah is not supported by the Arabic dictionaries. 562 The invocation is said to be to the goddess Manāh in Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥabbar, 313 (and see Kister, “Labbayka,” 52), even though the present text has masculine forms. The translation is uncertain and the interpretation unclear. Tamīm and Bakr were on hostile terms; apparently the latter stood in the way of Tamīm, preventing them from worshipping.

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Notes The version in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʿ-Th-J) has yaʿbuduka l-nāsu wa-yafjurūnakā; the version in Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥabbar, 313, quoted with variations in Kister, is labbayki lawlā anna bakran dūnak(ī) | yabarruki l-nāsu wa-yahjurūnak(ī) (. . .). 563 Al-Umlūk and Hamdān both belonged to the larger tribe of Ḥimyar, according to Ibn Durayd (Jamharah, R-D-M and M-L-K). 564 The grammatically correct form, labbawk, must be changed to labbūk to make for a correct rhyme. 565 This seems to contradict the identification of some quoted invocations as being in munsariḥ or sarī ʿ, meters that, being non-rajaz, count as qaṣīd. It confirms the confusion, noted above, between the shorter forms of these two meters and rajaz. Al-Maʿarrī probably refers to the fact that all invocations make use of short lines of two of two or three feet, whereas qaṣīd meters normally consist of longer lines containing two hemistichs. 566 The eastern corner of the Kaaba, where the Black Stone is encased. 567 The first verse is attributed to “someone from Quraysh” in al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 1:355; to

ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah in al-Baṣrī, al-Ḥamāsah al-Baṣriyyah, 2:157; to al-ʿArjī or ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah in al-Khālidiyyān, Ashbāh, 2:138–39; and to ʿUrwah ibn Udhaynah in various other sources, including al-Qālī, Amālī, 3:125; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 1:277, 281, 18:332; al-Marzubānī, Muwashshaḥ, 331. Both lines are attributed to ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah in al-Sarrāj, Maṣāriʿ, 2:124; they are not found in his Dīwān. 568 The Wall is a semi-circular marble wall near the Kaaba; its name (al-Ḥaṭīm) is variously explained: either “broken,” because unfinished, or because people used to trample one another (yataḥaṭṭamu) when praying there, etc. (see Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, Ḥ-Ṭ-M). Zamzam is a well near the Kaaba, the water of which is drunk by pilgrims. “It” in the second line is apparently the Kaaba or possibly the Black Stone. 569 In the second line masculine forms are used for the subject whereas part of the predicate, “dumb” (ṣammāʾ ), is feminine. Al-Maʿarrī’s suggestion is that the predicate could be thought of as “dumb rock” (ṣakhrah ṣammāʾ ), shortened to ṣammāʾ “a dumb (thing),” which is grammatically correct. 570 Majnūn Laylā. See his Dīwān, ed. Zakī ʿAdnān, Beirut, 1994, 38–39. 571 The ending -ā, used in exclamation, lament, or address, has a form -āh that is normally used only in pausal position (Wright, Grammar, 1:295); if, as here, it occurs in midsentence a short vowel (here u) has to be added for prosodical reasons. 572 Not by ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah, as Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ maintains; quoted anonymously in an anecdote about the famous Meccan singer Ibn Jāmi ʿ (fl. late second/eighth century),

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Notes see al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 2:272–73; Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn, 4:91–92; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 6:293; al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, 5:228–29; Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, ʿIqd, 6:9–10. 573 “Lifting one’s loin-cloth” is a metonymy for “exerting oneself in worship” (Ibn al-Athīr, al-Nihāyah fī gharīb al-ḥadīth, R-F-ʿ ). 574 The Arabic has in fact the reverse: the particle an (“that”) is missing after ʿasā (“perhaps”), which is unusual. 575 A proverb, see al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 2:310 and al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 2:252. It is found, perhaps already as an existing proverb, in a verse by the pre-Islamic poet al-Aʿshā (Dīwān, ed. Beirut, 190). 576 From a poem by the pre-Islamic poet al-Nābighah al-Dhubyānī (Dīwān, ed. Ahlwardt, The Divans, 5), often quoted as a proverb. 577 The “Dispersal” from Minā to Mecca takes place at the end of the rites of the pilgrimage. 578 By ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah. For the lines see his Dīwān, 205. 579 The lines are from a poem included in the fourth/tenth-century anthology by al-Qurashī, Jamharat ashʿār al-ʿarab, see 227. For a translation of the whole poem see Lichtenstadter, Introduction to Classical Arabic Literature, 184–87. 580 A place some five miles east of Mecca, where the last three days of the pilgrimage are spent with several rites, including the great sacrifice. The poet died a few years before the Hijra, but the Hajj is older than Islam. 581 A hemistich from the famous Muʿallaqah by Imruʾ al-Qays. There are several interpretation of this verse (see also Jones, Early Arabic Poetry, II: Select Odes, 76). The grammatical point is that in Arabic an intransitive verb of motion (e.g., ḥalla, “stop”) can have a transitive function when combined with the preposition bi- “with” or “at,” so that ḥalla bi- can mean “stop at (a place)” as well as “make (someone) stop.” 582 See the entry “Mudjāwir” in EI2, 7:293–94 (W. Ende). 583 The tanḍubah is described as a large thorny tree that grows in the Hijaz, with big white branches, looking dry and dusty even when alive (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, N-Ḍ-B). 584 The word awwāb, literally “someone who returns,” is found several times in the Qur’an in the sense of “penitent” (Q Isrāʾ 17:25, Ṣād 38:19, 30, 44, Qāf 50:32). 585 The poet addresses himself. For the second and third lines see Ṭufayl al-Ghanawī, Dīwān, 55–56; for the third line, see also al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 7:197. The first line is in fact from a poem by ʿAbdah ibn al-Ṭabīb (Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, no. 26, the following line also mentions an elephant, which may have caused the confusion). 586 For this line, see Sībawayh, Kitāb, 1:230, with an explanation why makḥūl (“made up with kohl”) is masculine even though it qualifies the feminine ʿayn (“eye”).

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Notes 587 Again there is some pronominal confusion: tarʿā is feminine, whereas ribʿī is masculine; the Dīwān and al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 7:197 have tarʿā but lahū instead of lahā, Abū ʿAlī al-Qaysī, Īḍāḥ shawāhid al-Īḍāḥ, 506 has yarʿā and lahū. 588 The first two lines are quoted anonymously in Ibn Rashīq, ʿUmdah, 2:103 and Ibn Abī l-Iṣbaʿ, Taḥrīr, 287; the third in al-Maʿarrī, Ṣāhil, 391. 589 Some other editions (Qumayḥah, al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl) have wa-abīka khayran, but khayrin is correct. Compare wa-abīka khayrin minka (in a verse by Shumayr ibn al-Ḥārith al-Ḍabbī), explained as “by your father, a better man than you,” al-Baghdādī, Khizānah, 5:179–81. Ibn Rashīq and Ibn Abī l-Iṣbaʿ have ḥaqqan. 590 The editions of al-Yāzijī and Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ have ghuzulun, which is meaningless. The correct reading is doubtless ʿuz(u)lun (as in Qumayḥah, al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl, Ibn Rashīq, and Ibn Abī l-Iṣbaʿ), “unarmed” or “defenseless,” meaning that their owner generously slaughters them for guests (who arrive on a “strange camel”), something done especially in cold winters. 591 For the verses, see al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 7:198; Ibn Hishām, Sīrah, 1:60, trans. Guillaume, 29–30. 592 Nufayl ibn Ḥabīb al-Khath ʿamī was taken prisoner by Abrahah; offering himself as his guide he led them to al-Mughammas, where he told the elephant to stop since it was sacred territory. The animal obeyed and knelt down toward Mecca. For the story and the verses, see Ibn Hishām, Sīrah, 1:46–53, trans. Guillaume, 23–27; also al-Jāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, 7:199. 593 The invaders were killed or driven away by birds that cast stones, sent by God; see the story in Ibn Hishām and the Surah of the Elephant. The fate of the elephant (called Maḥmūd) is not known. 594 Abrahah had been set on the throne by Abyssinians (or Ethiopians) who had remained after an Abyssinian invasion of Yemen. 595 The ʿumrah or “lesser pilgrimage” is a shortened form of the Hajj that, unlike the Hajj, can be performed at any time of the year. When one combines them one has to enter into the appropriate state of ritual purity (iḥrām) only once. See R. Paret and E. Chaumont, “ʿUmra” in EI2, 10:864–66. The verb ahalla can mean either saying the talbiyah (the formula “Here I am for Thee!”) or the basmalah (“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate”); the context suggests the former. 596 An allusion to the controversial matter of the “temporary marriage” (mutʿah, literally “enjoyment”), a marriage contract for a fixed period. The Qur’anic verse «The wives that you enjoy thereby, give them their wages (or: dowries)» (Q Nisāʾ 4:24) had a variant adding “until a specific time,” which was by some exegetes seen as confirmation of

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Notes this practice. Among them was the famous cousin of the Prophet, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (d. 68/687). The Sunnites do not recognize this kind of marriage (which could be seen as a form of prostitution) but it exists in Shi’ite Islam. See W. Heffening, “Mutʿa” in EI2, 7:756–59. 597 Unidentified. “Circumambulating her Kaaba” is probably a somewhat risqué sexual metaphor. The verses are quoted anonymously (with a variant ḥattā taṣdura l-nāsū, with a rhyme defect) in al-Subkī, Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah, 3:141, and said to be by a contemporary of Ibn ʿAbbās. See also al-Rāghib al-Iṣbahānī, Muḥāḍarāt, 2:125 (a woman says, in verse: “Old man, how about the fatwa of Ibn ʿAbbās?”). 598 Jawhar ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣiqillī. The word jawhar means “jewel.” 599 i.e., by Death, or God. 600 The two words used here are more appropriate to camels than pearls: niqābah is “foot ulcer” (also “first signs of mange” and “rust”), nuḥāz is a coughing disease of camels. 601 Imruʾ al-Qays, Dīwān, 43. Lane, Lexicon (s.v., J-R-M) translates bi-Anṭākiyyatin as “at Antioch,” but all commentators (e.g., al-Baṭalyawsī, Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī, and Yāqūt in Muʿjam al-buldān) interpret it as “with cloth from Antioch,” because the correct form of Antioch in Arabic is Anṭākiyah, with single y, according to most authorities. 602 The colors and patterns of the hangings are compared to dates. 603 Needless to say, “Antioch” is not Arabic. Some lexicographers mention under the imaginary root N-Ṭ-K that Anṭākiyah (Antioch) is “probably Greek” (see al-Azharī, Tahdhīb al-lughah, 10:62; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab). 604 On Arabic morphological patterns, see Volume One, Gh §§3.8.4 and 13.8. The “derivation” assumes that Malaṭyah (Malatya) is from a root M-L-Ṭ, with a “secondary” Y followed by the feminine ending -ah. The name is not Arabic and probably not even Semitic. 605 Abū l-Qāsim al-Maghribī, see Volume One, IQ §7.4 and following sections. 606 In other words, De mortuis nil nisi bonum. Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 1287: “The Arabs say ‘Let the one in the grave alone,’ when someone blames a dead person.” 607 From a fragment included in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 1740– 41) by a certain Muzaʿfar, probably the early Islamic Maʿn ibn Ḥudhayfah al-Muzaʿfar al-Murrī (al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 323). 608 See Volume One, IQ §7.5: Abū l-Qāsim could not believe that Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s extemporized verses were not prepared in advance. 609 Hāshim was the Prophet’s grandfather, many of whose descendants are called al-Ḥasan or al-Ḥusayn, after the two sons of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭimah. 610 The renewal of faded tattoos is found as a motif in poetry.

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Notes 611 Rainclouds are often compared to camels. 612 See S. A. Bonebakker, “Irtidjāl,” in EI2, 4:80–81. 613 In English, “capping” can mean to supply a verse that somehow corresponds with a given verse; here (tamlīṭ in Arabic) it means to complete a line of which the first hemistich is given, observing the correct meter and rhyme; see Ibn Ẓāfir al-Azdī (d. 613/1216 or 623/1226), in his monograph on improvisation, Badāʾiʿ al-Badāʾih, 167–235. 614 Meaning unclear; rāsiyah is either “lofty mountain” or “large cooking pot.” 615 I ʿnāt is not a term especially connected with improvisation. In literary criticism it is used as a synonym of luzūm mā lā yalzam (see Volume One Introduction, xvii, xxx), the “rich rhyme” so beloved by al-Maʿarrī in his verse and prose. See Ibn al-Muʿtazz, Badī ʿ, 74 and several later works such as al-Tibrīzī, Wāfī, 295. 616 The verse, which is quoted in Sībawayh’s Kitāb (1:355) as being by ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zabīr al-Asadī (early Umayyad period), has also been attributed to Faḍālah ibn Sharīk al-Asadī (d. 64/683); see al-Sīrāfī, Sharḥ abyāt Sībawayh, 1:569, and to Faḍālah’s son ʿAbd Allāh, see al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 12:72, from a poem in which he attacks Ibn al-Zubayr as being stingy and praises the Umayyads. Abū Khubayb is the “anti-caliph” ʿAbd Allāh ibn alZubayr who was defeated by the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik and killed in 72/692; Umayyah, the pre-Islamic ancestor of the Umayyads, stands here for the Umayyads in general. 617 Line one is often quoted anonymously, e.g., in al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 2:165, and al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 16:187; the third line in Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 430 (Q-Th-M), all three in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Q-Th-M). The first line is attributed to al-Ḥārith ibn Khālid ibn al-ʿĀṣ al-Makhzūmī (d. after 96/715) in his Dīwān, 93; to al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Aṣghar in al-Marzubānī, Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ, 482; and to Buḥayr (or Bujayr) ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn

ʿĀmir ibn Salamah in Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥabbar, 139. 618 Itbāʿ, conventional rhyming pairs, the second element of which differs only in one letter, usually the first, but is often meaningless, as in ḥasan basan “very good” (a more demotic English equivalent would be “okey-dokey”). See M. Bencheikh, “Muzāwadja,” EI2, 7:823–24. 619 Ibdāl is the term for the various mutations undergone by phonemes as a result of phonotactic rules; it also concerns lexicographical variation between nearly identical forms, e.g., rifall/rifann, “long-tailed (horse).” Abū l-Ṭayyib’s book deals with the latter kind; it is preserved and has been edited. See EI2, 3:665. 620 As a technical term in linguistics qalb has two meanings (1) “conversion,” related to ibdāl, the change of a phoneme, specifically the “weak” consonants w and y, and the

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Notes glottal stop, in certain circumstances; and (2) metathesis, such as the variants jadhaba and jabadha, “to attract.” 621 The book deals with a peculiar, playful way of making chains or branched strings (hence the tree and pearls) of homonyms, using one meaning that links a word with a predecessor and another meaning that links it with the following word. A limited English example would be “adhere: stick; stick: stake; stake: post: post: mail; mail: armour.” See, e.g., al-Suyūṭī, Muzhir, 1:454–59 (where it is called al-mushajjar). 622 Brockelmann, Geschichte, Suppl. I, 183, mentions his al-Madākhil wa-l-ziyādāt (or al-Madākhil wa-gharīb al-lughah); the correct reading is al-Mudākhil, or possibly al-Mudākhal, see al-Suyūṭī, Muzhir, 1:454, quoting the opening of Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī’s Pearl Tree: “This book is about how speech interferes with meanings (mudākhalat al-kalām li-l-maʿānī).” 623 The subject is unknown; it could be on distinguishing the meanings of nearly identical words. See al-Suyūṭī, Muzhir, 2:288–301, on furūq (e.g., the difference between ḥaththa and ḥaḍḍa, both meaning “to incite,” or ʿiwaj and ʿawaj, “crookedness”). 624 In 352/962 the Byzantines under Nicephorus II Phocas (called al-dumustuq, “the domesticus” by the Arabs) took Aleppo by storm, pillaged the town, and killed many inhabitants. 625 The text has qurmūṭat al-kabarthal. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿarab has kabawthal and kabartal, but not kabarthal. 626 Shawṭ barāḥ (difficult to translate, perhaps “course of the open land”) is an unexplained name for the jackal (normally called ibn āwā) “or some other animal” (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, Sh-W-Ṭ); ʿillawḍ also means “jackal.” 627 On his poem rhyming on -ī/ūṣ see Volume One, Gh §§3.3–4, 6.2. 628 A proverb, see al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 2:311; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 2:261–63, said to refer to the trading “caravan” of Abū Sufyān and the “troop” setting out to fight the Prophet at Badr. It is applied to someone unfit for something and al-Maʿarrī means that he is unworthy of Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s extolling him. 629 Translation uncertain. Al-Maʿarrī uses the phrase jārimat ʿiyāl in his Fuṣūl (171) and explains it as kāsibuhum “he who earns their sustenance” (using the masculine singular); the context (ḍaraba ʿunuq jārimat ʿiyāl) also suggests a man rather than a female or a collective; cf also his Risālat al-Ṣāhil wa-l-shāḥij, 96 (aw jārimat ʿiyāl mithl al-dhiʾb). 630 The only reason for mentioning this tree (ḍāl) seems to be the rhyme with ifḍāl (“graciousness”).

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Notes 631 Quoted anonymously in Ibn al-Sikkīt, Iṣlāḥ al-manṭiq, 317; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Dh-H-B, Sh-Dh-R, and Th-R-M-L). Tuzmurah, in other sources Thurmulah (or, as below, Turmulah, which is probably an error), is an unusual man’s name. 632 The dictionaries give the unusual verb dhahiba (derived from dhahab, “gold”), meaning “to be amazed by the riches of a gold mine.” 633 The second and third line end in -rah; -lah would be a serious rhyme defect. 634 See Volume One, IQ §9.2. 635 Attributed not to the Prophet but (as rawwiḥū hādhihi l-qulūb taʿi l-dhikr) to the early Islamic Qasāmah ibn Zuhayr in al-Jāḥiẓ, Bayān, 1:326, idem, Risālah fī nafy al-tashbīh, in his Rasāʾil, 1:291; see also al-Zamakhsharī, Rabī ʿ al-abrār, 1:39. 636 The verse is the opening line of a poem included in al-Qurashī, Jamharat ashʿār al-ʿarab (231–33, with some variants). 637 Unidentified. 638 This hemistich is found as a (non-rhyming) first hemistich in a poem by Mālik ibn Zughbah (pre-Islamic), see al-Akhfash, Ikhtiyārayn, 148. 639 ʿAdī ibn Zayd al-ʿIbādī. For the verses, see al-Akhfash, Ikhtiyārayn, 715; al-Buḥturī, Ḥamāsah, 106; Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr, 226; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 2:139. 640 Before his abdication, al-Nuʿmān the Elder built the legendary castles al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadīr at al-Ḥīrah (near al-Najaf in Iraq, close to the Euphrates) for his Sassanid suzerain; al-Khawarnaq was still used by the Abbasids. 641 The usual reading found in the sources is “his heart.” 642 In the following passage of prose in rich rhyme many different words for “wine” are used; it would be anachronistic to attempt an imitation by means of modern European words such as claret, rosé, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Sauterne. 643 See above, §37.4.2. 644 Or perhaps “will not be informed of evident truth.” 645 The Arabic puns on sulāfah (“choice wine, made of juice flowing from unpressed grapes”) being sull (“consumption”) and āfah (“bane, ruin, ailment”). 646 It seems that this tribe is singled out merely in order to supply a rhyme with “youth” (shābb). 647 There are several explanations of the epithet shamūl, derived either from shamila “to envelop” or from shamāl “north wind”: “wine that envelops those present with its aroma,” “wine as strong as (or cooled by) the north wind,” or “wine that envelops the mind and takes possession of it” (al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 1259; al-Zamakhsharī, Asās, Sh-M-L; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, Sh-M-L).

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Notes 648 The author uses two different words for “lute” (but not the most common one, ʿūd): barbaṭ and mizhar; the latter had a belly made of skin rather than wood. See H. G. Farmer, “ʿŪd,” EI2, 10:768a. 649 For the verses see al-Sukkarī, Sharḥ ashʿār al-Hudhaliyyīn, 1261; Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 1198; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Ḥ-B-L). 650 i.e., hyenas will dig up his grave. 651 The lines are from a poem attributed to al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī, included in al-Qurashī, Jamharat ashʿār al-ʿarab, 275. On the basis of the second verse it has been claimed, implausibly, that the poet, called “long-lived” (e.g., Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr, 290; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 5:5–6), was a drinking companion of the pre-Islamic Lakhmid king al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Muḥarriq, father of al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir at whose court another Nābighah, al-Dhubyānī, lived. Al-Jaʿdī died ca. 60/680 or some years later (Sezgin, Geschichte, 2:245–46, Arazi, “al-Nābigha al-Djaʿdī,” EI2, 7:842–43). 652 The verse is the first of five found in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 875– 78), attributed to “al-Asadī.” In al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 15:245, 248 the lines are attributed to Quss ibn Sāʿidah, a legendary orator from pre-Islamic times, but a longer version of eleven verses is attributed, on the authority of Ibn al-Sikkīt, to ʿĪsā ibn Qudāmah al-Asadī (Aghānī, 15:248–49), who is otherwise unknown. The lines have also been ascribed to the equally obscure Naṣr ibn Ghālib (see al-Baghdādī, Khizānah, 2:87–88; Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v. Rāwand). 653 The relevant verses are not quoted by al-Maʿarrī: “I’ll stay standing at your graves and will not leave (. . .)” 654 See above, §37.2.1, where it is said that “syrup” (ṭilāʾ ) is used as a euphemism for wine. The poet of this line has not been identified. 655 Or perhaps “pitilessly”? The meaning of min ghayr balāʾ is not wholly clear; compare the words of Arwā bint al-Ḥārith, accusing Muʿāwiyah: “You have taken what is not your due bi-ghayr balāʾ on your and your ancestors’ part” (Ibn Abī Ṭayfūr, Balāghāt al-nisāʾ, 40). 656 See Volume One, IQ §9.3. 657 For this eschatological image see, e.g., Wensinck et al., Concordance, s.v. L-J-M; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (L-J-M) explains: “sweat will reach their mouths, becoming like a bridle that prevents them from speaking on the Day of Resurrection.” 658 “Out of an annual Egyptian revenue of three or five million dīnārs, Muʿāwiya is said to have received a balance of only 600,000 dīnārs” (M. Hinds, “Muʿāwiya,” EI2, 7:266a). For the anecdote, cf. Ibn Qutaybah, ʿUyūn, 1:318, and compare the version in Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Muʿjam mā staʿjam (ed. al-Saqqā), 2:445.

