The literature of Arabia has its origin in the songs, improvisations,
recitations and stories of the pre-Mahommedan Arabs. Of written
literature in those days there was, so far as we know, none. But where
books failed memory was strong and the power of retaining things heard
was not confined to a professional class. At every festive meeting many
could contribute a poem or a story, many could even improvise the one or
the other. When members of different tribes met in peace (as at the fair
of 'Ukaz) the most skilful reciters strove to maintain the honour of
their own people, and a ready improviser was held in high esteem. The
smartest epigrams, the fairest similes, the keenest satires, spoken or
sung on such occasions, were treasured in the memory of the hearers and
carried by them to their homes. But the experience of all peoples in
that memory requires to be helped by form. Sentences became balanced and
were made clear by some sort of definite ending. The simplest form of
this in Arabian literature is the _saj'_ or rhymed prose, in which the
sentences are usually (though not always) short and end in a rhyme or
assonance. Mahomet used this form in many parts of the Koran (e.g.
_Sura_, 81). The next step was the introduction of metre into the body
of the sentence and the restriction of the passages to a definite
length. This in its simplest form gave rise to the _rajaz_ verses, where
each half-line ends in the same rhyme and consists of three feet of the
measure /u - u -. Other metres were introduced later until sixteen
altogether were recognized. In all forms the rhyme is the same
throughout the poem, and is confined to the second half of the line
except in the first line where the two halves rhyme. While, however,
these measures were in early use, they were not systematically analysed
or their rules enunciated until the time of Khalil ibn Ahmad in the 8th
century. Two other features of Arabian poetry are probably connected
with the necessity for aiding the memory. The first of these is the
requirement that each line should have a complete sense in itself; this
produces a certain jerkiness, and often led among the Arabs to
displacement in the order of the lines in a long poem. The other
feature, peculiar to the long poem (_qasida_, elegy), is that, whatever
its real object, whatever its metre, it has a regular scheme in the
arrangement of its material. It begins with a description of the old
camping-ground, before which the poet calls on his companion to stop,
while he bewails the traces of those who have left for other places.
Then he tells of his love and how he had suffered from it, how he had
journeyed through the desert (this part often contains some of the most
famous descriptions and praises of animals) until his beast became thin
and worn-out. Then at last comes the real subject of the poem, usually
the panegyric of some man of influence or wealth to whom the poet has
come in hope of reward and before whom he recites the poem.
_Poetry._--The influence of the poet in pre-Mahommedan days was very
great. As his name, _ash-Sha'ir_, "the knowing man," indicates, he was
supposed to have more than natural knowledge and power. Panegyric and
satire (_hija'_) were his chief instruments. The praise of the tribe in
well-chosen verses ennobled it throughout the land, a biting satire was
enough to destroy its reputation (cf. I. Goldziher's _Abhandlungen zur
arabischen Philologie_, i. pp. 1-105). Before Mahomet the ethics of the
Arabs were summed up in _muruwwa_ (custom). Hospitality, generosity,
personal bravery were the subjects of praise; meanness and cowardice
those of satire. The existence of poetry among the northern Arabs was
known to the Greeks even in the 4th century (cf. St Nilos in Migne's
_Patrologia Graeca_, vol. 79, col. 648, and Sozomen's _Ecclesiastical
History_, bk. 6, ch. 38). Women as well as men composed and recited
poems before the days of the Prophet (cf. L. Cheikho's _Poetesses of the
Jahiliyya_, in Arabic, Beirut, 1897).
The transmission of early Arabic poetry has been very imperfect. Many of
the reciters were slain in battle, and it was not till the 8th to the
10th centuries and even later that the earliest collections of these
poems were made. Many have to be recovered from grammars, dictionaries,
&c., where single lines or groups of lines are quoted to illustrate the
proper use of words, phrases or idioms. Moreover, many a reciter was not
content to declaim the genuine verses of ancient poets, but interpolated
some of his own composition, and the change of religion introduced by
Islam led to the mutilation of many verses to suit the doctrines of the
new creed.[3]
The language of the poems, as of all the best Arabian literature, was
that of the desert Arabs of central Arabia; and to use it aright was the
ambition of poets and scholars even in the Abbasid period. For the man
of the towns its vocabulary was too copious to be easily understood, and
in the age of linguistic studies many commentaries were written to
explain words and idioms.
Of the pre-Mahommedan poets the most famous were the six whose poems
were collected by Asma'i about the beginning of the 9th century (ed. W.
Ahlwardt, _The Diwans of the Six Ancient Arabic Poets_, London, 1870).
Single poems of four of these--Amru-ul-Qais, Tarafa, Zuhair and
'Antara--appear in the Mo'allakat (q.v.). The other two were Nabigha
(q.v.) and 'Alqama (q.v.). But besides these there were many others
whose names were famous; such as Ta'abbata Sharran, a popular hero who
recites his own adventures with great gusto; his companion Shanfara,
whose fame rests on a fine poem which has been translated into French by
de Sacy (in his _Chrestomathie Arabe_) and into English by G. Hughes
(London, 1896); Aus ibn Hajar of the Bani Tamin, famous for his
descriptions of weapons and hunting scenes (ed. R. Geyer, Vienna, 1892);
Hatim Ta'i, renowned for his open-handed generosity as well as for his
poetry (ed. F. Schulthess, Leipzig, 1897, with German translation); and
'Urwa ibn ul-Ward of the tribe of 'Abs, rival of Hatim in generosity as
well as in poetry (ed. Th. Noldeke, Gottingen, 1863). Among these early
poets are found one Jew of repute, Samau'al (Samuel) ibn Adiya (cf. Th.
Noldeke's _Beitrage_, pp. 52-86; art. _s.v._ "Samuel ibn Adiya" in
_Jewish Encyc._ and authorities there quoted), and some Christians such
as 'Adi'ibn Zaid of Hira, who sang alike of the pleasures of drink and
of death (ed. by Louis Cheikho in his _Les Poetes arabes chretiens_, pp.
