The Early Development of Islamic Religious Poetry

Author(s): Gustave von Grunebaum

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar., 1940), pp. 23-29
Published by: American Oriental Society
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THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS
POETRY'
GUSTAVEvON GRUNEBAUM
SCHOOLFORIRANIAN STUDIES

LIKE CHRISTENDOM,Islam did not inspire at the outset any

religious poetry. This is remarkable because Islam had from the
beginning a firm grip on every province of Arabic culture. More-
over, while Christianity found itself involved for centuries in a
struggle for its very existence, Islam, after a decade of compara-
tively mild persecution, got the better of its adversaries and was
free to develop according to its tendencies.
Modern investigation if interested at all in the literary aspect of
Early Islam, has been prevented from recognizing this deficiency
because of the considerable number of political poems of which the
wording obscures the non-religious sentiment.2 The point is that
political manifestos, polemics, and apologetics involve by their very
nature the technical terms of the group whose aims are proclaimed
or contested. If these slogans happen to be religiously colored,
their use does not become a symptom of the growth of religious
poetry; and this is equally true of the praise conferred on the
prophet, enumerating his spiritual attributes and his temporal
achievements, if it is done in the same mechanical way in which
more worldly epithets were used when the poet was confronted with
his ordinary task of hailing a generous grandseigneur.
On the other hand, it is evident that about 180 years later, Islam
had laid the foundations of a religious poetry which remained
productive for several centuries, often attaining a high degree of
beauty. Since we are concerned on this occasion with establishing
the historical data of the process, it suffices to touch upon the
gradual spiritualization of Islam during its first 200 years, and upon
}This preliminary survey is based on a paper read at the 151st meeting
of the American Oriental Society at Baltimore, Md., April 1939.
2Cf. the views held by Omar A. Farrukh, Das Bild des Frilhislam in
der arabischen Dichtung von der Higjra bis zum Tode des Kalifen 'Umar
(1937), and by M. Rahatullah Khan, Vom Einfluss des Qur'ans auf die
arabische Dichtung (1938). See also the reviews of the writer, WZKM 45.
292 ff, and Orientalia 9. 179 ff.
23

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24 Gustave von Grunebacuim

the ever stronger hold that it obtained on the souls of its adherents.
The noted hostility, however, that Muhammad exhibited towards
poets and poetry in general can not be accounted a decisive cause
in this respect, since there is no doubt that he sponsored poetry
whenever it seemed to further his plans.3
It is true that during Muhammad's lifetime we can trace some
stray verses, mostly Rajaz, of which the genesis is due to a purely
religious emotion; 4 but they were not accepted as models by the
community. Arabic literary theory never has included religious
elements among the recognized motives, although most of the out-
standing critics were acquainted with at least three eminent divisions
of religious poetry: the panegyric of the Prophet as represented by
the so-called Burda-Qasidas from Ka'b b. Zuhair to al-Biisirl; the
lyrics of the mystics; and the Zuhdiyyctt, the expression of an
ascetic and pessimistic sentiment. By the end of the eighth century
A. D., however, religious thinking and feeling had pervaded the
mind of the average Muslim to such an extent that it found its way
into poetry without being considered an innovation. When, in 786,
ldru-n ar-Rashid ascends the throne, the change becomes visible for
the first time. Suddenly historical statements imply theological
aspects, religious emotion is noticeable throughout, and Islamic
phraseology invades poetry much more effectively than it had done
before.5 All poets of any standing are dominated by this movement
as was any dilettante when trying his hand at a casual poem.
The chief argument that Muhlammad adopted against the poets, the
contradiction between their words and their deeds (Sfira 26. 226), implies
the same confusion between aesthetic creation and reality as is shown, for
instance, in the famous judgment which Umm Jundub, one century be-
fore the prophet, is said to have pronounced on the value of some verses of
Imru'ulqais and 'Alqama. She awarded the prize to the latter be-
cause the horse which he had described was the better one, and not on ac-
count of any alleged artistic superiority. (E. g. Aghani 7. 128 and 21.
173 f. De Slane, Le Diwan d' Amro'lkais (1837), 79 f., in his detailed ac-
count of the poetical competition fails to consider the asthetical point in-
volved.) We must not blame Muhammad for the inadequacy of his ideas
since even Greek criticism in the late 5th century B. C. was either unwilling
or unable to distinguish between a poet's personal opinions and those held
by his characters. For details cf. E. E. Sikes, The Greek View of Poetry
(1931), especially pp. 32 and 52.
4 E. g. Tabarl 1 1477 and, slightly altered, 1478. The lines are frequently
quoted.
6 See e. g., Tabarl 3. 605 ff. and some of the verses of Abu NuwAs in praise