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Notes 659 i.e., it was not a trifling amount. 660 Ibn al-Muʿtazz; see his Dīwān (ed. Muḥammad Badī ʿ Sharīf ), 2:297. 661 The beginning can be read as danānīrunā, “our dinars,” or as danā nīrunā, “our yoke has approached.” The verse is quoted anonymously in al-Khalīl, ʿAyn (Q-S-Ṭ-R), Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (N-Y-R and Q-S-Ṭ-R), in both cases with a different ending (ʿinda l-qasāṭirī or ʿinda l-qasāṭirah, both meaning “at the money-changers”). Al-Maʿarrī’s reading, bayna l-ṣafāʾiḥī, “between slabs,” not found elsewhere, is unclear (this usually refers to the slabs or stones on a grave). 662 The verse is from a poem in al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, 238 (see Lyall’s translation, 181). The word used by al-Maʿarrī, rabāʾib, strictly means “stepmothers,” “foster-mothers,” or “allied women”; but there is nothing in Muraqqish’s poem that suggests they are anything but the women of the tribe and it seems that rabāʾib was chosen merely for the sake of the rhyme. 663 ʿAnam is a parasitic plant of uncertain identity; Lyall (183) thinks of a kind of mistletoe, a species of Loranthus; see also Ghaleb, Dictionnaire, s.v. Its berries are red and mentioned by poets describing henna’d fingers. 664 al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī, Dīwān, 142. 665 Bi-l-mithqāl (“with a weight”) is unclear; one is tempted to read bi-l-miṣqāl “with a polishing tool,” but this word is not well attested (in a poem by al-Ḥuṣayn ibn al-Ḥumām, in al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, 13:90, it seems to mean “polished sword”) and it is difficult to imagine that miṣqāl could become corrupted to mithqāl (unless someone with a lisp intervened at some stage in the transmission of the text). 666 The word is vowelled as murahhanāt by Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ and al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl, but this form is not attested elsewhere as far as we know and we read it as murhanāt. For the sake of a better rhyme, we also read mūhanāt rather than muwahhanāt. 667 Meaning unclear. 668 The line is quoted anonymously in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (R-H-N); with a different first hemistich it is attributed to “Radhādh al-Kalbī” in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (ʿ-W-D); nothing is known about the poet. The second hemistich is quoted anonymously in several sources. 669 The word urhinat is variously explained as “paid in advance” (salafan) and “prepared” (uʿiddat); see, e.g., Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, 807 (R-H-N). The epithet ʿīdiyyah is usually explained as referring to the tribe of ʿĪd, but another interpretation connects it with the legendary pre-Islamic people of ʿĀd. If instead of buʿuran (“camels”) the reading of Lisān al-ʿArab (buʿudan, “far and wide”) is adopted, ʿīdiyyah is better rendered as “a she-camel of the Banū ʿĪd.”

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Notes 670 This otherwise pointless clause only serves a rhyme. 671 For the verse, see Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyāt, Dīwān, 71, and al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 12:181–82, where the words “the clay of her seal is widely accepted” is interpreted as “she has influence with the ruler,” “she” being Umm al-Banīn, wife of Caliph al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd alMalik (r. 86–96/705–17). 672 One of the many important measures of the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān (r. 65–86/685–705) was the reform of the coinage. The first Islamic dinars were struck from ca. 72/692, modeled on Byzantine coins that had hitherto been used. 673 Sībawayh, Kitāb, 1:10, al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 1:319, and many later works; not found in al-Farazdaq’s Dīwān, ed. Dār Ṣādir; in the edition of ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣāwī, 570, it is given after Sībawayh. The verse describes a speeding she-camel. 674 As, e.g., in al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 1:319. 675 The allusion is not clear. Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ and al-Iskandarānī/Fawwāl have nakhīlah, but a proper rhyme with Aylah requires the diminutive nukhaylah. 676 The line is quoted anonymously in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (H-B-R-Z and W-Sh-Y) and attributed to Uḥayḥah ibn al-Julāḥ in Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān s.v. Aylah; it is from an elegy on his son. The following line is “. . . more beautiful than he was when he appeared in the morning; | hasty Death made me sigh for him.” 677 Literally, “consuming itself,” used for “being enraged” and “gleaming,” said of lightning or swords; for the same image, see the verse on a sword by Aws ibn Ḥajar quoted in al-Qālī, Amālī, 2:220; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, ʾ-K-L. 678 It is not, of course, the gold coin itself that is engraved but the stamp used for minting it. The commentary in Yāqūt and Ibn Manẓūr more correctly glosses al-wushāh as al-ḍarrābūn (“the minters”). 679 The verse, which describes the beaming faces of warriors in battle, is quoted, e.g., in al-Khalīl, ʿAyn (Q-S-M); it is from a poem included in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 1457), by Muḥriz ibn al-Mukaʿbir al-Ḍabbī (pre-Islamic but may have lived at the beginning of Islam). 680 The poet is unknown and the lines have not been found elsewhere. 681 On the “rain stars,” see Volume One, Gh §3.8.2. 682 Poet unidentified. 683 Presumably the speaker’s wife. 684 There is a play on words (aqdāḥ, “cups,” and qidāḥ, “arrows”) 685 The two lines by al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī are quoted in Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Muʿjam mā staʿjam (ed. Wüstenfeld), 1:300; the second line or parts of it are quoted in several sources.

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Notes 686 A reference to the creaking of the pulley. 687 Wooden clappers in eastern churches serve like bells in the west. 688 Unidentified; the lines have not been found elsewhere. 689 The two lines are said to have been inscribed on the two sides of four thousand outsize dinars found in a pond belonging to the famous Barmakid vizier Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā (executed by Hārūn al-Rashīd in d. 187/803), see al-Jahshiyārī, Wuzarāʾ, 241 and cf. al-Washshāʾ, Muwashshā, 193. Elsewhere (al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, 7:156) it is told how Jaʿfar had them struck, every coin weighing three hundred mithqāls (equivalent to three hundred normal dinars) and bearing an image of his face; the verses (duly mentioning “a weight of three hundred” here) are said to have been composed afterward by Abū l-ʿAtāhiyah; they are not found in his Dīwān. 690 Al-Jahshiyārī says that each coin weighed 101 “dinars” (a dīnār also being a weight of some 4.25 grams). 691 Q Āl ʿImrān 3:75. 692 Jews or Christians (but see al-Maʿarrī’s comment, below). 693 Qinṭār, ultimately from Latin centenarium, has been translated in this passage as “hundredweight,” “talent,” and “heap of gold.” The commentators connect it with a story involving 1,200 ounces of gold. 694 Abū Jundab al-Hudhalī, pre-Islamic (but may have reached the Islamic period); see al-Sukkarī, Sharḥ ashʿār al-Hudhaliyyīn, 363 (where it is said that al-Aṣmaʿī attributes the poem from which the verse is taken to another poet of Hudhayl, Abū Dhuʾayb). 695 The Hudhalī Dīwān has masculine forms (daʿawta, atāka); Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ has feminine forms (daʿawti, atāki), perhaps because the poem begins with addressing a woman (Aqūlu li-Ummi Zinbāʿin aqīmī). But women do not invite men; daʿawta is probably the “neutral” form (“if one invited them”). 696 See his Dīwān, 18. 697 See his Dīwān, 89–90. 698 With the following rajaz verses he addresses his mother, having been wounded during a fight with an opponent called Nubayshah ibn Ḥabīb. See al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:330; al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:286. 699 The line is quoted and discussed anonymously in Sībawayh, Kitāb, 1:87 and many other works, e.g., al-Baghdādī, Khizānah, 8:215–19 (where it is said that some attribute it to Jarīr, or Jābir ibn Raʾlān al-Sinbisī, or Taʾabbaṭa Sharrā). The two men mentioned in the line are unknown. 700 The verse is discussed because of the accusative in ʿAbda Rabbin akhā ʿAwn, even though it seems to continue the genitive in bāʿithu Dīnārin.

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Notes 701 The line is found in an ode in praise of Caliph Sulaymān in his Dīwān (2:90, which wrongly has Dhubyān instead of Dīnār). 702 A “goat’s day” is an allusion to a violent death; see, e.g., Ibn Qutaybah, Maʿānī, 876, 1028; Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī, Faṣl al-maqāl, 455; al-Thaʿālibī, Thimār, 379–80. The allusion is to a proverb, “like the one who searched for the knife,” i.e., a goat that happened to find the knife that would be used to slaughter it. On this saying, originally Greek, and its many forms in Arabic, see Ullmann, “Αἲξ τὴν μάχαιραν.” 703 Instead of “his killer” (qātiluh), the Dīwān and other versions have “one who will keep him busy” (shāghiluh); al-Thaʿālibī has “one who will abandon him” (khādhiluh). 704 The line is quoted anonymously in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (N-Kh-Kh, Ḍ-Ḥ-W), mentioning another tribe (Kalb). The word nakhkhah (or nukhkhah) is variously explained: “male or female slaves,” “donkeys,” or “cattle put to work.” The Prophet is reported to have said “There is no alms tax (ṣadaqah) on nakhkhah.” 705 Poet unidentified; the lines have not been found elsewhere. 706 Literally, “raise their tails” (to receive a male), which means they have no milk. 707 The line is from a poem in praise of Caliph Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah (Dīwān, 143; Ibn Sallām, Ṭabaqāt, 433; al-Qurashī, Jamharah, 329, all with a wholly different first half: “A virgin [wine] the brilliance of which is not discerned by the suitors . . . ,” and with “discerned it” (ijtalāhā) instead of “bought it” in the second half ). 708 The Arabic ʿibādī is the term for Christians of al-Ḥīrah. 709 The poet of the two rather obscure rajaz lines is unknown; the second is quoted in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (K-R-K), who also mentions Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid as his source. The rare word kārūkah is from Aramaic kārōkā. 710 A line from al-Mutanabbī’s famous ode praising the Būyid ruler ʿAḍud al-Dawlah (Dīwān, 767); he describes his journey to the patron, passing by the wooded Valley of Bawwān. For an English translation of the poem, see Arberry, Poems by al-Mutanabbī, 143–41. 711 Kuthayyir ʿAzzah, Dīwān, 1:83. The words ʿuyūna l-nāẓirīna (“the eyes of the onlookers”) in the present text is an error for al-ʿuyūna l-nāẓirāti (“looking eyes”) found in all other sources (e.g., al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 12:187). “Heraclian” refers to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius who ruled ad 610–41; for the use of Byzantine dinars (the solidus of Heraclius) by the early Muslims, see above, §43.1.2. 712 Ibn al-Qāriḥ speaks of eighty-three. 713 Q Aʿrāf 7:155; cf. Num. 11:16–24. 714 Q Tawbah 9:80. 715 Q Ḥāqqah 69:32, describing the unbeliever in Hell.

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Notes 716 The line (al-Aʿshā, Dīwān, ed. Rudolf Geyer, London: Luzac, 1928, 94, Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1994, 182) is from a poem mocking a certain ʿUmayr ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mundhir. 717 See Q Ghāfir 40:36–37: «Pharaoh said, “O Haman, build me a high building, so that I may reach the ropes, the ropes of the heavens”»; the pre-Islamic poet Zuhayr also uses the expression in his Muʿallaqah (“. . .even if he ascended the ropes of heaven with a ladder,” al-Tibrīzī, Sharḥ al-qaṣāʾid al-ʿashr, 64). 718 The following verses are “Then your words would surely disquieten you | until you will hate them and know that I shall not hold your blood sacrosanct. || And you will choke on the words you have spread | as a lance-tip chokes on blood.” See Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (S-B-B, D-R-J). 719 Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā is said to have lived for one hundred-twenty years (Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī, Muʿammarūn, 73), but al-Maʿarrī is thinking of the verse in Zuhayr’s Muʿallaqah, “. . . he who lives eighty years, dammit, gets bored” (Lyall, Sharḥ al-qaṣāʾid al-ʿashr, 65). 720 Anonymously in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab (Q-W-M). 721 For the verse, see al-Qālī, Amālī, 3:160 and (with rhyme-word thamāniyā) al-Baghdādī, Khizānah, 3:375 (cf. 379). 722 A dinar was theoretically ten or twelve dirhams, in practice some twenty or considerably more. 723 See Ibn Sallām, Ṭabaqāt, 33; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 8:85, 9:335–36: when al-Farazdaq needed one hundred camels as a bride-price for Ḥadrāʾ bint Zīq, a Christian woman, he appealed to the Umayyad governor al-Ḥajjāj, who refused at first; through the intercession of ʿAnbasah ibn Saʿīd he received one hundred “of the inferior camels of the alms tax revenue (min ḥawāshī ibil al-ṣadaqah).” The sale is mentioned only in the more detailed version of Abū ʿUbaydah, Naqāʾiḍ Jarīr wa-l-Farazdaq, 819–21. 724 His History is not preserved and the story has not been found elsewhere. 725 Perhaps Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān al-Marzubānī (d. 384/993) is meant, author of various books on poetry, poets, grammarians, and other topics. 726 ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad. The line has not been found elsewhere. 727 With the following verse, the last of seven included in Abū Tammām’s Ḥamāsah (see al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ, 602), he boasts of the number of men in his tribe, Sinbis. 728 The line is from a poem in praise of Caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (al-Farazdaq, Dīwān, 2: 291). 729 Literally, “the nights,” often used meaning “Fate” or “(destructive) Time.” 730 There are several explanations and discussions of this proverb and its variants; see al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 1:289; al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 1:314–15: the number is too large to

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Notes handle; or it goes back to a Bedouin who was offered a reward by the Sasanian emperor for bringing him good tidings and who thought that eighty sheep was all he needed. 731 Al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 2:432; al-ʿAskarī, Jamharah, 2:268. 732 The word riqah has two meanings, “lush pasture” and “(silver) dirham,” deemed inferior to the gold dinar. 733 See Volume One, Gh §16.3. 734 For the anecdote, see, e.g., Ibn Qutaybah, Shiʿr, 238, 325–26; al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 2:167, 16:378–79, 17:226. 735 The verse is from a poem in the ancient anthology al-Aṣmaʿiyyāt (187). 736 See his Dīwān (ed. ʿArafāt), 1:40 (ed. Ḥasanayn) 89, both having ḥilm (“wisdom”) instead of ʿilm (“knowledge”) 737 See his Dīwān, (Beirut, 1994), 75. The woman is “yellow” in the evening, having put on saffron-based makeup. 738 Unidentified; the lines are quoted anonymously in Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v. al-Sitār. The Banū l-ʿAnbar tribe were nicknamed Banū l-Jaʿrāʾ (“the turd-woman’s sons”) after a woman called Dughah, proverbial for her stupidity (she gave birth to a child thinking she was defecating). 739 Yāqūt explains al-sitār as “the gaps between the boundary stones of the sacred area (ḥaram), serving as a border between the profane and the sacred area (of Mecca)”; see also al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿarūs (S-T-R). Here it has apparently been taken as a place name (see, e.g., poems by ʿAlqamah and Imruʾ al-Qays, in Ahlwardt, The Divans, 103, 150). 740 A “carat” (qīrāṭ), originally a grain of the carob-tree, is also the twenty-fourth part of a dinar. 741 The verses are from a poem in praise of Abd Allāh ibn Ṭāhir, the governor of Khurāsān. See Ibn al-Muʿtazz, Ṭabaqāt, 187. 742 Abū l-ʿItrīf is unidentified; the line (with a different second hemistich but with the same rhyme in -ālā) is attributed to an unidentified Abū l-Miqdām in dictionaries (al-Khalīl,

ʿAyn; Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab) s.v. ʿ-Y-N, where “eyes” is explained as “dinars.” All earlier editions of al-Ghufrān have ʿayban, an error for ʿaynan. 743 Thamānūn, “Eighty,” called thus because it was there according to legend that the eighty people in Noah’s ark disembarked after the Flood. They all died of the plague except Noah and his family (Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v.). Mount al-Jūdī is mentioned in the Qur’an (Q Hūd 11:44); see M. Streck, entry “Djūdī,” EI2, 2:573–74. 744 Quoted anonymously in Ibn al-Marzubān, al-Muntahā fī l-kamāl, 168, attributed to the grammarian Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Zubaydī (d. 379/989) in al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmah, 2:71, whereas Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 4:373 merely says that al-Zubaydī “often

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Notes recited” the verses. In al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Muḥāḍarāt, 1:306 the verse is attributed to al-Mubarrad. 745 The mole (khāl) not only serves rhyme and word play (khalkhāl, “anklet,” takhtālu “being proud”) but is very often mentioned in erotic verse. 746 Islamic etiquette demands that one eat only with the right hand. 747 A verse from the famous ode attributed to the pre-Islamic poet Taʾabbaṭa Sharrā (al-Marzūqī, Sharḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsah, 828); the authenticity has been contested already by early commentators. For an annotated translation see Jones, Early Arabic Poetry, 1:229–47. The poet refers to a dead kinsman, mentioned in the opening line, “whose blood is not yet avenged.” 748 Probably meaning that his acts or decisions cannot be undone. 749 Al-Hijris, posthumous son of Kulayb ibn Rabī ʿah; his mother was the sister of Jassās ibn Murrah, who, by shooting a camel belonging to Kulayb, started the legendary and protracted “War of Basūs” between the tribes of Bakr and Wāʾil in pre-Islamic times (see, e.g., Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs, 55–60). Al-Hijris sought revenge for the killing of his father by Jassās. See, e.g., al-Iṣfahānī, Aghānī, 4:150–51. 750 Tawbah ibn Muḍarris, nicknamed al-Khinnawt (“choked [by tears or anger]”), of uncertain period, avenged the death of his two brothers, Ṭāriq and Mirdās (al-Āmidī, Muʾtalif, 68–69). The following piece has not been found elsewhere. 751 Paying a blood price (diyah) was a peaceful alternative to retaliation (qiṣāṣ) in preIslamic customary law; it was incorporated in Islam and the usual price for homicide was one hundred camels of specified ages. 752 See al-Mubarrad, Kāmil, 3:264, al-Qālī, Amālī, 2:26. 753 Translation uncertain. Al-Qanān (with the article) is also the name of a mountain in the territory of the tribe of Asad (Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, Q-N-N); there are, however, fifteen persons named Qanān (without the article, as here) in al-Kalbī, Ǧamharat an-nasab. 754 The camels will not lament the death of the deceased, because they were generous men who slaughtered their camels for guests. The Arabic has qarmal (“a weak, thornless shrub”) and afānī (cf. afāniyah in Volume One, Gh §1.1). 755 The author is perhaps ironical here. 756 Rujaybin (“of Rajab darling”) is prosodically SLL, one syllable short (it should be SLLS or SLLL) 757 The Arabic has Rujaybina, for Rujaybin, a grave breach of grammar, since the ending for the indefinite (-n) cannot be followed by a vowel in this position. 758 Q Taghābun 64:14.

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Notes 759 The verses are sometimes ascribed to Laylā, beloved of Qays ibn al-Mulawwaḥ, nicknamed Majnūn Laylā (Laylā’s Madman) of the tribe of ʿĀmir (al-ʿĀmilī, Kashkūl, 126, 423); anonymously in Ibn Abī Ḥajalah, Dīwān al-ṣabābah, 100; Dāwūd al-Anṭākī, Tazyīn, 2:143. 760 Using a pausal form (nūdī) is normally allowed in rhyme position; it is allowed but frowned upon as a poetic licence. 761 The verses have not been found elsewhere. 762 Presumably meaning “continuously renewed greetings.” 763 This envoi may be a copyist’s addition.

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Glossary

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ a transmitter of traditions from Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq ibn Muḥammad (d. 148/765), the last imam recognized by both “Twelver” and Zaydī Shi’ites; opponents of the Ismāʿīlīs, the third important branch of the Shi’a, maintain that ʿAbd Allāh founded the Ismāʿīlī sect, claimed to be a prophet, and committed various other enormities.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz see Ibn al-Muʿtazz. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabaʾ a rather obscure figure said to be the “founder” of the Shi’ah, or at least some of its more extreme forms, by exalting ʿAlī, proclaiming that he was not dead and would return, or even asserting his being divine.

ʿAbd al-Jabbār (ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn Aḥmad; d. 415/1025) judge and important Muʿtazilite theologian, author of the voluminous al-Mughnī, a work on dogmatics.

ʿAbd al-Salām ibn al-Ḥusayn (Abū Aḥmad, nicknamed al-Wājikā; d. 405/1014) a lexicographer from Basra who worked as librarian in Baghdad (see, e.g., al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, 9:57–58; al-Qifṭī, Inbāh, 2:175–76; al-Ṣafadī, Wāfī, 18:419–20); the nickname al-Wājikā appears as al-Wajkā in al-Qifṭī, Inbāh, 2:176, whose editor plausibly suggests as its origin the Persian awj-gāh (“Whose throne or power is as exalted as the zenith,” see Steingass, Persian-English Dictionary).

ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Raghbān see Dīk al-Jinn. ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ (ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ al-Asadī; first half of the 6th century) famous pre-Islamic poet. Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn Kātib al-Baktimurī

probably identical with Abū l-Fatḥ

al-Baktimurī (or al-Buktumurī, after a Turkic name of uncertain voweling), called Ibn al-Kātib al-Shāmī (“son of the Syrian state secretary”), mentioned in al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmah, 1:104–6 as one of the poets connected with the Ḥamdānid court.

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Glossary

Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mumattaʿ

(Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Khalaf ibn ʿAlī al-Maʿarrī,

known as al-Mumattaʿ) a man of letters and poet from Aleppo; a pupil of Abū l-ʿAlāʾ, who composed elegies on his death (Ibn al-ʿAdīm, Bughyat al-ṭalab, 725–30). Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālawayh see Ibn Khālawayh. Abū Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Salām ibn al-Ḥusayn Abū ʿAlī

see ʿAbd al-Salām ibn al-Ḥusayn.

Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī (d. 377/987) important grammarian born in south-

ern Iran, active in Aleppo and Baghdad. Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ

(d. ca. 159/776) philologist from Baṣra, one of the earliest

scholars who systematically collected early poetry; also a famous Qur’an reciter; one of the seven Qur’an readings goes back to him. Abū ʿAṣīdah

(Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Nāṣiḥ; d. 273/886) grammarian and lexi-

cographer, of Daylamite (Persian) origin. Abū l-Aswad al-Duʾalī (d. ca. 69/688) a minor poet famous as the alleged founder of Arabic grammatical studies in Basra; the report is probably spurious. Abū Bakr (r. 11–13/632–34) one of the earliest converts, the father of ʿĀʾishah who became the Prophet’s favorite wife; he is often given the epithet al-Ṣiddīq (“the truthful”, or “trustworthy”); the first caliph. Abū Bakr ibn Durayd

(Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Durayd; d. 321/933) an

important lexicographer as well as a poet; he died at a very advanced age. Abū Bakr ibn al-Sarrāj Abū Bakr al-Shiblī

see Ibn al-Sarrāj.

(d. 334/945 in Baghdad) early mystic; a follower of al-Ḥallāj

for a while, but turned against him at the latter’s trial. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq see Abū Bakr. Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī

see Ṣūlī, Abū Bakr al-.

Abū Duʾād (or Duwād)

(Abū Duʾād al-Iyādī, Jāriyah ibn al-Ḥajjāj; d. probably

between ad 540 and 550) an early pre-Islamic poet, active in al-Ḥīrah. Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī nothing is known about him; the text notes that he was the state secretary at the court of Naṣr al-Dawlah. Abū Ḥafṣ see ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. Abū Ḥafṣ al-Kattānī

(ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm al-Kattānī; d. 390/1000) Qur’anic

scholar from Baghdad. Abū Ḥanīfah (d. 150/750) famous Kufan jurist and theologian, who gave his name to the Ḥanafites, one of the four major legal schools in Sunnite Islam. Abū l-Ḥasan

see Abū l-Ḥasan al-Maghribī.

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Glossary

Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram

(ʿAlī ibn al-Mughīrah; d. 232/846–47) lexicographer

from Baghdad; athram means “missing a tooth” or “having a broken tooth.” Abū l-Ḥasan al-Maghribī (ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn; killed in 400/1009) the father of al-Wazīr al-Maghribī, who held offices under Sayf al-Dawlah in Aleppo and later in Cairo. Abū l-Ḥasan Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah

see Akhfash al-Awsaṭ, al-.

Abū Ḥātim Sahl ibn Muḥammad (Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī; d. 255/868) Basran philologist, author of several works on lexicography and early poetry; al-Aṣmaʿī’ was one his teachers. Abū l-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf

(Muḥammad ibn al-Hudhayl ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, Abū

l-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf; d. 226/840 or a few years later) speculative theologian, a prominent representative of the “rationalist” Muʿtazilah school. Abū ʿĪsā

(d. 209/824–25) a son of Hārūn al-Rashīd; he was something of a rake

and composed a poem against fasting in Ramadan. Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr Abū l-Khaṭṭāb

see Manṣūr, al-.

see Akhfash al-Akbar, al-.

