The Seven Odes: Some Notes on the Compilation of the Muʿallaqāt

seven odes.pdf THE SEVEN ODES SOME NOTES ON THE COMPILATION OF THE Mu'allaqat The meaning of the word mu'allaqat by which the Seven ]ahili Odes were entitled by some transmitters and commentators has been discussed at Iength by scholars and several suggestions have been put forward for the interpretation of the word The story that the Odes were suspended in the Ka'ba has been rejected by the majority of the scholars, but they have almost unanimously agreed, although with some reservations, that "the man responsible in the first instance for selecting the seven poems and making them into a separate anthology was a certain Hammad, called al-Rawiya (the Transmitter) "2, This statement is indeed based on reports of early authorities who describe the literary activity of H ammad under Yazid b. 'Abd aI-Malik and Hisham b. 'Abd aI-Malik 3 and record the tradition told on the authority I, T. NOLDEKE:Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber, Hannover 1864, XVII-XXIII; R. A. NICHOLSON: Literary History of the Arabs, Cambridge 1956, A 101-103; C. BERNREIMER:L'Arabia Antica e la sua poesia, Napoli 1960, 85-86; Bulletin des Etudes Arabes, Alger 1946, 152-158; CR. PELLAT:Langue et Litterature Arabes, Paris 1952, 68; H. A. R. GIBB:Arabic Literature, Oxford 1963,22-24; CR. J. LYALL: ranslations of A ncient Arabian Poetry, London 1930, XLIV; N a ~ira I-D in T al-Asad: M~adir al-shi'r al-jtihili, Cairo 1962, 169-17I;'Abd al-SalamHariinin his Introduction to al-AnbarI's SharlJu l-qasii'idi l-sab'i l-!iwali, Cairo 1963, 11·-13; J. M. 'A b d a 1- J a I I I: Breve Histoire de la Litterature Arabe, Paris 1946, 37; Sib a' I Bay y ii m I: Ta'rikh al-adab al-'arabi, Cairo, n.d., I, 153-155; A I).mad M u 1).. a l-I;I auf I: AI-lJayiit al-'arabiyya min al-shi'r al-jtihili, Cairo 1962, 200-212; '0 mar Far r ii k h; Ta'rikh al--adab al-'arabi, Beirut 1965, 75; N a jIb M u 1).. a l- Bah bIt I: Ta'rikh al-shi'r al-'arabi, Cairo 1961, 194-195; S h a u q i :0 a y f: Ta'rikh al--adab al-'arabi, al-'ap- al-/iihili, Cairo 19/)5, 140-141; 1;1 ann a a l- Fa k h ii r I: Ta'rikh al-adab al-'arabi, Beirut 1960, 65-66; R. BLACRERE: Histoire de la Litterature Arabe, Paris 1952, I, 143-147; G. WIET: Introduction a la Litterature Arabe, Paris 1966, 29-31; F. GABRIELI: a Letteratura Araba, Firenze 1967, L 24, 34-44; A. J. ARBERRY:The Seven Odes, London 1957, 16-24, 232, 244-254. 2 A. J. ARBERRY,of cit., 16. 3 Ya q ii t: Mujam al-udabii', ed. Al).mad FarId Rifa'i, Cairo 1938, X, 258-266; Ibn K hall i k an: Wafayiit al-a'yiin, ed. Al).mad FarId Rifa'I, Cairo 1936, V, I 28 of al-Nahhas (d. 337 H) r according to which Hammad collected (jama'a) the Seven Long Odes AI- jumahi (d. 23 I H) states that Hamrnad was the first who collected the poems of the Arabs and recorded the stories of these poems (wa-kana awwala man jama'a ash'ara l-'arabi wa-saqa a!zadithaha f:lammadun al-rawiyatu). He adds, however, that he was not trustworthy (wa-kana ghayra mauthuqin bihi) 3. The records about the collection of the Seven Long Odes 4 by Hammad al-Rawiya are contradicted by an account of 'Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi (d. 1093 H), that 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (d. 86 H) "discarded the poems of four of them and established in their place four (other poets)" (wa-qad tara!za 'Abdu l-Maliki bnu Marwana shi'ra arba'atin minhum wa-athbatrr makanahum arba'atan) 5. If this report were true there must have existed a collection of the Seven Odes in the times of 'Abd al-Malik. This fact was pointed out by Nasir al-Dln al-Asad, who quotes as well a saying of Mu'awiya, reported by 'Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi 6 that" the qa#da of 'Amr b. Kulthum and the qasida of al-Harith b. Hilliza are among the prideworthy creations 2. 