439-474, Beirut, 1890; in this work many Arabian poets are considered to
be Christian without sufficient reason). One poet, a younger
contemporary of Mahomet, has attracted much attention because his poems
were religious and he was a monotheist. This is Umayya ibn Abi-s-Salt, a
Meccan who did not accept Islam and died in 630. His poems are discussed
by F. Schulthess in the _Orientalische Studien_ dedicated by Th.
Noldeke, Giessen, 1906, and his relation to Mahomet by E. Power (in the
_Melanges de la faculte orientale de l'universite Saint-Joseph_, Beirut,
1906). Mahomet's relation to the poets generally was one of antagonism
because of their influence over the Arabs and their devotion to the old
religion and customs. Ka'b ibn Zuhair, however, first condemned to
death, then pardoned, later won great favour for himself by writing a
panegyric of the Prophet (ed. G. Freytag, Halle, 1823). Another poet,
A'sha (q.v.), followed his example. Labid (q.v.) and Hassan ibn Thabit
(q.v.) were also contemporary. Among the poetesses of the time Khansa
(q.v.) is supreme. In the scarcity of poets at this time two others
deserve mention; Abu Mihjan, who made peace with Islam in 630 but was
exiled for his love of wine, which he celebrated in his verse (ed. L.
Abel, Leiden, 1887; cf. C. Landberg's _Primeurs arabes_, 1, Leiden,
1886), and Jarwal ibn Aus, known as al-Hutai'a, a wandering poet whose
keen satires led to his imprisonment by Omar (Poems, ed. by I. Goldziher
in the _Journal of the German Oriental Society_, vols. 46 and 47).
Had the simplicity and religious severity of the first four caliphs
continued in their successors, the fate of poetry would have been hard.
Probably little but religious poetry would have been allowed. But the
Omayyads (with one exception) were not religious men and, while
preserving the outward forms of Islam, allowed full liberty to the
pre-Islamic customs of the Arabs and the beliefs and practices of
Christians. At the same time the circumstances of the poet's life were
altered. Poetry depended on patronage, and that was to be had now
chiefly in the court of the caliph and the residences of his governors.
Hence the centre of attraction was now the city with its interests, not
the desert. Yet the old forms of poetry were kept. The _qasida_ still
required the long introduction (see above), which was entirely occupied
with the affairs of the desert. Thus poetry became more and more
artificial, until in the Abbasid period poets arose who felt themselves
strong enough to give up the worn-out forms and adopt others more
suitable. The names of three great poets adorn the Omayyad period:
Akhtal, Farazdaq and Jarir were contemporaries (see separate articles).
The first was a Christian of the tribe of Taghlib, whose Christianity
enabled him to write many verses which would have been impossible to a
professing Moslem. Protected by the caliph he employed the old weapons
of satire to support them against the "Helpers" and to exalt his own
tribe against the Qaisites. Farazdaq of the Bani Tamim, a good Moslem
but loose in morals, lived chiefly in Medina and Kufa, and was renowned
for his command of language. Jarir of another branch of the Bani Tamim
lived in Irak and courted the favour of Hajjaj, its governor. His
satires were so effective that he is said to have crushed forty-three
rivals. His great efforts were against Farazdaq, who was supported by
Akhtal (cf. _The Naka'id of Jarir and al-Farazdaq_, ed. A.A. Bevan,
Leiden, 1906 foll.). Among many minor poets one woman is conspicuous.
Laila ul-Akhyaliyya (d. 706) was married to a stranger. On the death of
her lover in battle, she wrote numerous elegies bewailing him, and so
became famous and devoted the rest of her life to the writing of verse.
Two poets of the Koreish attained celebrity in Arabia itself at this
time. Qais ur-Ruqayyat was the poet of 'Abdallah ibn uz-Zubair (Abdallah
ibn Zobair) and helped him until circumstances went against him, when he
made his peace with the caliph. His poems are chiefly panegyrics and
love songs (ed. N. Rhodonakis, Vienna, 1902). 'Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a (c.
643-719) was a wealthy man, who lived a life of ease in his native town
of Mecca, and devoted himself to intrigues and writing love songs (ed.
P. Schwarz, Leipzig, 1901-1902). His poems were very popular throughout
Arabia. As a dweller in the town he was independent of the old forms of
poetry, which controlled all others, but his influence among poets was
not great enough to perpetuate the new style. One other short-lived
movement of the Omayyad period should be mentioned. The _rajaz_ poems
(see above) had been a subordinate class generally used for
improvisations in pre-Mahommedan times. In the 7th and 8th centuries,
however, a group of poets employed them more seriously. The most
celebrated of these were 'Ajjaj and his son Ru'ba of the Bani Tamim
(editions by W. Ahlwardt, Berlin, 1903; German trans. of Ru'ba's poems
by Ahlwardt, Berlin, 1904).
With the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty, a new epoch in Arabian
poetry began. The stereotyped beginning of the _qasida_ had been
recognized as antiquated and out of place in city life even in the
Omayyad period (cf. Goldziher, _Abhandlungen_, i. 144 ff). This form had
been ridiculed but now it lost its hold altogether, and was only
employed occasionally by way of direct imitation of the antique. The
rise of Persian influence made itself felt in much the same way as the
Norman influence in England by bringing a newer refinement into poetry.
Tribal feuds are no longer the main incentives to verse. Individual
experiences of life and matters of human interest become more usual
subjects. Cynicism, often followed by religion in a poet's later life,
is common. The tumultuous mixture of interests and passions to be found
in a city like Bagdad are the subjects of a poet's verse. One of the
earliest of these poets, Muti' ibn Ayas, shows the new depth of personal
feeling and refinement of expression. Bashshar ibn Burd (d. 783), a
blind poet of Persian descent, shows the ascendancy of Persian influence
as he openly rails at the Arabs and makes clear his own leaning to the
Persian religion. In the 8th century Abu Nuwas (q.v.) is the greatest
poet of his time. His language has the purity of the desert, his morals
are those of the city, his universalism is that of the man of the world.
