Classical Arabic Stories

AN ANTHOLOGY

Edited and with an introduction

by Salma Khadra Jayyusi

C O LU M B IA U N IV E R S IT Y P R E S S
NEW YO R K

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 26 O IN T ROD UC T IO N IN TRO DUCTION } 27
even up to the nineteenth century with the beginning of the Arabic liter- Nights, where a single story often branches out before it ends. The narra-
ary renaissance, when some of the foremost pioneers of the reawakening, tive keeps an artistic balance between description and dialogue, and the
such as Nasif al-Yaziji (1800–1883) and Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq (1801–1887), dialogue unfolds in a way that exposes Ibn al-Qarih’s pedantry, preten-
wrote their share of maqamat.41 tiousness, egotism, and attachment to sensuous pleasures but also reveals
al-Maʿarri’s erudition and ironic bent. Despite the difficulty of the language
of these episodes, they preserve their charm and interest even after so
many centuries.
The Epistle of Forgiveness
Al-Maʿarri’s Epistle was followed by several more of the same genre by
The intricate and highly rhetorical Epistle of Forgiveness, by the famous other writers, the most famous of which is the Risalat al-tawabiʿwa ʾl zawabiʿ
poet Abu ʾl-ʿAlaʾ al-Maʿarri, was a riposte to a letter sent to him by a writer (Epistle of Familiar Spirits and Demons) by Ibn Shuhayd in Muslim Spain. Ibn
called ʿAli ibn al-Qarih, whose questions of heresy and faith and reaction- Shuhayd, who was younger than al-Maʿarri and died at a relatively young
ary attitude and seeming bias in his critical comments on some major liter- age, was clearly aware of the experiments in literature of the Arab east and
ary figures provoked al-Maʿarri to write his Epistle. It is a narrative on an quick to adopt them.
imaginary journey to the afterworld, in which al-Maʿarri sends Ibn al-Qarih The suggestion has often been made that The Epistle of Forgiveness may
to both Paradise and Hell, meeting and holding conversations with poets, have formed the basis of Dante’s Divina Commedia. It is astonishing that
men of letters, linguists, musicians, and narrators. Al-Maʿarri, irked and most European literary historians in investigating the history of the vari-
challenged by the pretentiousness of Ibn al-Qarih’s letter, improvised this ous nascent literatures that developed in the second millennium around
trip to the afterworld to expose Ibn al-Qarih’s flagrantly less-commendable Muslim Spain and the shores of the Mediterranean, particularly Muslim
qualifications and to show off his own vast knowledge of Arabic culture, Sicily, show no attempts whatsoever to examine the influences that must
his mastery of the Arabic language, grammar, and rhetoric, his proficiency have existed in some of the literary works in these languages; the songs of
in religious knowledge, his expertise on the khabar collections and Ara- the troubadours and the lyrical poetry in the south of Italy, especially in
bic poetry of the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, and his extensive Sicily, where Arabs ruled for over two hundred years, until the end of the
general erudition. This major work, which was a great experiment in eleventh century, are two examples. It is beyond the scope of this essay to
intellectual and linguistic virtuosity, was also a major literary venture go into the details of these influences, but surely it cannot happen that a
in that it succeeded in transforming the epistle genre into a new, distinct civilization should flourish for centuries in a certain place, achieving bril-
literary form. liant heights, and leave no influences.42 The apparent Arabic influences in
The work is narrated in the voice of al-Maʿarri. The protagonist, Ibn Spanish and other languages have been acknowledged and studied, to an
al-Qarih, moves from Paradise to Hell, then returns to Paradise, and with extent.43 The other influences of the culture have largely been overlooked
every move, several fictional episodes, often of genuine interest to the by the old guard of Western literary history.
reader, take place. The narrator follows the footsteps of the protagonist,
watching every move he makes, and monitors his conversations with the
inhabitants of the afterworld. The narrator knows everything that goes on
An Early Novel in Arabic
in the minds of all the people concerned.
This was a suitable opportunity for al-Maʿarri to voice many of his obser- The philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan, by the Andalusi philosopher Ibn
vations on the ideas and ideologies widespread in his period. In a sarcastic Tufail, is one of the treasures of classical Arabic literature. A mixture of
manner he attacks, among other things, several of the religious creeds as philosophical reflection and storytelling, it has preserved its literary and
well as the Sufis in the person of al-Hallaj. intellectual excellence throughout the centuries.
A notable characteristic of this work is its inclusion of various episodes “Hayy ibn Yaqzan is the tale of a man who grows up on an uninhabited
in each segment of the journey, each episode preserving its integrity, a island and attains the highest degree of insight, both philosophical and
great difference to the complex strategy of Kalila and Dimna and the Arabian religious, by dint of his inborn capacities, by his experiences, perceptions

