Abstract
Islamic poetry duals are
an art form that extends back its roots to the Hija'a poetry movement during
the pre-Islamic period. These poems have a shared scale, rhyme and narration; each two contrasting
poems are made with the same rhyme and scale as though they are one poem except
the differences in meanings and whims of the two poets. This study emerged in
attempting to artistically frame the 'duals' in Islamic poetry and their
specific characteristics. The initial research conducted for this study
provided us with a general set of conditions and requirements for this specific
type of poem as well as a close examination of its beginnings during the
pre-Islamic times. The religious, social and political motivations were the
driving forces behind the establishment of the Islamic poetry duals.
The early Islamic era witnessed
a large collection of poetry which was concurrent with the religious conflict
between Muslims and heathens, as well as the political conflict between Muslims
within themselves. The Islamic poetry duals were one of the most
influential poems during that period; they became widely popular during the
Islamic conquests.
The initial seed for this type
of poem was planted, watered and nourished during the pre-Islamic era. It
gradually grew to appear on the surface when it was adopted by many poets and
had a real presence since those times of war. The wars during that period,
namely, the Besus war; the Dahis and Ghabra'a war; and Alaws and Khazraj war
were all fuel to this type of poetry as it became well known after surfacing.
The two poets, Hassan b. Thabit Alansary and Ka'ab b. Malik Alansary were able
to carry the weight of this form of Islamic poetry on their shoulders, along
with a group of other less known poets who never attained the same level of
fame or mastery in all fields. The poetic war intensity heated between the
pro-Islamic poets on one side and the heathen poets on the other. This poetic
war was as rigorous and heated as the real war between the two sides.
This is where the study emerged
in a serious attempt to discover the nature of the Islamic poetry Duals
and their images. In the first chapter, I address the origin, evolution,
artistic methods, as well as the Islamic conquests and other factors. In the
second chapter, I further explore the artistic characteristics of the Islamic
poetry Duals.
Key words: Poetry,
Duals, Islamic literature, Early Islamic Era, Hassan b. Thabit, Ka'ab b. Malik.
Structured Abstract
This style, which was
used in the defense of religious, political or social issues among the tribes
during the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance, was benefited as an effective
weapon in the religious struggle during the Sadr al-Islam period when the
Prophet began to explain and spread the Islam. Hassan b. Sâbit, Ka‘b b. Malik
and Abdullah b. Reveha were the sharp swords that defended Islam with their
strengths. However, the poets including Abdullah b. Zuba‘râ and Dırâr b. Like
al-Khattab were infidels who attack Islam and its values.
In Arabic poetry,
al-Naqa’id is a style that was seen in
the period of ignorance and took place between Muslim poets and polytheist
poets after Islam came. Polytheist poets used humiliating expressions on issues
related to the Prophet and Muslims; Islam, Allah. On the other hand, Muslim
poets defended these issues by expressing the greatness of these concepts. The
Prophet always encouraged Hassan b. Sâbit, Ka‘b b. Malik and Abdullah b. Revaha
to sing poetry on this subject.
The most prominent
features of al-Naqa’id poems are that they cover satire and the second poet, as
the defender, has common features in terms of rhyme, meter, and subject with
the first poet in attacking position. In addition, the second poet tries to
provide strong evidence that the first poet does not tell the truth. While
defending this, he defies the other poet and his supporters and praises his own
followers. In doing so, they use separation, modification, orientation, and
denial. The poet prides himself on his tribe in al-Naqa’id poetry, praises
himself, criticizes the other side and then starts praising himself and his
tribe again.
One of the most common
occasions of al-Naqa’id poems is the Battles such as Badr, Uhud, and Khandaq,
which took place between Muslims and infidels. Muslim poets used expressions of
joy and good news for martyrs, stating that they went to the holy places and
would be in heaven. However, as for those who died of the infidels, they were
in hell and insulted them. As for infidel poets, they cried for death of their
supporters and vowed revenge.
The content is the
same in the poetry of the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance and Islamic period.
However, when we look at the content of Islamic poets, we see that they differ
from each other. Some look at the remnants of a lover who deserted the poet and
make up the introductory part of classical poetry, and begin their poetry with
sadness, and then pass to satire, which is the main subject. While this entry
is long in its classical form in some poets, in others it is kept shorter with
the intention to keep it short. Some, without making an introduction to the
subject directly start the satire. The poems that started without the classical
introduction are the poems that were sung during the war. The last couplet, in
terms of its summative features, includes the issue of infidelity of the
infidels and their renouncing their infidelity and accepting Islam. Islamic
period al-Naqa’id poems are composed of short poems that do not exceed 25
couplets in terms of number of couplets.
There are 3 main
factors that make up the style of a literary work. These are as follows: the
personality of the literary person, the content of the work and the period in
which the work takes place. Muslim poets used verses from the Holy Quran and
hadiths from the Prophet to support their ideas in their al-Naqa’id poems of
the Islamic era. The language used in poetry is different in wartime and
peacetime. In wartime, a strong language was used under the influence of war.
However, in peacetime, a simple and soft language was used.
Poets sometimes
benefited from repeating words to make their words more effective. For example,
Hasan b. Sâbit used the words (هجوتَ) and
(تهجو) a
lot when talking about Abu Sufyan's satirizing the Prophet. They also used
literary arts such as pun to add even to the words even stronger.
Imagination is an
important aspect of poetry because it is one of the artistic ways in which
poets express their ideas and clarify them to bring their meaning closer and
impress the audience. The poetic image is in solidarity with passion and
imagination and cannot be photographed apart from the other two basic elements
or otherwise can lose its spirit and power. The imagination is comprised of
elements such as desert, desert animals, rain, etc.
Musicality is more
important than other elements in catching the style in poetry and making the
pieces in poetry a whole. The contribution of rhyme and literary arts to get
this musicality is of great importance. The musicality in the al-Naqa’id poems
of Islamic poets differs slightly from the poems of the pre-Islamic period of
ignorance. The poems of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance praise themselves
or their tribes, while Islamic poets praise Islamic values.
Due to the lack of
al-Naqa’id poetry books and sources related to the Islamic period, the
differences between meter and rhyme could not be studied in a broader sense.
However, within the framework of our data, it can be claimed that prosody meter
is the most used meter. This meter is followed by Kamil Vâfir and serî‘.
As a
result, al-Naqa’id poems in the Islamic period are the most commonly used poems
by Muslims in defending Islam and inviting to Islam. The style of ignorance
poetry was used as a style, it begins sometimes with an introduction, and
sometimes it passes to the subject without introduction. The language and style
used in war and peace situations are different from each other.
