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Al-Ḥaẓīrī
Abū al-Maʿālī Saʿd ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥaẓīrī, often known as Dallāl al-kutub ('the Book Merchant') (fl. twelfth century CE), was a book-merchant, scribe and littérateur from Iraq. He is noted for composing the first known Arabic text entirely devoted to riddles, the ''Kitāb al-iʿjāz fī l-aḥājī wa-l-alghāz'' (Inimitable Book on Quizzes and Riddles). Life Al-Ḥaẓīrī's epithet records his birthplace, the village of al-Ḥaẓīra, to the north of Baghdad. He moved to Baghdad early in his life.Nefeli Papoutsakis, 'Abū l-Maʿālī al-Ḥaẓīrī (d. 568/1172) and his ''Inimitable Book on Quizzes and Riddles''', ''Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes'', 109 (2019), 251–69. There he came to establish a bookshop at Bāb Badr in Baghdad's book market, which became such a nodal point in the intellectual life of the city that it became the setting for ''al-Maqāma al-Baġdādiyya'' by al-Wahrānī (d. 575/1179); this work speaks of 'the shop of the she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Ma'arri
Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, ,(December 973May 1057), also known by his Latin name Abulola Moarrensis; was an Arab philosopher, poet, and writer from Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria. Because of his irreligious worldview, he is known as one of the "foremost atheists" of his time. Born in the city of al-Ma'arra (present-day Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria) during the later Abbasid era, he became blind at a young age from smallpox but nonetheless studied in nearby Aleppo, then in Tripoli and Antioch. Producing popular poems in Baghdad, he refused to sell his texts. In 1010, he returned to Syria after his mother began declining in health, and continued writing which gained him local respect. Described as a " pessimistic freethinker", al-Ma'arri was a controversial rationalist of his time, rejecting superstition and dogmatism. His written works exhibit a fixation on the study of language and its historical development, known as philology.Lloyd Ridgeon (2003), ''Major World Religions: From The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abū Al-ʿAbbās Aḍ-Ḍabbī
Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Ḍabbī (, fl. c. 1000) was a protege of Ṣāḥib ibn ʿAbbād (a Persian scholar and statesman, grand vizier to the Buyid rulers of Ray 976–95 CE). Al-Ḍabbī is noted today for his poetry. ''Inter alia'', he composed the book ''Kitāb al-Armāz fī l-alġāz''. Although it is now lost, it may have been the first book of riddles in Arabic; nine poems survive from it in the ''Kitāb al-iʿjāz fī l-aḥājī wa-l-alghāz bi-rasm al-amīr Qaymāz'' (Inimitable Book on Quizzes and Riddles, Composed for the Emir Qaymāz) composed during the reign of Caliph al-Muqtafī (1136–60CE) by Abū al-Maʿālī Saʿd ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥaẓīrī Abū al-Maʿālī Saʿd ibn ʿAlī al-Ḥaẓīrī, often known as Dallāl al-kutub ('the Book Merchant') (fl. twelfth century CE), was a book-merchant, scribe and littérateur from Iraq. He is noted for composing the first known Arabic text entir .... Al-Ḥaẓīrī himself did not think highly of al-Ḍabbī's riddles, howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mihyar Al-Daylami
Abu'l-Hasan Mihyar al-Daylami (died 1037) was an Arabic-language poet of Daylamite origin during the Buyid period. Mihyar's poetry was dominated by metaphor, and he wrote in various poetic genres including ghazal, riddles, as well as writing elegies on Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. A former Zoroastrian, Mihyar was converted to Shia Islam by his teacher who was also poet.Encyclopedia of Arabic literature, Volume 2 By Julie Scott Meisami, Paul Starkey, pg.525The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith By Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, pg. 180 Ibn Khallikan narrates that Mihyar was harshly rebuked by an acquaintance for reviling the companions of Muhammad. Ibn Khallikan, who said Mihyar's works were so high in number that it fills four volumes, opined that Mihyar's writings "displayed great delicacy of thought and a remarkable loftiness of mind." However, Mihyar's poetic style was criticized for being "artificial and derivative." See also *List of Persian poets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Sarī Al-Raffāʽ
