This is a light-hearted and interesting piece I came across…
Ibn Shihaab relates that once, Marwan ibn al-Hakam and ‘Abdullaah Ibn Zubair gathered at the house of ‘Aisha (radhiallaahu `anhum) and sat in her room with a cover in between them. They asked her regarding poetry and hadeeth and then Marwan said,
من يشإ الرحمان يخفض بقدره *** وليس لمن لم يرفع الله رافع
Whoever hopes for the Most Merciful lowers himself to His Will
And for the one who is not raised by Allaah, there’s no-one to raise him
Then Ibn Zubair said,
وفوّض إلى الله الأمور إذا اعترت *** وبالله لا بالأقربين تدافع
And dispose all affairs to Allaah when you are afflicted
And hasten first to Allah and not to near kindred
Marwan responded,
وداو ضمير القلب بالبر والتقى *** ولا يستوى قلبان قاس و خاشع
And cure the heart with righteousness and piety
For the hard heart and the humbled one can never be the same
Ibn Zubair then said,
ولا يستوى عبدان: عبد مكلّم *** عتلّ, لأرحام الأقارب قاطع
And two slaves can never be the same:
The talkative, vulgar slave who severs the ties of kinship
And Marwan said,
وعبد يجافي جنبه عن فراشه *** يبيت يناجي ربه وهو راكع
And a slave whose sides forsake his bed
He spends the night calling & bowing to his Lord
Ibn Zubair said,
وللخير أهل يعرفون بهديهم *** إذا اجتمعت عند الخطوب المجامع
And goodness has its people, recognised by their guidance
When the masses do gather (to sort out) issues
Marwan then replied,
وللشر أهل يعرفون بشكلهم *** تشير إليهم بالفجور الأصابع
And evil has its people, recognised by their appearance
Fingers point to them in every evil.
Then Ibn Zubair became quiet and did not answer Marwan at all. ‘Aisha (ra) said, ‘O ‘Abdallaah! Why is it that you don’t respond to your companion? By Allaah I have never heard two men correspond (in poetry) as amazingly as you two have done!’
Ibn Zubair said, ‘I was afraid of falling short in speech so I held back.’
So ‘Aisha said, ‘Indeed, Marwan has of poetry what you do not have.’
-Rawdhatul ‘Uqalaa wa Nuzhatul Fudhalaa’
Asalam mu alaikum wr wb. Sister you know how authentic this is?
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh,
Ma sha Allaah, this post came at a time when I really needed it. Jazaaki Allaahu khayr.
Baarak Allaahu feeki
Assaalaamu alaykum
As Salaamu Alaykum ukhti,
وداو ضمير القلب بالبر والتقى *** ولا يستوى قلبان قاس و خاشع
The first word should read دوا, sah?
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
Abu emaan, the narration is from Rawdhatul ‘Uqalaa’ which is a famous book written by Abu Hatim (Ibn Hibban) – he’s one of the classical muhaditheen from Khurasaan, so I’d expect some sort of regard for the authenticity
Although there’s no ‘classification’ of the sihha (as is the case with a lot of historical accounts etc), there is an isnad for it below:
أنبأنا محمد بن إسحاق الثقفي حدثنا أبو همام حدثنا ابن وهب أخبرني يونس بن يزيد عن ابن شهاب قال: …
Fulaan, alhamdulillah that’s good to hear akhi.
UmeabdAllaah, yes the word is dawi and the letter waw before it is just عطف
I think what I found interesting was the dialogue in poetry took place like a normal conversation!
Also, the topic they spoke of was very deep subhanallaah, with many comparisons etc (and again, they both abided by poetic metres which is difficult!).
Masha Allah, a very inspiring account. The 2nd half of the 4th line seems to have something missing as it is shorter. I checked it subsequently, and I found that it should be:
ولا يستوي عبدان عبد مكلَّم *** عتلّ لأرحام الأقارب قاطع
The baHr or meter appears to be that of Tawiil, I think:
فعولن مفاعيلن فعولن مفاعيلن (twice)
Nevertheless, shukran for the inspiring post.
I forgot to add, I loved the post too 🙂 Was very inspiring. Jazakillaahu khayr
Wa iyyaakum
Yes, you’re right! Baarakallahu feek, I forgot to add ‘aqaarib’
Ibn Uthman, are there any books you’d recommend on learning about the different buhoor in shi3r? I lack so much in that field!
There is quite a bit information on te net, if you make search for العروض . Some Arabic websites have forums dedicated to العروض . There are also a number of books that I know of, but has really worked for me, al-hamdulillah, is to develop an ear for the rhythm and beat of each baHr. Some of the buHuur have been classically described as resembling the galloping of a horse, which, if you listen carefully, you notice a rhythm and pattern. Often it helps to know an Islamic qasidah that might go with it. A qasidah is nothing but a piece of poetry which inevitably has to conform to one of the 15 or 16 buHuur that exist. So if you know a qasidah for each baHr, it does.
A baHr is like a Sarf scale, and you often have to exeriment with different scales to see which one fits. In the case of the aforementioned lines, I tried the Basiit meter, and then the Kaamil, but they didn’t fit. I then tried the Tawiil, and it seemed to fit perfectly with a bit of modification here and there for which there is room in every baHr.
Finally, the books on ‘Aruudh can sometimes make it very complicated, because there is just so much that you have to remember. It reminds of the science of inheritance. So imho you’re better off just memorising each baHr first, and then try to become familiar with the rhythm and beat of each one, for which a simple qasidah helps a lot. Therafter, you start testing your ability to recognise and identify the appropriate baHr on actual poetry lines. For example, you could use Imam Shafi’i’s famous piece (دع الأيام تفعل ما تشاء) as a sample of the baHr al-Waafir which is مفاعلتن مفاعلتن فعولن . Incidentally, the famous qasidah مؤامرة تدور على الشباب is not the same baHr, and it helps with identifying the Bahw al-Waafir. Once, you’ve mastered this stage, you can then venture on the specific details of ‘Aruudh.
I apologise for the somewhat lengthy reply.
Masha’Allah, that’s excellent information – jazakallaahu khayran
I think it’ll be better for me to just learn the patterns via practise and get a feel for the rhythm. I guess it’s a bit like Tajweed, it’s one thing to know all the rules and another to apply it – I’ve always learnt through practise and application and not through terms/mustalaha so it’s definitely my preferred route!
Insha’Allah, balaagha and shi3r is something I’ll be looking to study in more depth soon so I’ll keep your comments in mind, baarakallahu feek.
Assalamu alaikum
MashaAllah! another great post
Jazaakillah
Wassalam
I’m sorry about all the typos in my previous comment the most glaring of which is [Incidentally, the famous qasidah مؤامرة تدور على الشباب is not the same baHr, and it helps with identifying the Bahr al-Waafir] which should read as [Incidentally, the famous qasidah مؤامرة تدور على الشباب is on the same baHr, and it helps with identifying the Bahr al-Waafir].
elegent, jazakallahkhair for sharing!
SubhanAllah!