192:
and swore revenge on the Azd. In another version of the story, he turns against his tribe because another tribesman murdered his father, and the tribe refused to apply the law of blood-vengeance. Scholars regard these accounts as later myths developed to explain the poet's hatred for his tribe. Al-Shanfara and his companion
212:
A final aspect of the traditional accounts is that
Shanfara had sworn to kill 100 of the Azd, but at his death he had only killed 99. Later, one of the Al-Azd passed by his bones and kicked his skull, but sustained a splinter which eventually mortified and killed him, thus completing Shanfara's vow.
199:
Al-Shanfara died around 525. The traditional account of his death has it that he was killed in retaliation for his killing of Haram ibn Jabir. He was ambushed at night by Haram's brother and two sons, who bound him and took him back to the tribe. When the tribe asked him where he wanted to be buried,
343:
According to Al-Anbari's commentary, this line depicts al-Shanfara killing Haram ibn Jabir, the murderer of his father. Whether historical or strictly literary, the story is striking for its violation of cultural taboos. Killing a pilgrim was an abomination, although in this case
Shanfara's father
308:
This section combines extensive praise of Umm 'Amr/Umaimah with regret for the loss of her love. In lines 15–18, the poet transitions to a description his band of brigands and their raiding lifestyle: "Many a fighting band, their bows red from wear, did I call forth" (line 15). He explains how he
191:
tribe. A different clan of his own tribe, the Azd, later captured one of the Fahm and ransomed him for al-Shanfara. He lived among them as one of them, until he quarreled with a young woman of the tribe, who rejected him on as not being from a different clan. At this point he returned to the Fahm,
325:
is a man: "a companion of sa'alik, there is no veil before her" gives to way "she rushes upon the battle-ready foe, baring her leg to the knee" and then "when they panic she lets fly a white cutting; she shoots her store of arrows, then draws her blade" (lines 22–25). The reason for the gender
251:. Although its attribution has been disputed ever since medieval times, the memorable first-person figure of the misanthropic brigand celebrating his position on the edge of society that the poem draws has strongly influenced views of al-Shanfarā. We can if nothing else say that if the
114:
means "he who has large lips." His full name may be either Thabit ibn Malik or Thabit ibn Aws. What is known about al-Shanfarā is inferred from the poems which he is believed with confidence to have composed. He seems fairly certainly to have belonged to the
568:, p. 92: 'By a confusion between the two groups – the "crows of the Arabs" and the brigand poets – several of the latter are described by some early sources as having been black, though this is not supported by the main tradition.'
171:
358:, finds the poet on a hill-top at night, preparing for a raid. Shanfara gives a detailed description of his weapons, especially his bow and arrows, and also reveals his affection for his companions.
321:, and that this section is an extended simile describing how Ta'abbata Sharran took care of his companions. As the description progresses it becomes increasingly clear in the text that
423:
Arabic poems typically do not have titles, so critics refer to them by the letter in which they rhyme, the type of poem, or the opening words of the poem.
1087:
313:, (mother of the hearth and home) in lines 19–27, beginning with the line "A mother of many children I have seen feeding them." Scholars believe that
180:
mostly focus on explaining how he came to be exiled from his tribe. One such story relates that when he was young he was taken captive by the
255:
is a later composition, it positions al-Shanfarā as the archetypal outlaw of a pre-Islamic heroic age, viewed nostalgically from a later era.
130:(Arab crows), a term referring to Arabs with African mothers. Others argue against his inclusion in this group, which according to scholar
517:, p. 19: "...the poet Thabit b. Aws al-Azdi (Thabit son of Aws, the Azdite) is universally referred to by his nickname al-Shanfara."
376:
around 1033. During an imagined tour of hell, a Sheikh who criticized al-Ma'arri encounters al-Shanfara along with Ta'abbata
Sharran.
857:
846:
1040:
Stetkevych, Suzanne
Pinckney (1986). "Archetype and Attribution in Early Arabic Poetry: Al-Shanfarā and the Lāmiyyat al-'Arab".
896:
875:
389:(Cairo: Mat.ba‘at Lajnat al-Ta’līf wa al-Tarjamah wa al-Nashr, 1937), 31-42 (most of al-Shanfarā's poetry, excluding the
1092:
186:
402:
92:
166:
1097:
206:
When they carry off my head – and in my head is most of me – and the rest of me lies abandoned on the battlefield,
832:
309:
travels far afield on his raids, "to strike a foe or meet up with my doom" (line 17). He then begins to praise
156:
272:
no. 20) is the poet's most renowned poem after the
Lamiyya, and its authorship has rarely been disputed. The
221:
Al-Shanfarā is named as the author of a scattering of individual verses as well as a long passage known as
862:
815:
208:
Then I will have no desire for a life to cheer me through stagnating nights, anathematized by my crimes.