Abū Maʿshar al-Madanī

(Abū Maʿshar Najīḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sindī

al-Madanī; d. 170/787) Medinan author of Kitāb al-Maghāzī (Book of [the Prophet’s] Campaigns), known only from quotations. Abū l-Muḥallim ʿAwf ibn al-Muḥallim

(ʿAwf ibn Muḥallim (thus, without the

article) al-Ḥarrānī al-Khuzāʿī (thus, rather than of Sulaym); d. ca. 220/835) poet and man of letters from Ḥarrān (ancient Carrhae, in northern Mesopotamia). Abū Muslim

(d. 136/754) the propagandist and organizer of the revolution that

brought the Abbasids to power in 132/749–50; his former employers had him murdered in 136/754; after his death he became the focus of messianic beliefs of heretical sects in Khorasan and Iran. Abū Nuwās

(al-Ḥasan ibn Hāni ʾ al-Ḥakamī; d. ca. 200/814) one of the great

and most versatile poets, famous especially for his Bacchic poetry and love lyrics (mostly on boys); associated with the caliph al-Amīn, Hārūn al-Rashīd’s son, and died shortly after him. Abū l-Qāsim al-Maghribī

(Abū l-Qāsim al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Maghribī; d. 418/

1027) known as al-Wazīr al-Maghribī (his family came from North Africa, but it seems he was born in Aleppo), a man of letters, the only one to escape the massacre of his family (a line of high officials and viziers under the Fatimids) in 400/1009, during the reign of the “mad” caliph al-Ḥākim;

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Glossary

he held several offices; Ibn al-Qāriḥ had been his tutor but after the family fell from grace he satirized and criticized al-Maghribī in a poem. (Al-Ḥārith ibn Rib ʿī Abū Qatādah al-Anṣārī; d. 54/674 or earlier)

Abū Qatādah

early Medinan convert nicknamed Fāris al-nabī, “The Prophet’s Knight.” Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī

see al-Marrār ibn Saʿīd.

Abū Saʿīd al-Sīrāfī (Abū Saʿīd al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allāh; d. 368/979) judge and grammarian born in Sīrāf (Persia), active in Baghdad; author of a commentary on Sībawayh’s grammar. Abū Ṣakhr al-Hudhalī a poet of the Umayyad period, known mostly for his love poetry. Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb

(Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayyah; d. ca. 32/653)

the leader of the Meccan opposition against the Prophet; he converted to Islam after the conquest of Mecca; he was the father of Muʿāwiyah, founder of the Umayyad dynasty (called after Abū Sufyān’s grandfather). Abū Ṭalḥah

(Zayd ibn Sahl, Abū Ṭalḥah al-Anṣārī; d. 32/652 or 34/654) one of

the leading Muslim converts from Medina. Abū Tammām (Ḥabīb ibn Aws al-Ṭāʾ ī; d. ca. 231/846) a very important poet from the Abbasid period who composed odes on leading personages including Caliph al-Muʿtaṣim but also excelled in other genres; noted for his often difficult, rugged diction and a highly rhetoricized style full of rather far-fetched metaphors, plays on words, and “intellectual” conceits; he compiled a very influential, thematically arranged anthology of preand early Islamic poetry, called al-Ḥamāsah (Zeal, after the first, “heroic” chapter). Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī see Mutanabbī, al-. Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī (ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī, i.e., “the lexicographer”; d. 351/962) lexicographer and grammarian. Abū ʿUbādah see Buḥturī, al-. Abū ʿUbaydah (Maʿmar ibn al-Muthannā; d. 210/825) famous philologist from Basra; a specialist in ancient Arabic language, lore, and poetry; rival of al-Aṣmaʿī. Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid (Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Zāhid; d. 345/957) lexicographer and devoted pupil of Thaʿlab, hence known as Ghulām Thaʿlab, “Thaʿlab’s servant;” he was also known as al-Zāhid (“the Ascetic”). Abū Usāmah Junādah ibn Muḥammad see Junādah ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī.

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Glossary

Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī (Abū ʿUthmān Bakr ibn Muḥammad al-Māzinī; d. 248/862 or some years later) a philologist from Basra. Abū Zubayd (d. first half of the seventh century) Christian poet who died without converting to Islam; composed wine poetry.

ʿAdī ibn Zayd al-ʿIbādī (d. ca. ad 600) pre-Islamic Christian poet from al-Ḥīrah famous for his descriptions of wine.

ʿAḍud al-Dawlah (r. 338–72/949–83) the most powerful ruler of the Būyid dynasty, in Iraq and southern and western Persia. Afshīn, al- (d. 226/841) commander under al-Muʿtaṣim, of Iranian extraction, who had suppressed a dangerous revolt by Bābak; having been in secret correspondence with Māzyār, he was accused of apostasy in a show trial in Sāmarrā and left to starve to death. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥanbal; d. 241/855) very famous and popular scholar of Prophetic Tradition and Islamic law, founder of the Sunnite law school called Ḥanbalite after him; large crowds gathered at his funeral in Baghdad. Aḥmad ibn Kāmil

(Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil ibn Khalaf Ibn Shajarah

[al-Shajarī]; d. 350/961) author of works on history, the Qur’an, Islamic law, and other subjects. Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Nāṣiḥ see Abū ʿAṣīdah. Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Aḥsāʾ, al-

see Thaʿlab.

one of the Carmathian strongholds in eastern Arabia, from where

they attacked southern Iraq and the Hijaz in the first half of the fourth/ tenth century.

ʿAjjāj, al- (d. after 99/717) poet famous for his poems in rajaz meter; the first to use rajaz for longer poems and odes; on account of his extremely rich diction he is quoted very often by lexicographers. Akhfash al-Akbar, al-

(Abū l-Khaṭṭāb; d. 177/793) a grammarian from Basra,

called “the older” al-Akhfash to distinguish him from two later philologists with the same nickname (meaning “weak-sighted” or “hemeralopic”), called al-Awsaṭ (“the middle”) and al-Aṣghar (“the younger”). Akhfash al-Awsaṭ, al-

(Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah Abū l-Ḥasan,; d. ca. 215/830) phi-

lologist; the sources say that his lips were unable to close properly (see, e.g., al-Qifṭī, Inbāh, 2:39). Akhṭal, al-

(al-Taghlibī; d. ca. 92/710) with Jarīr and al-Farazdaq, one of the

three great poets of the Umayyad period; even though he was associated

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276

Glossary

with the court of several caliphs, eulogising ʿAbd al-Malik and others, he was a Christian, like many other of his tribe, the Taghlib, in early Islam; he also excelled in Bacchic scenes; in the protracted poetic battle between Jarīr and al-Farazdaq he sided with the latter.

ʿAlī (ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; killed in 40/661) cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, the husband of the latter’s daughter Fāṭimah; he became the fourth caliph and was murdered after a reign of five years; various sects claimed some kind of divinity for him.

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad the leader of the revolt of the Zanj, who claimed to be a descendant of ʿAlī; the Zanj were blacks originally from East Africa; widely exploited as slaves on plantations in southern Iraq, they revolted several times, most dangerously between 255/869 and 270/883, when they defeated several caliphal armies and sacked Basra.

ʿĀlij a sandy place in Arabia; its location is controversial. ʿAlqamah (ʿAlqamah ibn ʿAbadah; 6th century ad) pre-Islamic poet connected with the court of the Arab Lakhmid rulers in al-Ḥīrah. Āmid

now called Diyarbakır, in S.-E. Turkey.

ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (d. ca. 42/663) one of the great leaders of the early Islamic conquests; conqueror of Egypt; ally of Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān in the conflict with ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; when Muʿāwiyah became the first Umayyad caliph ʿAmr remained governor of Egypt. ʿAmr ibn Ḥumamah (ʿAmr ibn Ḥumamah al-Dawsī) occasionally mentioned for his wisdom, as one of the pre-Islamic Arab “arbiters” and “soothsayers.”

ʿĀnah place on the Euphrates in Northern Mesopotamia associated with wine production. Anmār

a sub-tribe of ʿAbd al-Qays.

Antioch

(Anṭakiyah, Turkish Antakya) town in Northern Syria (today Turkey),

situated on the Orontes river. Anūsharwān

(r. ad 531–79) Sasanid emperor.

Arafah or ʿArafāt

a plain east of Mecca that plays an important role in the cer-

emonies of the Hajj. Aʿshā, al-

(Maymūn ibn Qays) Al-Aʿshā means “the Night-blind, Nyctalopic”;

of the tribe of Bakr, one of the great pre-Islamic poets; he was probably a Christian. Ashʿarītes

Abū l-Ḥasan al-Ash ʿarī (d. 324/935–36) turned against the

Muʿtazilites after having been one of them; his school of theology (which

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Glossary

preserved some of the rationalist elements and methods of the Muʿtazilah) became the dominant one in Sunni Islam. Aṣmaʿī, al-

(ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Qurayb al-Aṣmaʿī; d. ca. 216/831) famous philol-

ogist from Basra; a specialist in ancient Arabic language, lore, and poetry; rival of Abū ʿUbaydah. ʿAwf ibn Muḥallim see Abū l-Muḥallim. Aws

(Aws ibn Ḥajar; said to have died shortly before the Hijra (ad 622)) a preIslamic poet admired for his hunting scenes and descriptions of arms and manly virtues.

Athram, al-

see Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram.

Aylah

(Hebrew Elath/Eilat) located at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Bābak

(Pāpak in Persian; d. 223/838) leader of the anti-Islamic and anti-Arab

Khurramī movement in Azerbaijan, active since 201/816–17 and finally defeated by al-Afshīn in 222/837; he was cruelly executed in Sāmarrā the following year. Badr

the site of a minor battle of great importance in 2/624, when the Muslims defeated a superior force of Meccan opponents of Islam.

Banū ʿAdī

a tribe in Syria, near Homs.

Banū Zuhrah a subdivision of Quraysh (see al-Kalbī/Caskel, Ǧamharat annasab, Tafeln, 118, Register, 564). Bashāmah ibn al-Ghadīr

(or Bashāmah ibn ʿAmr) Zuhayr’s maternal uncle

who belonged to the tribe of Sahm; two of his poems are included in the ancient anthology al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt. Bashshār ibn Burd

(Abū Muʿādh; executed 167/783–84) an important Arabic

poet, called the “father of the modern poets”; proud of his Persian descent; the first great Arabic poet who was not an Arab; he excelled in many poetic genres; though famous for his “courtly” love poems, he was notorious for his suspected heretical, Manichaean beliefs, which may have led to his execution at the orders of the caliph al-Mahdī. Buḥturī, al-

(Abū ʿUbādah; d. 284/897) important Abbasid poet.

Carmathians or Qarmaṭians

(Arabic: al-Qarāmiṭah) called after their founder

Ḥamdān Qarmaṭ (third/ninth century), the Carmathians were a branch of the Ismāʿīlī Shi’ites, who rebelled in various parts of the Middle East; one of their strongholds was al-Aḥsāʾ (also known as al-Ḥasā) in eastern Arabia, from where they attacked southern Iraq and the Hijaz in the first

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Glossary

half of the fourth/tenth century; during their notorious raid on Mecca in 317/930 they carried off the Black Stone of the Kaaba. Chosroes

(Persian Khusraw, Greek Chosroes, Arabic Kisrā) the name of sev-

eral Sasanian emperors in the pre-Islamic period, and often standing for any Sasanian king, just as Qayṣar/Caesar stands for any Roman or Byzantine emperor. Dabāwand (or Dubāwand, more commonly Damāwand) the highest place in the mountains south of the Caspian Sea; it plays a part in the legends of ancient Persia. Damīgh al-Shayṭān he is mentioned, without further particulars, in lexicons (e.g., Ibn Durayd, Jamharah, Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, D-M-Gh). Daybul, al-

(also Daybul, without article) a town on the coast of Sind (approx.

modern Pakistan); al-Maʿarrī calls it, oddly, “a well-known mountain” (Fuṣūl, 104). Dhū l-Rummah (Ghaylān ibn ʿUqbah; d. ca. 117/735) one of the last great Bedouin poets who entered the traditional canon, famous for his desert descriptions and his love poetry on Mayyah. Diʿbil ibn ʿAlī

(al-Khuzāʿī; d. 245/859 or 246/860) poet from Kufa, known

especially for his lampoons; he was murdered at an advanced age. Dīk al-Jinn

(ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Raghbān; d. ca. 235/850) a poet from Homs

(Syria), who, suspecting his wife of infidelity, killed her, after which he repented and lamented her death in many poems; otherwise, he is known for his frivolous lifestyle. dinar

(dīnār, from Latin denarius) a gold coin.

dirham

(from Greek drachmē) a silver coin.

doom-palm The doom palm or doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica, Arabic daum) has fan-shaped leaves and an edible fruit. Duʾalī, Abū l-Aswad al- see Abū l-Aswad al-Duʾalī. Duwayd

(Duwayd ibn Zayd ibn Nahd) said to have been a very early poet who

lived for 456 years. Fadak a village in the northern Hijaz. Faḍl ibn Sahl, al-

(Al-Faḍl ibn Sahl ibn Zadhānfarūkh; d. 202/818) a Zoroas-

trian convert to Islam, vizier to al-Maʾmūn (who may have been behind his murder); also made amīr, his honorific title was Dhū l-Ri ʾāsatayn, “He with Two Commands.”

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279

Glossary

Farazdaq, al-

(Hammām ibn Ghālib; d. ca. 110/728) usually called al-Farazdaq

(“Bread Morsel”); was with al-Akhṭal and Jarīr one of the great poets of the Umayyad period, famous for his many panegyric poems on caliphs and others, and feared for his satire; he and Jarīr exchanged a lengthy series of lampooning poems (naqāʾiḍ). Fārisī, al-

see Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī.

Farrāʾ, al-

(Abū Zakariyyā Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād al-Farrāʾ; d. 207/822) important

grammarian of the “school of Kufa.” Fartanā traditional Arabic female name often used in love poetry. Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, al- (d. 187/803) an ascetic and early Sufi; in his youth he was a highwayman. Fustat (Al-Fusṭāṭ)

the “Old Cairo” of today, founded by the Arab conquerors in

the first half of the seventh century. Gabriel ( Jibrīl, Jabrāʾīl)

the angel who conveyed the Qur’an, God’s word,

piecemeal to the Prophet. Ghanawī, al- see Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah. Ghaylān ibn ʿUqbah Ḥabīb ibn Aws Ḥādirah, al-

see Dhū l-Rummah;.

see Abū Tammām. (Quṭbah ibn Aws ibn Miḥṣan; d. early seventh century) pre-

Islamic poet who was known as al-Ḥādirah (“the broad shouldered,” i.e., “the frog”). Ḥakamī, al- see Abū Nuwās. Ḥallāj, al-

(al-Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr; d. 309/922 in Baghdad) very famous early

mystic, cruelly executed, accused of blasphemy and heresy. Ḥammād ʿAjrad

(Ibn Nihyā; d. between 155/772 and 168/784) a poet,

Bashshār’s rival; he was accused of Manichaeism. Hammām ibn Ghālib Ḥamzah ibn Ḥabīb

see Farazdaq, al-. (d. 156/772) established one of the seven canonical read-

ings of the Qur’anic text. Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah, al-

(al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah al-Yashkurī; d. ca. ad 570) of the

tribe of Yashkur; a pre-Islamic poet, author of one of the Muʿallaqāt, an ode he extemporized, so the story goes, in the presence of ʿAmr ibn Hind, the ruler of al-Ḥīrah. Ḥārith ibn Ẓālim, al-Murrī, al-

a pre-Islamic tribal leader expelled by his tribe,

proverbial for his loyalty (al-Maydānī, Majmaʿ, 2:444); when his help was invoked by someone claiming to be his jār (“neighbor,” entitled to

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protection), he responded even though he had merely once, in the past, lent his well-rope to the man. Hārūn al-Rashīd

(r. 170–93/786–809) the fifth Abbasid caliph.

Ḥarrānī al-Sulamī, al-

see Abū l-Muḥallim Awf ibn al-Muḥallim.

Hāshim the Prophet’s grandfather. Ḥassān ibn Thābit

(d. probably before 40/661) converted to Islam around the

time of the Hijra (ad 622) and forcefully supported Islam with eulogies on the Prophet and invective against his opponents; his pre-Islamic and even some “Islamic” poems contain passages describing wine. Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī a pre-Islamic poet, proverbial for his generosity. Ḥawrān

a region in southern Syria.

Ḥimyarī, alHind

see Sayyid al-Ḥimyarī, al-.

traditional Arabic female name often used in love poetry.

Hishām ibn Mughīrah

a leading member of Quraysh, the Prophet’s tribe, in the

pre-Islamic period. Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk al-Khalī ʿ, al- (d. 250/864 at an advanced age) poet, friend of Abū Nuwās. Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr, alḤuṭayʾah, al-

see Ḥallāj, al-.

( Jarwal ibn Aws of the tribe of ʿAbs; 1st/7th century) a younger

contemporary of the Prophet; a major poet notorious for his invective skills (which he used for extortion); also noted as a miser and a lukewarm Muslim; nicknamed al-Ḥuṭayʾah (a word with several meanings but usually interpreted as “the dwarf ” or “the ugly runt”). Ibn Abī ʿĀmir

(often called al-Manṣūr, or, in Europe, Almanzor; d. 392/1002)

chamberlain of the Andalusian Umayyad caliph; the virtual ruler of alAndalus from 368/978 to his death. Ibn Abī ʿAwn (executed in 322/934) a man of letters, the author of a work on comparison in poetry, usually called Kitāb al-Tashbīhāt (The Book of Similes). Ibn Abī Duwād

(Aḥmad ibn Abī Duwād; d. 240/854) judge of great power

under al-Maʾmūn and al-Muʿtaṣim. Ibn Abī l-Ṣalt al-Thaqafī see Umayyah ibn Abī l-Ṣalt. Ibn Durayd

see Abū Bakr ibn Durayd.

Ibn Ḥanbal

see Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

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Ibn Hāniʾ

(Muḥammad ibn Hāni ʾ al-Andalusī; d. ca. 362/973) born in Seville,

active in North Africa and Egypt, as panegyrist of the Fāṭimid rulers, who were Ismāʿīlī Shi’ites. Ibn Harmah

(Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAlī; d. ca. 176/792) a poet straddling the Umayyad

and Abbasid periods; counted among the last of the “classical” or the first of the “modern” poets. Ibn al-Kātib al-Shāmī see Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn Kātib al-Baktimurī. Ibn Khālawayh

(Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad; d. 370/980 in Aleppo)

lexicographer, grammarian, and Qur’anic scholar from Hamadhān. Ibn Khurradādhbih

(ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Khurradādhbih; some-

times spelled Khurdādhbih; d. ca. 300/911; earlier dates are also given) besides being an important geographer, he was the author of mostly lost works on cookery, wine, and music, and the boon companion of the caliph al-Muʿtamid; see al-Masʿūdī, Murūj, 5:126–31, where he addresses the caliph on music. Ibn al-Muʿtazz (ʿAbd Allāh)(d. 296/908) Abbasid prince, man of letters, and important poet; he was made caliph in a coup but was killed the following day. Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyāt (ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Qays; d. 80/699) a poet especially famous for his love poems on women, at least one of whom was called Ruqayyah; there are several explanations of his odd nickname (“Qays of the Ruqayyahs”), see, e.g., al-Baghdādī, Khizānah, 7:278–84. Ibn Rāʾiq

see Muḥammad ibn Rāʾiq.

Ibn Rajāʾ

(al-Ḥasan ibn Rajāʾ ibn Abī l-Ḍaḥḥāk) an official in Baghdad and Kho-

rasan (now in Eastern Iran and Afghanistan) under the caliphs al-Maʾmūn and al-Muʿtaṣim. Ibn al-Rāwandī (Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Rāwandī; d. probably in the middle of the fourth/tenth century) he turned from the “rationalist” Muʿtazilah to “heresy” (zandaqah) and skepticism, rejecting the idea of prophethood and attacking the Qur’an; there are reports that he renounced this at the end of his life; parts of his works have been preserved. Ibn al-Rūmī (ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Jurayj al-Rūmī; d. 283/896 in Baghdad) one of the most important Abbasid poets; his grandfather Jurayj (“George”) was a Byzantine (Rūmī); his superstition is often mentioned. Ibn al-Sarrāj (Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Sarī; d. 316/928) grammarian from Baghdad, one of Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī’s teachers.

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Ibn Shajarah

see Aḥmad ibn Kāmil.

Ibn al-Sikkīt (Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq; d. 244/858 or perhaps some years earlier) famous philologist and lexicographer, several of whose books are preserved, including his al-Qalb wa-l-ibdāl (Conversion and Mutation). Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī

(d. 224/839) son of the caliph al-Mahdī; a gifted musi-

cian, poet, and cook. Imami Shi’ites

(“Twelver Shi’ites”) the Imami Shi’ites recognize twelve suc-

cessive imams (leaders of the Muslim community, beginning with ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and ending with the “occultation” of Muḥammad al-Mahdī in 329/940); they are the dominant branch of the Shi’a in the present day. Imruʾ al-Qays

(d. in the middle of the sixth century) son of a prince of a tribal

federation led by the tribe of Kindah; the most famous pre-Islamic poet and also the poet of the most famous of the Muʿallaqāt. ʿĪsā the Muslim name of Jesus (the Christian form in Arabic being Yasūʿ). Iyās ibn Muʿawiyah (d. 121/739 or the following year) qāḍī of Basra, who became proverbial for his insight and shrewdness. Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad

(d. 148/765) the sixth imam of the Twelver Shī ʿah,

called al-Ṣādiq (“the trustworthy”). Jamīl

( Jamīl ibn Maʿmar al-ʿUdhrī; d. 82/701) poet of the ʿUdhrah tribe; famous for his love poetry on Buthaynah, who was forced to marry another; he and several other poets of this tribe became famous for their passionate, chaste, self-effacing, and usually unfulfilled love; the adjective

ʿudhrī, “ʿUdhrite,” is often used to describe such love. Jannābī, al-

(Abū Ṭāhir al-Jannābī; d. 332/943–44) the leader of the Qarmaṭī

movement in eastern Arabia, from where he raided southern Iraq and, notoriously, Mecca, where he killed pilgrims and took away the Black Stone in 317/930; it was returned only after some twenty years; he came from Jannābah, a small town on the coast of southern Persia (Yaqūt, Muʿjam al-buldān, s.v.). Jarwal ibn Aws

see Ḥuṭayʾah, al-.

Jawhar ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣiqillī the conqueror of Egypt for the Fatimids. Juʿfī, al-

see Mutanabbī, al-.

Junādah ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī

(Abū Usāmah; d. 399/1009) lexicogra-

pher, executed by the Fatimid caliph al-Ḥākim, who blamed him for the shortfall in the rise of the Nile because he used to teach in the building

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283

Glossary

known as the Nilometer (al-Miqyās); see Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 7:209– 10; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 1:372. Kattānī, al-

see Abū Ḥafṣ.