Abu-l-'Atahiya (q.v.), his contemporary, is fluent, simple and often
didactic. Muslim ibn ul-Walid (ed. de Goeje, Leiden, 1875), also
contemporary, is more conservative of old forms and given to panegyric
and satire. In the 9th century two of the best-known poets--Abu Tammam
(q.v.) and Buhturi (q.v.) --were renowned for their knowledge of old
poetry (see HAMASA) and were influenced by it in their own verse. On the
other hand Ibn ul-Mo'tazz (son of the caliph) was the writer of
brilliant occasional verse, free of all imitation. In the 10th century
the centre of interest is in the court of Saif ud-Daula (addaula) at
Aleppo. Here in Motanabbi (q.v.) the claims of modern poetry not only to
equal but to excel the ancient were put forward and in part at any rate
recognized. Abu Firas (932-968) was a member of the family of Saif
ud-Daula, a soldier whose poems have all the charm that comes from the
fact that the writer has lived through the events he narrates (ed. by R.
Dvorak, Leiden, 1895). Many Arabian writers count Motanabbi the last of
the great poets. Yet Abu-l-'Ala ul-Ma'arri (q.v.) was original alike in
his use of rhymes and in the philosophical nature of his poems. Ibn
Farid (q.v.) is the greatest of the mystic poets, and Busiri (q.v.)
wrote the most famous poem extant in praise of the Prophet. In the
provinces of the caliphate there were many poets, who, however, seldom
produced original work. Spain, however, produced Ibn 'Abdun (d. 1126),
famous for the grace and finish of his style (ed. with commentary of Ibn
Badrun by R.P.A. Dozy, Leiden, 1846). The Sicilian Ibn Hamdis
(1048-1132) spent the last fifty years of his life in Spain (_Diwan_,
ed. Moacada, Palermo, 1883; _Canzoniere_, ed. Schiaparelli, Rome, 1897).
It was also apparently in this country that the strophe form was first
used in Arabic poems (cf. M. Hartmann's _Das arabische Strophengedicht_,
Weimar, 1897), and Ibn Quzman (12th century), a wandering singer, here
first used the language of everyday life in the form of verse known as
_Zajal_.
_Anthologies._--As supplemental to the account of poetry may be
mentioned here some of the chief collections of ancient verse, sometimes
made for the sake of the poems themselves, sometimes to give a _locus
classicus_ for usages of grammar or lexicography, sometimes to
illustrate ancient manners and customs. The earliest of these is the
_Mo'allakat_ (q.v.). In the 8th century Ibn Mofaddal compiled the
collection named after him the _Mofaddaliyat_. From the 9th century we
have the Hamasas of Abu Tammam and Buhturi, and a collection of poems of
the tribe Hudhail (second half ed. in part by J.G.L. Kosegarten, London,
1854; completed by J. Wellhausen in _Skizzen und Vorarbeiten_, i.
Berlin, 1884). The numerous quotations of Ibn Qutaiba (q.v.) in the
'Uyun ul-Akhbar (ed. C. Brockelmann, Strassburg, 1900 ff.) and the _Book
of Poetry and Poets_ (ed. M.J. de Goeje, Leiden, 1904) bring these works
into this class. In the 10th century were compiled the _Jamharat ash'ar
al Arab_, containing forty-nine poems (ed. Bulaq, 1890), the work
_al-'Iqd ul-Farid_ of Ibn' Abdi-r-Rabbihi (ed. Cairo, various years),
and the greatest work of all this class, the _Kitab ul-Aghani_ ("Book of
Songs") (cf. ABU-L FARAJ). The 12th century contributes the _Diwan
Mukhtarat ush-Shu'ara'i_ with fifty qasidas. The _Khizanai ul-Adab_ of
Abdulqadir, written in the 17th century in the form of a commentary on
verses cited in a grammar, contains much old verse (ed. 4 vols., Bulaq,
1882).
_Belles-Lettres and Romances._--Mahomet in the Koran had made extensive
use of _saj'_ or rhymed prose (see above). This form then dropped out of
use almost entirely for some time. In the 10th century, however, it was
revived, occurring almost simultaneously in the _Sermons_ of Ibn Nubata
(946-984) and the _Letters_ of Abu Bakr ul-Khwarizmi. Both have been
published several times in the East. The epistolary style was further
cultivated by Hamadhani (q.v.) and carried to perfection by Abu-l'Ala
ul-Ma'arri. Hamadhini was also the first to write in this rhymed prose a
new form of work, the _Maqama_ ("assembly"). The name arose from the
fact that scholars were accustomed to assemble for the purpose of
rivalling one another in orations showing their knowledge of Arabic
language, proverb and verse. In the _Maqamas_ of Hamadhani a narrator
describes how in various places he met a wandering scholar who in these
assemblies puts all his rivals to shame by his eloquence. Each oration
forms the substance of a _Maqama_, while the _Maqamas_ themselves are
united to one another by the constant meetings of narrator and scholar.