Al-Sarī al-Raffā () or Abul-Hasan al-Sari ibn Ahmed ibn al-Sari al-Kindi al-Raffa al-Mausili () (died 362 AH/973 CE) was a poet in the court of Sayf al-Dawla, noted for his riddles and ekphrastic poetry. He compiled the anthology ''al-Muḥibb wa-l-maḥbūb wa-l-mashmūm wa-l-mashrūb'', an extensive collection of 'verses about love, fragrant plants, and wine'. Sample poem One of al-Sarī's riddles A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ... runs as follows: A‘dadtu li-’l-layli idha ’l-laylu ghasaq, / wa-qayyada ’l-alḥāẓa min dūni ’l-ṭuruq, Quḍbāna tibrin ‘ariyat ‘ani ’l-waraq / shifā’uhā in maruḍat ḍarbu ’l-‘unuq. I prepared for the night (when it darkened and fettered the eyes, obscuring the roads) Leaveless twigs of gold whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abdallah Ibn Al-Mu'tazz
Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz (; 861 – 29 December 908) was the son of the caliph al-Mu'tazz and a political figure, but is better known as a leading Arabic poet and the author of the ''Kitab al-Badi'', an early study of Arabic forms of poetry. This work is considered one of the earliest works in Arabic literary theory and literary criticism. Persuaded to assume the role of caliph of the Abbasid dynasty following the premature death of al-Muktafi, he succeeded in ruling for a single day and a single night, before he was forced into hiding, found and then strangled in a palace intrigue that brought al-Muqtadir, then thirteen years old, to the throne. Life Born in Samarra as a prince of the imperial house and the great-great-grandson of Harun al-Rashid, Ibn al-Mu'tazz had a tragic childhood in the complicated intrigues of the Abbasid caliphate. His grandfather, the caliph al-Mutawakkil, was assassinated when Ibn al-Mu'tazz was only six weeks old. These events ushered in the nine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abū Hilāl Al-ʽAskarī
Abū Hilāl al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbdallāh b. Sahl al-ʿAskarī (d. c. 400 AH/1010 CE), known also by the epithet al-adīb ('littérateur'), was an Arabic-language lexicographer and literatus of Persian origin, noted for composing a wide range of works enabling Persian-speakers like himself to develop refined and literary Arabic usage and so gain preferment under Arab rule. He is best known for his ''Kitāb al-ṣināatayn'', ''Dīwān al-maāni'', and the ''Jamharat al-amthāl''. However, he composed at least twenty-five works, many of which survive at least in part. Life Abū Hilāl's epithet ''al-ʿAskarī'' indicates that he came from ʿAskar Mukram in the Persian province of Khūzistān. He was taught by his father and the similarly named Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Saʿīd al-ʿAskarī (with whom later scholars sometimes confused him). He was a cloth merchant, and his journeying enabled him to develop a wide knowledge of Arabic-language culture. Among his poet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badi' Al-Zaman Al-Hamadani
Badi' al-Zamān al-Hamadānī or al-Hamadhānī (; ; 969 in Hamadan، Iran – 1007) was a medieval poet and man of letters. He is best known for his work the ''Maqamat Badi' az-Zaman al-Hamadhani'', a collection of 52 episodic stories of a rogue, Abu al-Fath al-Iskandari, as recounted by a narrator, 'Isa b. Hisham. His Persian name, Hamedani, translates to "from the city of Hamedan." His Arabic name translates into "The Wonder of the Age". Life Very little is known about Al-Hamadani’s early life and primary sources are very limited. The main biographical account comes from Al-Tha'alibi, and most later biographies are derived from that. According to al-Hamadani’s own account, he was of Arab descent and his family had some education, but scholars have disputed these bare facts.Hämeen-Anttila, J., Maqama: A History of a Genre, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2002 , pp 16-20 He was probably born and educated in Hamadan, Iran. More is known about Al-Hamadani’s adult life. In 380/9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |