al-Wisata bayna al-Mutanabbi wa Khusumihi wa Naqd Shirihi
- Author died
- 392 AH
- Editions
- Maṭba‘at ‘Īsá al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī wa-Shurakāh
al-Wisata bayna al-Mutanabbi wa Khusumihi ("The Mediation Between al-Mutanabbi and His Adversaries") is a foundational work of classical Arabic literary criticism composed by the Shafi'i jurist and chief judge Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Jurjani (d. 392 AH / 1002 CE) . The book serves as an impartial critical evaluation of the controversial poetic corpus of al-Mutanabbi (303–354 AH), balancing the claims of his fervent partisans against the attacks of his detractors .
Background and Purpose
The poetry of al-Mutanabbi provoked intense literary debates across the Islamic world during the 4th century AH . Hostile critics, notably the Buyid vizier al-Sahib ibn Abbad in his treatise al-Kashf 'an Masawi Shi'r al-Mutanabbi ("The Unveiling of the Faults of al-Mutanabbi's Poetry"), attacked his difficult rhymes, far-fetched metaphors, and obscure meanings, while enthusiastic supporters praised him as an unmatched innovator . Serving as a judge in Rayy, al-Jurjani undertook al-Wisata to apply balanced judicial standards to literary criticism, seeking to act as an objective mediator between the two factions without excessive partisanship or prejudice .
Structure and Methodology
Al-Jurjani establishes that no poet—whether pre-Islamic (Jahili) or modern (muhdath)—is completely immune to errors, lapses, or instances of uneven phrasing . He identifies two camps among al-Mutanabbi's adversaries: those who reject all modern poetry on principle and recognize only ancient poets, and those who specifically target al-Mutanabbi's perceived shortcomings .
The book categorizes the defects alleged against al-Mutanabbi into distinct areas :
- Linguistic and syntactic errors: Claims of ungrammatical inflections (lahn) or deviation from standard Arabic usage .
- Conceptual flaws: Meaning corruption, internal contradiction, and obscurity .
- Stylistic defects: Convoluted syntax (ta'qid), far-fetched metaphors (isti'ara), and excessive artificiality (al-ifrat fi al-san'a) .
- Poetic theft (sirqat): Borrowings from earlier poets, which al-Jurjani contextualizes by demonstrating that thematic sharing and reworking were common practices shared among all major poets, including Abu Nuwas and Abu Tammam .
While acknowledging genuine lapses in al-Mutanabbi's verse, al-Jurjani highlights his virtues, praising his fine openings (matali'), smooth transitions (husn al-takhallus), delicate meanings, and abundance of widely quoted aphoristic verses . Al-Jurjani articulates core criteria of the classical poetic norm ('amud al-shi'r), emphasizing nobility of meaning, sound diction, accurate description, closeness of simile, and poetic fluency .
Reception and Editions
Al-Wisata gained widespread acclaim among classical biographers and critics . Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi commended al-Jurjani's depth of learning, memory, and discerning critical judgment in the work, noting that the text spread rapidly across the Islamic world . Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi similarly praised the book as evidence of al-Jurjani's vast erudition . In Arabic literary criticism, it is often viewed as a natural successor to al-Amidi's comparative work al-Muwazana bayna Abi Tammam wa-al-Buhturi .
The text was edited and published in Sayda in 1331 AH by Ahmad 'Arif al-Zayn , and later critically edited in Cairo by Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim and Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi (1966) .
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