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 Islamic Religious Poetry 25

The task of identifying the antecedents of this movement pre-

supposes the solution of the preliminary problem of estimating the
available sources. There are three classes of sources to be taken
into consideration. The diwns of the strictly literary poets may
reflect the deep cultural change in the minds of their audience.
The second group can not be separated entirely from the first, as
many poems of the first category originated in much the same way
as did the songs occasioned by political events in the hearts of non-
professional minstrels, who acted at the same time as journalists,
diplomats, demagogues, or government speakers. The verses of this
class are the more symptomatic as they are mostly spontaneous
creations, only vaguely dependent upon the rigorous tradition of
classical poetry.
This is even more true of the third group of sources. Ever since
there has been an elaborate literary style through which certain
aesthetic views materialized into the standard poetry of the day,
there has existed also a more popular type of writing; it was
influenced, of course, by the high tradition, but remained outside
it, meeting the needs of the man in the street which canonized
literature fails to fulfill. This does not mean folksongs but rather
the numerous products that for some reason or other do not attain
completely the level of literature. In Arabic, examples of this type
are usually ascribed to apocryphal authors with high-sounding
names, including every popular hero from Adam himself to the
Caliph 'All. Occidental research has until now been content to
establish the obvious fact of their spuriousness, and has overlooked
their significance, dismissing them without an attempt to utilize
them for literary history. Naturally, it would be sheer waste of
time if anybody should endeavor to draw their exact genealogical
lineage; on the other hand, it is indispensable to establish as closely
as possible the time of their origin, since these undercurrents not
only help to explain some of the phenomena which regular literature
exhibits, but constitute an important part of cultural history.6
In spite of our still defective knowledge of the sources, two
fundamental facts can already be established: first, there is internal
of HErdn, such as p. 59 1. 3; 60. 6; 62. 5, 6; 63, 3 of the edition Cairo,
1898.
6 For representatives of the type see, e. g., Mastdli, Murij 1. 65 ff.; 3. 104,
114; al-IsbahAni, Dala'il an-nubuwwa 22, 210.

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26 Gustave von Grunebaum

evidence for the existence of this kind of poems, mostly narrative,

which seem to gratify the desire for epic descriptions of Arabic
prehistory and early Islamic history, about 100 A. H., to adopt
cautiously the latest possible term. The second result is a principle
valid for any literature: the new poetry rose rather slowly from the
third to the second, and from the second to the first class of
poetical documents, reflecting the increasing resistance against in-
novations of those poetical forms which were solidified by tradition.
It takes the historical improvisation about twenty years to allow the
same infiltration with religious sentiment that is perceptible, for
instance, in the verses recited by a demoniacal voice to announce
his death to the Caliph al-Mans, r in 775.7 Whereas the panegyrics
and comments on the events after the inauguration of the Caliph
al-Hadld,in 785, are imbued with religious spirit,8 it takes standard
literature another dozen years to produce its first outstanding work
of an exclusively religious trend, the Zuhdiyylatof Abil 'l-'Atdhiya.
After the preliminary survey of the sources the outlines of the
development may be sketched as follows: the decline of poetical
religious utterances-as opposed to prose apophthegms which en-
joyed constant growth-after the dirges for the Prophet had stop-
ped,9 is proof enough of the weakness of the poetic impetus in
Muhammad'slifetime. The next generation abstained from expres-
sing in poetry its religious feeling, and the curious silence in this
respect is broken only by some attempts at versifying the creed, and
declaring personal allegiance to the community of believers. The
situation changes as a result of the Civil Wars which brought about
the secession of the Hirijites and the murder of 'All. Whereas the
puritans and ascetics of the preceding generation, including the
extremist wing of the bu~kka',10 never dreamt of literary manifes-
tations of this kind, some of their spiritual successors, the ijiArijites,
felt no inhibition against presenting their conviction as well as their
religious and moral sentiments in poetical form.1 Their tendency
7Tabarl 3. 450.
8 For specimens of the style cf. e. g., Aghani
12. 105; Tabarl 3. 549 and
Mastud! 6. 283.
loc.
9DEven Rahatullah, whose outlook is quite different notes the fact,
cit. 23 f.
10 On their position see the writer's remarks WZKM 44. 47 f.
" Cf., e. g., the poems Tabarl 2. 19 and 2. 36 (the latter particularly
and the
beautiful), the verses MasTuidI 4. 435, Nbldeke, Delectus 88 ff.,

