Mu'allaqat

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Mu'allaqat ( Arabic المعلقات al-Muʿallaqāt  'the hanging [d. H. Poems] ') are a collection of Arabic poems in Qasida form from the 6th century. This is the most famous anthology from the pre-Islamic period and was considered exemplary by the medieval Arab poets and literary critics. It conveys a gripping picture of the way of life and thought of the Bedouins at that time.

The oldest and best known interpretation of the term mu'allaqāt (literally "hanging, hanging") comes from the beginning of the 9th century. Accordingly, these poems were judged to be so excellent that they were embroidered in gold letters and then hung in the Kaaba in Mecca . More likely, however, is the derivation of ʿilq "something precious". The term would therefore mean: "Poems that are valued as precious". Even the Jāhilīya poets compared good poetry with “well-threaded pearls” on a necklace.

The poems were first put together in the middle of the 8th century by Hammad ar-Rawiya, a scholar from Kufa , as a collection, which he did not, however, Al-Mu'allaqāt , but Al-Maschhūrāt , d. H. Called "the famous"; Another name is Al-Mudhahhabāt , d. H. "The gilded". Al-Asmai (740–828) from Basra lists six, others name up to ten. Most, however, including Ibn Qutaiba , speak of seven without, however, agreeing on the names of the respective poets. In any case, five poets are named on all lists: Imru 'al-Qais , Tarafa , Zuhair , Amr ibn Kulthūm and Labīd .

The Qasida has a three-part basic pattern but often breached. The introductory part (nasīb) describes an irretrievable past, with the abandoned camp site (al-ʾaṭlāl) , the memory of the beloved, the pain of separation, the aging lover or the dream-like appearance of the beloved being discussed . The second part ( raḥīl ) is devoted to the detailed description of a journey, i. H. a camel or horse ride, with which the processing of grief and the focus on active life is shown. The third part with the closing message can take different forms: it contains either the self-praise of the poet, a praise of the tribe ( fachr ), a ruler or patron ( madīḥ ), the abuse of an opponent ( hijah ) or a moral motto ( hikam ) .

Seven poems

Ibn al-Anbari, a scholar from the 10th century, compiled a list for the Al-Mu'allaqāt collection, which has been widely used up to modern times. It contains seven works by the following poets:

  1. Imru 'al-Qais (امرؤ القيسِ). His poem consists of 82 two-line lines and has an unusual shape. It does begin with an introductory nasīb , who, after looking at deer tracks in abandoned campsites, brings back memories of a series of erotic adventures. The second half of the poem describes a horse during a hunt and closes with the description of a storm that kinks palm trees , tears down houses and drowns the game: But the game of the field, drowned by the flood, lay there like wild onions torn out Anger. (Closing verse) Goethe , probably together with Herder , translated into German an English translation of this poem by William Jones , from which the opening verses have been preserved. There is also a translation of the poem by Friedrich Rückert .
  2. Tarafa (طرفة). At 103 two-line lines, this is the longest poem in the collection, a three-part qasida. A short introduction is followed by the most famous and in its wealth of detail unsurpassed portrayal of a camel in Arabic poetry: its long and raised neck, when moved, resembles the rear of the ship that the Tigris carries. (Verse 26) The typical pace of the camel is also described : it races against the fastest and noblest camel, the hind feet throwing the front one on the spot. (Verse 14) In the concluding part the poet expresses his hedonistic worldview, according to which man should enjoy the joys of life like wine, chivalrous help for the afflicted and woman before death puts an end to the pleasures.
  3. Zuhair . With 59 two lines, this is the shortest poem in the collection. Basically it is a two-part Qasida. The introductory description of the beloved is followed by a brief reminder of the horrors of war, which leads to the central part: a song of praise to two men who made a peace treaty between the tribes of the Banu 'Abs (بنو عبس) and the Banu Dhubyan (بنو ذبيان) had achieved. The final part brings an aphoristic review of his life by an eighty-year-old: Today and yesterday are obvious, but what tomorrow will bring is unknown to me.
  4. ʿAntara ibn Shaddād (عنترة بن شداد). After the beloved is described in the first 19 of the 79 two-line lines, the poet contrasts his hard life on the back of a black horse with the way of life of the beloved on soft pillows in the two following verses. The description of his camel is followed by self-praise and the final wish not to have to die before he has avenged himself on the two sons of his enemy Damdam.
  5. ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm (عمرو بن كلثوم). His two-part qasida consists of 94 two-line lines and is probably the most splendid example of a technical , i. H. an ode to a trunk. After a short invitation to a morning drink and parting with the beloved, whose physical beauty is described, the glorification of the Taghlib tribe follows. The Bakr tribe and ʿAmr ibn Hind, who was king of the Lachmids from 554 to 569 and was murdered by the poem's author, are threatened with war.
  6. Al-Harith ibn Hiliza (الحارث بن حلزة). The inclusion of this poem in the collection can be understood as a compensation for the previous work. The main part of the 84 two-line lines of this Qasida deals, in clear contrast to ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm, with the praise of the Bakr tribe and rejects the accusations of the Taghlib against them.
  7. Labīd . His Qasida contains 88 two-line lines and is characterized by an exceptionally balanced structure. The introductory part contains reproaches against the faithless lover and the poet's call to himself to find another beloved. The second part is devoted to the description of a camel, which Labid compares with a cloud, a fleeting donkey whose cub falls victim to a lion, and a wild cow. Then the poet devotes himself to his self-praise: he loves the wine, protects the wanderer, is generous, mediates in disputes and is the defender of the tribe, which leads to the final tribal praise.

