Abu'l Fatḥ al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār ibn al-Ḥaṣīna al-Sulamī () better known as Ibn Abī Ḥaṣīna (also spelled ''Ibn Abī Ḥuṣayna''; 998–22 July 1065), was an 11th-century
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
poet, who specialized in
panegyrics. He benefited from the patronage of the
Mirdasid dynasty
The Mirdasid dynasty ( ar, المرداسيون, al-Mirdāsiyyīn), also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) more or less continuously f ...
, whose
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
s (princes) he frequently praised in his poetry. His works were published as ''Diwan Ibn Abi Hasina'' in 1956.
Biography
Ibn Abi Hasina was born in
Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in 998 and belonged to the
Banu Sulaym
The Banu Sulaym ( ar, بنو سليم) is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Is ...
, a large and geographically widespread
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribe, hence his epithet ''al-Sulamī''.
[Rikabi, p. 686.] He received much of his early education in his hometown, which at the time was a cultural center.
In circa 1019, he met
Thimal ibn Salih, the son of the
Mirdasid leader
Salih ibn Mirdas
Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas ( ar, ابو علي صالح بن مرداس, Abū ʿAlī Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās), also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of ...
, in the town of
al-Rahba
Al-Rahba (/ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Maya ...
.
[Zakkar, p. 91.] He dedicated a poem to Thimal during that encounter and in 1022,
which exhibited his poetic skills and attracted the Mirdasids' favor.
When the latter established their state in
Aleppo
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...
in 1024–1025, Ibn Abi Hasina took residence there and came under Mirdasid patronage. He devoted numerous poems praising their virtues and conquests.
In 1045, Ibn Abi Hasina was sent by Thimal, then emir of Aleppo, to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
on a diplomatic mission to the
Fatimid caliph,
al-Mustansir.
Ibn Abi Hasina wrote al-Mustansir a panegyric and was granted a noble title, making him an ''amir'' (prince).
He later visited
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
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, ...
and wrote poems praising its beauty and dedicating a
eulogy to the city's ''
qadi
A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
'' (head Islamic judge), Hamza ibn al-Husayn.
Throughout his life, Ibn Abi Hasina remained loyal to the Mirdasids.
He died in
Saruj on 22 July 1065.
Poetry
Ibn Abi Hasina specialized in the
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
, which accounted for most of his literary work.
According to historian J. Rikabi, Ibn Abi Hasina "was distinguished by the quality of his language, his themes remaining the traditional ones".
In his panegyrics to the Mirdasid emirs, he extolled their generosity, bravery, martial skills and noble ancestry, all virtues honored in
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
culture.
However, he also wrote romantic and
elegiac poetry.
He often sent his poetry to his contemporary and hometown friend,
al-Ma'arri, for the latter's commentary.
Ibn Abi Hasina's ''
diwan'' (poetry collection) was published in Damascus in 1956 by Muhammad As'ad Talas.
The ''diwan'' consisted of two volumes, the first containing Ibn Abi Hasina's poems, the second containing commentary by al-Ma'arri.
Among the poems attributed to Ibn Abi Hasina is the following verse:
When we stopped to say a mutual farewell,
and whilst her heart and mine were overflowing with passion and with love,
she wept liquid pearls;
my eyelids let fall cornelian
Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often use ...
s,
and both formed a necklace on her bosom.
— Excerpt from a love poem attributed by historian Ibn Khallikan
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān) ( ar, أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 1211 – 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a 13th century Shafi'i Islamic scholar w ...
(d. 1282) to Ibn Abi Hasina, whom he describes as a "poet of some reputation".
References
Bibliography
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998 births
1065 deaths
11th-century Arabic poets
Banu Sulaym
Mirdasid emirate of Aleppo
Muslim panegyrists
People from Maarat al-Numan