Kaysānites, or al-Kaysāniyyah

named after Abū ʿAmrah Kaysān, a commander

of the Kufan Shi’ite rebel al-Mukhtār (d. 67/687); they claimed that Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (d. 81/700), a son of ʿAlī by a slavegirl, was the true imām (leader of the community of Islam) and the Mahdi. Khadījah

(d. ad 619) the first wife of Muḥammad, who was her third husband;

mother of Fāṭimah; the Prophet’s first supporter; she is said to have been forty when she married Muḥammad, who was between twenty-one and twenty-five years old. Khalaf al-Aḥmar

(Khalaf ibn Ḥayyān; d. ca. 180/796) poet and rāwī (“trans-

mitter”) of early poetry. Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzāz

(or al-Bazzār; d. 229/844) a specialist in the

Qur’anic text from Baghdad. Khalīl ibn Aḥmad, al-

(d. 160/776, 170/786, or 175/791) one of the founders of

Arabic grammar and lexicography; the discoverer of the science of prosody; the author, or rather the auctor intellectualis or instigator, of the first Arabic lexicon, called “the letter ʿayn,” after the first letter in his rearrangement of the alphabet; teacher of Sībawayh. khurdādhī

said to be a kind of wine (al-Fīrūzābādī, Qāmūs), but it is also used

for some kind of bottle; for a crystal khurdādhī see al-Tanūkhī, Nishwār, 1:336, 8:253; Khurdādh is the name of the third month (May–June) of the Persian calendar. Kindah a large tribal confederation that dominated central Arabia in the fifth and early sixth centuries ad. Kisāʾī, al-

(d. 189/805) grammarian and specialist in the Qur’anic text; like

many other Arabic grammarians, he was of Persian descent. Kisrā Abarwīz (the Arabic form of Persian Khusraw Parwīz, r. ad 592–628) pre-Islamic Sasanian king. Kuthayyir

(d. 105/723) poet famous for his love poetry on ʿAzzah, and there-

fore often called Kuthayyir ʿAzzah (“Kuthayyir of ʿAzzah”). Labīd

(d. ca. 41/661) a famous pre-Islamic poet who converted to Islam.

Mahdī

see Majnūn Laylā.

Mahdī, al-

(r. 158–69/775–85) Abbasid caliph whose reign was marked by the

persecution of “heretics” (zanādiqah).

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Glossary

Maḥmūd

(Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegin; r. 388–421/998–1030) sultan of the

Ghaznawid dynasty, based in Ghaznah (eastern Afghanistan); conquered a large part of northern India. Majnūn Laylā

(“Laylā’s madman”;first/seventh century) the semi-legendary

poet and hero of the most famous Arabic love romance; often identified as Qays ibn al-Mulawwaḥ but sometimes given other names, including Mahdī ibn al-Mulawwaḥ. Mālik

an angel, the chief guardian of Hell.

Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179/796) famous jurist of Medina, who gave his name to the Mālikites, one of the four major legal schools in Sunnite Islam. Mālik ibn Dīnār Maʿmar

(d. 131/748–49) often-quoted preacher of Basra.

see Abū ʿUbaydah. (Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr; r. 136–58/754–75) the second Abbasid

Manṣūr, alcaliph.

Marrār ibn Saʿīd, al- (Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī; second/eighth century) a poet who was in love with a woman called Waḥshiyyah, who was married to another. Marzubānī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al- (Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān al-Marzubānī; d. 384/ 994) prolific literary scholar and anthologist from Baghdad; wrote a (lost) book on the poetry of the jinn, said to have contained over one hundred folios. Several of his other works about poetry have been preserved. Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Mālik (d. 121/738) son of the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd alMalik (r. 65–86/685–705); a general famous for his siege of Constantinople in 98–99/716–8. maysir an ancient Arab gambling game forbidden in Islam (cf. Q Baqarah 2:219, Māʾidah 5:90–91), in which portions of a slaughtered camel were divided by shuffling marked arrow shafts. Māzinī, al

see Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī.

Māzyār, (al-)

(d. 225/840) Qārinid ruler of a principality in Ṭabaristān;

became a Muslim when he sought the help of Caliph al-Maʾmūn; involved in a rebellion during the reign of al-Muʿtaṣim; he was defeated and executed in 225/840. Minā

a place some 5 miles east of Mecca, where the last three days of the pilgrimage are spent with several rites, including the great sacrifice.

Muʿāwiyah ibn Yazīd (d. 64/684) the third Umayyad caliph, who died after a reign of only twenty days, being between 17 and 23 years old.

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Glossary

Mubarrad, Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-

(d. 285/898) famous grammarian from

Basra; bitter rival of Thaʿlab of Kufa. Mufajjaʿ, al-

(Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh

al-Mufajjaʿ; d. 327/939) grammarian and poet from Basra, author of numerous works. Mughammas, al- a place near Mecca, said to be the place where the Meccans encountered the elephant, brought by the South Arabian king Abrahah during his failed attack on Mecca, the year the Prophet was born (ca. ad 570), an episode alluded to in the Surah of the Elephant (105) in the Qur’an. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (d. 81/700) a son of ʿAlī by a slavegirl, claimed by the Kaysānites as the true imam and the Mahdi. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan

see Abū Bakr ibn Durayd.

Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim al-Bāhilī

(end of the second/eighth and the beginning

of the third/ninth century) poet notorious for his satire; the sources maintain that his professed frugality and abstinence were feigned. Muḥammad ibn Rāʾiq

(d. 330/942) chief of police, then chamberlain under al-

Muqtadir, and finally “commander-in-chief ” (amīr al-umarāʾ ) in 324/936; he was assassinated by al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allāh, also called Nāṣir al-Dawlah (d. 358/969), a member of the powerful Ḥamdānid family, who ruled as amīrs in northern Mesopotamia and Syria. Muḥammad ibn al-Sarī

see Ibn al-Sarrāj.

Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Mubarrad Muʿizz Abū Tamīm Maʿadd, al-

see Mubarrad, al-.

(r. 341–65/953–75) Fāṭimid caliph at first based

in Ifrīqiyah (present-day Tunisia); he conquered Egypt in 358/969, where he founded Cairo. Mumattaʿ, al- see Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mumattaʿ. Muqannaʿ al-

(“the veiled one”; also called al-Qaṣṣār; his real name is not

known) he inspired a rebellion that began around 160/777 and was suppressed after a siege in 166/783; reports on his doctrine are somewhat vague; it seems to have been inspired by Mazdakism; see EI2, vii, 500 (“al-Muḳannaʿ”). Muraqqish, al- (al-Muraqqish al-Akbar [“the Elder”]) both the proper name (ʿAmr, or ʿAwf, or Rabī ʿah) and the nickname (Muraqqish or al-Muraqqish) of this early pre-Islamic poet are disputed; the younger Muraqqish was his nephew; both became the hero of a love romance.

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Glossary

(Abū l-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī; d. 354/965) nick-

Mutanabbī, al-

named al-Mutanabbī; though controversial in his own day, is by many considered to be the greatest Arabic poet of Islamic times; also highly regarded by al-Maʿarrī; he excelled in panegyrics, often skillfully combined with self-praise; Al-Mutanabbī earned his sobriquet, “the would-be prophet,” when, in his late teens, he was involved in a kind of revolutionary movement, which led to his arrest in Homs (Syria) in 322/933. Mutanakhkhil, alMuʿtaṣim, al-

pre-Islamic Hudhalī poet.

(r. 218–27/833–42) Abbasid caliph.

Muʿtazilites a school of Muslim theologians influenced by Greek logic and rationalism, dominant for a while in the early third/ninth century. Muttaqī, al- (r. 329–33/940–44) Abbasid caliph who was deposed; he died in 357/968. Muzdalifah, al-

a place between ʿArafah and Mecca, where pilgrims spend a

night during the Hajj. nabʿ tree used for making arrows. Nābighah, al-Dhubyānī, al- (sixth century) poet active at the court of the Lakhmid kings of al-Ḥīrah and the Ghassānid rulers in Syria; he is considered one of the greatest Arabic poets. Nābighah al-Jaʿdī, al-

(d. ca. 63/683) poet born in the pre-Islamic period; a

supporter of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, he was banished in old age to Isfahan by ʿAlī’s rival and successor as caliph. nahīdah

a dish made of colocynth seeds cooked with flour.

Nahshal ibn Ḥarrī Nājim, al-

(al-Nahshalī; d. between 41/661 and 60/680) poet.

(Abū ʿUthmān Saʿd (or Saʿīd) ibn al-Ḥasan al-Nājim; d. 314/926)

minor poet, friend of Ibn al-Rūmī. Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ Shibl al-Dawlah see Shibl al-Dawlah. Nisibis, Nasibis, or Naṣībīn

modern Turkish form Nusaybin; an ancient town in

Northern Mesopotamia, now in Turkey. Nuʿman the Elder, al- (al-Nuʿmān ibn Imri ʾ al-Qays) the pre-Islamic (early fifth century) Lakhmid king of al-Ḥīrah, nicknamed al-Aʿwar (the One-Eyed), or al-Sāʾiḥ (the Wanderer), or al-Zāhid (the Ascetic); not to be confused with the later king al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir, mentioned several times in Part One. Nuṣayriyyah named after the third/ninth-century founder Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, a Shi’ite sect that survives until today in Syria (they are now known

٢٨٧

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Glossary

as the Alawites); they are considered “extremists” (ghulāh) because they revere ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib to the point of deifying him; they also believed in metempsychosis. Qārūn

mentioned in the Qur’an as a very wealthy and unjust man in the time

of Moses (Q Qaṣaṣ 28:76–79, Q ʿAnkabūt 29:39, Q Ghāfir 40:24); in the Old Testament (Num. 16) he is called Korah (Hebrew Qōraḥ). qaṣīd

high-status verse in any meter except rajaz, which is the simplest meter. see Muqannaʿ, al-.

Qaṣṣār, al-

Qays ibn al-Khaṭīm

(d. ad 620) a poet from Medina.

Quraysh

the tribe of the Prophet Muḥammad.

Quwayq

river in Aleppo.

Rabāb, al-

traditional Arabic female name often used in love poetry.

Rabī ʿah ibn al-Mukaddam rajaz

legendary pre-Islamic hero.

the simplest and presumably oldest poetic meter; it resembles the Greek or Latin iambic meter and is considered to be of lower status; many specialists in rajaz studded their verse with rare words; as a consequence their verses are very often quoted as lexicographic evidence.

Raqqādah a place not far from Qayrawān (modern Tunisia). Rashīd, alRāwand

see Hārūn al-Rashīd. a place near Isfahan, in Iran.

Ruʾbah ibn al-ʿAjjāj

(d. 145/762) with his father al-ʿAjjāj among the most

famous rajaz poets; on account of their extremely rich diction they are quoted very often by lexicographers. Ṣābians

the term Ṣāb ʾiah (“immersers” or “baptists”) or Ṣābians refers to two

distinct groups: (1) the syncretistic, planet- and star-worshipping gnostics of Ḥarrān in Mesopotamia (this is the group that al-Maʿarrī refers to), and (2) a sect mentioned in the Qur’an that was once identified as the Mandaeans but appears to have been the “Judaeo-Christian” Elchasaites (followers of Elchasai, ca. ad 100). Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah

(Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah al-Ghanawī; d. during the reign of

ʿAbd al-Malik (65–86/685–705)); a poet, born in the pre-Islamic period. (Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayyah; d. 59/678–79) member of the

Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ

Umayyad clan; became governor of Kufa and Medina. He was known for his generosity and eloquence. Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah

see Akhfash al-Awsaṭ, al-.

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Glossary

Sāʿidah (Sāʿidah ibn Juʾayyah; a contemporary of the Prophet) a poet of the tribe of Hudhayl. Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs Salmān al-Fārisī

(executed ca. 167/783) preacher and poet from Basra.

(“the Persian”) a Persian slave in Medina in the time of the

Prophet Muḥammad, he became the first non-Arab to convert to Islam; some extremist Shi’ite sects consider him second only to ʿAlī. Samawʾal, al-

a pre-Islamic Jewish-Arab poet proverbial for his loyalty; having

been entrusted with the weapons of the famous poet Imruʾ al-Qays, he refused to give them up to his friend’s enemy, a Ghassanid king, even when the latter threatened to kill al-Samawʾal’s son and carried out his threat. Ṣanādīqī, al-

(al-Manṣūr; rebelled in 270/883–84) al-Ṣanādīqī means “the box

maker”; he was possibly identical with Abū l-Qāsim al-Najjār (“the carpenter”), a Shi’ite extremist who is elsewhere named as Rustam ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥawshab; see EI2, vi, 438–39, “Manṣūr al-Yaman” (W. Madelung). Ṣanawbarī, al- (d. 334/945) Syrian poet famous for his poetry on gardens, flowers, and spring. Ṣarkhad Sarmīn

place in Syria. a place near Aleppo.

Sayf al-Dawlah (ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥamdān; r. 333–56/944–67) Ḥamdānid ruler of Northern Syria, renowned for his campaigns (not always successful) against the Byzantines and the literary splendor of his court in Aleppo; he owes his fame for a large part to a series of odes by al-Mutanabbī. Sayyid al-Ḥimyarī, al-

(Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; d. between 171/787 and

179/795) a prominent poet and an adherent of the Kaysāniyyah; he also composed panegyric poems on al-Manṣūr. Shābāsh

the Banū Shābāsh were Qarmaṭians, extreme Shi’is, who were active

from ca. 380/990 until 480/1090; two of them were viziers to the Būyid governor of Baṣra; see L. Massignon, entry “Shābāshiyya” in EI2, 9:159. Shajarī, al-

see Aḥmad ibn Kāmil.

Shibl al-Dawlah

(Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ; r. 420–29/1029–38) Mirdāsid ruler of Aleppo

at the time al-Maʿarrī wrote his Epistle of Forgiveness. Shīrīn the wife of the pre-Islamic Sasanian king Kisrā Abarwīz; in Persian literature they are described as devoted lovers and spouses. Sībawayh (d. 177/793) author of the first and by far the most important Arabic grammar; like many other Arabic grammarians, he was of Persian descent. Sinbisī, al- (al-Akhram al-Sinbisī) an obscure poet of uncertain period.

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Glossary

Sīrāfī, al- see Abū Saʿīd al-Sīrāfī. Suḥaym

(killed ca. 40/660) known as ʿAbd Banī l-Ḥaṣḥāṣ (“the slave of the

tribe of Banū l-Ḥaṣḥāṣ”), of Ethiopian descent (Suḥaym means “Blacky”); a poet who was killed for his too explicit verses. Ṣūlī, Abū Bakr al-

(d. ca. 335/946) courtier, famous chess player, and man of

letters; author of several works on poets and poetry. Taghlibī, al- see al-Akhṭal. Ṭāʾī, al- see Abū Tammām. Tamīm ibn Aws al-Dārī

(d. 40/660 or earlier) a Companion; said to have been

a wine merchant before Islam; he is said to have been responsible for several Islamic customs originating in Christianity; see M. Lecker, “Tamīm al-Dārī,” EI2, 10:176. Ṭarafah

poet attached to the court of ʿAmr ibn Hind at al-Ḥīrah; he died young;

having angered the king he was sent with a “letter of Uriah” containing his own death warrant (cf. 2 Sam. 11). Taym ibn Murrah

Abū Bakr’s clan within the tribe of Quraysh.

Thabīr a mountain near Mecca. Thaʿlab

(Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā; d. 291/904) grammarian from Kūfa, bitter rival

of al-Mubarrad of Basra; his deafness in old age caused him to be struck down by a horse while he was walking, reading a book; he died the following day (see, e.g., Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-udabāʾ, 5:105–7; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt, 1:104). Ṭufayl al-Ghanawī (Ṭufayl ibn Kaʿb (or ʿAwf ) al-Ghanawī; d. early seventh century) pre-Islamic poet.

ʿUdhrī, al- see Jamīl ibn Maʿmar. Uḥayḥah ibn al-Julāḥ

pre-Islamic wealthy merchant and poet from Yathrib

(later called Medina).

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20) singled out by historiographers as the only truly pious Umayyad caliph.

ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah (d. 93/712 or 103/721) poet active in Mecca and Medina, famous for his love poetry, often boastful, about numerous women; he frequently describes scenes of the pilgrimage.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (r. 13–23/634–44) the second caliph; he is normally described as a paragon of strictness.

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Glossary

Umayyah Ibn Abī l-Ṣalt al-Thaqafī a poet and contemporary of the Prophet, whose poetry (some of which is of dubious authenticity) contains accounts of Biblical stories and parallels with the Qur’an. Umm Salamah

(d. 59/679 or shortly afterwards) married Muḥammad in

4/626, having been widowed after her husband died at the Battle of Uḥud.

ʿUrwah ibn Ḥizām (first/seventh century) poet of the ʿUdhrah tribe; famous for his love for his paternal cousin ʿAfrāʾ who was married by her parents to someone else, richer than he. Waḥshiyyah cousin and beloved of al-Marrār ibn Saʿīd (q.v.). Wājikā, al-

see ʿAbd al-Salām ibn al-Ḥusayn.

Walīd ibn Yazīd, al-

(r. 125–26/743–44) Umayyad caliph notorious for his dis-

solute behavior; a good poet. Wazīr al-Maghribī, al- see Abū l-Qāsim al-Maghribī. Yaʿqūb

(Abū Yūsuf ) see Ibn al-Sikkīt.

Yaʿqūb ibn Dāwūd (d. ca. 186/802) vizier under the caliph al-Mahdī. Yathrib

the Pre-Islamic name of Medina.

Yazīd ibn Abī Muslim (Dīnār) al-Thaqafī

(d. 102/720–21) notoriously cruel

secretary of the governor al-Ḥajjāj, dismissed after his death by Sulaymān; later appointed governor in North Africa where he was killed. Yazīd ibn Mazyad ibn Maʿn ibn Zāʾidah

(d. 185/801) a general and governor

under Hārūn. Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah (r. 60–64/680–83) the second Umayyad caliph, known for his hedonism and love of wine; among Shi’ites his reputation is particularly bad because al-Ḥusayn, their principal martyr, was killed during his reign; he favored the arts and composed poetry. Yūnus ibn Ḥabīb

(d. 182/798) grammarian from Basra.

Zāhid, Abū ʿUmar al- see Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid. Zahrajī, al-

see Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī.

Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl

a ḥanīf (“seeker of the true religion”) of Quraysh,

the same tribe as Muḥammad, and in some ways his predecessor; he traveled in quest of the true religion but died some years before Muḥammad began his mission; according to another report he returned toward Mecca having heard of Muḥammad’s mission, intending to join him, but was killed on the way. Zayd ibn Ḥārithah (d. 8/629) the Prophet’s adopted son, originally a slave; he is the only Companion mentioned in the Qur’an (Q Aḥzāb 33:37), in

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Glossary

connection with the affair of Muḥammad’s somewhat controversial marriage with Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, who had been Zayd’s wife. Zayd ibn Muhalhil (d. between 9/630 and 23/644) a tribal leader and poet, known as Zayd al-Khayl (“Zayd of the Horses”); converted to Islam in 9/630. Zibriqān, al- (al-Ḥuṣayn [or al-Ḥiṣn] ibn Badr; d. between 41/661 and 60/680) poet; the husband of a paternal aunt of al-Farazdaq. Zubaydah (d. 216/831–32) a daughter of al-Manṣūr; Hārūn al-Rashīd’s principal wife. Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā al-Muzanī

(said to have died at an advanced age in

ad 609, just before the Prophet began to preach his message) famous preIslamic poet; father of Kaʿb, poet of the famous “Mantle Ode.”

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Bibliography

This bibliography includes some additions to the Bibliography and Further Reading of Volume One. ʿAbd al-Qādir. See al-Baghdādī. al-Ābī, Abū Saʿd Manṣur ibn al-Ḥusayn. Nathr al-durr, edited by Muḥammad ʿAlī Quranah et al. 7 vols. Cairo: al-Hayʾah al-Miṣriyyah al-ʿĀmmah, 1980–90.

ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ. Dīwān. – The Dīwāns of ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ, of Asad, and ʿĀmir ibn aṭ-Ṭufail, of ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah, edited by Charles Lyall. Cambridge: E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust, 1911. Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī. See al-Iṣfahānī. Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī. Al-Muʿammarūn, edited by Ignaz Goldziher. In Ignaz Goldziher, Abhandlungen zur arabischen Philologie, 2. Theil. Leiden: Brill, 1899. Abū Nuwās al-Ḥasan ibn Hāni ʾ. Dīwān, edited by Ewald Wagner. 5 vols. + 2 vols., index (vol. 4 edited by Gregor Schoeler). Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner; Berlin: Klaus Schwarz, 1958–2006. Abū Tammām Ḥabīb ibn Aws al-Ṭāʾ ī. Dīwān Abī Tammām bi-sharḥ al-Khaṭīb al-Tibrīzī, edited by Muḥammad ʿAbduh ʿAzzām. 4 vols. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1976. . Al-Ḥamāsah. See al-Marzūqī. . Al-Waḥshiyyāt, wa-huwa al-Ḥamāsah al-ṣughrā, edited by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Maymanī al-Rājakūtī and Maḥmūd Muḥammad Shākir. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1987. Abū ʿUbayd al-Bakrī. Faṣl al-maqāl fī sharḥ al-amthāl, edited by Iḥsān ʿAbbās and ʿAbd al-Majīd ʿĀbidīn. Beirut: Dār al-Amānah, 1983. . Muʿjam mā staʿjam, edited by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. 2 vols. Göttingen/Paris: Dieterichsche Buchhandlung, 1876–77. . Muʿjam mā staʿjam, edited by Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā. 4 vols. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat Lajnat al-Taʾlīf wa-l-Tarjamah wa-l-Nashr, 1945–51. Abū ʿUbaydah Maʿmar ibn al-Muthannā. Al-Khayl, edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir Aḥmad. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat al-Nahḍah al-ʿArabiyyah, 1986. . Naqāʾiḍ Jarīr wa-l-Farazdaq, edited by Anthony Ashley Bevan. 3 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1905–12. Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī. Al-Nawādir, edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir Aḥmad. Beirut: Dār al-Shurūq, 1981.

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ʿAbd Allāh Ḥamad Muḥārib. 4 vols. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1961–65 and Maktabat al-Khānjī, 1990. al-ʿĀmilī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Al-Kashkūl. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1983. al-Anṭākī, Dāwūd. Tazyīn al-aswāq, edited by Muḥammad al-Tūnjī (Altūnjī). 2 vols. Beirut:

ʿĀlam al-Kutub, 1993. Arberry, A. J. Poems of al-Mutanabbī: A Selection with Introduction, Translations and Notes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967. . The Seven Odes: The First Chapter in Arabic Literature. London: Allen & Unwin, 1957. al-Aʿshā [Maymūn ibn Qays]. Dīwān, edited by Rudolf Geyer. London: Luzac, 1928. . Dīwān. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1994. al-ʿAskarī, Abū Hilāl al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Awāʾil. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1987. . Dīwān al-maʿānī. 2 vols. Cairo: Maktabat al-Qudsī, n.d. . Jamharat al-amthāl, edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Salām. 2 vols. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1988. . Kitāb al-ṣināʿatayn al-kitābah wa-l-shiʿr, edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Cairo:

ʿĪsā al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī, 1971. al-Aṣmaʿī, Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Qurayb. Al-Ibil, edited by Ḥātim Ṣāliḥ al-Ḍāmin. Damascus: Dār al-Bashāʾir, 2003. al-Aṣmaʿiyyāt, edited by Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir and ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn. Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1979. Aubrey’s Brief Lives, edited by Oliver Lawson Dick. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1974. al-Azharī. Tahdhīb al-lughah, edited by Muḥammad ʿAwaḍ Murʿib et al. 15 vol. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 2001. al-Badī ʿī, Yūsuf. Awj al-taḥarrī ʿan ḥaythiyyat Abī l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, edited by Ibrāhīm al-Kīlānī. Damascus: al-Maʿhad al-Ifransī bi-Dimashq, 1944 (Majmūʿat al-nuṣūṣ al-sharqiyyah, 4).

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Additional translations of Risālat al-Ghufrān Abu al-Ala al-Ma‘arri: Poslanica o opročtenju [The Epistle of Forgiveness]. Priredio, prevedio, pristup, napomene, pogovor [Edition, translation, introduction, notes, afterword]: Suleijman Grozdanić. Sarajevo (etc.): Matica srpska, 1979. (Bosnian.) (Not seen.) Abu-l’-Alja al’-Maarri, Izbrannoe. Perevod s arabskogo [Selected Works, translated from Arabic]. Sostavlenie, predislovie, primečanie [Edition, preface, notes]: Betsi Jakovlena Šidfar. Moscow: Chudožestvennaja literatura [Publishing House: Belles-Lettres]: 1960, 165–392. (Russian.) (Not seen).