119-129; a l-' I s ami: Sim,t al-nujilm al-'awiili, Cairo 1380 .1, III, 216-217; al-Aghiini, index; al-Marzubant: Nur al-qabas, ed. R. Sellheim, Wiesbaden 1964, index; A b ii l - T a y y i b a l - Lug haw i: Mariitib al-nal;wiyyin, ed. Muh. Abii I-FaQ.I Ibrahim, Cairo 1955, 72-73; H am z a a l- I s fa han i : al-Tanbih 'alii I}uduth al-ta~l}if, ed. Muh, Hasan Al Yasln, Baghdad 1967, 38, 125, 186; a l - 'A s k a r i: SharI} md yaqa'u fihi l-t~l}if, ed. 'Abd al-'Aziz Ahmad, Cairo 1963, 141-143. See on him Y a q ii t, oj. cit., IV, 224-230; Ibn K h a II i k a n, oj. cit., 1,209-211; aI-Qifti: Inbiih al-ruwiih, ed. Muh, Abii I-FaQ.I Ibrahim, Cairo 1950, I, 101-104 (and see the references of the editor). 2 Y a q ii t, oj. cit., X, 266; Ibn K h a II i k a n, oj. cit., V, 120; J. W. FUCK, E.l! s.v. Hamrnad al-Rawiya. 3 M u h. b. Sa II a m a l- J u rn a h l : Tabaqiitful}ul al=shu'ard", ed. Mahmiid Muh, Shakir, Cairo 1952,40-41; aI-Marzubani, oj. cit., 185. 4 The early sources mention the Seven Odes as al-sab'u l-mashhuriit(M. SCHLOSSINGER: Ibn Kaisiin's Commentar zur Mo'allaqa des 'Amr ibn Kullum nach einer Berliner Handschrijt, ZA, XXVI, 19, note I); al-sab'u l-.tiwiil al-jiihiliyyiit (ib., 18), al-sumu! (A b ii Z a y d a 1- Q u r ash t : Jamharat ash'iir al-'arab, Beirut 1963, 80); almudhahhabiit (I b n 'A b d R a b b i hi: al-'Iqd ai-farid, ed. Ahmad Arnin, Ahmad al-Zayn, Ibrahim al-Abyarr, Cairo 1965, V, 269); al--mu'allaqiit (ib., wa-qad yuqiilu lahii l-mu'allaqiit). A poem from the collection of the Seven Odes was referred to as al-wiil}ida (see a l - J u m a h i, oj. cit., I 15); the poets of the Odes were called asl}iibal-Wiil}ida (ib., 128), as rightly explained by the Editor (ib., note 3). See the discussion of this problem al=Haufl, oj. cit., 202-206. 5 Khiziinat al-adab, ed. 'Abd al-Salam Harun, Cairo 1967, I, 127. 6 Khiziinat al-adab, Cairo 1299 H, I, 519. I The Seven Odes 29 of the Arabs (mz"n majakhz"rz"l-'arabz"); they were suspended for a long time in the Ka'ba" and concludes that "people knew about the mu'allaqat and their being suspended in the Ka'ba a long time before Hammad " '. A new light on the time of the compilation of the Seven Odes, the identity of their collectc. s, the purpose of the compilation and the changes it underwent, is shed in a significant passage of Ahmad b. Abi Tahir Tayfur's (d. 280 H) K£tab al-manthur wa-l-man?um 2. According to a tradition told on the authority of al-Hirmazt 3 Mu'awiya ordered the transmitters of poetry 4 to choose for him poems (qa-ia'Z"d)which he would teach his son to recite; they chose for him twelve poems (qa-ia'z"d): I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Qifa nabkz" mz"n dhz"kra lzabibin wa-manzZ"li Lz"-Khaulata aflalun bz"-burqa# Thahmadi A-mz"n Ummz" Auja dz"mnatun lam takallami Adhanatna bZ"-baynz"haAsma'u 'AjaN l-dz"yaru malzalluha ja-muqamuha Ala hubbi bi--ialznz"kz" ja--ibaMna In buddzlat 5 mz"n ahlz"ha wulzushan Basatat 6 Rabz"'atu l-lzabla lana Ya ddra Mayyata