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 VIII . EXCER PT S FRO M SEVEN MAJOR C LASSIC AL WORKS } 375
literary historians about these works as the primary influences that inspired
86 Dante’s Divine Comedy.1

From Abu ʾl-ʿAlaʾ al-Maʿarri, H HHHH

Risalat al-Ghufran Al-Maʿarri is speaking here of Ibn al-Qarih, now roaming the stretches of
Paradise:
And it occurred to him [our sheikh, Ibn al-Qarih], may God perpetuate
his strength, this was something that used to be called a promenade in
life on earth. Carrying with him a bottle of wine, he rode a strong and fast-
running horse of Heaven, which had been created out of corundum and
pearls in a place that is neither hot nor cold. And he went on with no par-

A
bu ʾl-ʿAlaʾal-Maʿarri (363–449 a . h .) was one of the greatest classical Arab ticular destination in mind, carrying some of the food of eternity. . . . And
poets and thinkers, and one of the few major blind poets in Arabic and then he raised his voice, chanting al-Bakri’s poetry:
world literature. He was born in Maʿarrat al-Nuʿman in what is now called
Syria, and after trying the ways of other poets, moving around and experiencing I wonder when a fast-running camel will carry me
Arab life in the fourth century a . h . (tenth century c . e .), he went back to his birth- Toward al-ʿAdhib and al-Saybun
place and lived in relative seclusion until his death at a ripe age. Aside from his With me a skin of wine, thin bread,
poetry, in which he, in his mature years, abstained from following other poets in Basil, and a piece of fish!
eulogizing princes and living on their bounty, he wrote creative prose epistles and
other intellectual, literary, and linguistic works, many of which were destroyed by
the major invasions of the Crusades and the Mongols from which the Arab Middle
East suffered greatly in medieval times.
Risalat al-Ghufran is definitely his most famous epistle, which he wrote
in answer to an epistle sent to him by a well-known man of letters at the time,
Sheikh Ahmad ibn Mansour al-Halabi, known as Ibn al-Qarih, in which Ibn al-
Qarih tried to show off his linguistic and literary knowledge, his experience and 1. Editor’s note: In my book, The Classical Arabic Story: Genres, History and Influences, ʿAbd al-
Wahid Luʾluʾa wrote at length about the close similarity of the Miʿraj story and Dante’s
travels. Al-Maʿarri, irritated by these pedantic demonstrations, wrote his Epistle
Divina Comedia. Other literary historians think that Dante was influenced by al-Maʿarri’s
of Forgiveness in response. Here in the Epistle of Forgiveness, Ibn al-Qarih is Epistle of Forgiveness, an observation also alluded to by the Catholic priest and Span-
made to go on an imaginary trip visiting both Hell and Paradise, where he meets ish scholar of Arabic Miguel Asin Palacios. In his book La Escatología musulmana en la
many well-known poets, linguists, mystics, critics, musicians, and other promi- Divina Comedia (Islamic Eschatology in the Divine Comedy), published in 1919, he drew
nent virtuosos from both the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras and has conversations parallels between the Divine Comedy and several Islamic sources he thinks greatly influ-
enced Dante, including Kitab al-Miʿraj and al-Maʿarri’s Risalat al-Ghufran. Facing a tirade
relating to various philosophical, religious, linguistic, and literary questions. In of criticism from various groups such as Italian nationalists and religious Christians, he
these imaginary exchanges where the vast knowledge of al-Maʿarri in all these retorted by giving quite a few Islamic sources he believed influenced Dante’s famous
disciplines is displayed, something even more unusual and probably unprec- poem, insisting that the widely popular Islamic story of al-Miʿraj was a basic influ-
edented in world literature is presented: the visit to Hell and Paradise. The visit ence on the Divine Comedy. The argument continues (see Philip Kennedy, “The Muslim
Sources of Dante?” in The Arab Influence in Medieval Europe, ed. Dionisius A. Agius and
to Heaven had already been made in the Miʿraj story about the Prophet’s ascen-
Richard Hitchcock [London: Ithaca Press, 1996]) and may go on until people abandon
sion to stand in the presence of God, and it must have been in al-Maʿarri’s mind national and religious fanaticism and realize that intercultural connections and bor-
when he wrote his epistle. There have been quite a few strong arguments among rowings have existed throughout literary history and will continue.