Hariri (q.v.) quite eclipsed the fame of his predecessor in this
department, and his _Maqamas_ retain their influence over Arabian
literature to the present day. As late as the 19th century the sheik
Nasif ul Yaziji (1800-1871) distinguished himself by writing sixty
clever _Maqamas_ in the style of Hariri (ed. Beirut, 1856, 1872). While
this class of literature had devoted itself chiefly to the finesses of
the language, another set of works was given to meeting the requirements
of moral education and the training of a gentleman. This, which is known
as "Adab literature," is anecdotic in style with much quotation of early
poetry and proverb. Thus government, war, friendship, morality, piety,
eloquence, are some of the titles under which Ibn Qutaiba groups his
stories and verses in the _'Uyun ul Akhbar_. _Jahiz_ (q.v.) in the 9th
century and Baihaqi (_The Kitab al-Mahasin val-Masawi_, ed. F. Schwally,
Giessen, 1900-1902) early in the 10th, wrote works of this class. A
little later a Spaniard, Ibn 'Abdrabbihi (Abdi-r-Rabbihi), wrote his
_'Iqd ul-Farid_ (see section _Anthologies_). The growth of city life in
the Abbasid capital led to the desire for a new form of story, differing
from the old tales of desert life. This was met in the first place by
borrowing. In the 8th century Ibn Muqaffa', a convert from Mazdaism to
Islam, translated the Pahlavi version of Bidpai's fables (itself a
version of the Indian _Panchatantra_) into Arabic with the title _Kalila
wa Dimna_ (ed. Beirut, various years). Owing to the purity of its
language and style it has remained a classic work. The _Book of the 1001
Nights_ (_Arabian Nights_) also has its basis in translations from the
Indian through the Persian, made as early as the 9th century. To these
stories have been added others originating in Bagdad and Egypt and a few
others, which were at first in independent circulation. The whole work
seems to have taken its present form (with local variations) about the
13th century. Several other romances of considerable length are extant,
such as the _Story of 'Antar_ (ed. 32 vols., Cairo, 1869, &c.,
translated in part by Terrick Hamilton, 4 vols., London, 1820), and the
_Story of Saif ibn Dhi Yezen_ (ed. Cairo, 1892). (G. W. T.)
_Historical Literature._--Arabian historians differ from all others in
the unique form of their compositions. Each event is related in the
words of eye-witnesses or contemporaries transmitted to the final
narrator through a chain of intermediate reporters (_rawis_), each of
whom passed on the original report to his successor. Often the same
account is given in two or more slightly divergent forms, which have
come down through different chains of reporters. Often, too, one event
or one important detail is told in several ways on the basis of several
contemporary statements transmitted to the final narrator through
distinct lines of tradition. The writer, therefore, exercises no
independent criticism except as regards the choice of authorities; for
he rejects accounts of which the first author or one of the intermediate
links seems to him unworthy of credit, and sometimes he states which of
several accounts seems to him the best.
A second type of Arabian historiography is that in which an author
combines the different traditions about one occurrence into one
continuous narrative, but prefixes a statement as to the lines of
authorities used and states which of them he mainly follows. In this
case the writer recurs to the first method, already described, only when
the different traditions are greatly at variance with one another. In
yet a third type of history the old method is entirely forsaken and we
have a continuous narrative only occasionally interrupted by citation of
the authority for some particular point. But the principle still is that
what has been well said once need not be told again in other words. The
writer, therefore, keeps as close as he can to the letter of his
sources, so that quite a late writer often reproduces the very words of
the first narrator.
From very early times story-tellers and singers found their subjects in
the doughty deeds of the tribe on its forays, and sometimes in contests
with foreign powers and in the impression produced by the wealth and
might of the sovereigns of Persia and Constantinople. The appearance of
the Prophet with the great changes that ensued, the conquests that made
the Arabs lords of half the civilized world, supplied a vast store of
new matter for relations which men were never weary of hearing and
recounting. They wished to know everything about the apostle of God.
Every one who had known or seen him was questioned and was eager to
answer. Moreover, the word of God in the Koran left many practical
points undecided, and therefore it was of the highest importance to know
exactly how the Prophet had spoken and acted in various circumstances.
Where could this be better learned than at Medina, where he had lived so
long and where the majority of his companions continued to live? So at
Medina a school was gradually formed, where the chief part of the
traditions about Mahomet and his first successors took a form more or
less fixed. Soon men began to assist memory by making notes, and pupils
sought to take written jottings of what they had heard from their
teachers. Thus by the close of the 1st century many _dictata_ were
already in circulation. For example, Hasan of Basra (d. 728 A.D.) had a
great mass of such notes, and he was accused of sometimes passing off as
oral tradition things he had really drawn from books; for oral tradition
was still the one recognized authority, and it is related of more than
one old scholar, and even of Hasan of Basra himself, that he directed
his books to be burned at his death. The books were mere helps. Long
after this date, when all scholars drew mainly from books, the old forms
were still kept up. Tabari, for example, when he cites a book expresses
himself as if he had heard what he quotes from the master with whom he
read the passage or from whose copy he transcribed it. He even expresses
himself in this wise: "'Omar b. Shabba has _related_ to me in his book
on the history of Basra." No independent book of the 1st century from
the Flight (i.e. 622-719) has come down to us. It is told, however, that
Moawiya summoned an old man named 'Abid ibn Sharya from Yemen to
Damascus to tell him all he knew about ancient history and that he
induced him to write down his information. This very likely formed the
nucleus of a book which bore the name of that sheik and was much read in
the 3rd century from the Flight. It seems to be lost now. But in the 2nd
century (719-816) real books began to be composed. The materials were
supplied in the first place by oral tradition, in the second by the
_dictata_ of older scholars, and finally by various kinds of documents,
such as treaties, letters, collections of poetry and genealogical lists.
Genealogical studies had become necessary through Omar's system of
assigning state pensions to certain classes of persons according to
their kinship with the Prophet, or their deserts during his lifetime.
This subject received much attention even in the 1st century, but books
about it were first written in the 2nd, the most famous being those of
Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 763), of his son Hisham (d. 819), and of Al-Sharqi ibn
al-Qutami. Genealogy, which often called for elucidations, led on to
history. Baladhuri's excellent _Ansab al-Ashraf_ (Genealogies of the
Nobles) is a history of the Arabs on a genealogical plan.
The oldest extant history is the biography of the Prophet by Ibn Ishaq
(d. 767). This work is generally trustworthy. Mahomet's life before he
appeared as a prophet and the story of his ancestors are indeed mixed
with many fables illustrated by spurious verses. But in Ibn Ishaq's day
these fables were generally accepted as history--for many of them had
been first related by contemporaries of Mahomet--and no one certainly
thought it blameworthy to put pious verses in the mouth of the Prophet's
forefathers, though, according to the _Fihrist_ (p. 92), Ibn Ishaq was
duped by others with regard to the poems he quotes. The original work of
Ibn Ishaq seems to be lost. That which we possess is an edition of it by
Ibn Hisham (d. 834) with additions and omissions (text ed. by F.