On the tradition and authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry

In the second half of the 19th century, Theodor Nöldeke and Wilhelm Ahlwardt were the first Arabists to deal with the question of the authenticity of ancient Arabic poetry. Both were convinced that up to the 8th century the ancient Arabic poems had been transmitted mainly orally , and viewed later written records with a large portion of skepticism. Nöldeke assumed that the poems of the records from this time had been intercepted and written down "by a scholar, a professional narrator ( Rāwī ) or any Bedouin". Ahlwardt was also of the opinion "that the transmission of the same (i.e. works) went from mouth to mouth and was exposed to unintentional error or deliberate forgery". At the turn of the 20th century, Ignaz Goldziher and Georg Jacob were of the opinion that the Umayyads began to record poetry, but that at that time the purely oral tradition was still predominant. Carl Brockelmann formulated in his History of Arabic Literature in 1898 : “Before (that is, before Mohammed) the old songs lived exclusively in the mouths of the people and were therefore exposed to manifold dangers; no matter how high the memory of a native people may be, material losses were inevitable. "

At the beginning of the 1920s, however, scholars such as Charles James Lyall , Fritz Krenkow and Erich Bräunlich, after carefully examining the available materials, got the impression that the greater part of the pre-Islamic poetry that had come to us was probably written down around 680. Correspondingly, Brockelmann corrected his above statements and wrote in 1937 “that in Muhammad's time poems were also written in inner Arabia”, and it was “therefore a mistake ... to completely deny the use of writing by the Northern Arabs in the pre-Arab period and from this to infer the inauthenticity of all verses handed down under the name of poets of pagan times. "

To what extent the narrators of the pre-Islamic period had written documents for their narrations can no longer be determined today. But it can be assumed without further ado that the poets of the Mu'allaqāt could write, edited their poems for a long time, and that they were the narrators of other poets.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Renate Jacobi: Studies on the Poetics of the Old Arabic Qaṣide (= Academy of Sciences and Literature. Publications of the Oriental Commission. ) 24, ISSN  0568-4447 . Steiner, Wiesbaden 1971, p. 10 ff.
  2. ↑ The excerpts from the poems are taken from the translation by Philipp Wolff .
  3. ↑ Arabic original
  4. ↑ Goethe and the Moallakat by Katharina Mommsen
  5. ^ Translation by Friedrich Rückert
  6. ^ English translation by Michael Sells, Haverford College
  7. ↑ Article: al-Mu'allaqāt in: The Routledge Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, edited by Julie Scott Meisami & Paul Starkey, p. 533.
  8. ^ Theodor Nöldeke: Contributions to the knowledge of the poetry of the old Arabs , Hanover 1864, reprint Hildesheim 1967.
  9. ↑ Wilhelm Ahlwardt: Comments on the authenticity of the old Arabic poems ... , Greifswald 1872.
  10. ↑ Fuat Sezgin : History of Arabic Literature, Volume II: Poetry. Up to about 430 H. Leiden, EJ Brill, 1975. pp. 14-33.

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