prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page i MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Al-Mutanabbi prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page ii SELECTION OF TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES Series editor:Patricia Crone, Institute for Advanced Study,Princeton ‘Abd al-Malik,Chase F.Robinson Abd al-Rahman III,Maribel Fierro Abu Nuwas,Philip Kennedy Ahmad ibn Hanbal,Christopher Melchert Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi,Usha Sanyal Al-Ma’mun,Michael Cooperson Al-Mutanabbi,Margaret Larkin Amir Khusraw,Sunil Sharma El Hajj Beshir Agha,Jane Hathaway Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis,Shazad Bashir Ibn ‘Arabi,William C.Chittick Ibn Fudi,Ahmad Dallal Ikhwan al-Safa,Godefroid de Callatay Shaykh Mufid,Tamima Bayhom-Daou For current information and details of other books in the series,please visit www.oneworld-publications.com prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page iii MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Al-Mutanabbi Voice of the ‘Abbasid Poetic Ideal MARGARET LARKIN prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page iv AL-MUTANABBI Published by Oneworld Publications 2008 Copyright © Margaret Larkin 2008 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 978–1–85168–406–9 Typeset by Jayvee,Trivandrum,India Printed and bound in India for Imprint Digital Oneworld Publications 185 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7AR England www.oneworld-publications.com Learn more about Oneworld. Join our mailing list to find out about our latest titles and special offers at: www.oneworld-publications.com prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page v FOR MY PARENTS, ORIGINAL AND SURROGATE prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page vi prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page vii CONTENTS Preface xi 1 OUT OF ARABIA 1 Arabian origins 1 Poetic forms – the ode 2 Invective and elegy 3 Poets on the fringe 4 Islam’s effect on poetry 5 Centralization under the Umayyads 7 Diversity under the ‘Abbasids 8 Conservatism in poetic taste 10 Late ‘Abbasid disintegration 11 2 GROWING PAINS 15 Origins and early formation 15 Al-Mutanabbi goes to Baghdad 17 Early career in Syria 20 Rebellion and its aftermath 23 After the fall 25 At Kharshani’s court 26 Death of the poet’s grandmother 27 The Ikhshidid connection 30 Eye on the Hamdanid prize 31 3 GLORY DAYS IN ALEPPO 33 The Hamdanids of Aleppo 33 Al-Mutanabbi’s first ode to Sayf al-Dawlah 35 Occasional poems for the would-be patron 41 vii prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page viii viii AL-MUTANABBI Death of Sayf al-Dawlah’s mother 43 Elegy on Abu’l-Hayja’ 46 The poet–patron relationship 50 Demands on the poet 52 Epic occasions 54 Trouble in paradise 57 Al-Mutanabbi bites back 60 All good things ... 61 4 PARADISE LOST 63 From Aleppo to Egypt 63 Reluctant praise 66 Al-Mutanabbi demands his due 69 Saving face at Aleppo 72 Kafur’s final refusal 73 Angry satire 75 Out of Egypt 76 Home again 78 Sayf al-Dawlah in the wings 80 The poet in Persia 84 The Gap of Bavvan 87 To the hunt 93 Final call 95 5 CONTEMPORARY CRITICS 97 After the fall 97 Linguistic correctness 98 Diction and lexical choice 99 Construction of the poem 101 Philosophizing in poetry 103 The limits of imagination 105 Borrowing versus plagiarism 107 Summing up 109 prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page ix PREFACE ix 6 THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAISE 113 Andalusian admirer 114 Kindred spirits 116 The classical as innovation 117 Neoclassical voice 121 Modern echoes 122 Conclusion 127 Suggestions for further reading 131 Index 135