Wustenfeld, Gottingen, 1858-1860; German translation by Weil, Stuttgart,
1864).
The _Life_ of the Prophet by Ibn Oqba (d. 758), based on the statements
of two very trustworthy men, 'Urwa ibn az-Zubair (d. 713) and Az-zuhri
(d. 742), was still much read in Syria in the 14th century. Fragments of
this have been edited by E. Sachau, Berlin, 1904. We fortunately possess
the _Book of the Campaigns_ of the Prophet by al-Waqidi (d. 822) and the
important _Book of Classes_ of his disciple Ibn Sa'd (q.v.). Waqidi had
much more copious materials than Ibn Ishaq, but gives way much more to a
popular and sometimes romancing style of treatment. Nevertheless he
sometimes helps us to recognize in Ibn Ishaq's narrative modifications
of the genuine tradition made for a purpose, and the additional details
he supplies set various events before us in a clearer light. Apart from
this his chief merits lie in his studies on the subject of the
traditional authorities, the results of which are given by Ibn Sa'd, and
in his chronology, which is often excellent. A special study of the
traditions about the conquest of Syria made by M.J. de Goeje in 1864
(_Memoires sur la conquete de la Syrie_, 2nd ed., Leiden, 1900), led to
the conclusion that Waqidi's chronology is sound as regards the main
events, and that later historians have gone astray by forsaking his
guidance. This result has been confirmed by certain contemporary notices
found by Th. Noldeke in 1874 in a Syriac MS. of the British Museum. And
that Ibn Ishaq agrees with Waqidi in certain main dates is important
evidence for the trustworthiness of the former also. For the chronology
before the year 10 of the Flight Waqidi did his best, but here, the
material being defective, many of his conclusions are precarious. Waqidi
had already a great library at his disposal. He is said to have had 600
chests of books, chiefly _dictata_ written by or for himself, but in
part real books by Abu Mikhnaf (d. 748), Ibn Ishaq (whom he uses but
does not name), 'Awana (d. 764), Abu Mashar (d. 791) and other authors.
Abu Mikhnaf left a great number of monographs on the chief events from
the death of the Prophet to the caliphate of Walid II. These were much
used by later writers, and we have many extracts from them, but none of
the works themselves except a sort of romance based on his account of
the death of Hosain (Husain) of which Wustenfeld has given a
translation. With regard to the history of Irak in particular he was
deemed to have the best information, and for this subject he is Tabari's
chief source, just as Madaini, a younger contemporary of Waqidi, is
followed by preference in all that relates to Khorasan. Madaini's
_History of the Caliphs_ is the best, if not the oldest, published
before Tabari; but this book is known only by the excerpts given by
later writers, particularly Baladhuri and Tabari. From these we judge
that he had great narrative power, with much clear and exact learning,
and must be placed high as a critical historian. His plan was to record
the various traditions about an event, choosing them with critical
skill; sometimes, however, he fused the several traditions into a
continuous narrative. A just estimate of the relative value of the
historians can only be reached by careful comparison in detail. This has
been essayed by Brunnow in his study on the Kharijites (Leiden, 1884),
in which the narrative of Mubarrad in the Kamil is compared with the
excerpts of Madaini given by Baladhuri and those of Abu Mikhnaf given by
Tabari. The conclusion reached is that Abu Mikhnaf and Madaini are both
well informed and impartial.
Among the contemporaries of Waqidi and Madaini were Ibn Khidash (d.
838), the historian of the family Muhallab, whose work was one of
Mubarrad's sources for the _History of the Kharijites_; Haitham ibn 'Adi
(d. 822), whose works, though now lost, are often cited; and Saif ibn
'Omar at-Tamimi, whose book on the revolt of the tribes under Abu-Bekr
and on the Mahommedan conquests was much used by Tabari. His narratives
are detailed and often tinged with romance, and he is certainly much
inferior to Waqidi in accuracy. Wellhausen has thoroughly examined the
work of Saif in _Skizzen und Vorarbeiten_, vi. Besides these are to be
mentioned Abu 'Ubaida (d. 825), who was celebrated as a philologist and
wrote several historical monographs that are often cited, and Azraqi,
whose excellent _History of Mecca_ was published after his death by his
grandson (d. 858). With these writers we pass into the 3rd century of
Islam. But we have still an important point to notice in the 2nd
century; for in it learned Persians began to take part in the creation
of Arabic historical literature. Ibn Muqaffa' translated the great _Book
of Persian Kings_, and others followed his example. Tabari and his
contemporaries, senior and junior, such as Ibn Qutaiba, Ya'qubi,
Dinawari, preserve to us a good part of the information about Persian
history made known through such translations.[4] But even more important
than the knowledge conveyed by these works was their influence on
literary style and composition. Half a century later began versions from
the Greek either direct or through the Syriac. The pieces translated
were mostly philosophical; but the Arabs also learned something, however
superficially, of ancient history.