bz"-l- 'Alya'z" ja-l-Sanadi Ya ddra 'Ablata bz"-l-jz"wa'z" (takallami) that he thinks (Imru l--Qays) (Tarafa) (Zuhayr) (al-Harith b. Hilliza) (Labid) ('Amr b. Kulthfim) ('Abid b. aI- Abras) (Suwayd b. Abi Kahil) (al-Nabigha) (,Antara) that the two Al-Hirmazi remarks additional poems were: I I. 12. (wa-a?unnu) Waddi' Hurayrata inna l-rakba murtalzzlu (A-)sa'alta rasma l-darz" am lam tas'ali by al-A'sha by Hassan b. Thabit 7 r Ma;iidir al-shi'r al-jahili, 170-171; comp. Abu I-Baqa' Hibatu llah: al-Manaqib al-mazyadiyya, Ms. Br. Mus. f. 38b: wa-qalii: ma/tikhiru l-'arabi thaltithatun: qa#datu l-,lfarithi bni ,lfillizata I-Yashkuriyyi ... sua-qastdat« 'Amri bni Kulthumin I-Taghlibiyyi ... uia-oasidatu Tarafata bni I-'Abdi ... 2 Ms. Br. Mus., Add. 18532, ff. 49a-5oa; on Ai). mad b. A biT a hi r see FUAT SEZGIN:Geschichtedes Arabischen Schrifttums, Leiden 1967 I, 348-349. 3 A j ; I:I a san b. 'A I i a l- I:I i r m a z i. See on him a I-M a r z u ban i, op. cit., 208-2IO; Y a q u t, op. cit., IX, 24-27. 4 In the text: qala l-,lfirmaziyyu: wa-qad ruwiya anna Mu'awiyata min alruwati an yantakhibu lahu qa;a'ida yurawwilui bnahu; I read: amara l-ruwata ... 5 In the text: in tubuddilat. 6 In the text: nashaiat, 7 Ai).mad h. Abi Tahir Tayfur, op. cit., f. 50a. 30 Another tradition told on the authority of al=Hirmazi traced back to some scholars (... annahu qdla: dhakara Ii ghayru wa(ddz"n mz"n al-'ulama'z" ... ) gives a valuable report about the selection of the Seven Odes carried out by 'Abd al-Malik. "The number of seven odes", states al-Hirmazr, "was fixed by 'Abd aI-Malik and he collected them" (anna l-sab'a l-qa~a'z"da llati sabba'aha 'Abdu I-Malz"kz' bnu Marwana wa-jama'aha). No one in the j ahiliyya ever collected them (wa-Iam yakun fi l-jahz"lzyyatz" man jama'aha qajju). People consider, says al-Hirmazi, that in the Jahiliyya period they were made use of in prayer (wa-I-nasu yarauna annahu kana yu~alla bz"ha l-jahzliyyati), . fi Al-Hjrmazf records six odes chosen by 'Abd al-Malik in the following order: I. Ala hubbi bz"-~a!mikz"a-~ba!zina f Adhanatna bz"-baynz"haAsma'u 2. 3. Basatat Rabi'atu l-babla lana 4. A-min aI-manum' (wa-)raybz"ha tatawajja'u 5. In buddilat min ahlz"ha wubushan 6. Ya ddra 'A blata bz"-l-j£wa' z"2 takallami by 'Amr b. Kulthum by al-Harith b. I:Iilliza by Suwayd b. Abi Kahil by Abu Dhu'ayb al-Hudhali by 'Abid b. alAbras by 'Antara Al-Hirmazi continues: "Th -n 'Abd al-Malik stumbled and came to a halt in the choice of the seventh ode (qala: thumma urtzja 'ala 'Abdz" l-Malz"kz"l-sabz" 'atu). At that moment his son, Sulayman, then a young boy, entered into his presence and recited the poem of Aus b. Maghra' in which the poet says: Mubammadun 3 khayru man yamshi 'ala qadamz"n wa-~abibahu wa-' Uthmanu bnu 'Affana 4. Muhammad is the best of those who walk on feet and his two Companions and 'Uthman b. 'Affan, r This expression is not clear; it may probably denote that they were venerated, esteemed and respected by the people of the j ahiliyva. 