1102:
1000:
318:
243:
193:
457:
279:
885:
A. F. L. Beeston; T. M. Johnstone; R. B. Serjeant; G. R. Smith, eds. (1983). "Background Topics".
1057:
1016:
954:
946:
368:
336:
333:
We slew a pilgrim for a pilgrim slain, one leading a beast to sacrifice for one with matted hair;
278:(amatory prelude) of the poem is admired by scholars for its "striking beauty" (verses 1–14). In
231:. His works are discussed in at least twenty medieval and early medieval scholarly commentaries.
181:
1008:
938:
892:
871:
842:
274:
196:
were thought to be among the few people of pre-Islamic Arabia who could run down an antelope.
1049:
986:
930:
867:
967:
151:
79:
227:
161:
1081:
958:
373:
131:
86:; died c. 525 CE) was a semi-legendary pre-Islamic poet tentatively associated with
886:
836:
87:
1028:
991:
102:), critiquing the hypocrisies of his society from his position as an outsider.
1053:
123:
1012:
942:
98:
17:
838:
The Arabic
Literary Heritage: The Development of its Genres and Criticism
204:
Do not bury me, for my burial is forbidden to you, but rejoice, oh Hyena!
1020:
950:
1061:
907:
1005:
The
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
429:
119:
934:
96:. He enjoys a status as a figure of an archetypal outlaw antihero (
1033:
Geschichte des arabischen
Schrifttums: Bd. 2, Poesie Bis ca. 430 H
298:
and now has she ended all things, and flitted and passed and gone.
116:
296:
She dwelt in my eyes at even, at night, and when morning dawned;
339:
where the stones are thrown, in the midst of chanting pilgrims.
290:
she bade no farewell to her neighbours what time she went away.
1003:(1900). "The Risālatu'l-͟G͟hufrān: By Abū'l-'Alā al-Ma'arrī".
443:
225:
preserved in the seminal collection of pre-Islamic verse, the
716:
714:
712:
627:
625:
304:
yea, she was my life's delight, and now all its joy is fled.
294:
the necks of her camels towered above us as forth they sped.
286:
Alas! Ummu 'Amr set firm her face, and has flitted and gone:
1071:
Classical Arabic Poetry: 162 Poems from
Imrulkais to Ma'rri
979:
Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi
Dergisi
588:
586:
241:
Al-Shanfarā is most famous for, supposedly, composing the
292:
She gave us no warning of what she purposed, but suddenly
200:
he is reported to have replied with the following lines:
326:
inversion in this passage has not been fully explained.
344:
seems to have been killed during a pilgrimage as well.
817:
The Mufaddaliyat; an anthology of ancient Arabian odes
537:
535:
498:
496:
494:
300:
Alas my heart for Umaimah and all my longing for her!
145:
Al-Shanfarā attracted a number of pseudo-historical
63:
55:
47:
39:
32:
888:Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period
921:Lewis, Bernard (1985). "The Crows of the Arabs".
90:, and the supposed author of the celebrated poem
916:] (in Arabic) (3 ed.). Dar al-Ma'arif.
331:
329:The climax of the poem occurs in the line 28:
284:
202:
616:
514:
8:
1042:International Journal of Middle East Studies
366:Al-Shanfara appeared as a character in the
756:
744:
732:
720:
691:
679:
655:
631:
592:
577:
29:
990:
792:
126:clan. He is sometimes counted among the
914:The Brigand-Poets in the Pre-Islamic Era
820:. Vol. 2. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
667:
553:
526:
478:
416:
1069:Tuetey, Charles Greville, ed. (1985).
643:
604:
485:
972:and the Horrors of Desert Travelling"
780:
768:
703:
565:
541:
502:
7:
866:. Vol. 9 (2 ed.). Leiden:
427:denotes a poem rhymed in the letter
122:tribe, probably specifically to the
83:
909:الشعراء الصعاليك في العصر الجاهلية
814:Lyall, Charles James, ed. (1918).
134:is due to a confusion between the
25:
1088:6th-century Arabic-language poets
282:'s translation, the poem beings:
167:Muhammad bin al-Qasim al-Anbari
27:Semi-legendary pre-Islamic poet
891:. Cambridge University Press.
841:. Cambridge University Press.
1:
149:(reports) in texts like the
1119:
992:10.1501/Dtcfder_0000000929
385:‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Maymanī,
317:is Shanfara's compainion,
266:The Ta’iyya of al-Shanfarā
223:The Ta’iyya of al-Shanfarā
1054:10.1017/S0020743800030518
159:or the commentary on the
387:Al-T.arā’if al-Adabiyyah
157:Abu al-Faraj Al-Isfahani
966:Mansour, Wisam (2005).