The 3rd century (816-913) was far more productive than the 2nd. Abu
'Ubaida was succeeded by Ibn al-A'rabi (d. 846), who in like manner was
chiefly famous as a philologist, and who wrote about ancient poems and
battles. Much that he wrote is quoted in Tabrizi's commentary on the
_Hamasa_, which is still richer in extracts from the historical
elucidations of early poems given by ar-Riyashi (d. 871). Of special
fame as a genealogist was Ibn Habib (d. 859), of whom we have a booklet
on Arabian tribal names (ed. Wustenfeld, 1850). Azraqi again was
followed by Fakihi, who wrote a _History of Mecca_ in 885,[5] and 'Omar
b. Shabba (d. 876), who composed an excellent history of Basra, known to
us only by excerpts. Of the works of Zubair b. Bakkar (d. 870), one of
Tabari's teachers, a learned historian and genealogist much consulted by
later writers, there is a fragment in the Koprulu library at
Constantinople, and another in Gottingen, part of which has been made
known by Wustenfeld (_Die Familie Al-Zobair_, Gottingen, 1878). Ya'qubi
(Ibn Wadih) wrote a short general history of much value (published by
Houtsma, Leiden, 1883). About India he knows more than his predecessors
and more than his successors down to Beruni. Ibn Khordadhbeh's
historical works are lost. Ibn 'Abdalhakam (d. 871) wrote of the
conquest of Egypt and the West. Extracts from this book are given by
M'G. de Slane in his _Histoire des Berberes_, from which we gather that
it was a medley of true tradition and romance, and must be reckoned,
with the book of his slightly senior contemporary, the Spaniard Ibn
Habib, in the class of historical romances. A high place must be
assigned to the historian Ibn Qutaiba or Kotaiba (d. 889), who wrote a
very useful _Handbook of History_ (ed. Wustenfeld, Gottingen, 1850).
Much more eminent is Baladhuri (d. 893), whose book on the Arab conquest
(ed. M.J. de Goeje, Leiden, 1865-1866) merits the special praise given
to it by Mas'udi, and who also wrote a large work, the _Ansab
al-Ashraf_. A contemporary, Ibn abi Tahir Taifur (d. 894), wrote on the
Abbasid caliphs and was drawn on by Tabari. The sixth part of his work
is in the British Museum. The universal history of Dinawari (d. 896),
entitled _The Long Narratives_, has been edited by Girgas (1887).
All these histories are more or less thrown into the shade by the great
work of Tabari (q.v.), whose fame has never faded from his own day to
ours. The _Annals_ (ed. M. de Goeje, Leiden, 1879-1901) are a general
history from the creation to 302 A.H. (= A.D. 915). As a literary
composition they do not rank very high, which may be due partly to the
author's years, partly to the inequality of his sources, sometimes
superabundant, sometimes defective, partly perhaps to the somewhat hasty
condensation of his original draft. Nevertheless the value of the book
is very great: the author's selection of traditions is usually happy,
and the episodes of most importance are treated with most fulness of
detail, so that it deserves the high reputation it has enjoyed from the
first. This reputation rose steadily; there were twenty copies (one of
them written by Tabari's own hand) in the library of the Fatimite caliph
'Aziz (latter half of the 4th century), whereas, when Saladin became
lord of Egypt, the princely library contained 1200 copies (Maqrizi, i.
408 seq.).
The _Annals_ soon came to be dealt with in various ways. They were
published in shorter form with the omission of the names of authorities
and of most of the poems cited; some passages quoted by later writers
are not found even in the Leiden edition. On the other hand, some
interpolations took place, one in the author's lifetime and perhaps by
his own hand. Then many supplements were written, e.g. by Ferghani (not
extant) and by Hamadhani (partly preserved in Paris). 'Arib of Cordova
made an abridgment, adding the history of the West and continuing the
story to about 975.[6] Ibn Mashkawaih wrote a history from the creation
to 980, with the purpose of drawing the lessons of the story, following
Tabari closely, as far as his book is known, and seldom recurring to
other sources before the reign of Moqtadir; what follows is his own
composition and shows him to be a writer of talent.[7] In 963 an
abridgment of the _Annals_ was translated into Persian by Bal'ami, who,
however, interwove many fables.[8] Ibn al-Athir (d. 1234) abridged the
whole work, usually with judgment, but sometimes too hastily. Though he
sometimes glided lightly over difficulties, his work is of service in
fixing the text of Tabari. He also furnished a continuation to the year
1224. Later writers took Tabari as their main authority, but sometimes
consulted other sources, and so add to our knowledge--especially Ibn
al-Jauzi (d. 1201), who adds many important details. These later
historians had valuable help from the biographies of famous men and
special histories of countries and cities, dynasties and princes, on
which much labour was spent from the 4th century from the Flight
onwards.
The chief historians after Tabari may be briefly mentioned in
chronological order. Razi (d. A.D. 932) wrote a _History of Spain_;
Eutychius (d. 940) wrote _Annals_ (ed. L. Cheikho, Paris, 1906), which
are very important because he gives the Christian tradition; Suli (d.
946) wrote on the Abbasid caliphs, their viziers and court poets;
Mas'udi (q.v.) composed various historical and geographical works (d.
956). Of Tabari's contemporary Hamza Ispahani (c. 940) we have the
Annals (ed. Gottwaldt, St Petersburg, 1844); Ibn al-Qutiya wrote a
_History of Spain_; Ibn Zulaq (d. 997) a _History of Egypt_; 'Otbi wrote
the _History of Mahmud of Ghazna_, at whose court he lived (printed on
the margin of the Egyptian edition of Ibn al-Athir); Tha'labi (d. 1036)
wrote a well-known _History of the Old Prophets_; Abu Nu'aim al-Ispahani
(d. 1039) wrote a _History of Ispahan_, chiefly of the scholars of that
city; Tha'alibi (d. c. 1038) wrote, _inter alia_, a well-known _History
of the Poets of his Time_, published at Damascus, 1887; Biruni (q.v.)
(d. 1048) takes a high place among historians; Koda'i (d. 1062) wrote a
_Description of Egypt_ and also various historical pieces, of which some
are extant; Ibn Sa'id of Cordova (d. 1070) wrote a _View of the History
of the Various Nations_. Bagdad and its learned men found an excellent
historian in al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 1071), and Spain in Ibn Hayan (d.
1076), and half a century later in Ibn Khaqan (d. 1135) and Ibn Bassam
(d. 1147). Sam'ani (d. 1167) wrote an excellent book on genealogies;
'Umara (d. 1175) wrote a _History of Yemen_ (ed. H.C. Kay, London,
1892); Ibn 'Asaqir (d. 1176) a _History of Damascus and her Scholars_,
which is of great value, and exists in whole or in part in several
libraries. The _Biographical Dictionary_ of the Spaniard Ibn Pascual (d.