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Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

Note: the left-hand column indicates the page number in the Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ edition (B). The second column indicates the section number in the Library of Arabic Literature edition (LAL), followed in the right-hand column by the opening Arabic word or phrase on the page of the Bint al-Shāṭi ʾ edition.

21

1.1

22

2.1

23

2.2

24

2.3

25

2.4

26

2.4

27

2.6.1

28

2.7.1

29

2.7.1

30

2.7.2

31

3.2

32

3.3

33

3.5.1

34

3.5.1

35

3.6.1

36

3.6.2

37

3.7.1

38

3.7.2

39

3.9

40

3.9

41

3.10.1

42

3.12

43

3.12

44

4.1

Epistle of Ibn al-Qāriḥ  = ¸    [     45 4.3 Š T * ^ ª 6  UV 7ó GHI  46 4.4 E C 567*F  T îˆ = \ǒ¦ 47 5.1   48 5.2 ‰ › £ C   úIQ  Y A í  …ûU³Ü ® C Eb3†  _F 49 5.3  T 0 0 0 ... ÏÐGHI ... ÏÐGHI ... ÏÐ 50 5.4 W C W  E t W  [  c 24=a ` Ɇ›su § ×IQ 51 6.1     52 6.2 & g(† ›¼ žŸ RIQ  [ b3†  ©C ™IQ 53 6.4.1 T C C0 ® Ü su»Ž˜m³ 3†Rt 54 6.4.2 * ‹  ª^ ›Ç j GHI 55 6.5 {“ {–« Š   I&Q'( &7 56 7.1  > ’¦ GHI C E*  E  X  _ F `mV  Y C* 57 7.2 W _*F UV 24› ] ž Ÿ = ¤IQ 58 7.3 A *  I H – 59 7.4  G  0  |  6 0 60 7.5 `1 ›] GHI ، › å7‡ˆ  – C – _F 61 7.5  C C   ª ^    9 žŸ RIQGHI 62 7.6.2 TÍÎ ›£   T[ 24UV }

…   j   Ì 63 8 † Ž‚1 Ž‚ „ C T   A  ¡ –€ 64 9.2 ‰    *  UV A C ½¾ 6 j \¼ 65 10.1 ¯ 7 › ¨ T Zí ~  _ F &IQ'( GHI ‹ 66 10.2 Š !t  GHI ¿[ YGHI 67 11.1 E t0  68 12 q GHSsu» ‰ *

٣٠٥

305

E * ¡ GHI &  24› 'ˆ ¬oµ > 67 

 ´ \]    V U³ U GHI E T U³ îˆ   ž Ÿ = ¤IQ   › ±†Ûœ =>ĽÀјB¤IQ

d C  ef ž¥7›§IQC   d  ¡ GHI {    €65 HI ›å67‡ˆ ef &'(¢7›Ç  G  »©1   £ ’ ä ‘ T E C C*

6   PÞé7RIQ RIQ B¸ F 6 IQ * & gј &'(¢7‡ˆ `÷7›§ G*HI C E ` É†Û œ HI ،c –V  * G   TÍÎ  &'(¢7‡ˆ =a b4_ *F (^  F  ¸ & ' í   •ˆ * =« { >   ( ^  24  F * HI ' =¸ & C * G UV SH  '(^ žŸ RIQ

C E G  &

*  =µ67F 234  > ¡ `ìœ  :žŸ RIQ x9 y; RIQ Y } 

      ›Ç {p¸ GHI ` Ba b3†  0   ¡ [    GãH ©-GHI žŸ    E  ’¦  âÏ h6C7š \Ç  W+ / íd ,-. GHS ef GHI !"# =ðV :ž Ÿ = ¤IQ >  ©1 

   ¾  [  `-½

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

129

1.1

130

1.1

131

1.1

132

1.1

133

1.2

134

1.2

136

1.3

137

1.3

138

1.4

139

1.4

140

2

141

3.1

142

3.1

143

3.2

144

3.2

145

3.3

146

3.3

147

3.4

148

3.5

149

3.6

150

3.6

151

3.6

152

3.6

153

3.6

154

3.7

155

3.8.1

156

3.8.1

157

3.8.1

158

3.8.2

159

3.8.3

160

3.8.3

161

3.8.4

162

3.8.5

163

3.8.6

164

3.8.7

Epistle of Forgiveness  ® d j Ü   [ [  ef  Ï*тƒ 165 3.9.1 U³ ÏâÌ W  T  C W C   ¡ GIH  166 3.9.2 *

 ¦ 6 z’ 7ªó^  UV RIQ 167 3.9.2 * ! E ¿[ b4_ F X t 168 3.10 W C E  ²³
67Ž‚1  169 4.1 &E 'A C  )  [   170 4.1  * T   [ Y Hø +,-./  HI 171 4.1 G T G C R IQC RIQ UVGIH 172 4.1  *  ÿ 173 4.2 ¹¸  _ F ‰ !þýGHI  _ F[GIH 174 4.2

Š E  175 4.2 ` ™IQ•ˆGHI

” x9y0" C 6= C) c ، €5 176 5.1  EIQ  C

ݯ j V j   I U H [ á  177 5.2 i = Þ  G P  T d  ® ef  U³Ü 178 5.2 

!t 179 5.2 ` ©™¿ T ¼½GÙ IQ  V 0  0      ] I ] U › › H 180 5.3 o lH ¬ > G T A G {  ©-½CÀz 181 5.4 C   ãH ©« 182 5.5.1  _F 67‡ˆ Y IH ŠG  {  *+G/  ó£ ¸ F ,-. 183 5.5.2 T t ! º ( I H 184 5.5.2 &'(¢7‡ˆ WÏG

ã©°

ˆ HI 185 5.5.3 Þ G E  P  

C A9 ~ [ ®  ­ c  T  c Y 186 6.1

E'ˆ  UV HI ä –« 187 6.2.2.1 { G   ~ 9 ¯ 188 6.2.2.2 ž¥7› 

 * 189 6.2.2.3 PIQGHI b4_ F ‰  * { xyz _F } 9 190 6.3 C ˜Ɇ    '() AHï Æ 191 6.3 T & G / + I ¾ t su¼½ 192 6.4.1 T[ ,-. GH HjE HI  w ~ 9 I H 193 6.4.1 H & Gw G  G  G

  6 I  194 6.4.2  Y 7‡ˆGH E   ”–€½¾ :E‹ ‚1 y  I H 195 6.4.2 Œ  ” G

Š §IQ c&>ä 196 6.5 C IQ  &'( GHI  197 6.5 `©« { C

 IQ   IQ Ÿž R ‰ *R 198 6.6

199 7.1 ` ©« {ðV 24RIQGHI

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306

C Y =  ،24 ©«  *> GHI ª ^  ‰ GHS GIH 9 q0  } E C E  j H [ ‰Gw   E * & IQ'( UV ž¥7RIQ 

24RIQGHI ،_FGÝH ]  C  3 C š½¾ 24  ¡  E Unoä å67  > ¡ E E    ' oä ˆ _F A¬ > 

_F 24›Ç { UV   ` ©« { 67‡ˆ  Y *GIH

 0 !" E _F #‡ˆ C  aÚV ‹  0Š ‰GSH  GÝH ]œ    E  ]   Ï \ PÞS = â» + /  A  I W F  IQ H  ,-. q  ©— C G _ *R 0 ˆ *! &gт° "# `CɆ* ›]   Õ ÔÓ Aù £a (¢7‡ˆ ”(¢7›EA]œ  UIQ³( ž¢Ö &' & ' t _F ÝH suÚ §V *+ /  G   ® ,-.  & IQ'( ž¥7ò¸ F €GHI &­ E  E Àt su Á v ! IQ T¼½ "#R  C äA¼ ÆV HI {C G ¹\Ç íC Ù ® ›¯ 9 : U³Ü 9 C [  E

      EV c GïH ¸ &  GlH  6 24=  > ˆ GIH Y ¨E 7_F * 0  A žŸGHÄÀ½Ñ˜-ÒIQ–Ž˜0 -GHI C* + / ¨67_F  ,-. *

 ` ÷67RIQ š½¾ * C & ›]  UV C   C  * ‰ 67‡ˆ bC3†  ž¥7Ž‚ƒ    E ‰ „… †›0C]  ‰  *GIH E C  ^ ª GHI 9 q 234} C + / ^ t !  ª 9 º    § ¯ ,-. * ž¥7› GÝH  [ €  C *   !t z ‹ 9 { RIQ b4_ F c 2C34º} Œy›Ç Š Ù E

{p¸   ‹[  „… †›Ç  Š]œ {ä GHI ÒIQ–«

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

200

7.1

201

7.2

202

7.3

203

7.3

204

7.4.1

205

7.4.2

206

7.4.2

207

7.4.3

208

7.5

209

7.6.1

210

7.6.1

211

7.6.2

212

7.7

213

8.2

214

8.2

215

8.2

216

8.3.1

217

8.3.2

218

8.3.2

219

8.4

220

8.5.1

221

8.5.1

222

8.5.2

223

8.5.2

224

9.1

225

9.1

226

9.2

227

9.3.1

228

9.3.1

229

9.3.2

230

9.3.2

231

9.3.3

232

9.3.4

233

9.3.4

234

9.4

235

10.1

ª ^   UV H9 T aGw   ¸    îˆ ’ ‘ T  T * ®  67Õ D»³ ó Ü šÀ½[  & '(^GlHIQGHI    t § ×IQ ›] ¹\ su

  )   Ÿ  IQ =  ›]  žGïH \ § E  T‘’p\]œGIH x9y;0 › ¯

  )   Ÿ  IQ =  _F žGHï\ § ” A mVE ” A  = CÀ½Ñ‚ © ™IQ › ]œ b3†GHI C * q 67‡ˆCC Y  C*  = \ ]  24UV   C !¿[ '( ^ SH  =ðCVAt & >  * ”* C  C P C G* ~  › ÚV žŸ   UCV  HGI  ‹ Š  C* T  ¨67 Y &   Y *RIQ

  C žŸGïH \ §IQ ‫ >&؟‬ * _F 24Ž‚0 ƒ RIQ ñ’¦ ä]œ  [  A    V   ˆ  ‰GHï TU ‰ ›' E   C ` ÷6·67Cz’¦ pIQ :GlHIQGHI *  EC CE      !ÿ TUV ›±†Ûœ  Y * =a RIQ ‰ þýAE*  Å967RIQ  IQ C   ‰C } > § SH'(  C =ä CC ^  C & C ª … 9 F { „ †} _ & –«   C !t {Cp¿ žŸGÝH £PãÞ ©« 9 ~ IH   !’¦ C“ G  ® E ¾ !" IQ ½ –€ ÒIQ­ #  R  !"#›C] GIH

  )   Ÿ  F =  _F žGïH ¸ GHI !¿[ Y g[   IH * =a t  C C  *&  GC * — 24‡ˆ ‰  —•ˆ  ª ^ b4AE_ F +,-./ ‹ ŠC  ” c GHlV _ F =>  Y GHI   A C + /* {‰GlHIQ„C…†_ F ,-. GIH

  )   Ÿ  IQ =  _F žGïH \ § ©÷67‡ˆ C UV

T UV  Y  =ä§IQ ¢7‡ˆ * > &'(

٣٠٧

236

10.2

237

10.2

238

10.3.1

239

10.3.1

240

10.3.2

241

10.4.1

242

10.4.2

243

10.4.3

244

10.4.3

245

10.4.3

246

10.4.4

247

10.5

248

10.5

249

11.1

250

11.2.1

251

11.2.2

252

11.3

253

11.4

254

11.4

255

11.5.1

256

11.5.2

257

11.5.2

258

11.6.2

259

11.6.2

260

11.6.2

261

11.8.1

262

11.8.2

263

12.1

264

12.2.2

265

12.2.3

266

12.2.3

267

12.2.4

268

12.3

269

13.1.2

270

13.1.2

271

13.1.3

307

  T[  ،GHàaGIH   Tǒ¦ GHÄ

 C6 A C0)  [ 3 * ¡ ›å7= &g  24  E    A h67 V  &/'½À* TU =Eˆ þý › ÚV &> _F !ÿ  = AHI C [C >G C E    

)   F  ­ o ©B _ Y ® IH ¬ C> C ‰C * G q Y  UIQ³(   6 ]œ & g»D7› ž¥7=a E  E ¡ [ GHI ،YGïH   c 234  6  '(¢7‡ˆ ž¥7› ] b4_F ¨*7 Y &

    _F  –€ _F q Y  UV *   t ~ ، ÝH suv 9 q _F  T Ì G§  IQ  C C A  *!ÿ & '( WX = ) T‘’ä ]œ ‰ þý

 [E E …  IQ =a  q„ †= ú A0 ®  ÆC ƳÜ E  ¦   í IQ `mnz’ 24RGIH E 24=>Ȏ˜0 Ɇ  T UV 

CC9 ¶HS^  .{ c  E  ` ÷67RIQ š½¾ *GHI E 6  E0  ¦ 9 ~ ` ÷7=Æ IH o z’“ ¬ >   C C E GC C 3  Y 24  ¡ XGHI „…†  W  
6 IQ ¡ U³ 7R ‰   *+ /    [ ,-.  TUV WÏa„… †‡ˆGHI A  IQ IQ `B¤GlH

C E CIQ C   _FGïH ¤ UVGHI :` 1E= ¤IQ * 0  A * + / ®  ,-. ›±†  ­ C ŠAC C C * ^ Ù ªó  GHI &'ØGlHIQ X _F  ‡ˆ 67

 j *   Ÿ W  IQ

Ì `ɆŽ‚  24=¸ :žGïH \ §

      IQ  { =ä =\Ç > §GHI   C…A ( ^ ¡ ‰GSH „ †  &' * ” ® IQ 24› Ú³Ü žŸGïH \ § )  C ( { & 'C =a„… †›Ç

  ¡ „…†R IQ  ®  24› ]  &'Ü {C   ¹\ Ç  E    ? ¦ { 9^  Tǒ¦   UV TÌ

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

272

13.1.3

273

13.2.1

274

13.2.1

275

13.2.2

276

13.3

277

13.4

278

13.4

279

13.5

280

13.5

281

13.6

282

13.7

283

13.8

284

13.8

285

14.1

286

14.1

287

14.2

288

14.3

289

14.4

290

15.2.1

291

15.2.1

292

15.2.2

293

15.2.2

294

15.2.4

295

15.2.5

296

15.2.5

297

15.2.6

298

15.2.7

299

15.2.8.2

300

15.2.8.3

301

15.2.8.4

302

15.2.8.4

303

15.2.8.6

304

15.2.8.7

305

16.1

306

16.2

307

16.3

*+ /    

 ´ z ~C _F 9 U³ 1’¦ ,-.  Y } A C E  x ~ – [ GHI 9 ‹ ‹:y‚mVC T 

Š t !¿ … IQ ª^  ‘’ p ) `Š 9 X 234} TC  ™„ †R W ¾ 6  {@½ ¨7 ©ɆŽ‚ƒ Y * žŸGïH \Ç  ˆ C A¾ & gî `-½C 24RIQ   Y *RIQ ` B\ å67FGHI C *Õ E E

ÔÓ ^  24›Ç { TÍÎ Öv  * !t !ct ¿[ Y  ،¿[ b4_ FGHI ¦     ñ’ –Ž‚1C  GÝH 'ˆ ‰ * * j T [  T UV ` ©*Ì E 9 _F –« ~ +,-./ {“ ”  C E E c GHI * –€½¾GHI * ÍÎ     a  E*T › £C¸C Až* ¥7= X  V 6 !t  TU ¨7_F  br[¿ C A WCI CX  E   *!ÿ {GH W 24š ‰ þý q GHÝÇ 8> D67z’ ¦ pIQ ’ ¦ pC Ǝ‚C 1   \±†Ûœ &  ñ í 

 6 ¡   3 57  =   b†  * C  úIQ„… †RIQ  9 =äå67‡ˆ +,-./ IH ، í ª ^  > * G ›¯  ¨67š½À)  UV :žŸGïH \ §IQ * C A C C0 t sÏ( v  &g» D67F –Ž˜B ÆV u CW * !t q ¸ F  ` ©™¿  C E Å967RIQ 24RIQ GIH  [ _F ` B ü    C A   C* ~ [  GHI   UV š* ‹ C EX Š A C C| &> Y GIH W  À[ ^   T¼½ b4_ F[ C C9 9j T [  ž ŸGlH IQGIH  C E  GHI  &'( ^ * ` ™IQ  *  C E / Š › ÚV _F  IQ'( ¨67Ž‚A ƒ +,-.

& E + / A * q–Ž‚0 ƒ ,-. Ï*т™IQ  C A E C AW C ‰ Uno¸  ñ’¦ pa GIH ”  E  A !t     c 24UV => ºÏ( › ]œ Y ‰ *RIQ WC 

mV C ©« UV 24= %ߎ‚ { &g [ T …û_F  C C *+ / d E IQ 24 ,-.  ef  ¬oCµ > 67› §   E E¾ * F `ìœ b4_ –€½GIH d        ef  RIQ•ˆ ،` Ba 24› §IQ

٣٠٨

308

16.3

309

17.1

310

17.1

311

17.2.1

312

17.2.2

313

17.2.2

314

17.3.1

315

17.3.1

316

17.3.2

317

17.3.2

318

17.3.3

319

17.3.4

320

17.3.4

321

17.3.5

322

17.3.6

323

17.4.1

324

17.4.1

325

17.4.1

326

17.4.2

327

17.4.2

328

17.5.1

329

17.5.2

330

17.6.1

331

17.6.1

332

17.6.2

333

17.7.1

334

17.7.2

335

17.8.1

336

17.8.2

337

17.8.2

338

17.8.2

339

17.8.3

340

17.9.1

341

17.9.2

342

17.9.3

343

17.10

308

C AE   ) € _F ¨67   C 6 F  … IQ C6 ¦ IQ „ †R D7z’ä § T ˜É† 57 * & IQ  í IQ

  9 ^ ª  ( ›¯ & ' ‰ *GIH :žŸGïH \ § C A A t s[ »C &'( ^ * i jC   Tu IQí V Æ I Ò  GHC A  Y–« { t ! 6 ¿ ¨7 br[GIH  …ûU³
67=   ‘’ p ) HI G T C EA * ”TC6 C    _ F –« {A   ž¢·7z’¦ T¼ C * 0 E GHI  ` ÷67z’¦  

   PIQ Y¸   ‰ * :žŸ =¸ FGIH E ^E E ”  A C ª Y _F&>ðV ‹

C  EŠ 6 ¨7C Y ž¥7›0ÚV & '(^ žŸ =¸ F CA E IQ   ŒyR  {  úIQ HlV  ž¢7ó =\Ç C G C UV A CY  [ IH Eí  T  G–³îˆGIH EA

` ìœ –0 24=¸ GHI *+ /  *C C 6 –V ,-.  ‰  `m³
7‡ˆGIH  F   ) 6 ¨7GïH ¸ Y

C

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      E3    ]œ › =¸ › ]œ b†  IQ IQ(    IQ 6 ¨7GlH & ' GHS RGHI  * ®C Z+ /  ,-. GIH ‰  ،­    TÍÎ ›] T‘’p )GHI    TC* ‘’p>  Y * &  :¨67GlHIQGHI * _FGÝH ±†  UV GIH

t s'( ¡ 24R IQGHI u¯ *& + 0 ˆ / &gт° ,-.  žŸGlHIQGIH 6

*  7‡ˆ  –V *E567F   [  C  * A  UV UV  CYGIH *| U³ îˆ A   RIQ  * + / ()  IQ  j ,-. ' R  › ¯ * C & * X !"#‡ˆ  T ¼C ¨67_F * W

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

344

17.10

345

17.11

346

17.12.1

347

17.12.1

348

17.12.2

349

17.12.3

350

17.12.4

351

18.1.1

352

18.1.1

353

18.1.1

354

18.1.2

355

18.1.3

356

18.2

357

18.2

358

18.3

359

18.5

360

18.5

361

19.1.1

362

19.1.2

363

19.1.3

364

19.1.3

365

19.2.1

366

19.2.2

367

19.2.3

368

19.2.3

369

19.2.4

370

19.2.4

371

19.2.5

372

19.2.6

373

20.1

374

20.2

375

20.2

376

20.2

377

20.2

378

20.3

379

20.3

C A jA * ¨67GïH ¸ F T Ž‚CÌ GIH  IQ  V Ÿ  §IQ žC¥7=Aú U :žGïH \ ) 9 {  :` ÷67= ¤IQ ( Hxy› Ç & 'Gw C  6   ]     & gh7=\ žŸ =¤IQ  IQ IQ q  ›§C & '( ” ¡ [  b4_F 67‡ˆ ž¥7   !t ºÏ( „C… †‡ˆ ¥7= Æ0GIH ž ¦ W j  V E C¾  q z’“TU ž¥7š½ GHI A  Ÿ  IQ Y :ž =\ §    GHàa =a :CžŸ =\ §IQ Et  C  suv [   IQ'( ¥7RIQ SH  š | & ž G  žŸ z’¦ :žŸGïH \ §IQ UV lH IQ ‰  IH G G

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q Y 67‡ˆ ، '( ^ =

) IH & G /  GlH IQ +,*-.  '(¢7‡ˆ Z &  X Y  žŸGïH \ §IQ  C  0 W  ˆ !t c _F =a 24›'¿[ Y 6  

{ IH 24RIQ IH ¨7 Y ¹\Ç * ”  G G  ®  ›¯ &­

j žŸGïH ¸ FGHI

!  GHït ¸¿GIH *  6  F    F ‰GHé7=¸ ¬o> C _ GÝH ±†  E  0 E3 ¡A *_F ` q   ™IQ•ˆ  24  ” C { ÒIQGHI 24›Ç C IQ( *   `m³ GHSGIH E A E  IQ = ` mno¤ >  C E   ­  j    ®  [ ›¯ c 24=a    [   — ›]œ g» D67F 24= ¸  IH &  G

 * Ÿ  IQ _FGHI  žGïH \ § ” E ` 1  Õ ÔÓ ^  ¨67Ž˜-½¾GHI  GlHIQ Öv C

٣٠٩

381

21.1

382

21.1

383

21.2

384

21.2

385

21.3

386

21.4

387

21.4

388

22.1

389

22.1

390

22.1

391

22.2.1

392

22.2.2

393

22.2.3

394

23.1

395

23.1

396

23.2

397

23.3.1

398

23.3.2

399

23.3.2

400

23.3.3

401

23.4

402

23.4

403

23.5

404

23.6

405

24.2

406

24.2

407

24.2

408

24.3.2

409

24.3.2

410

25.1.1

411

25.1.2

412

25.1.2

413

25.2

414

25.2

415

26.1.1

416

26.1.2

309

E IQ  GlH IQ ` mnop > E 6 E  0 q–Ž‚1 ¨7Ž˜B¸ F  C ¡C Ÿ IQ   ÚV IH ¹D67  žGlH › G    6    ú IQ ›Ç { ¨7 Y ž¥7= GHI í   T[ GãH ©1 GIH ”ψ   ψ  24R IQ HI W  W   G 0  c –Ž‚1 C !ºÁ  6 *  …ûšC½Àt ¡  GHI 7   D ¹

T C CCª ^  9 _FGIH   234}   C   6!7ÿ { ó GHI .` ©« E  *+ /  ® ,-. _F GIH TÍέ C *  9 ª ^ _F * ¹D67} C E  * ¡ 240  [  T îˆ ‰GHé67F      ~  ¹ 9 ü j 234} Z+ / d C    q Y ,-. ef  C q GïH ¸  GHI =䱆›] C 24= ¤IQ >  A  žŸ CGHĽÀт1^  _F E    ¨67=\]œ UIQ³( ©÷67‡ˆ HI b4_ F