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...
In Heaven with al-Aʿsha
A prophet who sees what you cannot see
(Al-Aʿsha was a great, half blind, pre-Islamic poet.) His fame has spread in all directions.’”
And then a voice called, “Do you know, O forgiven slave of God, whose
poetry this is?” Then al-Aʿsha said, “I told ʿAli, may God complement the pleasure of
“Oh, yes,” the sheikh answered, “our knowledgeable people had related . . . gatherings with his presence, knowing what has been said in this poem . . .
that this poetry belonged to Maymun ibn Qays ibn Jandal of Bani Rabiʿah.” that I used to believe in God and Judgment Day and in resurrection even
And the man raised his voice, “But that’s me, I’m that man! God had been when I lived in pre-Islamic times.”
merciful with me after I was at the brink of Hell, desperate of being forgiven.”
And our sheikh looked happily and satisfied when he saw a fair, relaxed H HHHH
young man, whose weak eyes had turned attractive and his hunchback
straight, and he said to him, “Do tell me, how was your escape from Hell, And ʿAli went to the Prophet and told him, ‘Messenger of God, Aʿsha Qais
and your rescue from your shameful deeds?” had eulogized you and attested that you were a prophet sent by God.’
“The angels of punishment,” he said, “were pulling me toward Hell, And the Prophet asked, ‘Couldn’t he have come to me in the previous
when I saw a man standing in the yards of doomsday, with a face that glit- world?’
tered like a moon, while people were calling him from all directions, ‘O, And ʿAli said, ‘He did, but his love of wine and [your tribe of] Quraish
Muhammad, O, Muhammad, your mediation, please, your mediation!’ And stopped him.’
I shouted while still in the clutches of the punishing angels, ‘O, Muhammad, “So, on ʿAli’s intercession, I was allowed to enter Paradise on the con-
O, Muhammad, save me, for I have an immunity with you!’ And Muhammad dition that I would not drink any wine there. And I was happy and con-
said, ‘O, ʿAli, see what immunity he has!’ And ʿAli ibn Abi Taleb, may God tent, and found an alternative in honey and milk. All those who did not
bless him, came to me while I was being pulled into the abyss of Hell, and abstain from wine in the mocking world, cannot drink it in the eternal
he stopped the angels of punishment and said to me, ‘What’s your immu- world.”
nity?’ And I said, ‘I’m the poet who said:

O, you who ask me, ‘Where’s your camel heading to?’

With Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
She has a date in Yathrib,2
I’ve decided not to pity her exhaustion (Zuhair was a great pre-Islamic poet famous for his wisdom. He lived a long
Nor the blisters of her feet life and wrote memorable verses on the ennui of long living and on pre-
until we meet with Muhammad. Islamic ethics.)
When you halt at the door of Ibn Hashim,3 And the sheikh looked around in the orchards of Heaven and saw two
You’ll have rest and you’ll gain his blessings. high palaces, and thought, “Let me go to these two palaces and ask whom
... they belong to.” As he approached, he saw written on one of them: “This
If you depart [this life] without a store of piety palace belongs to Zuhayr ibn Abu Sulma al-Muzni,” and on the other, “This
While seeing after death those who have done, palace belongs to ʿUbayd ibn al-Abras al-Asadi.” And he wondered and said
You’ll regret you are not like them to himself, “Those two men died during al-Jahiliyya [pre-Islamic time], but
And not safeguarding what they safeguarded. the mercy of our Lord must have included them. I must try to see these
two men and ask them how God has forgiven them.” And as he started with
2. Yathrib, now called Medina, where the Prophet was at the time of al-Aʿsha’s intended
Zuhayr, and found before him a young man like a flower who had been
visit. granted a palace built of pearls, as if he had never grown very old and fed
3. The Prophet’s tribe. up with his long life, as if it was not he who had said:

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 378 O V I II . EXCERPT S FROM SEVEN MAJ OR C LASSI CA L WOR KS VII I . EXCERPTS FROM SEVEN MA JOR CLASSIC AL WORKS } 379
I’m fed up with the exigencies of life Sakhr is one whom guides ask for guidance
For he who lives eighty years will surely be bored. Like a mountain with fire on its peak.”

And as if it was not he who had said:

