Malhamat Har
- Author died
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- Editions
- Maktabat al-Adab
Malhamat Har (The Epic of a Free Man) is a collection of Arabic poetry (dīwān) composed by Abd al-Hamid Duha as an embodiment of modern Islamic poetry and committed Islamic literature (al-adab al-islāmī).
Background and Purpose
The author dedicates the volume to all free individuals across the world and the martyrs of freedom. In the preface, he defines Islamic literature as creative expression across all genres—including poetry, novels, and short stories—that adheres to Islamic manners and legal rulings while actively promoting virtue and confronting vice in society. Presenting the work within the context of an ideological contest against secular and Westernized literary trends, he argues that Islamic writers must combine strong artistic technique with religious commitment to articulate the concerns of the Muslim community without falling into obscure symbolism or superficial ornamentation.
A substantial portion of the collection stems from the author's imprisonment, which lasted more than eleven years without formal charges or trial after his initial arrest as a second-year engineering student over a poem concerning martyrdom. Due to prolonged deprivation of pens and paper in detention, many poems were lost, and only those preserved through memorization survived to be included.
Themes and Contents
The collection addresses various personal, political, and religious themes, with a strong focus on resistance to oppression, steadfastness in captivity, and solidarity with Islamic causes. Prominent pieces within the collection include:
- The title poem "Malhamat Hurr" (The Epic of a Free Man) and "Qaydi Yuhaddithuni" (My Shackle Speaks to Me), which explore prison life, interrogation, and psychological defiance against imprisonment.
- "'Indama Baka wa-Bakaytuhu al-Kitab" (When the Book Wept and I Wept for It), written to convey his yearning for written paper during incarceration.
- "Muslimah Tatahaddath 'an Nafsiha" (A Muslim Woman Speaks of Herself), addressing modesty, the hijab, and the role of women.
- Political and commemorative elegies, such as an elegy for Sheikh Ahmad Yasin, poems on Jerusalem and the blockade of Gaza, and "Ana Shahidun bayna al-Wara: al-Nift Aghla min Damik" (I Bear Witness Before Mankind: Oil Is Dearer Than Your Blood), composed in stylistic imitation and response (mu‘āraḍah) to the Egyptian poet Faruq Juwaydah.
Poetic Form and Prosodic Defense
The author notes that he did not formally study classical Arabic metrics (‘arūḍ) under a teacher, remarking that suffering stimulated his poetic drive. In the preface, he explicitly defends two metrical variations (ziḥāfāt) utilized throughout the collection against criticisms by modern prosodists:
- Qabḍ mafā‘īlun in the filler (ḥashw) of the Ṭawīl meter: While modern critics such as Ibrahim Anis considered this variation harsh and uncommon in modern verse, Duha defends it by demonstrating its precedent in classical pre-Islamic poetry—such as the Mu‘allaqāt of Imru' al-Qays, Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma, and al-A'sha—as well as in Abbasid poetry by Abu Tammam, aligning with the approval of al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi.
- Khabn mustaf‘ilun in the filler of the Basīṭ meter: Defending its use in positions where some later theorists discouraged it, the author cites early classical precedents from the poetry of al-Nabighah al-Dhubyani and al-A‘sha.
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