G *  9 ª ^  &'()   q z’¦ “

* E

ˆ    !ÿ c 24 ©°GSH  ‰ þýGHSGHI E
6   `m³ 7‡ˆ 24=¸GIH C  6 T* …û=DC7 —[  ¸   SH   lÞIQ GEIH 24R IQGIH Š G  P A E

PSÞ  GïH ¸ F C =   –« >  {GIH !"# ›0ÚV ¨67  Y ›Ç  {  * ”[*  ¡ GIH ‰     ( ^  St 0 &' * Hsu»Ž‚ƒ C  E G  * ª^ GIH ¬o>  9 RIQ     j š „…†› ¯ ^ C ” C‹ ª I Y GH  Y  Š Œy;  ìœ 24RIQGHI ‹ EŠ ›å67R IQ  ©Ɇ›¯    j :GlHIQGIH  IQ(    IQ  ¾  & '(¢7‡ˆ & '  R š½ *

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

417

26.1.2

418

26.2

419

26.2

420

26.2

421

26.4

422

26.4

423

26.5

424

26.5

425

26.6

426

26.7.1

427

26.7.2

428

26.7.2

429

27.1

430

27.2.1

431

27.2.2

432

27.2.2

433

27.3.1

434

27.3.2

435

27.3.2

436

27.3.2

437

27.4

438

27.5.1

439

27.5.1

440

27.5.2

441

27.5.3

442

27.5.3

443

27.5.4

444

28.1.1

445

28.1.2

446

28.2

447

28.2

448

28.3

449

28.4.1

450

28.5.1

451

28.5.1

452

28.5.2

E ` ÷67U³´ »ß  *  ¿[ Y UV UV GHI c!t _FGIH YGHàa ‘’  ˆ *  UV T • T ^ + /    ª 9 Y } ,*-.  žŸ  [ €GIH *  ®  24= )GHI & 'Ü 

 0   [0 3 ¡GIH =\]  &g 24 

 UV ›*±†0   T * * _F  ‰  = \0]   '( ^ &  E 0  * su» UV GHI  ©™ t  GHS R IQ T [ b3† GIH C * Ax9 yz {&'()   ž ŸGlH IQGHI 



ÏÐ 24RIQ ”  Y RIQ b4_F  [  W ›Ç  >pa ¥7=a ž  0  ¡ IH  Ž‚ƒ    G

8Ì j Ž‚0 ƒ  &     þýGIH {p   ¨67 Y & IQ'( ‰ !ÿ –« * { +,-./ ` B\ å67 F ÏÐ0 xyz _F } 9 A A * C W qC –0 C WXGÝH ] RIQ su»Ž‚1   GlH IQGHI ،q GHSt ‹ 

ª^ ›Ç þý 24RIQGIH { ‰ !ÿ Š  C t EC š½À) SH(suv  ' &

~ +,-./ GIH 9 &'ØÙ  E EC  F[  24= \Ç { ¸  E 6í C   IQ ! Ù Ø "  F & ' # ** ¨7_ ‰ *R  C  jGSH   žŸGHÝÇ { T‘’p*ü * E + /  0 ^ ) ( F  

`B  ‰ & ' b4_ ,-. GIH E   F *  6 IQ %¸  24$%D7R ` ©  C E C (^ H ˆ Y  24›A £aC &

' G  C9 ~ ž¥7òü UVGHI

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 E  {



j  24RIQGHI ¹D 67›¯  * E  V *  V ‰ \Ú U GIH * Õí  îˆ _F Ö¯ ª ^   T ÔÓ 9  UV GHI     t ! &'ˆ Y  ‰ *RIQ ‫* ؛‬br[¿ /  + E   &  24$  &'  ,-. 

٣١٠

453

29.1.1

454

29.1.2

455

29.1.3

456

29.1.3

457

29.1.3

458

29.2.1

459

29.2.2

460

29.2.3

461

29.2.4

462

29.2.4

463

29.2.4

464

30.2

465

30.2

466

30.3

467

30.4

468

30.5

469

30.6

470

31.1

471

31.1

472

31.2.1

473

31.2.2

474

31.3.1

475

31.4

476

31.4

477

32.1

478

32.1

479

32.2

480

32.3

481

32.3

482

32.4

483

32.4

484

33.1.1

485

33.1.1

486

33.1.2

487

33.1.2

488

33.2.1

310

E š½¾ UV *+,-./  ` ìœ !ÿ þý  C* UV lH IQ Y  24= \]œ ‰  G *  * +/  q › ]œ ,-.  UV GIH Õ ª ^  9 › 'ˆ _F Ö ÔÓ ¯  Õ   E ÔÓ ^  › §IQ 24=\£\ §IQ ž¢Öv ¦  9   y " 6 E 9 x x y" & '#’ } * ¨7z’¦ }C E*GHI  ¡ [ 24Ž˜0 Ɇ_ FGIH ž¥7  Z

  IQ(  j I ( ^  c –€ & ' =“ >  GH &' *   I ÍÎ T ›]  & Q'( GIH   žŸ [ 24RIQGHI › §IQ EžŸ RIQGHI E  * ` ìœ žŸ Y GIH  * YGw Hj GHlV  › ] GHI 6  { IH ‰  IH G G ž¥7› å7=  ¹\Ç ^ * › ¯ ª 9     24›'ˆ / E d   Àz ef š½{ˆ T UV +,-. *   =a & 8>Æ  q C ” ¡   GÝH0]  ž¥7  A ~    j 9 €  Y * 8Ì 234} ”    C &  _F ¨67 Y ،‰  H\>  G Š EC C 9 9j › å67‡ˆ i j  c E  A C*+ / P C Aí Ÿž ›0ÚV ,-.  ¨6·67 FGCIH} C

 A IQ   *  C ©« {p _F GHS YGHI GHI ” ® C t  c 24›!º§C & IQ'( GIH & 'Ü

  Y –€À½- ¨67 Y b4_F áIQ

¦  ]œ  !ÿ þýGIH ،567= Eˆ ’ \   = ‰ #

' &

  6 ˆ Ÿ  IQ UnoD7‡ ž RGHI  *   

q TUV c  –V  Tîˆ Cª ^  E X 67 ó  T=a W

(¢7›£ ¸   ` Ì j ’¦ IH &'   !G › ±†› ǒ¦  :žŸ = ¤IQ * E    ¡ _F  ` m³
67‡ˆ E  24Cš  g»A 

) UIQ³( Š  C &  ¨67 Y T A67= úIQGHSGIH    UnCz’¦  UVGHI  …û=   IH X !"# GIH T G W CA E + / ~ ,-. 9 GHˆ 234}

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

489

33.2.2

490

34.1.1

491

34.1.2

492

34.2.1

493

34.3.1

494

34.3.1

495

34.3.3

496

34.3.4

497

34.3.4

498

34.3.5

499

35.1

500

35.1

501

35.2.1

502

35.2.2

503

35.2.2

504

35.2.3

505

35.2.4

506

36.2.1

507

36.2.1

508

36.2.3

509

37.1.1

510

37.1.2

511

37.1.4

512

37.1.4

513

37.2.1

514

37.2.2

515

37.2.3

516

37.2.4

517

37.3.1

518

37.3.2

519

37.3.2

520

37.3.2

521

37.3.3

522

37.4.1

523

37.4.2

524

37.4.3

C *

9 Þª^  ©1  GIH  Pw * d  ® E Y GHI Y & '()   T [  ef  ÏÜ  GHI W C _F  24UVC ž¥7=> E E 0 q GïH ¸   T îˆ =ä¼ > ½¾  ˆ  F  [  3  V * ‰GH b4_ T b†  U  0 ” 9 ~ 567›¼ ½¾ ` © Ì E À) IQ `B½ 24RGIH

    IQ( ¦  IQ = »©« > ’ 24RGHI

{ & ' &7 IQ   ’ ¦ ]   I  ÒGH PÞS !ä IQ t* ! 

qE 24= \Ç C {p* ، 3†Rsuv "#Cš  Uno !ÿ    > þý ، Ž˜É†  9 xy"   24UVC q  } IQ ® GH\>  & '( ­  )  [ ^  0!t & '( šÀ½ q GÝH º§  su v  24=a žŸ R IQ ‰ GHSt t E

… !t

Ö ¿ z v 9 c„ †›º§ `Ì + /  I  CV ,-. GHSGH ، GlH    E žŸ  _F q  GHI  { UV IH ، *+,/  »©« G q -. í     ” * 567›Ç {pIQ & IQ'( GHI ،  E  Š YGHï Ǝ‚1  & '(^GSH   C CC Cˆ 9 UV Y › ]œGHI YA

E 6Ü b4_F 57U³®GIH   _FGHI  ß

A  t ª^  'a 9 × vE –³æ gsu & & A  3 ¥ž7›C'ˆ bC† &GHI  [GHI C t q „A …!¿†CR GHS RIQ    0 ‰ Ž˜÷67  C& !’¦ GHI E * 24› ]œ & '()   ª ^ 6 ¡ GHI ،_F z’ ¦ “ 9 T˜÷7  ª^ IQ  °ˆC + /

 9 c ›¯

 & '( & /'À½ ,-.  IQ žŸ RIQ ، c š½Àт™ ”ÏÐ* F a IH ›å67‡ˆ _GHà G + / W C ¡ ` ìœ ,-. GHI .T =>         d „…†=  T[ ef  24›'ˆ žŸ RIQ*GIH  â> Ï a [ * UV GHI W

٣١١

525

37.4.3

526

38.1

527

38.2

528

38.2

529

38.3

530

39.1

531

39.1

532

39.2.2

533

39.2.2

534

39.2.3

535

40.1.1

536

40.1.2

537

40.1.3

538

40.2

539

40.2

540

40.4

541

40.5.1

542

40.5.1

543

40.5.2

544

40.6

545

40.7

546

41.1

547

41.2.2

548

41.2.2

549

41.3

550

41.4

551

41.4

552

41.4

553

41.5

554

42.1

555

42.1

556

42.2

557

42.2

558

42.2

559

42.3

560

43.1.1

311

    ß T …ûß * ž¥7F =¸   žŸGlHIQGHI ¡ _F  –V 24R IQGIH `0 ìœ 234    Z+ / ©1 567  ¡ ,-.  AC  )

24=  © Ɇ › ÚV C ” ¡ $“$ š½À) ž¥7  C !" ¦ E | 9 9j q #z’ ` Ì  *  9 ~  UV GHI c ›¯ *   Ž‚™IQ ،P SÞ*  T [   E  ‰ ߎ‚0 1  žŸ  UVGHI A A  C  C C C 6 AC 7 ©1 ¨67›$

 1 ›]œ ¨ /  Z+ /

Ê ~ 9 ® ,-. GHI À½  +,-. ­ í C Z/ ® +,-. GIH ) –Ž‚1   UV ­ í T    !ÿ ›¯

j ‰ þýGHS   GlH IQ &IQ'(  => GIH

^ 

 9 c ›¯

ª T… û_F T˜É†  C A E

 ìœ › ±†›Ç { ä$

C  * ˆ [C c–C &'  CX   [ E!ÿ S Y þÓ WGH T ž¢ 0 &  Æ ` ©1GHI C C  C 0 3 ˆ ¦ T‚ƒ b†  Tî `«’ð =a › å67U³Ü ®  Y GHI C*   ** cst u [ v  &  b3†  UV GIH E  CC C TÍθ   ž*¥7ߎ‚ƒ* d þý T [  ef  24›'ˆ & '()  !ÿ  * ` ©«

’¦C GSHC GHI 0 A …C†Rt suv  ž¥7FE„ t A  sÁ Cù]^  & –€½Àu C  E  
C6!ÿ ˆ `©° U³ 7þý  C* ¿[ Y UV UV GHI c!t E * t ! + /   ]   „…¿†R ,-.  ‰ U³´\ E

E      cGH\p > ¸ `©B

q UV ،q !"#!ÿ  þÓ

qC HÄ  = ¸C F +,-./ G CC 9  

) ¥7=aGIH ž  —GHé67š 24› 'ˆ

Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ

561

43.1.1

562

43.1.2

563

43.1.3

564

43.1.3

565

43.2.1

566

43.2.2

567

43.2.3

568

43.2.3

569

43.2.4

570

43.2.5

571

43.3.1

572

43.3.1

E0 E E  * Ï ) GÝH §IQ & IQ'( W A  ¡ HI 24= ¸ F T îˆ ` ÷67  Z G =a  HS  IH G G  E   F * IQ I Q § ` ¬oä > C B¸ R C 0   ÏÐ Ÿ [ € IH W ž   G

qC Hˆ Y HS  ¨67›*]  HI * G G G A C C 0 ˆ ` B  z’¦  ߎ‚° ª^  9  } ،c 24=“ > *j  UV 'a  [  IH TC & T A GE

 0 !" 0 ” !t _F #_F `m³¿( 

 *F    !ÿ c b4_  `ìœ þý ‰ GIH * E = \ ]œ & gÚV R IQGHI 

٣١٢

573

43.3.2

574

43.3.2

575

43.3.3

576

43.3.4

577

43.3.4

578

43.3.5

579

44.1.1

580

44.1.2

581

44.2.1

582

44.2.2

583

44.3

584

45

312

0 ) Ïa  Y c –Ž˜B W C   t X Uno ¹\ !º§ HI W E >* G › ]   &   ÍÎ T

  : žŸ RIQ    E!ÿ IQ * 8×  z’¦ p ÆCV =µ > 67þý & C    ¾0  ” ј0 CɆ   ‰GSH š½  & g ¡   T˜É† GEHI ،E*‰/ GHI A =a

 j +   ]œ  IQ cGw H ,-. =>ä R  t  * 9 H~ GHI ‰GHSsu v ‰  Gw    *+ / t I Q s §  I u ù –Ž˜™C ،‰  GH ,-.     Õ Ô] ^  IQ'( GHI  [   q Öv  + / C  & U³
67Ž‚ƒ ,-. € =   T UV 

q › ÚVA –VC S !’ ¦   IQ'(

 PÞ  &

  & IQ'( G ïH ¸   TÍÎ&p > IQ                         .                   «»      

  

     

  

43.1.3 5.5.2 10.2 ،10.1 10.2 1.3 17.7.2 17.7.1 18.2 29.1.3 45 1.1 35.2.1 15.2.7   6.3 3.8.2 40.3 27.5.3 22.1 30.5 31.3.1 39.1 1.4 3.9.2   2.4 37.3.1 21.2

                                                                                                                             ‫؟‬                                                                                                                                         

٣١٣

313

 

     ۱ ٢ ٤ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٨ ۱     ٥ ۱ ٤ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٣ ٤ ۱

   

   

                     

                            

  

 

          

                

 

                                                                                    

Index of Verses

  

   

11.5.1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

         

17.4.2 9.3.1 17.5.1 17.5.1 6.1 20.3 31.1 40.2   2.3 17.8.2 1.1 43.3.1 17.3.4 41.1 43.2.1   3.12 27.5.1   7.3 17.4.1 40.4 19.2.6 12.2.3 28.5.2   3.13   3.5.1 17.4.2 9.3.3 27.2.2 44.2.2 31.3.2 23.3.2 39.2.2

٣١٤

314

 

     ۱ ۱ ٢ ٦

           

        ۱     ٢    ۱    ٤   ٣  ۱

۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٨ ٢ ٢ ٣ ۱ ٥ ٣ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٦ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱

       

               

                    

       

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Index of Verses

         

  

   

23.5   6.1 37.2.1

                                    

  3.13 33.1.2

     

27.4

                         

17.7.1 37.2.2 3.6 37.2.3 29.2.1

17.12.4

                                                                            

37.2.2   2.2

        

4.2 27.3.2 40.1.2 43.2.1 43.2.5 35.2.4 29.2.4 19.1.3 43.1.1 13.2.2

                                  

25.1.1 19.1.1 18.2 17.7.1

٣١٥

315

 

     ٢ ٥ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٣

               

                    

     

   

            

٣ ١     ۱ ۱ ٣ ۱

                           

   

                                                     

    

       

        

             

  ٢     )  ٢ (!  ٢  ۱   ٣     ٢      ٢   ۱  ٨

١٥

   

  

Index of Verses

         

   5.2

29.1.3 5.3 18.5 43.2.3 37.4.2   4.3 7.5  6.2  17.2.1 11.1 17.11 12.2.2 12.2.4 35.2.2 14.2 43.2.4 3.8.3 8.3.1 43.3.2 3.2 44.3 17.2.1 7.3 21.3 17.8.1 37.4.2 17.8.2 17.2.2 35.2.2 7.4.2 8.2 1.3

   

                                                                                                                 (‫ )؟‬                                                                                                                                                          

٣١٦

316

 

     ٩ ۱     ٤ ٣ ۱ ٤ ٤ ٢ ٢ ۱ ۱ ١٠ ٤ ١ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ١٠ ٢ ۱ ٤ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ۱

   

   

 

               

                   

       

   

                   

 

        

                                                                                                                     

Index of Verses

         

  

28.5.1 17.2.2 41.3 8.4 ٢٧‚٢‚١ 26.1.2 17.3.3

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                 "    "                          

33.1.1 14.1 11.3 14.1 33.2.2 17.8.2 6.5 25.2 40.1.1 7.4.1 43.2.3 19.2.6 7.6.2 9.3.2 42.3 17.3.6 26.1.2 22.1 42.3 9.3.1 5.4 15.2.5 27.3.2 41.5 19.2.2

٣١٧

317

 

     ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ٢ ٢ ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٣ ٣ ۱ ٥ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٣ ٣ ٢١ ۱ ٣ ٩

   

   

          

                        

     

 

          

    

 

 

                  

                                                                                 

                  

Index of Verses

         

  

43.3.3 29.2.2 38.1 26.7.2 26.7.2 26.7.2 37.4.2 10.4.2 10.4.1 30.5 43.2.1 29.2.2 41.4 43.1.3 3.9.2 29.2.4 16.4 15.2.7 13.8 39.2.2 17.9.1 17.9.1 43.1.3 10.4.3 5.3 6.3 42.1 40.5.2 3.9.2

  3.5.2 27.2.1   7.6.2 27.5.3

   

                     (      )                 ‫؟‬                                                  ‫؟‬                                                                                                                                                                                                      

٣١٨

318

 

     ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٤ ١١ ١١ ٣ ٢ ٣ ٣ ٧ ۱ ١ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٣ ٢ ٣ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٣ ٣ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٣ ٤

               

   

                      

  

                      



   

                                                                                                                                                                

Index of Verses

         

  

3.8.3   3.2 27.3.1 17.10 3.3 3.5 17.3.5 43.2.5 17.1 36.1 28.1.1 18.1.2   2.2 3.8.1 37.2.2   6.4.2 11.4 10.3.1 35.2.3 13.1.1 35.2.3 17.12.2 15.2.8 23.3.3 10.3.2 18.5

  4.3 37.4.2 3.8.4   3.2 40.6 16.3

                                                                                                                                            "    "                                                               

٣١٩

319

 

     ۱ ۱ ۱     ۱ ۱     ۱ ٢ ٢ ٤ ۱     ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ٦٧ ٢ ٤ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢ ٢ ۱

                

      

 

      

                   

                     

            

   

                                                                                                                                            

Index of Verses

         

  

   

                                  

37.2.3 37.2.4 19.1.1 7.6.1 39.2.2 6.2.2.1 6.2.2.2 6.3 17.3.2 37.1.2 3.8.5 31.3.1 17.3.2   4.3

                       ‫؟‬                                 

              

34.3.3 3.1 1.1 19.2.4    6.2 ، 4.2 13.5 27.3.2 26.7.2 41.2.1   3.8 28.5.2 17.12.2 7.2   7.5 28.4.1 7.3

   

    

               "    "                                                                    

٣٢٠

320

 

     ۱ ۱ ۱ ٩ ۱ ٢٢ ١ ٣ ۱ ٤ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٤ ٣     ۱ ۱ ٤ ۱ ٢ ٣ ٢

   

   

      

                 

      

 

                                  

         

               

         

                                              

                

 

        



Index of Verses

         

  

                               

28.2 13.7 37.3.1 3.5 13.4 33.2.2 6.5 17.9.3 19.1.3 17.4.1 3.8.6 3.3 10.4.3 3.8.2 17.10 17.10 28.2 43.1.2 21.2 40.1.2 32.1 38.1 28.4.2   6.4.2 43.1.2 17.3.2 10.4.1 33.1.1 3.4 1.3 17.4.2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

٣٢١

321

 

     ٢ ۱ ٣ ٥ ٣ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٣ ۱ ۱ ٣ ۱ ٤ ۱ ۱ ۱

            

            

   

                                                                       

     

                            

    )  ٢ (!   ۱  ۱    ٥   ٣     ۱   ۱  ۱

۱

۱ ٢ ٣ ۱

   

         

                                                   

Index of Verses

         

  

   

               

18.5 43.2.3 6.4.2

         

18.1.1 18.1.1 3.5  27.3.2 ، 3.1 40.1.1 40.1.3 40.1.3 43.2.5 37.2.4 37.3.3 17.8.2 8.3.1 12.3 24.3.1 6.5 18.1.2 28.1.1 43.1.1 3.9.1 28.1.2 43.3.4 29.2.4 12.1 18.1.3   3.13 8.4 21.3 40.1.2

                                                                                                                                                                                      

٣٢٢

322

 

     ۱ ۱ ١١ ۱ ۱ ۱     ٥ ٤ ٣ ٢ ٥ ۱     ٢ ٣ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٥ ٢ ٢ ٣ ۱

   

   

                 

                                  

               

                                 

       

                  

    ۱       ۱   ٢    ٢         ٢    )  ٥ ( !   ۱

                                                               

Index of Verses

         

   7.7

26.1.1   3.2 44.1.1

  3.10.2   2.3 4.1 39.1 17.3.4 18.4   12   7.6.1 17.2.2 17.9.1   7.4 43.1.2 17.12.1   6.2   2.7.1 26.1.1 31.3.2 40.5.1 40.5.1 40.5.1 27.5.2 42.1   3.1   10.1   10.1 16.3 43.2.4 23.3.2 38.3

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

٣٢٣

323

 

     ٨     ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٤ ۱ ٣ ۱     ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱٢ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٣ ۱ ٢ ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ۱ ۱

                      _

  

 

 

             

                    

 



   

                                                                                                                                           

Index of Verses

  

   

39.2.3

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

         

25.1.1 17.10 9.3.1 14.1 40.4 17.3.3 20.1 17.3.1 15.2.2 25.2 17.3.5 17.2.2 40.3 42.2   2.2 37.3.2 3.10 17.7.1 7.1 27.3.2 ،19.2.4 3.3 7.2 17.3.4 43.2.4 22.1 35.2.3 17.9.3 43.1.1 37.2.3 21.4

  3.7.2 17.8.2

٣٢٤

324

 

     ۱ ٢ ۱     ٢     ۱ ٣         ٢ ۱ ۱ ٣ ٣     ٣ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢     ١ ١ ۱ ٢ ١

         

 

 

 

   

                    

 

    

                 

   

                                                                                                                                               

Index of Verses

         

  

43.1.1 23.5 17.8.2 32.4 26.2 40.4 43.3.3 12.2.1 26.7.1 17.2.2 42.3 18.3 24.3.1 40.3 9.3.4 9.1 9.1 42.1 40.2 26.2 17.3.6 43.3.3 41.3 17.3.5 32.3 8.3.2 8.3.2 3.1

   

                        ‫؟‬                                                                                                                                                                                        

17.5.2 32.1

           

3.3 17.5.1 31.1

٣٢٥

325

 

