Fuhulat al-Shuara
- Author died
- 216 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kitāb al-Jadīd
Fuhulat al-Shuara (The Eminent Stallions of the Poets) is an early work of Arabic literary criticism containing the critical judgments of the philologist al-Asmai (d. 216 AH / 831 CE) on pre-Islamic and early Islamic poets .
Transmission and Structure
The text is structured as a series of questions and answers transmitted through a direct chain of narration from al-Asmai by his student Abu Hatim al-Sijistani, and preserved through Ibn Durayd . Abu Hatim questioned al-Asmai—including inquiries posed shortly before al-Asmai's death—concerning individual poets, asking whether each was considered a fahl (a master or "stallion" poet) . Al-Asmai defined the term fahl as denoting someone who possesses distinct superiority over others, drawing an analogy to the precedence of a mature stallion (fahl) over younger camels (hiqāq) .
Critical Content and Categories
In his assessments, al-Asmai broadly divided poets into two classes: the fuhul and non-fuhul .
- Eminence and Ranking: Al-Asmai initially ranked al-Nabighah al-Dhubyani above other pre-Islamic poets, but then affirmed that Imru al-Qays held ultimate precedence in poetic quality and pioneering status, stating that other poets followed his style and borrowed from his wording .
- Criteria for Stallionhood: In several cases, al-Asmai tied the status of fahl to the quantity of outstanding verse. For instance, he remarked that had al-Huwaydirah or Thalabah ibn Suayr composed five poems of equal caliber to their best known ones, they would have been classified among the fuhul; he noted a similar condition for Aws ibn Ghalfa if he had reached twenty odes .
- Specialized Categories: Beyond the primary division, al-Asmai identified distinct subcategories:
- Fursan (warrior-poets), including Antarah, Khufaf ibn Nudbah, and al-Zibriqan ibn Badr .
- Foot-raiders (su'luk figures) who made predatory incursions on foot, such as Sulayk ibn al-Sulakah, Taabbata Sharran, and al-Shanfara .
- Islamic-Era Poets: When asked about major Umayyad poets such as Jarir, al-Farazdaq, and al-Akhtal, al-Asmai remarked that they would have held high status had they lived in the pre-Islamic era, but declined to pass definitive judgment on them within the classification because they were of the Islamic era (islamiyyun) .
Modern Publication
The text was first edited by the orientalist Charles C. Torrey and published in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG, vol. 65, 1911) . It was later edited in Cairo by Muhammad Abd al-Mun'im Khafaji and Taha Muhammad al-Zayn and printed by al-Matba'ah al-Muniriyyah in 1953 .
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