2 In Ms. bi-Liwti'in. 3 4 A l _. J u m a h I, oj. cit., 410 records some verses of this poem. But the verse quoted by Ibn Abi Tahir consists of the first hemistich of verse four and the second hemistich of verse two, as recorded by al- In Ms. MulJammadun eallti lltihu 'alayhi wa-tilihi. J umahi. The verses of Aus The Seven Odes 31 'Abd al-Malik became impassioned in favour of the poem (wata'assaba laha) and said maghghiruha i.e. include the poem of Ibn Maghra' in with them (i.e. with the six afore-mentioned ones - fa-qdla 'Abdu l-MaHki, wa-ta'agaba laha, maghghiruha ay adkhilu qa~idata bni M aghra'a jiM) There is no reason to cast a doubt about the authenticity of these two accounts of al-Hirrnazr. The deep interest of Mu'awiya in poetry, his close contacts with contemporary poets and the high esteem in which he held them are well attested 'Abd al-Malik's familiarity with poetry was not less than that of Mu'awiya 3. The circumstances mentioned for the composition of the collection by Mu'awiya for the prince (it was probably Yaztd) are quite plausible: Mu'awiya wanted to give him a literary education in the manner of Arab society, to teach him the poems which were considered the best and probably most widely discussed and recited in the circles of chiefs and governors. whom he had I. 2. b. Maghra' are mentioned by al- J umahi in connection with the story of a contest between al-Akhtal and Jarir in the prcsence of al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik. When al-Akhtal r=cited the poem of 'Amp b. Kulthiirn - al-Walid urged J arir to recite the poem of Aus b. Maghra' saying, exactly as in the text of Ibn A biT a h i r, maghghir yii farir. L'A, s.v. m gh r mentions that 'Abd al-Malik bade Jarir to recite the verses of Ibn Maghra' saying maghghir (but the verses are not quoted). Comp. al-Z a m a k h s h a r i: al-Fd'i«, ed. al-Bijawr-Muh. Abu I-Fad l Ibrahim, Cairo 1948, III, 40 ('ABD AL-MALIK: maghghir ya Jarir). Ibn Hajar al='Asqalanl in his Isdoa, Cairo 1323 H, I, 118, n. 495 records the verse as quoted in the Ms. and mentions the opinion of Ibn Abi Tahir about the poem of Aus b. Maghra': "nobody composed a poem nicer than this". On Aus b. Maghra' see: al-A~ma'i: Fuf;ulat ai-shu'ard', ed. Khafaji-Zayni, 1953,44; al-Baladhuri: Ansab ai-ashrdf. Ms., f. 1046b; IBN QUTAYBA: al-shi'r wa-l-shu'ara', ed. M. J. de Gocje, Leiden 1904, 432; al-Bakri: Sim: ai-la' ali, ed. al-Maymani, Cairo 1936, 795; al-Aghani, index; Shauqi Dayf: al-Ta!awwur wa-l-tajdid fi l-shi'r al-umawi, Cairo 1965, 20. On the daughter of Aus b. Maghra', Zaynab, see al=Baladhurt, oj. cit., Ms. f. 397a. On the son of Aus b. Maghra', Wabr, see Naqa'ir;l, ed. A. A. Bevan, Leiden Cairo 1909, 717-718; M. NALLINO: An-Nabigah al-Ga'di e ie sue joesie, RSO, 1934,393-399; idem: Le joesie di an-Nabigah al-Ga'di, Roma 1953, 135-136. I Ibn A biT a h i r, oj. cit., f. 5oa. I-Dtn See e.g. Aghani, index; al-S u y uti: Ta'rikh al-khulafa', ed. Muh, Muhyi 'Abd al=Hamld, Cairo 1952, 202-203; Ibn A b i 1- I;I ad i d: Sharf; nahj al-balagha, ed. Muh, Abu l=Fad l Ibrahim, Cairo 1964, XX, 156; al-B a lad h uri, 2 364b-365b, 367b, 370a-b, etc. 3 See e.g. Aghani, index; al-S u y uti, oj. cit., 220-221; Ibn A b i l- I;I ad I d, oj. cit., XX, 161-165; KUTHAY_YIR'AZZA: Diiod», ed. H. Peres, Algcr 1930, index. 4 See J. OBERMANN: Early Islam (in R. C. Dentan's -ed.- The Idea of History in the Ancient Near East, Yale University Press 1966, 289): " ... genealogy and poetry oj. cit., Ms. ff. 348b, 349a, 350a, 352a, 354b, 355a, 357b, 359a, 361a-363b, 32 to meet. It was the heritage of Arabism which he had to absorb and display. It was probably the same aim that 'Abd al-Malik pursued when he decided to compile his anthology: to educate the crown prince within the Arabic tradition of poetry. It was evidently the same reason which caused al-Mansur to employ al-Mufaddal al-1;:>abbIand to engage him to compile the anthology of the Mujar/r/alz"yyat I. Ibn AbI Tahir furnishes us with important details about the Seven Long Odes (al-qa~a'z'du l-sab'u l-/uwalu), current in his period, in the third century of the Hijra. He records two lists. In the first list he enumerates eight poems in the following order: I. 2. 