     ١ ٢ ١ ١     ٢ ٢ ٢     ١ ١ ١ ١     ٦ ٣ ٤ ٣ ١ ١ ١ ١ ٣ ١ ١ ١ ١ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢     ۱

                           

                     

   

                            

  

 



   

                                                                              

                                            

Index of Verses

         

  

26.1.1 43.3.3 35.2.2 25.2  3.10.1  8.5.1 43.3.1 22.1 5.5.2 5.5.2 19.2.5 17.4.1 17.10 17.4.1 17.4.2 19.2.4 25.2 22.1 26.4 17.3.5 43.3.2 39.2.2 18.1.1 9.3.1 17.3.5 14.1 1.4

  2.7.1 3.8.3 43.2.2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

9.3.4 6.4.1

٣٢٦

326

 

         ١ ١ ١ ٢ ١٠ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱         ٢ ١ ٢ ۱ ٢ ٩ ١ ١ ١ ١ ١ ٢ ٢ ٢ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ١٣

   

   

          

   

                                                                                                                                 

      

        

              

      

      

                

         

         

       

Index of Verses

         

  

                                                  

7.4.1 8.4 19.2.5 43.3.4 40.1.2 37.4.1 40.5.2

                                                       (‫ )؟‬  

11.2.1 17.6.1 17.6.2 10.5 13.4 13.1.2 19.2.5 13.1.3 11.8.1 11.8.1 30.4 1.1 9.3.4   2.7.2 43.3.4   11.2 5.5.3 3.7 29.2.2 43.3.1 11.2.1 17.3.2 31.2.1 44.1.1 35.2.3 43.2.5

                                  (    ‫ )؟‬                                                                           

٣٢٧

327

 

     ٢ ٣ ۱ ٢ ٦ ٢ ٥ ۱ ١ ٢ ۱ ٢ ٢ ٣ ١ ۱ ١ ١ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢ ٢ ٢ ٣ ۱ ۱ ٢ ۱ ٢ ۱ ۱

   

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Index of Verses

 

    

  

   

37.3.2

5.1

                                                        

٢

40.1.3

  

17.7.1

                                                                                             ‫ ؟‬                                                       ‫؟‬

         

١٣‚٨   7.5 35.2.2 13.1.2 29.2.1 29.2.1   7.4 35.2.3

11.5.1 44.1.1   3.5.1 17.12.3 43.2.2   2.4 43.3.2 5.5.2 19.2.4 11.5.1 11.5.1

 29.1.3 ، 3.7.1 29.1.3 27.4 37.2.2 37.2.3 25.1.1

٣٢٨

328

   

   

                              

                                                        

٣

  

 

٢

       

٢ ۱ ٣ ۱ ٣ ۱ ٣ ۱ ٢

٢ ٥ ٢ ٦ ۱ ۱ ۱ ۱ ٢

 

 

    

     ٣        ٢  ۱

۱

٢ ١ ٢ ٢

        

                                                                          

Index of Verses

*+ /   * q › ]œ ,-.  ÒIQ ›Ç {           

  

 26.1.2 ،26.1.1 ، 2.7.1 26.1.1 17.3.1 7.4.2 17.3.1 17.3.1 17.3.1 17.3.1 26.1.1 1.1

                                                            

٣٢٩

     

     

       

329

   

                                                                                                                                                                             

Index

If no death date is given, this is because it is unknown or because the person is legendary or fictional. An asterisk indicates subjects not explicitly mentioned in the text. Book titles are listed under Kitāb. This index does not cover the Glossary. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Faḍālah ibn Sharīk (1st/7th– 2nd/8th c.), 260n616

Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn Kātib al-Baktimurī (4th/10th c.), 179

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hammām al-Salūlī (d. ca. 99/717), 252n515

Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Mumattaʿ. See Aḥmad ibn Khalaf

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ (2nd–8th

Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī (d. 377/987), 45, 77 Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ (d. ca. 159/776), 77,

c.), 89

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muʿtazz. See Ibn

123

al-Muʿtazz

Abū ʿAṣīdah Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Nāṣiḥ

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabaʾ (1st/7th c.), 117

(d. 273/886), 7

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zabīr al-Asadī (1st/7th c.), 260n616

Abū l-Aswad al-Duʾalī (d. ca. 69/688), 23, 53, 125, 245n414

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr (d. 72/692), *177, 260n616

Abū l-ʿAtāhiyah (d. 210/825), 230n194, 266n689

ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn Aḥmad (d. 415/1025), 87

Abū Bakr ibn Durayd. See Ibn Durayd

ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān (r. 65–86/685–

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (r. 11–13/632–34), 55, 61,

705), 33, 191, 255n550, 260n616, 265n672

ʿAbd al-Qays (tribe), 49, 69, 242n367 ʿAbd al-Quddūs (2nd/8th c.), 57

230n183, 231n204, 238n298, 248n453 Abū Bakr Muḥammad al-Khālidī (d. 380/990), 45, 228n151

ʿAbd Rabb (unidentified), 197

Abū Bakr al-Shiblī. See al-Shiblī

ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Raghbān. See Dīk al-Jinn

Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī (d. ca. 335/946), 230n185

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn ʿAlī. See Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī

Abū Duʾād (or Duwād) al-Iyādī (6th c.), 31 Abū l-Faḍl (unidentified), 31

ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ (pre-Islamic), 137,

Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī (5th/11th c.), 27, 222n79

249n466 al-ʿAbqasī. See al-Mufaḍḍal al-Nukrī

Abū Ḥafṣ. See ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

٣٣٠

330

Index Abū Ḥanīfah (d. 150/750), 135, 248n459, 251n505

Abū Tammām (d. ca. 231/846), 33, 47, 103, 109–11, 222n73, 228n160, 228n161,

Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram ʿAlī ibn al-Mughīrah (d. 232/846–47), 19

241n344, 242n363, 243n377, 245n414, 253n538, 254n543, 254n544, 259n607,

Abū l-Ḥasan al-Maghribī (d. 400/1009), 159 Abū l-Ḥasan Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah. See alAkhfash al-Awsaṭ

263n652, 265n679, 268n727 Abū l-Ṭayyib. See al-Mutanabbī Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī (d. 351/962),

Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī (d. 254/868), 125

177–79, 261n622

Abū l-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf (d. ca. 226/840), 155

Abū ʿUbādah. See al-Buḥturī

Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī (d. 436/1044), 157,

Abū ʿUbaydah (d. 210/825), 23, 31–33, 99,

253n534

224n107

Abū l-ʿItrīf (unidentified), 205, 269n742

Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd

Abū Jaʿfar. See al-Manṣūr

al-Wāḥid, Ghulām Thaʿlab (d. 345/957),

Abū Jaʿfar al-Shalmaghānī (d. 322/934), 85,

177, 199, 267n709 Abū ʿUthmān al-Māzinī. See al-Māzinī

236n281 Abū Jawf (unidentified), 119, 245n402 Abū Jundab al-Hudhalī (pre-Islamic), 195, 266n694

Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd al-Khālidī (d. ca. 390/1000), 45, 228n151 Abū Zunbūr (fl. 310/922), 234n251

Abū l-Khaṭṭāb. See al-Akhfash al-Akbar

Abyssinians, 173, 205, 219n36, 258n594

Abū Khirāsh, Khuwaylid ibn Murrah (pre-

Adam, 41, 83

ʿAdī ibn Zayd (pre-Islamic), 179, 238n305,

Islamic), 217n9 Abū Khubayb. See ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr Abū Maʿshar al-Madanī (d. 170/787), 137 Abū Muslim (d. 136/754), 115

262n639

ʿAḍud al-Dawlah (r. 338–72/949–83), 71, 267n710

Abū Nuwās (d. ca. 198/813), 21, 41, 53–55, 141, 234n253, 249n476, 249n478

Afāmiyah (Apamea) (place), 119, 245n404 affection for scholars, Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s, 157

Abū Qatādah (d. 54/674 or earlier), 153

al-Afshīn (d. 226/841), 115, 244n387

Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī (mid-2nd/8th c.),

al-Aghlab al-ʿIjlī (d. 21/641), 235n264

19–23

Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241/855), 111, 137 Aḥmad ibn Khalaf al-Mumattaʿ (5th/11th

Abū l-Sakan (unidentified), 81 Abū Ṣakhr al-Hudhalī (fl. 72/692), 47,

c.), 133 Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Nāṣiḥ. See Abū

228n162 Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb (d. ca. 32/653), 145,

ʿAṣīdah Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā. See Thaʿlab

261n628 Abū Ṭalḥah (d. 32/652 or 34/654), 153

ʿĀʾishah bint Abī Bakr (d. 58/678), 23 al-Akhfash al-Akbar (d. 177/793), 23

٣٣١

331

Index al-Akhfash al-Awsaṭ (d. between 210/825 and 221/835), 23

Anmār (tribe), 69, Antioch, 37, 175, 245n404, 259n601,

al-Akhnas Ubayy ibn Sharīq (d. 13/634), 103, 241n350

259n603 Anūsharwān (r. ad 530–79), 93

al-Akhram al-Sinbisī (dates unknown), 203 al-Akhṭal (d. ca. 92/710), 47, 199, 228n160

apostasy, apostates, 51, 89, 95, 227n143. See also heresy

Āl Wahb (family), 159

ʿArafah or ʿArafāt (place), 51

Aleppo, 17, 25, 27, 73, 119, 143, 147, 157, 177,

Asad Shanūʾah (tribe), 3, 217n7 al-Aʿshā Maymūn ibn Qays (pre-Islamic),

211, 234n243, 250n490, 261n624

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661), 71, 117, 121,

201, 205, 228n160, 257n575

147, 157, 230n183, 233n231, 237n295,

Ash ʿarites, 87, 237n292

238n298, 255n550, 259n609

Ash ʿarite beliefs, 87–89

ʿAlī ibn al-Ghadīr al-Ghanawī (1st/7th c.?), 252n515

al-Aṣmaʿī (d. ca. 216/831), 125, 224n98, 224n107, 249n470, 251n506, 266n694

ʿAlī ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥājib (4th/10th c.), 157,

authority, uncritical acceptance of, 85 authorship, collaborative, 45, 228n151

253n539

ʿAlī ibn al-Mughīrah. See Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram

ʿAwf ibn (al-)Muḥallim (d. ca. 220/835), 205, 251n499

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Zanj (d. 270/883), 69, 203, 268n726

ʿAwn ibn Mikhrāq (unidentified), 197 Aws ibn Ḥajar (pre-Islamic), 73, 234n247,

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Sayyār ibn Mukrim

265n677 Aylah (Elath) (place), 191, 265n675

(4th/10th c.), 37

ʿĀlij (place), 145, 175

Azd (tribe), 139

al-ʿAllāf. See Abū l-Hudhayl

ʿAzzah (2nd half of 1st/7th c.), 23, 127

Allāt, 255n557

ʿAlqamah (pre-Islamic), 101, 269n739 ʿAlwān (5th/11th c.), 211

Bābak (d. 223/838), 115, 237n288, 244n387 Badr (place), 43, 241n350, 261n628 Baghdad, 45, 75, 101, 147, 177, 224n107,

Amaj (place), 143, 250n486

226n134, 236n272, 249n480

ʿĀmir (tribe), 131, 213, 271n759

Bāhilah (tribe), 89

ʿAmr ibn Aḥmar. See Ibn Aḥmar

Bajīlah (tribe), 165, 255n558

ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (d. ca. 42/663), 189 ʿAmr ibn Ḥumamah (pre-Islamic), 29, 223n95

Bakr ibn Wāʾil (tribe), 165, 223n89 al-Baktimurī. See Abū l-ʿAbbās ibn Kātib Banū Abī Karb, 97

ʿĀnah (place), 185

Banū ʿAdī (tribe), 43, 97, 113, 240n330

ʿAnazah (tribe), 17, 220n46

Banū ʿAwf (tribe), 145, 209

al-Andalus, 83

Banū Ḥamdān (tribe/dynasty), 159

٣٣٢

332

Index Banū l-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿ b (tribe), 55, 97 Banū l-Ḥārith ibn Rabī ʿah (tribe), 97 Banū Hāshim (clan/family), 59

conversion to Islam, 137, 227n143, 244n386, 248n454 cup, 3, 19, 23, 43, 65, 87, 141, 149–51,

Banū l-Mithl (tribe), 97, 240n330

193, 195, 207, 217n3, 221n59, 221n62,

Banū Wahb (tribe), 97, 159, 240n330

224n100, 250n482, 265n684, adorned

Banū Zuhrah (tribe), 103, 241n350

with pictures, 23

Bāqil, 37, 225n120

Dabāwand (place), 95

Baqqah (place), 159, 254n547 Bashshār ibn Burd (d. 167/783 or 784), 51–53, 229n171, 229n173, 229n174,

Ḍabbah (tribe), 25 al-Dahriyyah (“eternalism,” materialism ), 51, 227n138, 229n170

229n175, 229n176, 229n179 Basra, Basrans, 7, 33, 55, 69–71, 117, 147, 167, 203, 224n107, 228n161, 245n412 Buḥayr (Bujayr) ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir, 260n617

Damianos Dalassenos, Duke of Antioch (d. 388/998), 119, 245n404 Damīgh al-Shayṭān, 93 Dārim (tribe), 35, 254n549 Dārīn (place), 27, 223n86

al-Buḥturī (d. 284/897), 27, 131, 149,

date wine, 137, 248n462

223n88, 247n434, 252n516,

David (Dāwūd), 145, 251n502

burning oneself (Hindus), 81 Byzantines, 27, 35, 61, 177, 191, 225n117, 245n404, 261n624, 265n672, 267n711 *Caliphate, 15, 21–23, 51, 65–67, 115, 147–49, 221n58, 252n514

al-Daybul (place), 145 Dhū l-Rummah (d. ca. 117/735), 93, 242n359 Di ʿ bil ibn ʿAlī (d. 245/859 or 246/860), 41, 139 Dīk al-Jinn (d. ca. 235/850), 67

Carmathians, 63

diminutive, 37–39, 45, 225n119, 226n125,

Chosroes. See Kisrā

254n549, 265n675

Christians, 137, 199, 231n205, 249n478,

dinars, xii, 9, 87, 131, 189–205, 237n289,

251n502, 253n537, 266n692, 267n708,

239n318, 263n658, 264n661, 265n672,

268n723

265n678, 266n689, 266n690, 267n711,

coins. See dinars

269n742

collected verse (dīwān), 226n130,

dislike of names (Muḥammad), 101

249n470; ʿAbīd ibn al-Abrāṣ, 139; Abū

dīwān. See collected verse

Tammām, 109; al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah,

draft, 215

127; al-Khālidiyyān, 45; al-Mutanabbī,

al-Duʾalī. See Abū l-Aswad

37–39, 47; Ṭufayl al-Ghanawī, 171

Duwayd ibn Zayd ibn Nahd (pre-Islamic),

common sayings. See proverbs

25, 222n75

complaints about mishaps, the vagary of Time etc., 31, 47

٣٣٣

333

Index Egypt, 21, 31, 61, 119, 129, 133, 183, 189, 225n122, 225n123, 263n658

al-Ghanawī, Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah (d. between 65/685 and 86/705), 77

eighty (dinars, fathoms, years, horsemen,

Ghaylān ibn ʿUqbah. See Dhū l-Rummah

etc.), xii, 53, 139, 147, 201–7, 249n473,

Ghulām Thaʿlab. See Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid

268n719, 268n730, 269n743

Ghummā (place), 141, 249n480

envy, 3, 33–35

gold, xii, 9, 15, 23, 93, 115, 181, 189–93,

errors in reading (by misplacement of the diacritical marks, taṣḥīf), 33, 71

197–201, 203, 207, 215, 221n62, 237n289, 262n632, 265n678, 266n693, 269n732.

“Eternalists.” See al-Dahriyyah

See also dinars

*etymological issues. See *linguistic, etymological and lexicographical issues

grammatical issues. See linguistic, etymological and lexicographical issues

Euphrates, 27, 262n640

grave, as a house, 23–25

Fadak (place), 163

Ḥabīb ibn Aws. See Abū Tammām

Faḍālah ibn Sharīk (d. 64/683), 7, 260n616

hajj. See pilgrimages

Fādhūh, 155

al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbdal (d. ca. 100/718),

false reports, claims, rejected by al-Maʿarrī,

232n213 al-Ḥakamī. See Abū Nuwās

13–15, 41, 75, 117; about Jesus, 25

al-Ḥallāj (d. 309/922), 75–79, 83, 234n250,

fame, Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s, 157 al-Farazdaq (d. ca. 110/728), 11, 33, 191, 197, 201–203, 225n117, 239n319, 268n723 al-Fārisī. See Abū ʿAlī al-Fārisī

234n251 Hamdān (tribe), 166, 165, 255n558, 256n563 Ḥammād ʿAjrad (d. between 155/772 and

al-Farrāʾ (d. 207/822), 77, 235n264

168/784), 135, 248n452

Fate. See Time

Hammām ibn Ghālib. See al-Farazdaq

flogging (ḥadd punishment), 79, 83, 147,

Ḥamzah (d. 156/772), 77, 246n418

231n204, 236n279, 252n519

Ḥanafites, 251n505

forgiveness, xi, 79, 153, 163, 201, 244n394

al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Aṣghar, 260n617

friends, missing, 25, 29

al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah (pre-Islamic), 127

al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ (d. 187/803), 135

al-Ḥārith ibn Khālid ibn al-ʿĀṣ (d. after

funeral (of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal), 111

96/715), 260n617

Fusṭāṭ (place), 147

al-Ḥārith ibn Ẓālim (pre-Islamic), 21

future events, no knowledge of , 71,

al-Ḥārith ibn Zuhayr ibn Taym, 246n423

234n240

al-Ḥārith ibn Zuhayr ibn Wadham ibn Wahb, 246n423

Gabriel (angel), 83, 159, 231n203

Ḥarrān (place), 89, 205

Ghālib, 73, 234n245, 234n246

Hārūn al-Rashīd (r. 170–93/786–809), 31, 67, 224n107, 266n689

٣٣٤

334

Index Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 49/669–

al-Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr. See al-Ḥallāj al-Ḥuṭayʾah (d. mid-1st/7th c.), 203

70), 55, 121, 175, 230n183 al-Ḥasan ibn Rajāʿ. See Ibn Rajāʿ

hypocrisy, hypocrites, xi, 3–9, 41, 141, 217n2

Hāshim (pre-Islamic), 175, 259n609 Ḥassān ibn Thābit (d. before 40/661?), 125, 145, 203 Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾ ī (pre-Islamic), 39, 113, 147, 244n385

Ibn ʿAbbās (d. 68/687), 173, 259n597 Ibn Abī ʿĀmir (d. 392/1002), 83, 236n279 Ibn Abī ʿAwn (d. 322/934), 85 Ibn Abī l-Azhar (d. after 313/925), 39, 45 Ibn Abī Duwād (d. 240/854), 115

Ḥawrān (place), 145 heresy, heretics, apostasy, unbelief, xi–xiv, 41–43, 51–85, 89, 95–99, 115–21, 222n69, 223n85, 227n138, 227n142, 228n161, 229n171, 229n173, 229n181, 230n182, 230n185, 231n197, 239n317; nonexistent in pre-Islamic times, 51, 61 heretic statements, uttered but not held to be true, 55–59 *heritability (of personal traits, the poetic talent etc.), 195–97, 209–11 Hijaz, Hijazis, 61, 147, 251n505, 254n543, 257n583 al-Hijris (pre-Islamic), 209, 270n749 al-Ḥimyarī. See al-Sayyid al-Ḥimyarī

Ibn Aḥmar, ʿAmr (1st/7th c.), 234n247 Ibn al-Dān, 157 Ibn Durayd (d. 321/933), 111, 139, 218n23 Ibn Hāni ʾ (d. ca. 362/973), 83, 236n279 Ibn Harmah (d. ca. 176/792), 143 Ibn al-Jarrāḥ (d. 296/908), 53, 229n181 Ibn Khālawayh (d. 370/980), 143, 177–79, 250n490 Ibn Khaṭal, ʿAbd Allāh (d. 8/630), 109, 243n370 Ibn Khurradādhbih (d. ca. 300/911), 135 Ibn Masʿūd (pre-Islamic), 39, 226n130 Ibn Masʿūd, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ghāfil (d. 32/652), 251n503 Ibn Muḍarris, 209, 270n750

al-Ḥīrah (place), 171, 199, 238n307,

Ibn al-Muʿtazz (d. 296/908), 141, 148,

254n547, 262n640, 267n708 Hishām ibn al-Mughīrah (pre-Islamic), 177 houris (black-eyed damsels), 65 Hudhayl (tribe), 5, 195, 249n470, 266n694 human nature, unchanging, 153 Ḥumayd al-Amajī, 143, 250n486, 250n488 Ḥumayd al-Arqaṭ (1st/7th c.), 246n415 Ḥumayd ibn Thawr (d. ca. 90/709),

252n514 Ibn al-Qāḍī (2nd half of 4th/19th c.), 83 Ibn al-Qinnasrī (5th/11th c.), 131, 247n432 Ibn Rāʾiq, Muḥammad (d. 330/942), 159 Ibn Rajāʾ, al-Ḥasan (3rd /9th c.), 109 Ibn al-Rāwandī (mid-4th/10th c.), xii, 93–99, 117, 238n309, 239n317, 239n320, 240n324 Ibn al-Sarrāj, Abū Bakr (d. 316/928), 45, 101

246n415 al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 61/680), 121, 175, 230n183, 237n297, 259n609 al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk (d. 250/864), 141

٣٣٥

Ibn Shajarah, Aḥmad ibn Kāmil (d. 350/961), 203 Ibn al-Sikkīt (d. 244/858 or before), 177, 263n652

335

Index Ibn al-Ṭufayl, ʿĀmir (d. ca. 10/632), 27, 223n86

Jaysh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣamṣāmah (d. 390/1000), 119

Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī (d. 224/839), 149, 252n520

Jesus 25, 63, 83 Jews, 63, 231n205, 249n478, 266n692

Imami Shi’ites, 87

Jibrīl, 61, 231

imprisonment, 39, 57, 226n134, 236n279,

Joseph, 153, 169, 253n525

258n592

al-Jūdī (mountain), 205, 269n743

improvisation (of poetry), 95, 175–77, 239n319, 260n615

al-Juʿfī. See al-Mutanabbī Junādah ibn Muḥammad al-Harawī, Abū

Imruʾ al-Qays (pre-Islamic), 11, 57, 155, 175, 257n581

Usāmah (d. 399/1009), 133, 247n439 Jurhum (tribe), 11, 218n27

incarnation, 77, 79, 89, 213. See also

Kaaba, 11, 69, 167, 173, 218n27, 219n31,

metempsychosis

233n230, 256n566, 256n568, 259n597

India, 105, 207, 231n210

Kāfūr (d. 357/968), 225n122, 225n123,

Indians, 79–81, 183, 250n495

227n138

invention of stories, 73–75, 244n396 invocations of the Arabs, 163–67, 255n553, 255n558, 255n562, 256n565 Iraq, Iraqis, 21, 39, 47, 131, 147, 221n58, 251n501, 251n505, 262n640

al-Kattānī (d. 390/1000), 157 Kaysānites, 117 Khadījah bint Khuwaylid (d. ad 619), 127 Khalaf al-Aḥmar (d. ca. 180/796), 5 Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzāz (d. 229/844),

ʿĪsā ibn Maryam. See Jesus

137

ʿĪsā ibn Qudāmah al-Asadī, 263n652 Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah (d. 121/739 or 122/740), 73

al-Khālidiyyān. See Abū ʿUthmān Saʿīd and Abū Bakr Muḥammad al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad (d. between 160/776

Jabrāʾ īl. See Jibrīl

and 175/791), 25, 125, 165

al-Jaʿdī. See al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī

al-Khawarnaq (place), 183, 262n640

Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (d. 148/765),

Khiyār al-Kātib, 225n112 Khuwaylid ibn Murrah. See Abū Khirāsh

89, 117, 237n296 Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā al-Barmakī (d. 187/803),