With al-Hutaiʾa
Don’t you see I’m already ninety years plus ten plus seven?
(Al-Hutaiʾa was a well-known Umayyad poet who was famous for satirical poetry
And [our sheikh] asked him, “Are you Abu-Kaʿb?” And when he answered even against himself, as the two lines below show.)
yes, [our sheikh], may God perpetuate his dignity, asked, “How were you Our sheikh, may God make him happy on all of his paths, went on until,
forgiven, in spite of the fact that you lived during the time of disobedience at the very far end of Heaven, he reached what looked like a tiny house of
when people had no guardian and were unguided to do good deeds?” a female slave shepherdess. Inside was a man who did not have the bright
And [Zuhayr] answered, “I had an aversion to bad behavior, and I met a appearance of the people of Heaven. . . . And he said to him, “O, slave of God,
forgiving Lord. I had faith in God Almighty, and I saw in a dream a rope dan- are you satisfied with the least of property?”
gling from Heaven. Those inhabitants of earth who got hold of it were safe. “By God,” the man answered, “I couldn’t obtain it except after great
And I knew it was the command of God. So I told my sons at my deathbed, tumult, sweating, and distress, until Quraish mediated for me. I am
‘Should someone call you to worship God, you must obey him.’ Had I been al-Hutaiʾa ʾl-ʿAbsi.”
alive at the time of Muhammad, I would have been the first believer. In my And then our sheikh asked him, “What made them mediate for you?”
poem, at the time of al-Jahilyya and atheism, I said: “It was because I spoke the truth,” the man answered.
“In what?” our sheikh asked.
Do not hide what lurks inside your souls “In the following lines of verse:
For God will verily know it.
It may be postponed for a time, but is recorded My lips today insisted on uttering ridicule
For reckoning on doomsday, and punishment may come fast and But I did not know whom I should satirize.
hard.” I see my face that God has created ugly
Fie, how ugly it is, and how ugly is its bearer.”

And our sheikh said, “Were you not granted forgiveness for your follow-
Al-Khansaʾ and Her Brother Sakhr
ing verse?”
(Al-Khansaʾ was the most famous woman poet in classical Arabic literature, who
lived part of her life before the advent of Islam and the other part after Islam. She He who makes good won’t miss its good consequences
was famous for her elegies on her brother, Sakhr, who was killed in battle before Benefaction won’t be lost between God and men.
Islam. One of the most famous was her description of him as a mountain whose top
is afire. This last image has lived in Arab memory up until now and is used even And al-Hutaiʾa answered, “Other good people have preceded me with
in conversation.) something similar. Moreover, I said this, but did not follow it; therefore, I
At the far end of heaven, [our sheikh] found a woman standing near the was not given credit for it.”
exit to Hell. And he said to her, “Who are you?”
“I’m al-Khansaʾ al-Salamiyya,” she answered. “I wanted to have a look
at Sakhr, and I saw him tall like a mountain with fire burning around his
head. He said to me, ‘What you said about me was right!’ referring to my
description of him:

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 380 O V I I I. EXC ERPT S F RO M SEV E N M AJ OR C LA SSI CAL WO RKS VI II. EXC ERPTS FRO M SEV EN M AJO R C LASSIC AL WOR KS } 381
some of your poetry and ask God’s mercy for you, hoping that you’d repent.
Iblis and Bashar ibn Burd
Your following verses are one example:
(Bashar ibn Burd was a famous poet of Persian origins who lived in both the
Umayyad and the Abbasid eras. He was blind and impudently sharp-tongued.) Go back to where you’ll find peace and harmony
Our sheikh looked and saw Iblis, may God damn him, chained with fet- Time has gone by and you are lonely still,
ters and pulled by the angels of punishment. And our sheikh said, “Thank You hope for tomorrow, but tomorrow is like
God who has taken you, O enemy of God and His holy men! Of the sons of An expectant woman,
Adam, you have ruined such a great number that only God might know.” No one can predict what child she’ll beget.
And Iblis asked, “Who’s this man?”

H
And our sheikh said, “My name is so and so. I come from Aleppo, and I
was a man of letters, with good connections to kings.” HHHH H H HHHH
“What a bad profession!” Iblis said. “It only produces a tiny income that
is not enough for a family. So many people, like you, have been ruined by it. Translated by Bassam Abou-Ghazalah
Congratulations on being safe. . . . Do tell me, though, how come you were
forbidden to drink wine in your worldly life, but are allowed to here, in the
afterworld? And do the people of Paradise do with the everlasting boys like
the people of Lot?”
Angrily, the sheikh answered, “May God curse you! Aren’t you busy with
your suffering now? Haven’t you heard God say [in the Quran]:

They have in it [Paradise]

Immaculate mates, and in it they are everlasting.

“Well, Bashar ibn Burd, unlike other humans, was good to me; I owe him
a favor that I owe nobody else among Adam’s children, for he said,

Iblis is better than your father, Adam

Be aware of that, you gang of evildoers.
Fire is his element, while Adam is of clay
And clay cannot be superior to fire!

“He said the truth,” commented our sheikh, “yet the man is still hated.”
No sooner did our sheikh say that, than a man among the punished lot
appeared. He would close his eyes so as not to see the revenge that was
applied to him, but the punishing angels would force open his eyes with
a pair of tongs made of fire. It was Bashar ibn Burd, given two eyes after
his blindness, so that he would be able to see his own punishment. And
our sheikh, may God keep him in high status, said to him, “O, Abu-Muʿadh,
you were good in that you wrote well, but bad in belief. I used to remember

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