Diwan al-Sababa

Diwan al-Sababa (The Anthology of Ardent Love) is an adab treatise and anthology on romantic love, lovers' tales, and poetry compiled by the Mamluk-era scholar and poet Ibn Abi Hajla (725–776 AH / 1325–1375 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Composition and Context

The work, titled in full Diwan al-Sababa li-Ahl al-Ishq wa-l-Ka'aba (The Anthology of Ardent Love for the People of Passion and Sorrow), was dedicated to the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Hasan Majallat al-Risala+1. Ibn Abi Hajla referred to the work in a panegyric poem praising the sultan, highlighting that it counted among his finest compositions Majallat al-Risala. The book combines alternating prose narratives and poetry (nathr wa-nazm), assembling accounts of lovers, their fatal passions (masari' al-ushshaq), and literary verses on the theme of love Majallat al-Risala+1.

Structure and Contents

The book is arranged into an introduction (muqaddima), thirty chapters (bab), and an epilogue (khatima) Diwan al-Sababa:

• Introduction: Explores the definition and etymology of ishq (passionate love), its attributes, causes, signs, stages, names, arguments praising and censuring it, and the debate over whether falling in love is voluntary or involuntary Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 1: Outlines physical and inner beauty and grace (al-husn wa-l-jamal) Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 2: Discusses refined lovers among kings and caliphs Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 3: Gathers accounts of falling in love solely through hearsay (al-sama'), prompted by affinity between souls Nashwat al-Sukran min Sah…+1.
• Chapter 4: Treats falling in love at first sight Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 5: Details physical and psychological manifestations upon seeing the beloved, such as changes in complexion, pallor, blushing, speechlessness, and sudden eloquence Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 6: Explores jealousy (ghayra) and its attendant turmoil Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 7: Examines the dilemma between disclosing a love secret (ifsha' al-sirr) and concealing it (al-kitman) Diwan al-Sababa+1.
• Chapter 8: Treats strategies for appeasing the beloved and dispelling anger or alienation Diwan al-Sababa.
• Chapter 9: Addresses emissaries, love letters (al-rusul wa-l-rasa'il), and delicate intermediaries Diwan al-Sababa+1.
• Chapter 10: Concerns the beloved's spectral image (tayf al-khayal), titled after Tawq al-Hamama Majallat al-Risala+1.

The remaining chapters continue through the psychological states, trials, and tragic fates of lovers up to the conclusion of the text Majallat al-Risala+1.

Reception and Related Works

Diwan al-Sababa attracted substantial attention across the Islamic world. In al-Andalus, its circulation prompted Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib to author a counterpart work modeled on its structure, which Ibn al-Khatib dedicated to divine love (al-hubb al-ilahi) following Sufi paradigms Majallat al-Risala. The physician and author Dawud al-Antaki integrated materials from Diwan al-Sababa into his own work on love, Tazyin al-Aswaq fi Akhbar al-Ushshaq Tazyin al-Aswaq fi Akhbar…. An abridgment of the work, titled al-Mukhtar min Diwan al-Sababa, was prepared by the Ottoman scholar Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Amasi (d. 1151 AH / 1738 CE) Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al….

Publication History

Manuscripts of the work are preserved in numerous collections, including the Austrian National Library, the Chester Beatty Library, Cambridge University Library, the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, and Topkapi Palace (Ahmad III collection) in Istanbul Fihris al-Makhtutat al-Ar…+1. The book was printed in Cairo via lithograph in 1279 AH and movable type in 1291 AH, 1294 AH, 1305 AH, and 1414 AH Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1. It was also published in Cairo (1291 AH) and Beirut (1972 CE) in the margins of Dawud al-Antaki's Tazyin al-Aswaq, as well as in independent editions in Beirut (1404 AH / 1984 CE) and Alexandria (1987 CE) Kanz al-Durar wa Jami al-…+3.