Kilāb (tribe), 109, 185 Kindah (tribe), 97, 240n329, 240n330

195, 266n689 Jamīl ibn Maʿmar (d. 82/701), 221n56,

Kindī ibn ʿUfayr (pre-Islamic), 97 al-Kisāʾ ī (d. 189/805), 33, *39, 224n108

221n68 al-Jannābī (d. 332/943–44), 69

Kisrā Abarwīz (pre-Islamic), 3, 23, 93

Jawhar ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ṣiqillī (d.

al-Kitāb (“The Book”) (Sībawayh), 53, 159,

381/992), 173, 259n598

224n102, 229n177, 254n542

٣٣٦

336

Index Kitāb al-Dāmigh (“The Brain-Basher”)

labbayka (“Here I am for Thee”), 163–67,

(Ibn al-Rāwandī), xii, 93; al-Farīd (“The

255n553. See also invocations

Unique One’) (Ibn al-Rāwandī), 97; al-

Labīd (d. ca. 40/660), 109, 237n291,

Farq (“The Difference”) (Abū l-Ṭayyib

242n364

al-Lughawī), 177; Ḥadd al-iʿrāb (“On the

Lakhm (tribe), 137

Definition of Desinential Inflection”)

Latakia, 45

(al-Mufajjaʿ), 167; al-Ibdāl (“The Per-

Laylā (1st/7th c.), 23, 167, 271n759

mutation”) (Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī),

letter, stolen, 27, 222n79

177; al-Iqnāʿ (“The Sufficiency”)

*lexicographical issues. See linguistic, ety-

(al-Sīrāfī), 45; al-Itbāʿ (“The Rhyming

mological and lexicographical issues

Pairs”) (Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī), 177;

lies, produced by poets, 37

al-I ʿ tibār (“The Book of Contempla-

*linguistic, etymological and lexicographi-

tion”), 147; al-Jumal (“The Sentences”)

cal issues, xiii, 37–39, 45, 93, 97, 107,

(Ibn al-Sarrāj), 45; al-Mabʿath (“The

177–79, 238n304, 240n333, 259n603,

Book of [the Prophet’s] Mission”) (Abū Maʿshar al-Madanī), 137; al-Marjān (“The Coral”) (Ibn al-Rāwandī), 99; al-Mubtadaʾ (“The Beginning”), 145; al-Mudākhal (“The Concatenation’) (Abū ʿUmar al-Zāhid), 177; al-Mūjiz (“The Concise”) (Ibn al-Sarrāj), 45; al-Muqniʿ (“The Sufficient”) (al-Sīrāfī), 45; al-Nawādir (“The Anecdotes”) (al-Ṣūlī), 67; al-Qaḍīb (“The Rod”) (Ibn al-Rāwandī), 95; al-Qalb wa-l-ibdāl (“The Phonemic Conversion”) (Ibn al-Sikkīt), 177; Shajar al-durr (“The Pearl Tree”) (Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Lughawī), 177, 261n622; al-Tāj (“The Crown”) (Ibn al-Rāwandī), xii, 93; al-Taʾrīkh (“History”) (Ibn Shajarah), 203; al-Waraqah (“The Folio Book” ) (Ibn al-Jarrāḥ), 53 Kulayb (pre-Islamic), 35, 270n749 Kuthayyir ʿAzzah (d. 105/723), 9, 23, 109, 199, 218n22, 246n420

260n619, 260n620 love, futility of, 19 Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān (place), 43, 179 al-Mādharāʾ ī (fl. 309/922), 75, 234n251 al-Mahdī (eschatological figure), 231n208 al-Mahdī (r. 158–69/775–85), 53, 229n173 Mahdī ibn al-Mulawwaḥ. See Majnūn Laylā Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegin (r. 388–421/998– 1030), 81 Majnūn Laylā (1st/7th c.), *67, 221n65, 256n570, 271n759 Malatya (place), 175, 259n604 Mālik (angel), 111, 244n383 Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179/796), 135, 248n451, 251n505 Mālik ibn Asmāʾ ibn Khārijah (d. after 95/714), 224n104 Mālik ibn Dīnār (d. 131/748–49), 197 Mālik ibn Zayd ibn Manāh ibn Tamīm (preIslamic), 223n90 Mālik ibn Zughbah (pre-Islamic), 262n638 Mālikites, 248n451, 251n505

٣٣٧

337

Index Maʿmar. See Abū ʿUbaydah

Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (r. 41–60/661–

Manāt (or Manāh), 255n557, 255n562 al-Manṣūr, Abū Jaʿfar (r. 136–58/754–75), 115–17, 201

80), 189, 263n655 Muʿāwiyah ibn Yazīd (r. 64/684), 149 al-Mubarrad, Muḥammad ibn Yazīd (d.

Manṣūr al-Yaman. See al-Ṣanādīqī, 59 al-Marrār ibn Saʿīd. See Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī

285/898), 149, 252n516. 269n744 al-Mufajjaʿ (d. 327/939), 167 al-Mughammas (place), 169–71, 258n592 Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (the Prophet)

marriage, marrying, xi, 101–103, 127, 246n424; temporary, 258n596

(d. 10/632), 41, 59, 63, 71–73, 95, 101, 113,

al-Marzubānī, ʿImrān (d. 384/993), 203, 254n543, 268n725

127, 135–37, 145–47, 153, 171, 215, 223n86, 227n140, 227n143, 227n146, 231n200,

Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (d. 121/738), 31

231n201, 231n202, 231n206, 241n338,

materialism. See al-Dahriyyah

241n350, 243n370, 245n410, 251n502,

al-Māzinī, Abū ʿUthmān (d. in or after

251n503, 258n596, 259n609, 261n628, 261n630, 267n704

246/861), 149

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid. See Abū

al-Māzyār (d. 225/840), 115 Mecca, Meccans, 51, 57–59, 117, 167–69, 173–77, 217n4, 218n27, 227n144, 231n202, 241n350, 242n351, 243n370, 251n501, 255n553, 256n572, 257n577, 257n580, 258n592, 269n739

ʿUmar al-Zāhid Muḥammad ibn Bashīr al-Khārijī (d. after 120/738), 254n543 Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (d. 81/700), 117

the Messiah. See Jesus

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan. See Ibn Durayd

metempsychosis, 79, 89, 157. See also

Muḥammad ibn Ḥāzim al-Bāhilī (2nd/8th ¬–

incarnation

3rd/9th c.), 149

*metrical and rhyme-technical issues (irregularities), 75–77. 107–11, 163–65, 181, 211, 220n48, 231n210, 235n258, 235n268, 238n311, 241n338, 243n372, 250n487, 255n560, 259n597, 262n633,

Muḥammad ibn Yazīd. See al-Mubarrad Muḥriz ibn al-Mukaʿ bir al-Ḍabbī (preIslamic), 191, 265n679 al-Muʿizz Abū Tamīm Maʿadd (r. 341– 65/953–75), 83, 236n279 al-Mukhabbal al-Saʿdī (d. ca. 19/640),

271n760 Mirdās ibn Muḍarris, 209, 270n750

226n131

Minā (place), 169, 257n577

al-Mulbid ibn Ḥarmalah al-Shaybānī,

misplacement of the diacritical marks

224n102 al-Mumattaʿ. See Aḥmad ibn Khalaf

(taṣḥīf), 33, 71

al-Mundhir. See al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir

Moses, 63, 141, 201, 207, 245n411 Mosul, 33, 45, 205

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338

Index munsariḥ (as a meter used in invocations), 163, 256n565

niece, Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s, xii, 209 Nisibis (place), 157

*al-Muqannaʿ (“the Veiled One”) (d.

Noah, 7, 83, 249n481, 269n743

166/783), 59

Nufayl ibn Ḥabīb (pre-Islamic), 171–73,

(al-)Muraqqish al-Akbar (pre-Islamic), 189, 264n662

258n592 Nūḥ. See Noah

Mūsā Shahawāt (1st half of 2nd/8th c.), 246n418

al-Nuʿmān ibn Imri ʾ al-Qays al-Aʿ war (early fifth century), 183

*mutʿah (temporary marriage), 173,

al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Muḥarriq (6th c. ad),

258n596

263n651

al-Mutanabbī (d. 354/965), 37–39, 43–47, 179, 199, 226n134, 226n135, 226n136, 227n148, 267n710

al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir (r. ca. ad 580–602), 13, 93, 187, 219n38, 238n307, 238n308, 263n651

al-Mutanakhkhil (pre-Islamic), 185

Nuṣayriyyah, 79

al-Muʿtaṣim (r. 218–27/833–42), 149,

oaths (sworn by al-Maʿarrī and others),

253n538 Muʿtazilah, Muʿtazilites, 87, 237n290, 253n534

11–13, 27, 185, 199 old age, 19, 53, 123–29, 139, 149, 159, 221n66, 238n298, 245n414

Muṭī ʿ ibn Iyās (d. 169/785), 230n182

omens (names as omens), 101–3, 240n336,

al-Muttaqī (r. 329–33/940–44), 159

241n348

(al-)Muzaʿfar (1st/7th c.?), 259n607 al-Muzdalifah (place), 51

parables, 3, 95, 239n313

mystics, 75, 83, 235n268

People of the Scripture ( Jews, Christians

al-Nābighah al-Dhubyānī (sixth century), 17, 219n38, 257n576, 263n651 al-Nābighah al-Jaʿdī (d. ca. 63/683), 111, 185, 189, 193, 263n651, 265n685 Nahshal ibn Ḥarrī (d. between 41/661 and 60/680), 159, 253n524 al-Nājim, Abū ʿUthmān Saʿd ibn al-Ḥasan (d. 314/926), 101, 107

and Zoroastrians, but also Muslims), 11, 55, 63, 85, 137, 189, 195, 199, 231n205, 245n404, 249n478, 251n501, 251n502, 253n537, 266n692, 267n708, 267n711, 268n723. See also Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians Persia, 21–23, 51, 233n228 piety, 67, 135, 141, 195–97 pilgrimages, 15, 163–73, 220n43, 231n202,

names as omens. See omens

257n577, 257n580, 258n595; lesser

Namir (tribe), 163, 255n558

(ʿumrah), 173, 258n595

Naṣībīn. See Nisibis

pleasures, and their transitoriness, 117,

Naṣr ibn Ghālib, 263n652

135–47, 183

al-Nayrab (place), 119

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339

Index plight of men of letters, scholars, 31–35, 115

al-Quṭrabbulī (4th/10th c.), 39, 45

poems, collected. See collected verse

Quwayq (river), 27

poet, the best, 203–5

Rabī ʿah ibn Kaʿ b (tribe), 201

poetic talent, 775, 209–11 praise, Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s vain, 15; of al-Maʿarrī, 11–15, 218n25

Rabī ʿah ibn al-Mukaddam (pre-Islamic), 197 Rabī ʿah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumaḥī

prayers. See ritual prayers

(1st/7th c.), 61, 231

Predestinarians, predestination, 87,

Raddād al-Kilābī, 189

237n290, 248n455 the Prophet. See Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh

rajaz (as a metre of invocations), 163–67, 266n698 Rakhamah (4th/10th c.), 71, 234n239

prophetic signs, 43 proverbs and common sayings, 13, 29–31, 101, 137, 149, 153, 159, 175, 203, 219n33, 219n34, 223n90, 223n95, 224n96, 224n98, 234n253, 239n313, 239n318, 251n499, 253n524, 253n536, 254n545, 254n547, 257n575, 257n576, 258n595, 261n628, 267n702, 268n730

“ransom, may I be your —” (expression), 3–7 Raqqādah (place), 83 al-Rashīd. See Hārūn al-Rashīd Rāwand (place), 95 reincarnation. See metempsychosis repentance, 51, 69, 123, 151–55, 252n521 ritual prayers, omission of (Abū Tammām), 111, 243n377

Qaḍīb (place), 97 Qanān, 209, 270n753

rough copy, 215

Qarmaṭians. See Carmathians

Ruʾ bah ibn al-ʿAjjāj (d. 145/762), 23, 111, 157,

Qārūn, 207

221n66

Qasāmah ibn Zuhayr (1st/7th c.), 262n635 Qaṣīr (pre-Islamic), 159, 254n547 al-Qaṣṣār (“the Fuller”). See al-Muqannaʿ Qaṭan ibn Nahshal (pre-Islamic), 254n549 Qays (tribe), 205 Qays ibn ʿĀṣim (d. 47/667), 39, 226n131 Qays ibn al-Khaṭīm (d. ad 620), 169, 197 Qays ibn al-Mulawwaḥ. See Majnūn Laylā *Qur’an, its inimitability, style etc., 95 Quraysh (tribe), 11, 41, 183, 218n27, 241n350, 256n567 Quss ibn Sāʿidah (pre-Islamic), 263n652 Quṭayn, 159, 254n549

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Ṣābians (Ṣābi ʾah), 85 sacrificing to the idols (Muḥammad, before the Islam), 137 al-Sadīr (place), 183, 262 Ṣafā (place), 57, 231n202 Ṣaff (place), 43 Ṣāḥib al-Zanj. See ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad Sahl (or Nahshal, or Sayyar) ibn Mālik al-Fazārī (pre-Islamic), 253n524 Sahm ibn Ḥanẓalah. See al-Ghanawī Saʿīd (unidentified), 31 Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ (d. 59/678–79), 203

340

Index Saʿīd ibn Masʿadah. See al-Akhfash al-Awsaṭ Sāʿidah ibn Juʾayyah (d. 1st half of 1st/7th c.), 11

Shi’a, Shi’ism, Shi’ites, 41, 53–55, 79, 87–89, 101, 117–21, 230n183, 231n208, 237n287, 237n297, 239n298, 241n337, 244n396,

Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd al-Quddūs (d. ca. 167/783), 57–59

258n596 Shiklah (or Shaklah) (fl. 162/779), 149,

Salmān al-Fārisī (d. ca. 35/655?), 121

252n520

al-Samaw ʾal (pre-Islamic), 21

Shīrāz (place), 33

al-Ṣanādīqī (3rd/9th c.), *59, 231n198

Shīrīn (pre-Islamic), 3, 217n4

al-Ṣanawbarī (d. 334/945), 27, 223n88

Sībawayh (d. 177/193), 33, 47, 51–53, 77, 159,

al-Ṣārah (river), 27

224n102, 224n108, 226n131, 229n174,

sarī ʿ (as a meter used in invocations), 165, 255n555, 256n565

229n177, 254n542 al-Sijistānī. See Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī

Ṣarkhad place), 185

al-Sinbisī. See al-Akhram al-Sinbisī

Sarmīn (place), 119

Sind (place), 207, 231n210

Saul, 145, 251n502

al-Sīrāfī, Abū Muḥammad Yūsuf (d.

Sayf al-Dawlah (r. 333–56/944–67), 37, 45,

385/995), 45, 228n152 al-Sīrāfī, Abū Saʿīd al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allāh

179, 227n148, 228n151 sayings. See proverbs

(d. 368/979), 45

al-Sayyid al-Ḥimyarī (d. between 171/787 and 179/795), 117

al-Sitār (place), 135, 205 slaves. See servants

scribe, al-Maʿarrī’s, 215

space, 47

self-immolation, 81

spheres, celestial, 9, 47–49

servants and slaves, 3, 21, 37, 61, 67, 97, 111,

Standing Place, 11, 219n31

129–33, 141, 155–57, 224n104, 230n187,

Sufyān al-Thawrī (d. 161/778), 247n431

231n207, 232n213, 246n429, 247n433,

Suḥaym ʿAbd Banī l-Ḥasḥās (d.ca. 40/660),

247n434, 247n438, 267n704

77, 195

Shābāsh (5th/11th c.), 117

*suicide, 19, 81, 231n197

Shaddād ibn al-Aswad al-Laythī (fl. 2/624),

Sulaym (tribe), 205

41

al-Ṣūlī. See Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī

Shaklah. See Shiklah

Sumayr ibn Adkan, 63, 231n206

al-Shalmaghānī. See Abū Jaʿfar

superstition, 101–5 Syria, Syrians, 39, 47, 105, 137, 177, 191, 197,

al-Shalmaghānī Shamʿalah al-Taghlibī, 47, 228n160

245n404, 251n501

al-Shiblī, Abū Bakr (d. 334/945), 213

Ṭālūt. See Saul Tamīm ibn Aws al-Dārī (d. 40/660 or earlier), 137

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Index Tamīm ibn Murrah (tribe), 165, 255n562 Ṭarafah (pre-Islamic), 149

Umm ʿAwf al-Qushayriyyah (1st/7th c.), 245n414

Ṭāriq ibn Muḍarris, 209, 270n750

Umm Salamah (d. 59/679 or later), 127

Tawbah ibn Muḍarris. See Ibn Muḍarris

al-Uqayshir (1st/7th c.), 244n381

tavern, 141, 189, 193

ʿUraynah (tribe), 127

Ṭayyi ʾ (tribe), 211

ʿUrwah ibn Ḥizām (1st/7th c.), 201

teachers, Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s, 159

ʿUrwah ibn Murrah, 217n9

Thabīr (mountain), 69

ʿUyaynah ibn Asmāʾ (1st/7th c.), 31, 224n104

Thaʿlab, Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā (d. 291/904), 19, 137

al-ʿUzzā, 255n557 vanity of the world and worldly things, 69,

Thamānūn (“Eighty”) (place), 205, 269n743 theft (letter, dinars), 27, 131, 189–205, 199,

*115–17, 185 Waḥshiyyah (mid-2nd/8th c.), 19–21, 29 al-Wājikā, Abū Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Salām (d.

222n79 Tigris, 27, 75

405/1014), 157

Time/Fate, 7–11, 17–19, 23–27, 31, 47–49, 75, 81–83, 117, 185, 203, 228n156,

al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (r. 125–26/743–44), 65–66, 227n145, 230n182, 232n218

229n164, 268n729

Wāsiṭ (place), 157

Ṭufayl al-Ghanawī (d. early 7th c.), 169–71 Tuzmurah (or Turmulah), 181, 262n631

ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Qays al-Ruqayyāt (d. 80/699), 191

wine and intoxication, 3, 65, 87, 135–51, 183–87, 193, 248n459, 248n462 wine, boiled and “syrup,” 137–41, 151, 187, 248n459, 248n460, 248n461, 248n464, 263n654. See also date wine

Ubaylā (2nd/8th c.), 23, 221n66

wine cup. See cup

ʿUdhrites, 21, 23

wine skin, 33, 137–39, 145, 189, 250n492,

ʿUdus ibn Zayd (tribe), 159, 254n549 Uḥayḥah ibn al-Julāḥ (pre-Islamic), 183, 265n676

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–20), 135, 247n450, 250n486

250n494, 250n495, 251n502 women, xii, 25, 29, 97, 103, 109–11, 119, 123–27, 165–67, 175, 183, 189, 209–11, 222n72, 238n306, 240n331, 246n419, 246n429, 264n662, 266n695; more

ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabī ʿah (d. 93/712 or 103/721), 256n567, 256n572, 257n578

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (r. 13–23/634–44), 55, 63, 135–37, 147, 226n131, 230n183, 231n204, 231n206, 238n298, 248n453 Umayyah ibn Abī l-Ṣalt (d. ca. 9/631), 171, 177, 260n616

talented than men, 211 “would-be-prophet” (al-Mutanabbī), 226n135 Yadhbul (mountain), 33, 225n114 Yadhkur ibn Asad, 220n46 Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād al-Ḥārithī (d. between 158/775 and 169/785), 230n186

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342

Index Yaʿqūb ibn Dāwūd (d. ca. 186/802), 51–53, 229n173

al-Zahrajī. See Abū l-Faraj al-Zahrajī Zanj, *69–71, 87, 233n231, 237n288

Yaʿqūb ibn al-Sikkīt. See Ibn al-Sikkīt, 177 Yaʿrub, 59, 231n201

Zayd ibnʿAmr ibn Nufayl (d. before ad 610), 137

Yathrib (Medina), 59, 175

Zayd ibn Ḥārithah (d. 8/629), 137

Yazīd ibn Dīnār (d. 102/720–21), 197

Zayd ibn Muhalhil (d. between 9/630 and

Yazīd ibn Mazyad al-Shaybānī (d. 185/801), 75

23/644), 113, 244n386 Zayd al-Khayl. See Zayd ibn Muhalhil

Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiyah (r. 60–64/680–83), 75, 149, 267n707

Ziyād ibn Rib ʿī al-Qutabī, 239n322 Zoroastrians, 83, 187, 231n205 Zubaydah bint al-Manṣūr (d. 216/831–32),

Yemen, 59–63, 105, 169, 258n594

75

Yūnus ibn Ḥabīb (d. 182/798), 51

Zuhayr (pre-Islamic), 11, 201, 209, 224n100,

Yūsuf. See Joseph

268n717, 268n719

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About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

The Library of Arabic Literature is supported by a grant from the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, a major hub of intellectual and creative activity and advanced research. The Institute hosts academic conferences, workshops, lectures, film series, performances, and other public programs directed both to audiences within the UAE and to the worldwide academic and research community. It is a center of the scholarly community for Abu Dhabi, bringing together faculty and researchers from institutions of higher learning throughout the region. NYU Abu Dhabi, through the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, is a world-class center of cutting-edge research, scholarship, and cultural activity. The Institute creates singular opportunities for leading researchers from across the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, and the professions to carry out creative scholarship and conduct research on issues of major disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and global significance.

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About the Typefaces

The Arabic body text is set in DecoType Naskh, designed by Thomas Milo and Mirjam Somers, based on an analysis of five centuries of Ottoman manuscript practice. The exceptionally legible result is the first and only typeface in a style that fully implements the principles of script grammar (qawāʿid al-khaṭṭ). The Arabic footnote text is set in DecoType Emiri, drawn by Mirjam Somers, based on the metal typeface in the naskh style that was cut for the 1924 Cairo edition of the Qur’an. Both Arabic typefaces in this series are controlled by a dedicated font layout engine. ACE, the Arabic Calligraphic Engine, invented by Peter Somers, Thomas Milo, and Mirjam Somers of DecoType, first operational in 1985, pioneered the principle followed by later smart font layout technologies such as OpenType, which is used for all other typefaces in this series. The Arabic text was set with WinSoft Tasmeem, a sophisticated user interface for DecoType ACE inside Adobe InDesign. Tasmeem was conceived and created by Thomas Milo (DecoType) and Pascal Rubini (WinSoft) in 2005. The English text is set in Adobe Text, a new and versatile text typeface family designed by Robert Slimbach for Western (Latin, Greek, Cyrillic) typesetting. Its workhorse qualities make it perfect for a wide variety of applications, especially for longer passages of text where legibility and economy are important. Adobe Text bridges the gap between calligraphic Renaissance types of the 15th and 16th centuries and high-contrast Modern styles of the 18th century, taking many of its design cues from early post-Renaissance Baroque transitional types cut by designers such as Christoffel van Dijck, Nicolaus Kis, and William Caslon. While grounded in classical form, Adobe Text is also a statement of contemporary utilitarian design, well suited to a wide variety of print and on-screen applications.

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About the Editor-Translators

Geert Jan van Gelder was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford from 1998 to 2012. He has published widely on classical Arabic literature in Dutch and English, particularly on the history of poetics and criticism and on literary themes as diverse as food, the hammam, and incest. His books include Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the Coherence and Unity of the Poem and Of Dishes and Discourse: Classical Arabic Literary Representations of Food. Gregor Schoeler was the chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Basel from 1982 to 2009. His books in the fields of Islamic Studies and classical Arabic literature include The Oral and the Written in Early Islam, and Paradies und Hölle, a partial German translation of The Epistle of Forgiveness.

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