The Role of Muslims in the Formation and Development of Sciences (Part 47)
The Role of Muslims in Literary Sciences
The Abbasid period witnessed a great revolution in poetry in terms of quantity, quality, topics, meanings, styles, and vocabulary. New topics emerged, while some old topics disappeared. Political, epic, and ghazal poetry weakened, but praise, lamentation, wisdom, asceticism, Sufism, philosophy, education, and fiction poetry gained strength. Later poets went to extremes in the use of creative arts such as Jenas (puns) and Tabaq (matching) and paid more attention to word arrangement.
The poetic and literary movement flourished during this period due to cultural mixing, the transfer of knowledge through translation, and political and religious tensions between Islamic sects and other groups, as well as the support of the caliphs and rulers for poets in Baghdad and other cities.
Among the prominent poets of this period are Bashar ibn Bard (died 168 AH), Abu Nuwas (died 198 AH), Abu Tamam Habib ibn Aws al-Ta‘i (died 228 AH), Bahtari (died 284 AH), Ibn Rumi (died 283 AH), Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (died 354 AH), Abu Firas Hamdani (died 357 AH), and Abu al-Ala al-Ma‘ari (died 449 AH).
In Andalusia, poets invented a type of poetry called mushah, expanded it, and made many innovations in its styles. Mushah was a significant step in the evolution of Arabic poetry, as it gave poets freedom in choosing rhyme and meter diversity; one of the results of the development of mushah was the emergence of “Zajal” literature (popular folk poetry).
Imam Ibn Khaldun, may Allah bless him, says: “When poetry became abundant in their land, its styles and techniques became refined, and its goodness reached its peak, their later poets invented a new type of poetry that they called Mushah.” Among the most famous poets of Andalusia are Ibn Zaydun, who died in 463 AH, and the king of Seville, Al-Mu’tamid ibn ‘Abbad, who died in 488 AH.
However, “prose,” which is unrhymed speech, was no less rich and diverse than poetry. At the beginning of the Islamic period, prose was simple, direct, and composed of short phrases, appearing in various forms such as letters, lectures, hadiths, proverbs, and stories.
Prose also grew and found various topics and styles with the advancement of social and intellectual life. During the Umayyad period, the art of writing flourished, and one of the great writers of that period was Abdul Hamid Katib, who died in 132 AH, who explained the conditions of writing in his famous letters to writers, to the extent that it was said, “Writing began with Abdul Hamid and reached its peak with Ibn al-Amid.”
During the Abbasid period, the art of writing flourished further, with one of the prominent figures in this field being Al-Jahiz, who died in 255 AH. He expanded “mursal prose” without rhythm, broadened its horizons, and became a model in this field. Prose also reached its peak with Ibn al-Muqaffa, who died in 142 AH, and in the fourth century AH, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, who died around 400 AH, became famous for his “musaajah prose.” Ibn al-Amid, who died in 366 AH, was also one of the greats of this period. However, later, a wave of verbal splendor and excessive embellishment of language prevailed over the accuracy of meaning, which is clearly seen in the letters of some later writers.
Letters are considered a type of artistic prose and are divided into two categories: official or public letters and informal letters. Official letters in the early Islamic period and the Umayyad era were short, clear, and unpretentious; but in the Abbasid era, the writers of courts excelled in this field. The most famous writers of letters include Abdul Hamid Katib, Ibn al-Amid, and Sahib ibn Ibad. Informal or friendly letters are writings that one friend writes to another; some of the most famous writers of this type include Al-Jahiz and Ibn Zaydun.
The second form of Arabic prose is khotabeh (sermon), which Muslims gave great importance to after poetry, as it was an eloquent speech accompanied by passion and imagination. Oratory played an important role in the pre-Islamic era and early Islam. Arabs taught their children the art of oratory from childhood, and literature books contain many eloquent sermons.
One of the most famous orators of the Rightly Guided Caliphate era is Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib, (MABH), whose book “Nahj al-Balagha” includes speeches and letters attributed to him, although many of the sermons attributed to him are not actually from him. Oratory also flourished in the Umayyad era; many caliphs and rulers such as Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, and Ziyad ibn Ubayyah were capable orators who used oratory to convey their intentions and influence the people.
This period has left behind many sermons with eloquent phrases and rich thoughts; however, in the Abbasid era, oratory declined compared to previous periods, and no one among the caliphs was recognized as an outstanding orator.
Muslims were also interested in proverbs, collecting them and writing books about them. The most famous of these books are “Majma’ al-Amthal” by Allama Midani and “Al-Mustaqsi fi Amthal al-Arab” by Allama Zamakhshari, which is a dictionary of Arabic proverbs in alphabetical order.
Muslims have an immense legacy in storytelling that continues to fascinate readers with its range of imagination, tenderness, and amazing events. Among the most famous stories of that era are the tales of “Antar” (the black hero of the Abas tribe), “Saif bin Ziyazan” (the Yemeni hero), “Abu Zayd al-Hilali” (the Maghrebi hero), and “Al-Zahir Baybars” (the Sultan of Egypt and one of the heroes of the Crusades and Mongol Wars).
Short literary stories known as “Maqamat” emerged in the fourth century AH. The most famous writer of Maqamat was Badi’ al-Zaman al-Hamadani, who died in 398 AH and wrote about 400 Maqamat. His stories revolved around two main characters, “Isa ibn Hisham” and “Abul-Fath al-Iskandari.” After him, Ibn Naqiya, who died in 485 AH, continued in this style, and then came Hariri, who died in 516 AH, whose Maqamat revolved around the adventures of “Abu Zayd al-Saruji” and “Harith ibn Hammam,” both of whom were intelligent and shrewd characters.
Ibn Khaldun states that the most important literary books have four main foundations: 1. “Adab al-Katib” written by Imam Ibn Qutaybah, may Allah bless him; 2. “Al-Kamil” by Imam al-Mubarid, may Allah bless him; 3. “Al-Bayan wa al-Tabiyyin” by al-Jahiz al-Mu’tazili; 4. “Al-Nawadir” by Imam Abu Ali Qali.
In addition to these works, there are other prominent books that cannot be ignored in this field, such as “Al-Aqd al-Farid” by Imam Ibn Abd Rabbah (died 328 AH), “Al-Aghani” by Imam Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (died 356 AH), and other worthy works.
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