3. 4. S. 6. 7. 8. Imru I-Qays: QiJa nabki min dhikra !zabibin wa-manzili Tarafa: Li-Khaulata a#a/un bi-burqati Thahmadi 'Abld b. al-Abras: Aqfara min ahlz"hi Mal!zubu Zuhayr b. AbI Sulma 'Antara 2 Labid 2 'Amr b. Kulthilm 2 Al-Harith b. Hilliza 2 2 Ibn AbI Tahir attempts an assessment of the merits of the odes. He mentions the opinion of scholars that the Seven Odes surpassed all other poems because of the many themes which they contained; they had no match. The qa~ida of Imru I-Qays contained themes superior to those of other (poets); other poets derived theirs from him and based their poems on his poetry. The qasida of Tarafa is one of the best odes written by one of the A~!zab al-wa!zida 3. He closed it with the most eloquent proverb: sa-tubdi laka l-ayyamu ma kunta jaMlan: wa-ya'tika bi-l-akhbari man lam tuzawwidi. Some poets of the period of the j ahiliyya tried to compose a poem like this, but without success. must be seen to enjoy far greater popularity in the early Islamic era than Koran and Hadij ": and see S h a u q i :0 a y f, op. cit., 145-146. See R. SELLHEIM: rophet, Chaiif und Geschichte, Oriens, 18-19, 1967, 41: P " Natiirlich musste der junge Prinz als kiinftiger Regent des islamischen Reiches, als hochster Vertreter der muslimischen Gemeinde, als Verwandter des Propheten mit der Kultur und Geschichte der arabischen Ahnen vertraut sein ": 2 The poem is not mentioned. 3 See note 4, p. 28, above. I The Seven Odes 33 No one in the ]ahiliyya, except Dhu l-I~ba' al-r.Adwanl, composed a poem in the metre and 'arutj of the poem of 'Abid b. al-Abras: aqfara min ahlihi Mal!zubu '; this poem of Dhu l-Tsba' is more likely to be an eloquent speech than a qasida, The qa#da of Zuhayr has no match in its description of the war, III what he says about peace, in the manner he made reproaches and III the proverbs he used. The qasida of 'Antara surpassed other poems by the use of descriptive passages and by expressions of bravery. Every poet borrowed from it. The qa{ida of Labid is the best of his poems (,aynu shi'rihi) and contains beautiful themes. It was therefore incorporated into the col1ection of the odes though Labid is not like them (i.e. he is inferior to the poets of the odes). The qasidas of 'Amr b. Kulthnrn and al-Harith b. Hilliza are concerned with approximately the same theme, they produced fine poems, but they are not like the preceding ones (i.e. they are inferior to them). Some people, continues Ahmad b. AbI Tahir, added to the Seven Odes the qa-Fida of al-Nabigha concerning the subject of apology; it is unique in this matter. As this qa-Fzdais the best of al-Nabigha's poetry, some people incorporated this poem: Ya ddra Mayyata bz"-l'Alya'i wa-I-Sanadi into the (col1ection of) Seven Odes. The author quotes a saying of Abu 'Amr b. al-'Ala' stating that Zuhayr does not deserve to be a hireling of al-Nabigha, remarks however that, in his opinion, Abu 'Amr erred 2. The qa-Fzdaof al-A'sha: Waddi' Hurayrata inna l-rakba murta!zilu is excellently done but it stands in no relation to the afore-mentioned