Diwan Layla al-Akhyaliyya
- Author died
- 80 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Culture and Guidance - Directorate of General Culture
Diwan Layla al-Akhyaliyya is the collected poetic corpus of the Umayyad-era poet Layla al-Akhyaliyya (d. c. 80 AH / 700 CE), known for its elegies, court panegyrics, and poetic lampoons .
Poetic Themes and Structure
The preserved poetry in the collection covers several traditional Arabic genres:
- Elegy (rithāʾ): The largest and most celebrated portion of her verse consists of elegies mourning her lover Tawbah ibn al-Humayyir of Banu Khafajah, who was slain in a tribal raid . In these poems, she laments his demise, censures his companions who abandoned him during combat, and celebrates his valor, generosity, and chivalric attributes in the style of pre-Islamic heroic dirges .
- Panegyric (madīḥ): The collection includes court eulogies composed during her visits to Umayyad rulers and governors, prominently al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan .
- Invective and Flyting (hijāʾ and muhājāh): The work contains poetic disputes and satirical exchanges, most notably her verse confrontations with the elder poet al-Nabigha al-Ja'di .
- Love and Lyricism (ghazal): Short lyrical pieces depicting chaste (ʿudhrī) affection, memory, and longing .
Critical Reception and Standing
Classical Arabic literary critics and biographers ranked Layla al-Akhyaliyya's poetic mastery as second only to al-Khansa' among female Arab poets . Her elegiac verses were singled out as her most eloquent and technically accomplished compositions .
Transmission and Modern Editions
A classical manuscript collection and commentary on her diwan was noted by bibliographers such as Hajji Khalifa in Kashf al-Zunun (The Removal of Doubts) . Because much of her verse was transmitted in fragments scattered across classical adab anthologies, biographical works, and linguistic treatises, modern scholars undertook its reconstruction:
- Collected and critically edited by Khalil Ibrahim al-Attiyya and Jalil al-Attiyya (Dar al-Jumhuriyya, Baghdad, 1967; 2nd ed. 1397 AH / 1977 CE) .
- Edited by Wadih al-Samad (Dar Sader, Beirut; 2nd ed. 1424 AH) .
Answer updated