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 Islamic Religious Poetry 27

was followed by a few enthusiasts, nearly all of whom were suspect

as to the orthodoxy of their views. Most of them showed Shitite
leanings, like Ibn Qais ar-Ruqayydt,Kutayyir tAzza, and al-Kumait.
In addition to statements of political rather than religious import,
the verses in question are characterized by allusions to Islamic
customs, by the coining of adages in the Prophet's spirit, and by
quotations from, or hints at, Qur'anic revelations.12 At the same
time another current becomes visible, and this is especially evident
in the work of the semi-lijrijite poet at-Tirimmah: 13 an anti-
quarian interest in heathen Arabia, expressed by the introduction
into his QasIdas of obsolete ideas that do not belong to the tradi-
tional stock of motives, such as idols and sacrificial stones.14
Sometimes we even encounter an inclination to put into verse
memorable facts of the earliest history of Islam, generally in con-
nection with praise conferred on people claiming spiritual leader-
ship whose ancestors had taken part in the events mentioned.15
The most interesting fact about this literary epoch is, however,
that these same poets introduce religious phraseology and religious
images into the amatory ode: 16 the coy girl is threatened with the
divine punishment for the murder she commits; 17 the beloved one
represents paradise on earth; 18 she even incites the poet to the
respective part of al-Mubarrad's Kamil. For anti-harijitic utterances see,
e. g., Ibn Qais ar-Ruqayyat (ed. Rhodokanakis) 66. 3 and Tabarl 2. 1021.
12 Cf. Krenkow p. XXII of the introduction to his edition of atl-Tirim-
mah.'s poems.
13 Qur'Anic legends, e. g., Ibn Qais ar-Ruqayyat App. 21, 1-3; al-Qutami
(ed. Barth) 23. 24-27 and 29. 38 ff. The influence of Qur'anic wording is
traceable, e.g., Tabarl 1. 30117, 3062, 314214; 2. 1495.6 (and passim), Ibn
Qais ar-Ruqayyat 15. 14; 39. 26; 61. 19; al-Qutaml 29. 21; 33. 46, 50;
Kutayyir 'Azza (ed. P*6res) 4. 5; 81. 5; Abuf 'l-Aswad ad-Du'al! ZDMG
18. 235, 236 and 238; 'Umar b. abi Rabl'a (ed. Schwarz) 22. 8. The Fihrist,
p. 70, mentions a Kitab sariqat al-Kumait min al-Qur'an, to which Horo-
vitz, Hdaimijjdt, Einleitung XIX, refers.
14 Cf. at-Tirimmdh. 4. 36; 5. 54; 47. 36; 49. 1-3 and Tabarl 2. 48515.

15 Tabar! 2. 664 (Badr), 1226 (Quraiza and Nadir), Mas'ftdi 4. 188

(Sajah), at.-Tirimmah 11. 1-3 Sajah-Musailima); Ibn Qais ar-Ruqayyat
39. 36-39 (Suhail b. 'Amr).
16 For 'Umar b. abi Rabl'a (and two of his contemporaries), whose verses
exhibit the same phenomenon, Paul Schwarz, Der Diwan des 'Umar b. abi
Rebi'a, 4. Heft (1909) 28 ff. has collected part of the evidence. 'Umar can
not be classed, however, with the afore mentioned poets.
17 Ibn Qais ar-Ruqayyat 52. 4. 18 Kutayyir 'Azza 8. 7, 8.

