al-Ibana an Sariqat al-Mutanabbi Lafzan wa Mana
- Author died
- 433 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Maʻārif
al-Ibana an Sariqat al-Mutanabbi Lafzan wa Mana (Clarification of al-Mutanabbi's Plagiarisms in Word and Meaning) is a work of Arabic literary criticism by the Egyptian grammarian and chancery official Abu Sad al-Amidi (d. 433 AH / 1042 CE; another report gives 443 AH) dedicated to documenting the poetic borrowings and plagiarisms of al-Mutanabbi.
Background and Motive
Al-Amidi wrote the treatise in response to what he viewed as exaggerated, partisan praise of al-Mutanabbi among literary circles in Egypt. In his introduction, he recounts attending a gathering hosted by a prominent patron, where an ardent admirer declared that al-Mutanabbi was the seal of all master poets and that his verses deserved to be hung upon the Kaaba alongside the Mu'allaqat. When the admirer cited al-Mutanabbi's description of a horse as an unmatched, original invention, al-Amidi countered by quoting nearly identical lines by the earlier poet al-Uqayshir. After the admirer dismissed earlier poets out of blind devotion to al-Mutanabbi, al-Amidi resolved to compose a critical study demonstrating that the verses most celebrated by al-Mutanabbi's partisans were copied or adapted from pre-Islamic, early Islamic, and Abbasid predecessors.
Al-Amidi also censured al-Mutanabbi's personal arrogance and his habit of disclaiming knowledge of earlier poets—such as Abu Tammam, al-Buhturi, and Ibn al-Rumi—while actively borrowing from their works. He cites a report that when al-Mutanabbi was killed, a manuscript containing the collections of Abu Tammam and al-Buhturi in his own handwriting was found in his saddlebag, with marginal marks identifying the poetic ideas he had extracted.
Critical Stance and Method
Al-Amidi maintains that his critique is not born of personal malice or denial of al-Mutanabbi's talent. He explicitly acknowledges al-Mutanabbi's eloquence, the sweetness of his diction, his skill in poetic division (taqsim) and paronomasia (tajnis), and his ability to rephrase borrowed ideas skillfully. He also refuses to attack al-Mutanabbi on the grounds of his lineage or religious beliefs.
Nevertheless, al-Amidi disputes placing al-Mutanabbi above the foremost classical and modern poets. In his critical evaluation, he ranks al-Mutanabbi below Abu Tammam and Muslim ibn al-Walid in the invention of original conceits, below al-Buhturi in natural grace and unforced expression, and below Ibn al-Rumi in imaginative breadth, linguistic mastery, and profound wisdom.
The text is organized into four parts (ajza'). Throughout the work, al-Amidi presents lines by earlier poets—including Dik al-Jinn, Abu Maryam al-Bajali, and Ibn al-Rumi—and sets them directly against al-Mutanabbi's corresponding verses, categorizing instances where al-Mutanabbi appropriated both phrasing and meaning or adapted the concept while cloaking it in his own wording.
Reception and Manuscripts
Ibn al-Qifti praised the work as a fine composition that demonstrates the author's extensive erudition. It became a standard source for subsequent critics writing on the controversies surrounding al-Mutanabbi's poetry and was cited by Yusuf al-Badi'i in al-Subh al-Munbi an Haythiyyat al-Mutanabbi.
Manuscripts of the text are preserved in libraries including the Ayasofya collection in Istanbul (MS 4035) and the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub). The book was printed in Cairo in an undated edition and was later edited by Ibrahim al-Disuqi al-Bistami and published by Dar al-Ma'arif in Cairo in 1961.
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