al-Risala al-Muwaddiha fi Dhikr Sariqat Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi wa Saqit Shi'rihi
- Author died
- 388 AH
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- al-Risala al-Muwaddiha fi Dhikr Sariqat Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi wa Saqit Shi'rihi
al-Risala al-Muwaddiha fi Dhikr Sariqat Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi wa-Saqit Shi'rihi (The Clarifying Epistle on the Plagiarisms of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi and His Flawed Verses) is a 4th-century AH Arabic critical treatise authored by the Baghdadi scribe and critic Abu Ali al-Hatimi (d. 388 AH / 998 CE) . It is regarded as the earliest comprehensive work composed to critique the poetry of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi and analyze his alleged literary plagiarisms (sariqat) and structural flaws .
Composition and Context
The treatise originated from oral confrontations between al-Hatimi and al-Mutanabbi when the poet arrived in Baghdad following his departure from Egypt . Al-Hatimi, who was under thirty years old at the time, was incited by the Buyid vizier Abu Muhammad al-Muhallabi to challenge the poet's perceived haughtiness, expose his poetic defects, and compel him to leave Iraq .
Following their initial debate, al-Hatimi compiled the scribal notes over three sleepless nights into an early account known as Jabhat al-Adab, which won al-Muhallabi's approval . The expanded and definitive book, titled al-Risala al-Muwaddiha, was finalized after al-Mutanabbi's death (d. 354 AH / 965 CE)—referencing his subsequent journeys to Adud al-Dawla and Ibn al-Amid—and was dedicated to the vizier Abu al-Faraj Muhammad ibn al-Abbas al-Shirazi (d. 370 AH) .
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized around four structured debate sessions (majalis):
- The First Session: Took place at al-Mutanabbi's lodgings, where al-Hatimi went intentionally in formal attire with his entourage to confront the poet before a circle of young students .
- The Second Session: Held in the salon of the vizier al-Muhallabi in the presence of various scholars, including Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Anbari, who defended al-Mutanabbi .
- The Third Session: Initiated by al-Anbari to vindicate al-Mutanabbi, attended by prominent scholars such as Abu Sa'id al-Sirafi, Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani, Abu al-Fath al-Maraghi, and Ali ibn Harun al-Munajjim .
- The Fourth Session: Convened at al-Muhallabi's request to examine al-Mutanabbi's reliance on and borrowings from the two Tayy' poets, Abu Tammam and al-Buhturi .
Across these sessions, the work addresses theoretical and applied critical issues, including the definition and boundaries of poetry, the nature of metaphor (isti'ara), structural defects, linguistic errors, and the distinction between hyperbole (mubalagha) and extreme exaggeration (ighraq) . It traces numerous motifs and lines in al-Mutanabbi's corpus back to earlier pre-Islamic and Abbasid poets, while also recording al-Mutanabbi's responses and justifications .
Transmission and Editions
The text has been transmitted in two main recensions :
- The extensive recension, cited by classical biographers such as Ibn Khallikan, is preserved in a manuscript at the El Escorial Library (MS 272/1, copied in 717 AH) . It was edited by Muhammad Yusuf Najm and published in Beirut in 1965 .
- The shorter recension, known to Yaqut al-Hamawi and al-Badi'i under the title al-Risala al-Hatimiyya (or Munazarat Abi Ali al-Hatimi li-Abi al-Tayyib), is preserved in Cairo and Mecca manuscripts and was published by Ibrahim al-Disuqi al-Bisati as an appendix to al-Amidi's al-Ibana (Cairo, 1961), as well as by Muhammad Husayn Al Yasin (Baghdad, 1965) .
Reception and Influence
Despite its polemical tone and evident personal and political motivations, the treatise served as the foundational sourcebook of criticism against al-Mutanabbi in the 4th century AH . Later critics who debated al-Mutanabbi's standing—including al-Sahib ibn Abbad, al-Qadi al-Jurjani, and Ibn Waki' al-Tannisi—relied heavily on the textual evidence, parallel verses, and counter-arguments first compiled by al-Hatimi .
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