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28 Gustave von Grunebaum

blasphemous statement that he would join her apostasy whenever

she decided to turn to idolatry.1' The technical language of the
erotic poems is definitely enriched and even changed by the new
style.20 This style is not to be taken too seriously, but it would be
misunderstood if interpreted as sheer playfulness. The usual setting
of love-making is sometimes left for a meeting during the pil-
grimage, and some of these passages display much grace.21 In this
way love poetry proved its vigor by incorporating adaptable elements
into its inherited form, helped, it is true, to a degree by the
independent development of the Qit.a, the so-called fragment, that
took place in this epoch. Again it is significant that religious
poetry proper did not avail itself of this easy scheme for its own
ends.22
It is strange to see that the first decades of the 'Abbdsid empire
were practically empty of even casual religious poetry, much more
so than the last years of the regime that the 'Abbasids supplanted.
We may infer, however, from Abu Dulkma's frivolities,23 and the
philosophical and anti-Islamic statements of outspoken heretics such
as Bashshir b. Burd or Mutl' b. Iyds and his circle 24 that the habit
of poetical expression of religious tenets and feelings had spread
widely.
And then, all of a sudden, coinciding with the maturity of the
first generation which had been brought up under the officially pious

19 Cf. Ibn Qais 55. 7 and 'Umar 76. 10 (and Schwarz, loc. cit. 30).
20 Cf., e. g., the idea of (amorous) sin: itm or danb Kutayyir 4. 3; 'Umar
96. 3; 104. 12, 14 and passim.
21 Cf., e. g., Ibn Qais 34. 2; Kutayyir 4. 6, 7; 9. 5; 25. 7-9; note especially
al-Quliaif al-'Uqail! (ed. Krenkow) 20. 1-6 (JJRAS 1913, pp. 363 f.).
22 Tradition records a few Qit'as of mystical inspiration that belong to
the eighth century A. D. Cf., e. g., the couplets of RAbi'a (717-801) in
Margaret Smith, Rdbi'a the Mystic (1928) 98 and 102 f., and the verses
quoted by ash-ShAdill (E. J. Jurji, Illumination in Islamic Mysticism
(1938), 49 and 62, and assigned by Margaret Smith, The Moslem World
29 (1939) 190 to early authors.
23 Cf. poems 20, 21, 34, 35, 49. 3-5 and 50 in Mohammed ben Cheneb's

edition, Alger, 1922. The editor has some good examples for the development
of that poetical attitude on pp. 111 ff. See also Muslim b. al-Walid (ed. de
Goeje) 3. 22.
24 See Georges Vajda, " Les zindiqs en pays d'Islam au d*Tbutde la p~riode

abbaside," RSO 17. 173 ff. This paper contains some interesting informa-
tion on Abfi 'l-'Atahiya as well.

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 Islamic Religious Poetry 29

'Abbiisid government, the verses accompanying and glossing his-

torical events are imbued with a thoroughly theological view of
history. The will of God is incessantly discovered in every turn of
affairs, the door to prayer is thrown open, and religion not only
interferes deeply with all worldly matters, but is expressly ack-
nowledged to do so by the poetical commentators on contemporary
events.
Inspired by the same views and guided by the more austere aspect
of Islamic morals, Ab-d 'l-'Atdhiya finally gives religion its due
place within his work. He had had forerunners in his stern and
quiet pessimism,25but no one had attained his perfection; what is
still more important, no one had made religion the center of his
poetical endeavors. That is why he deserves to be mentioned, for
he marks a point of transition. Since the stream of religious poetry
never again dried up, he may justly be considered an anticipation
of the future as well.

5 See, e. g., Brockelmann, GAL, Supplement 1. 99 on Sdbiq ar-Raqql.

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