odes. "General consent", concludes Ibn AbI Tahir, " is in accordance with what we ha ve said" (i.e. about the eight odes, without the additional ones) 3. In another passage Ibn AbI Tahir records the second list of the Seven Odes. Here only seven poems are mentioned. The order of the poems is different. "We found the transmitters agreed upon the Seven Long ]ahilI Odes ", says Ibn AbI Tahir (wa-IladhZ wajadna 'alayhi l-ruwata mujtami"ina jz qa-Fa'ida l-sab'u l-/uwalu l-jahzlzyyatu): See on the metre of this qtl!ida the note of Lyall in his edition of the Diwan of 'Abld, Leyden I9I3, 5, note 1. 2 See this saying quoted: ibn A b r 1- H a d r d, oj. cit., XX, I61. 3 Ibn A b r T it h i r, oj. cit., f. 49a-49b. I 34 I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Imru I-Qays: Qzfii nabki Zuhayr: A-min Ummi AU/ii Tarafa: Li-Khaulata a/liilun 'Amr b. Kulthnm: Alii hubbi 'Antara: Hal ghiidara l-shu'arii'u Labid: 'A/a# l-diyiiru Al-Harith b. Hilliza: Adhanatnii bi-baynz"hii Asmii'u (wa-minhum man Some people, says Ibn Abi Tahir, incorporated adkhala) into the collection: 1. 2. 'Abid: Aqfara min ahlihi Mal!zubu Al-A'sha: Waddie Hurayrata inna l-rakba murta!zzlu 3. Al-Nabigha: Yii diira Mayyata bi-l-'Alyii'i wa-l-Sanadi " We have not found them", concludes Ibn AbI Tahir, " mentioning other poems except these, composed by these first class poets in accordance with what we have mentioned about their selection" (wa-lam na}z"dhumdhakaru ghayra hiidhz"hz"-qa~ii'z"di/z"-hii'ulii'i l-mutaqaddimina l !i-mii dhakarnii min ikh#yiirihz"m) The ten poets of these j ahiliyya Odes are considered by Abu 'Ubayda the excelling poets of the Jahiliyya (wa-qiila Abu 'Ubaydata: ash'aru shu'arii'i l-jiihz"!iyya# 'asharatun, awwaluhum Imru l-Qaysi ... etc.) I. 2. The account of Ibn AbI Tahir shows clearly that the collectors of the odes started almost immediately with the establishment of the Umayyad rule. The collection of Mu'awiya contained twelve odes and was intended as an anthology for the education of his son (apparently the crown prince). The expression yurawwihii bnahu does not make it possible to decide whether these odes were written down or not. The anthology of Mu'awiya contained indeed the ten poems which form te collection of the mu'allaqiit. The two additional poems were of two contemporaries: Suwayd b. AbI Kahil and Hassan b. Thabit, Suwayd b. Abi Kahil was a famous poet 3 and his qa~ida was known lb., f. 50a; for the variants of al-mutaqaddimin see e.g. Ibn Qutayba, oj. cit., 141, "a" (al-ma'dadin and al-muqaddamin). Al-'Abbas b. 'Ali al-l;Iusayni a1-Miisawi: Nuzhatu l-jalis wa--munyatu l-adib I-ants, Najaf 1968, II, 182; and comp. Ibn S h a r a f a 1Q a y raw ani: Rasti'il al-intiqtid (in Kurd 'Ali's Rasti'il al-bulaghti', Cairo 1946, 314-316). 3 See on him: Ibn Qutayba, oj. cit., 92,141,250-251; Aghtini, XI, 165-167; a l- B a k r i: Simi al-la'tili, 313; Ibn I;Ia jar: al-I,tiba, III, 172, no. I 2 The Seven Odes 35 as al-yatima in the time of -the j ahiliyya: it contained many !zikam and was probably therefore incorporated into the collection Hassan b. Thabit was an adherent of 'Uthrnan and favoured Mu'awiya. The poem itself is a Jahili one and is therefore considered a fine one 2. 