906:Khulayf, Yusuf (1978).
142:in some early sources.
863:Encyclopaedia of Islam
856:Arazi, Albert (1997).
341:
306:
210:
1001:Nicholson, Reynold A.
870:. pp. 301–303.
400:For editions of the
395:Mufaḍḍaliyyah no. 20
1093:Folklore characters
617:Beeston et al. 1983
515:Beeston et al. 1983
280:Charles James Lyall
249:L-poem of the Arabs
670:, p. 46 n. 2.
646:, p. 135–137.
529:, p. 46 n. 1.
369:Resalat Al-Ghufran
354:Another poem, the
347:
258:
1098:Khazrajite people
759:, p. 376–77.
580:, p. 367–71.
406:, see that entry.
403:Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab
391:Lāmiyyat al-‘Arab
319:Ta'abbata Sharran
244:Lamiyyat al-'Arab
194:Ta'abatta Sharran
93:Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab
73:
72:
68:Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab
16:(Redirected from
1110:
1074:
1065:
1036:
1035:. Leiden: Brill.
1024:
996:
994:
976:
970:Lamiyyatu'l Arab
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923:Critical Inquiry
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868:Brill Publishers
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437:). Similarly, a
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236:Lamiyyat al-Arab
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140:aghribat al-Arab
128:aghribat al-Arab
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1073:. London: KPI.
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795:, p. 714.
793:Nicholson 1900
785:
783:, p. 268.
773:
771:, p. 303.
761:
749:
747:, p. 368.
737:
735:, p. 375.
725:
723:, p. 372.
708:
696:
694:, p. 373.
684:
682:, p. 371.
672:
660:
648:
636:
634:, p. 369.
621:
619:, p. 395.
609:
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595:, p. 367.
582:
570:
558:
556:, p. 331.
546:
544:, p. 302.
531:
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490:
488:, p. 133.
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1048:(3): 361–90.
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858:"Al-Shanfara"
854:
850:
848:0-521-48525-8
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706:, p. 69.
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607:, p. 16.
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455:is rhymed in
454:
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441:is rhymed in
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64:Notable works
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42:
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31:
19:
1070:
1045:
1041:
1032:
1029:Sezgin, Fuat
1004:
985:(2): 45–57.
982:
978:
969:
929:(1): 88–97.
926:
922:
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837:
833:Allen, Roger
826:Contemporary
816:
803:Bibliography
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668:Mansour 2005
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162:Mufaddaliyat
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91:
76:Al-Shanfarā
75:
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67:
1103:520s deaths
1007:: 637–720.
808:Traditional
644:Sezgin 1975
605:Tuetey 1985
486:Sezgin 1975
185: [
170: [
112:Al-Shanfara
34:Al-Shanfara
18:Al-Shanfarā
1082:Categories
898:0521240158
877:9004104224
781:Allen 2005
769:Arazi 1997
704:Lyall 1918
566:Lewis 1985
542:Arazi 1997
503:Arazi 1997
473:References
374:Al-Ma'arri
124:Al-Khazraj
48:Occupation
1013:0035-869X
959:162283123
943:0093-1896
451:), and a
323:umm 'iyal
315:umm 'iyal
311:umm 'iyal
110:The name
43:c. 525 CE
1031:(1975).
1021:25208246
835:(2005).
393:and the
380:Editions
253:Lāmiyyāt
176:. These
138:and the
117:Yemenite
56:Language
951:1343463
453:fa'iyya
439:ta'iyya
425:Lamiyya
356:Fa'iyya
349:Fa'iyya
260:Ta'iyya
136:sa'alik
84:الشنفرى
1062:163382
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362:Legacy
178:akhbar
147:akhbar
120:al-Azd
99:su'luk
80:Arabic
59:Arabic
1058:JSTOR
1017:JSTOR
975:(PDF)
955:S2CID
947:JSTOR
912:[
411:Notes
275:nasib
247:, or
217:Works
189:]
174:]
1009:ISSN
939:ISSN
893:ISBN
872:ISBN
843:ISBN
337:Mina
182:Fahm
106:Life
88:Ṭāif
51:Poet
40:Died
1050:doi
987:doi
931:doi
430:lam
335:at
165:by
155:by
1084::
1056:.
1046:18
1044:.
1015:.
983:45
981:.
977:.
953:.
945:.
937:.
927:12
925:.
860:.
711:^
624:^
585:^
534:^
493:^
465:).
458:fa
444:ta
397:).
187:ar
172:ar
82::
1064:.
1052::
1023:.
995:.
989::
961:.
933::
901:.
880:.
851:.
463:ف
461:(
449:ت
447:(
435:ل
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268:(
78:(
20:)
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