1182) and that of Dabbi, a somewhat junior contemporary, are edited in
Codera's _Bibliotheca Arab. Hisp._ (1883-1885); Saladin found his
historian in the famous 'Imad uddin (d. 1201) (Arabic text, ed. C.
Landberg, Leiden, 1888). Ibn ul-Jauzi, who died in the same year, has
been already mentioned. Abdulwahid's _History of the Almohades_, written
in 1224, was published by Dozy (2nd ed., 1881). Abdullatif or Abdallatif
(d. 1232) is known by his writings about Egypt (trans. de Sacy, 1810);
Ibn al-Athir (d. 1233) wrote, in addition to the _Chronicle_ already
mentioned, a _Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries of the Prophet_.
Qifti (d. 1248) is especially known by his _History of Arabic
Philologists_. Sibt ibn al-Jauzi (d. 1256), grandson of the Ibn al-Jauzi
already mentioned, wrote a great _Chronicle_, of which much the larger
part still exists. Codera has edited (Madrid, 1886) Ibn al-'Abbar's (d.
1260) _Biographical Lexicon_, already known by Dozy's excerpts from it.
Ibn al-'Adim (d. 1262) is famed for his _History of Aleppo_, and Abu
Shama (d. 1267) wrote a well-known _History of Saladin and Nureddin_,
taking a great deal from 'Imad uddin. Ibn abi Usaibia (d. 1269) wrote a
_History of Physicians_, ed. A. Muller. The _History_ of Ibn al-'Amid
(d. 1276), better known as Elmacin, was printed by Erpenius in 1625. Ibn
Sa'id al-Maghribi (d. 1274 or 1286) is famous for his histories, but
still more for his geographical writings. The noted theologian Nawawi
(q.v.; d. 1278) wrote a _Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of the
First Ages of Islam_. Preeminent as a biographer is Ibn Khallikan (q.v.;
d. 1282), whose much-used work was partly edited by de Slane and
completely by Wustenfeld (1835-1840), and translated into English by the
former scholar (4 vols., 1843-1871).
Abu 'l-Faraj, better known as Bar-Hebraeus (d. 1286), wrote, besides his
Syriac _Chronicle_, an Arabic _History of Dynasties_ (ed. E. Pocock,
Oxford, 1663, Beirut, 1890). Ibn 'Adhari's _History of Africa and Spain_
has been published by Dozy (2 vols., Leiden, 1848-1851), and the
_Qartas_ of Ibn abi Zar' by Tornberg (1843). One of the best-known of
Arab writers is Abulfeda (d. 1331) (q.v.). Not less famous is the great
_Encyclopaedia_ of his contemporary Nuwairi (d. 1332), but only extracts
from it have been printed. Ibn Sayyid an-Nas (d. 1334) wrote a full
biography of the Prophet; Mizzi (d. 1341) an extensive work on the men
from whom traditions have been derived. We still possess, nearly
complete, the great _Chronicle_ of Dhahabi (d. 1347), a very learned
biographer and historian. The geographical and historical _Masalik
al-Absar_ of Ibn Fadlallah (d. 1348) is known at present by extracts
given by Quatremere and Amari. Ibn al-Wardi (d. c. 1349), best known by
his _Cosmography_, wrote a _Chronicle_ which has been printed in Egypt.
Safadi (d., 1363) got a great name as a biographer. Yafi'i (d. 1367)
wrote a _Chronicle of Islam_ and _Lives of Saints_. Subki (d. 1369)
published _Lives of the Theologians of the Shafi'ite School_. Of Ibn
Kathir's _History_ the greatest part is extant. For the history of Spain
and the Maghrib the writings of Ibn al-Khatib (d. 1374) are of
acknowledged value. Another history, of which we possess the greater
part, is the large work of Ibn al-Furat (d. 1404). Far superior to all
these, however, is the famous Ibn Khaldun (q.v.) (d. 1406). Of the
historical works of the famous lexicographer Fairuzabadi (q.v.) (d.
1414) only a _Life of the Prophet_ remains. Maqrizi (d. 1442) is the
subject of a separate article; Ibn Hajar (d. 1448) is best known by his
_Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries of the Prophet_, published in
the _Bibliotheca Indica_. Ibn 'Arabshah (d. 1450) is known by his
_History of Timur_ (Leeuwarden, 1767). 'Aini (d. 1451) wrote a _General
History_, still extant. Abu'l-Mahasin ibn Taghribirdi (d. 1469) wrote at
length on the history of Egypt; the first two parts have been published
by Juynboll and Matthes, Leiden, 1855-1861. Flugel has published Ibn
Kotlubogha's _Biographies of the Hanifite Jurists_. Ibn Shihna (d. 1485)
wrote a _History of Aleppo_. Of Sakhawi we possess a bibliographical
work on the historians. The polymath Suyuti (q.v.) (d. 1505) contributed
a _History of the Caliphs_ and many biographical pieces. Samhudi's
_History of Medina_ is known through the excerpts of Wustenfeld (1861).
Ibn Iyas (d. 1524) wrote a _History of Egypt_, and Diarbekri (d. 1559) a
_Life of Mahomet_. To these names must be added Maqqari (Makkari) (q.v.)
and Hajji Khalifa (q.v.) (d. 1658). He made use of European sources, and
with him Arabic historiography may be said to cease, though he had some
unimportant successors.