'Abd al-Malik reduced the number of the odes from twelve to seven. He included however among these seven odes two odes which were not contained in the selection of Mu'awiya: the qa~ida of Abu Dhu'ayb and the qa~ida of Aus b. Maghra', both poets who composed their poems in the period of Isl am. The tendency of 'Abd aI-Malik in his incorporation of the qasida of Aus is obvious and can be gauged from the verse recited by his son Sulayman: the Prophet is mentioned with his two Companions (i.e. Abu Bakr and 'Umar) and 'Uthman b. 'Affan. 'Ali is not mentioned. This was in perfect harmony with the Umayyad idea of the legitimacy of the Muslim government. The q4$ida of Abu Dhu'ayb was included in the anthology of 'Abd aI-Malik because of its popularity: already Mu'awiya, according to tradition, recited verses of this qa~ida before his death 3. The tradition about the compilation of the anthology of the Seven Odes, begun by Mu'awiya and concluded by 'Abd al-Malik, fell into oblivion probably due to the fall of the Urnayyad dynasty and the victory of the Abbasids. Scholars of a later period apparently were not satisfied with the selection of 'Abd al-Malik and returned to the I. 37I6; IBN DURAYD:al-Ishtiqaq, ed. 'Abd al-Salam Hartin, Cairo 1958, 340-34 I; al-Mufa¢¢aliyyat, ed. Lyall, Introduction, p. XIV; S a d r a l- DIn a 1- B a ~ r I, al-f:lamasa ai-basriyya, ed. Mukhtar al-Dtn Ahmad, Hyderabad 1964, I, 94; IBN QUTAYBA: 'Uyun al-akhbar, Cairo I928, II, 10; a l- Bag h dad I: Khizanat al-adab, Cairo I299 H, II, 546-548; A b ii I;I ani f a a l- Din a war i: al-Akhbtir al-/iwal, ed. 'Abd al-Muri'im 'A.mir-Jamal al-Din al-Shayyal, Cairo I960, y8; M u I). 'A l Y a n a I-M a r z ii q I: Mashtihid ai=insdf 'ala shawtihid al-kashshtif, Cairo 1354 H, 72 (appended to al=Zamakhsharr's Kashshaf); M u I). B a q ira 1Sharif: al-Jami' al-shawahid, Isbahan I380H, II, 25; al-An~ari: Mughni I-laMb 'an kutub al-a'arib, ed. Muh, Muh yi l=Din 'Abd al=Hamld, Cairo, al-Maktaba al-tijariyya, n.d., I, 328, n. 533; idem: Shudhur al-dhahab fi ma'rifati kalam al-'arab, ed. Muh, Muhyi I-Dtn 'Abd al-Hamld, Cairo 1942, 138, no. 63. See the contradictory opinions of OMARA. FARRUKH: as Bild des Fruhislam D in der Arabischen Dichtung - von der Higra bis zum Tode 'Umar's, Leipzig 1937, 22: 50, 98, IIO and S h a u q i I:;> a y f: al-Tatawwur wa-l-tajdld fi i-shi'r al-umawi, p. 20 about whether this qasrda is a JahilI one or it is influenced by the teachings of Islam. See the opinion of a l - A ~ m a 'I: htidha f:lassanu bnu Thtibitin faJ;.lun min fuJ;.uli l-jahiliyyati fa-lamma jti'a l-islamu saoata shi'ruhu (Ibn Qutayba: al-Shi'r wa-l-shu'ara', I70). 3 See a l- B a I ad h u r I, oj. cit., f. 380a. I 2 anthology of Mu'jiwiya. They confined themselves to the Seven j ahili Odes upon which" the scholars unanimously agreed" and which form the popular anthology of the seven mu'allaqat to the present day. The odes of Suwayd b. Abi Kahil and Hassan b. Thabit were eliminated. The three additional odes of the collection of Mu'awiya ('Abid, alNabigha, al-A'sha) were in fact incorporated in a wider anthology already in the third century of the Hijra, as attested by Ibn Abi Tahir; this was the collection of the Ten Odes which is in fact transmitted even today. The merit of Hammad seems to have been that he transmitted the Seven j ahili Odes derived from the collection of Mu'awiya and that he discarded the collection of 'Abd al-Malik, Later literary tradition attributed the selection to Hammad. In the third century these Odes gained wide acclaim and children were taught them in the kuttab I. I Ibn A biT a. h i r, op. cit., f. 49b.