al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shuara
- Author died
- 657 AH
- Editions
- al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shuara
al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shuara (The Memorandum on the Cognomens of Poets) is an Arabic literary treatise on the titles, sobriquets, and nicknames (alqab) of poets by the scholar, poet, and scribe al-Nashabi al-Irbili (582–656 AH / 1186–1258 CE; also given as d. 657 AH).
Author and Dedication
The work was composed by Abu al-Majd As'ad ibn Ibrahim ibn Hasan ibn Ali al-Shaybani al-Irbili, known as Majd al-Din al-Nashabi, a native of Irbil who served in scribal offices and later resided in Baghdad. In the preface of the book, the author dedicated the treatise to the library of the dignitary Taj al-Din Abu al-Futuh Ali.
Purpose, Scope, and Method
The treatise investigates the origins and linguistic reasons behind the cognomens and titles given to Arabic poets. Al-Nashabi categorizes the causes of these nicknames into several groups:
- Sobriquets derived from a specific verse or line of poetry composed by the poet.
- Titles stemming from a physical mark or bodily trait.
- Epithets based on skin complexion or color.
- Nicknames earned through a famous deed or action.
- Designations relating to hometowns, places of origin, or agnomens (kunya).
In setting out his method, al-Nashabi cites the transmission of Abu Ubayda identifying the three foremost pre-Islamic poets as Imru' al-Qays, al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani, and Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma. He emphasizes that his work adopts extreme brevity and conciseness, noting that scholarly recitation and memorandum (al-mudhakara) does not admit tedious elaboration. He also notes that he deliberately restricts his focus to rare and curious anecdotes, highlighting lesser-known poets who were recognized only by select literary figures.
Structure and Content
The text begins with a chapter devoted to poets titled after verses they composed (Fasl fi man luqqiba bi-shi'r qalah). In this section, he explains the background of early and pre-Islamic sobriquets, including:
- Mudraj al-Rih, who earned his title after completing a line of poetry describing winds erasing traces of an encampment.
- Al-Muraqqash al-Asghar (Amr ibn Sufyan), named because of his spotted face and his verse comparing writing to marked leather.
- Al-Mumazzaq, al-Mukharriq, and al-Muthaqqib ('A'idh ibn al-Ahmar).
- Al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani (Ziyad ibn Mu'awiya), where al-Nashabi also enumerates the four poets known by the title al-Nabigha: those of the tribes of Dhubyan, Ja'da, al-Harith, and Shayban.
- Classical figures such as al-Ba'ith, Muzarrid, Dhu al-Rumma, al-Qutami, al-As'ar, al-Ajjaj, and Tarafa ibn al-Abd.
The work also covers later, modern poets (al-muhdathun), detailing sobriquets such as al-Mura''ath (Bashshar ibn Burd), Shahawat, 'Uwayf al-Qawafi, al-Farrar, Sari' al-Ghawani (Muslim ibn al-Walid), and Mujtani al-Muru'a (Abu Sa'd Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Hanafi).
Reception and Editions
The book was utilized by later biographers as a source on literary onomastics. In Majma' al-Adab fi Mu'jam al-Alqab, Ibn al-Fuwati cites al-Nashabi's entry from al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shuara when discussing the nickname of Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Hanafi (Mujtani al-Muru'a), noting his close friendship with Abd Allah ibn al-Muqaffa.
The work was edited by Shakir al-Ashur and published in Baghdad by Dar al-Shu'un al-Thaqafiyya in 1988.
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