A word must be said of the historical romances, the beginnings of which
go back to the first centuries of Islam. The interest in all that
concerned Mahomet and in the allusions of the Koran to old prophets and
races led many professional narrators to choose these subjects. The
increasing veneration paid to the Prophet and love for the marvellous
soon gave rise to fables about his childhood, his visit to heaven, &c.,
which have found their way even into sober histories, just as many
Jewish legends told by the converted Jew Ka'b al-Ahbar and by Wahb ibn
Monabbih, and many fables about the old princes of Yemen told by 'Abid,
are taken as genuine history (see, however, Mas'udi, iv. 88 seq.). A
fresh field for romantic legend was found in the history of the
victories of Islam, the exploits of the first heroes of the faith, the
fortunes of 'Ali and his house. Then, too, history was often expressly
forged for party ends. The people accepted all this, and so a romantic
tradition sprang up side by side with the historical, and had a
literature of its own, the beginnings of which must be placed as early
as the 2nd century of the Flight. The oldest specimens still extant are
the fables about the conquest of Spain ascribed to Ibn Habib (d. 852),
and those about the conquest of Egypt and the West by Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam
(d. 871). In these truth and falsehood are mingled. But most of the
extant literature of this kind is, in its present form, much more
recent; e.g. the _Story of the Death of Hosain_ by the pseudo-Abu
Mikhnaf (translated by Wustenfeld); the _Conquest of Syria_ by Abu
Isma'il al-Basri (edited by Nassau Lees, Calcutta, 1854, and discussed
by de Goeje, 1864); the pseudo-Waqidi (see Hamaker, _De Expugnatione
Memphidis et Alexandriae_, Leiden, 1835); the pseudo-Ibn Qutaiba (see
Dozy, _Recherches_); the book ascribed to A'sam Kufi, &c. Further
inquiry into the origin of these works is called for, but some of them
were plainly directed to stirring up fresh zeal against the Christians.
In the 6th century of the Flight some of these books had gained so much
authority that they were used as sources, and thus many untruths crept
into accepted history. (M. J. de G.; G. W. T.)
_Geography._--The writing of geographical books naturally began with
the description of the Moslem world, and that for practical purposes.
Ibn Khordadhbeh, in the middle of the 9th century, wrote a _Book of
Roads and Provinces_ to give an account of the highways, the
posting-stations and the revenues of the provinces. In the same
century Ya'qubi wrote his _Book of Countries_, describing specially
the great cities of the empire. A similar work describing the
provinces in some detail was that of Qudama or Kodama (d. 922).
Hamdani (q.v.) was led to write his great geography of Arabia by his
love for the ancient history of his land. Muqaddasi (Mokaddasi) at the
end of the 10th century was one of the early travellers whose works
were founded on their own observation. The study of Ptolemy's
geography led to a wider outlook, and the writing of works on
geography (q.v.) in general. A third class of Arabian geographical
works were those written to explain the names of places which occur in
the older poets. Such books were written by Bakri (q.v.) and Yaqut
(q.v.)[9]
_Grammar and Lexicography._--Arab tradition ascribes the first
grammatical treatment of the language to Abu-l-Aswad ud-Du'ali (latter
half of the 7th century), but the certain beginnings of Arabic grammar
are found a hundred years later. The Arabs from early times have
always been proud of their language, but its systematic study seems to
have arisen from contact with Persian and from the respect for the
language of the Koran. In Irak the two towns of Basra and Kufa
produced two rival schools of philologists. Bagdad soon had one of its
own (cf. G. Flugel's _Die grammatischen Schulen der Araber_, Leipzig,
1862). Khalil ibn Ahmad (718-791), an Arab from Oman, of the school of
Basra, was the first to enunciate the laws of Arabic metre and the
first to write a dictionary. His pupil Sibawaihi (q.v.), a Persian,
wrote the grammar known simply as _The Book_, which is generally
regarded in the East as authoritative and almost above criticism.
Other members of the school of Basra were Abu 'Ubaida (q.v.), Asma'i
(q.v.), Mubarrad (q.v.) and Ibn Duraid (q.v.). The school of Kufa
claimed to pay more attention to the living language (spoken among the
Bedouins) than to written laws of grammar. Among its teachers were
Kisa'i, the tutor of Harun al-Rashid's sons, Ibn A'rabi, Ibn as-Sikkit
(d. 857) and Ibn ul-Anbari (885-939). In the fourth century of Islam
the two schools of Kufa and Basra declined in importance before the
increasing power of Bagdad, where Ibn Qutaiba, Ibn Jinni (941-1002)
and others carried on the work, but without the former rivalry of the
older schools. Persia from the beginning of the 10th century produced
some outstanding students of Arabic. Hamadhani (d. 932) wrote a book
of synonyms (ed. L. Cheikho, Beirut, 1885). Jauhari (q.v.) wrote his
great dictionary the _Sahah_. Tha'alibi (q.v.) and Jurjani (q.v.) were
almost contemporary, and a little later came Zamakhshari (q.v.), whose
philological works are almost as famous as his commentary on the
Koran. The most important dictionaries of Arabic are late in origin.
The immense work, _Lisan ul Arab_ (ed. 20 vols, Bulaq, 1883-1889), was
compiled by Ibn Manzur (1232-1311), the _Qamus_ by Fairuzabadi, the
_Taj ul'Arus_ (ed. 10 vols., Bulaq, 1890), founded on the _Qamus_, by
Murtada uz-Zabidi (1732-1790).
_Scientific Literature._--The literature of the various sciences is
dealt with elsewhere. It is enough here to mention that such existed,
and that it was not indigenous. It was in the early Abbasid period
that the scientific works of Greece were translated into Arabic, often
through the Syriac, and at the same time the influence of Sanskrit
works made itself felt. Astronomy seems in this way to have come
chiefly from India. The study of mathematics learned from Greece and
India was developed by Arabian writers, who in turn became the
teachers of Europe in the 16th century. Medical literature was
indebted for its origin to the works of Galen and the medical school
of Gondesapur. Many of the Arabian philosophers were also physicians
and wrote on medicine. Chemistry proper was not understood, but
Arabian writings on alchemy led Europe to it later. So also the
literature of the animal world (cf. Damiri) is not zoological but
legendary, and the works on minerals are practical and not scientific.
See ARABIAN PHILOSOPHY and historical sections of such scientific
articles as ASTRONOMY, &c. (G. W. T.)